#and pantherlily too down the line

[pencilofawesomeness]

Hi! Such a big fan of your htryds series!! I absolutely love your take on shadow gear and gajeel (since most fics I read either leave jet and droy out or they kind of just ‘exist’) Will pantherlily or juvia make an appearance? Do you have a partner in mind for levy when she goes through the s-class trials herself?

Aw, thank you! And yes! Shadow Gear + Gajeel deserve some fair and equal treatment. Honestly, there's a lot of characters that get shoe-horned into this "romance-driven rival" box in FT, where they're the butt of a lot of jokes, and Droy and Jet unfortunately got this treatment. But! It's okay. I got them in my little hands and I am making them person-shaped characters because I love them and I love the idea of them. They deserve to maintain their friendship position and get more friends.

Yes! Juvia and Pantherlily are both coming eventually. If it wasn't obvious, Juvia will get her debut next arc in Runaways, lol. Juvia, like Jet and Droy, definitely deserves some extra character love and you better be believing I am prepared to give it to her. (I miss debut/ToH/BattleofFT Juvia so much.)

I will say with Juvia and Pantherlily both, the AU dictates some changes to the impending dynamics, but I'm still all for that friendship with Gajeel, plus more people, because honestly half of these AU is me looking at characters and thinking "what if they talked to more than two other people" and then running with it.

On that note, yes, I do absolutely know who Levy's partner is going to be for the S-Class trials. :D

[marvel-ousfairy]

“Flesh eating plants, are you kidding me???” NALU Oneshot

Author’s Note: Ummm... So I don’t normally post my own writings, but I wrote this literally years ago and figured it was about time I posted it. Better late then never, right? *Chuckles nervously* Anyways, there are a few plot holes and things but I’m honestly too lazy to change it sooo, here you go! Let me know what y’all think. (Also I appologize in advance for any wierd formatting issues. I blame Tumblr.)

Warnings: Fighting, angst with a fluffy ending, killer plants? idk what else to put haha. If you read it and think there are any other warnings I should add, please please let me know.

Pairing(s): NaLu

_____

“Open, Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!” Lucy Heartfilia shouted, summoning the celestial spirit to her side.

“Mooo! It’s nice to see you again, Miss Luuucy.” Her celestial spirit, Taurus, drawled as the golden light of Lucy’s magic dissipated.

A large crash echoed through the forest near Magnolia as Lucy dove to avoid getting hit by a thick plant root, only a gaping hole left of the earth where she previously stood.

“Not the time,” Lucy panted before struggling to her feet again. “I need you to get in there and snap those vines!” she directed.

Celestial Wizard Lucy Heartfilia, her partner Fire Dragon Slayer Natsu Dragneel, and their cat companion, Happy, had taken a simple job helping out a local farmer. The request had asked for a few wizards to come assist in the extermination of the vermin rampaging through the owner’s crops.

“Stop pouting,” she said as the trio walked through town towards the agricultural district. “At least you get to beat something up.” She smiled, glancing around at the fruit and vegetable stalls lining the streets.

The pink haired wizard crossed his arms before letting out an offended huff. “I’m a dragon slayer, not an exterminator.” He whined.

The blonde let out a giggle, ignoring his petulant child act. Her laughter didn’t last long, however. Upon their arrival at the little farm, the trio soon realized that things weren’t as they appeared. Much to Lucy’s horror and Natsu’s delight, the vermin that needed bashing turned out to be full-fledged, plant-based monsters.

“’Let’s do it’ I said. ‘This will be easy’ I said. How does a Venus Flytrap even grow this large?” Lucy grumbled as she jumped over another stream of murderous plant roots. Finally finding solid ground, she pointed Taurus towards the twisted nether of roots and stems that kept the frightening flora grounded. Meanwhile, Natsu busied himself with torching the other five or so reanimated plants that littered the forests edge.

“Fire Dragon: Roar!” He let out a manic laugh as his flames transformed an entire line of trees into glittering torches, burning friend and foe indiscriminately.  

“Natsu, watch where you’re aiming,” Lucy scolded, letting loose a disgruntled shout as she once again narrowly missed a blow to the side via killer plants. The self-proclaimed farmer, apparently, was a wizard himself who specialized in foreign herbs with magical properties. Their current foes were the result of his latest creations gone very wrong.

“We already owe a great deal in repair costs as it is. The master will kill us if we burn down another building,” she reminded him, hand on her hip.

“Yeah, Yeah.” Natsu shrugged as he incinerated yet another row of trees and crops.  “Stop with your naggin’ already. We’ll be fi– Hey Lucy, watch out!” The dragon slayer let out a roar as Lucy whipped around. A faint gasp swept past her lips as a verdant blur crossed her vision. Pain ricocheted down her left side as a stray vine from the Flytrap knocked her to the ground, tangling with her legs and whipping her towards the Venus’ awaiting jaws.

“Argh,” Natsu screamed, face contorted in anger. “Fire Dragon: Wing Attack!” The vines that dug at her skin, slowly encroaching upon her torso, were suddenly engulfed in flame and burnt to a crisp. She yelped as Natsu’s flames left her stranded in the open air. With nothing left to catch her fall, she plummeted back down to the rigid ground, her head smacking against the dirt with a harsh crack. A muffled yowl came from beneath her and she rolled over to find a disgruntled Happy scowling back at her.

“You alright, Luce?” Natsu questioned, finishing off the last of the nasty creatures.

“I’m the one in pain,” Happy cried, indignantly. “Lucy squashed me with her fat butt!”

“WATCH IT, CAT!” she screeched at the little blue exceed, the pain from her fall quickly washed into the foreground.

Natsu cackled, causing the celestial spirit mage to turn her glare on him. Noticing the change in atmosphere, he yelped as a certain red-haired wizard came to mind.

“Scary,” he whined. Lucy’s scowl deepened before gifting him with another one of her signature Lucy Kicks.

“Humph,” she muttered, smiling in satisfaction. “Serves you right.”

_____

Later, at the Fairy Tail guildhall, the pair found themselves curled around the bar. Mira wiped down the counters, glancing at the two while she worked. Lucy sat on Natsu’s left with reequip mage Erza Scarlet on his right. Gajeel, Levy, and Pantherlily were located at a table behind him, while Gray was doing his best to avoid an overly exuberant Juvia. Happy had disappeared soon after their arrival back at the guild, dreams of fish and a particular white feline dancing in his head. An overall jubilant air had settled on the guild as members had returned from their missions to settle in for the day.

Lucy leaned against the bar, head spinning, with a strawberry concoction clutched between her palms. A dull ache had settled into her bones since their mission earlier, winding around her mind like a snake. A slight burning sensation danced along her side as a pair of onyx eyes watched her with intensity.

“I’m fine,” she said with a huff, not bothering to turn towards the dragon slayer gazing at her worriedly.

“Lucy, I–”

“Really, Natsu, I’m alright.”

Natsu grumbled, unconvinced, as he finished off the plate of food Mira had set before him. He knew Lucy was lying, but he also knew that she could be just as pigheaded as him. She had been acting strange ever since their return from their earlier expedition. Despite her claims otherwise, he could tell something was up.

Lucy stood up abruptly, letting out a heavy sigh, before turning towards Natsu once more. Ignoring the stars that threatened to consume her vision, she forced a wide smile onto her lips. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll be okay. I think I’m just gonna head home and get some rest. The fight today really took it out of me. Thanks for the drink, Mira.”

She gave one more wave to the white-haired woman before making her way towards the entrance. Before he could make any move to stop Lucy’s departure, Erza placed an armor clad hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be fine, Natsu,” the red-haired warrior assured him. “She can take care of herself.”

He simply nodded, giving Lucy another intense stare before promptly getting knocked off of his barstool by a half-naked Gray. Mira giggled as Natsu let out an enraged scream. Apparently, Juvia had finally caught up to her beloved Gray.  

“What the heck was that for, you pervert?”  Natsu yelled as he quickly shifted into battle-mode, fists blazing with fire.

“Who you callin’ pervert, flame for brains?” Gray challenged.

Soon after, a fight broke out between the two, eventually expanding into a guild-wide brawl after another slice of Erza’s strawberry cake was destroyed. Lucy, who had been watching from the towering guild doors, shook her head. She let out a yelp as a chair smashed against the wall to her left, before finally disappearing out the door and into the streets of Magnolia.  

 Despite a slight limp in her step and pain in her side, the walk home wasn’t as bad as she’d first expected it to be. It wasn’t long before she was weaving her way past the ferrymen and stumbling into her apartment with a heavy sigh.

“Home at last,” she hummed to herself. She stretched out her limbs, cringing as her ankle buckled a bit in pain, before making her way toward the bathroom. “Maybe a shower will help wash off the pain from today,” she mused, ridding herself of her blood-stained clothes. With steam flooding the little room and the water temperature set on high, she stepped carefully into the scalding water. A shaky breath escaped her lips, but her mind continued to spin at a rapid fire pace. Groaning in frustration, she tried for another calming breath. Despite her chance to finally relax a bit, she couldn’t manage to quiet her mind. It had already been a long day, now made even longer by the pain that constricted her mind and body. A glance towards her numerous bruises sent a frustrated sigh past her lips, before her features contorted in confusion. A second glance down at her body caused her gaze to quickly slip from confusion to fear. Thin green lines painted swirls and complex designs across her torso, leaving angry red marks in their wake. The vines, she thought. They don’t just feed off human flesh… “They steal magic power!” She shouted, mentally kicking herself for forgetting the farmer’s warnings. He’d told them that this was a possibility.

Her hands shook as she slowly grew more and more hysterical, tearing frantically at the small vines cutting at her body. Just as she made some headway clearing the thin vines, however, the dizziness from before threatened to overtake her. She reached for her keys, only to find them rendered useless. My magic power is too far gone, she cursed. “Loke, Virgo, someone please!” She cried out desperately. They can’t hear me, she sobbed. A single step towards the bathroom door sent her vision shaking. By two steps, the light in the room began to dance. By the third, Lucy could feel herself losing her will to stand. By the forth, she found herself hitting the ground as the ceiling grew further and further away. “Natsu…” She whispered as vines tangle around her mouth. Her vision slipped away as she soon felt herself get swallowed whole by a cocoon of roots and vines, before she finally lost consciousness altogether.

______

Back at the guild hall, things had finally settled down. Luckily, the aftermath of the brawl had been minimal. A few burnt spots, some broken tables and chairs, and a few missing pillars. The building, by some miracle, still stood proudly in the heart of town.

“Where’s Lucy?” Natsu asked, having finally cooled down from his fight with Gray.

“Oh. Lucy? She went home a little bit ago.” Mira said, smiling sweetly from behind the bar.

“You even watched her go, you idiot.” Gray said with a laugh. Natsu shot the Ice mage a scowl.

“He loooooves her.” Happy drawled from his place next to Charle on the bar top.

Natsu reddened in embarrassment, brushing salmon strands out of his face. The dragon slayer stiffened as a ball of anxiety settled into his stomach. His nose twitched as he took in the stale undertones in the air, confirming some unknown fears. He could be wrong, but he knew Lucy. He knew her scent and how it changed depending on her mood. Right now, the thick smell of fear curdled his blood. Something was wrong.  

With one last vengeful fireball to Gray’s face, he ran off towards Lucy’s apartment with the blue exceed following close behind. Fellow mages and townsfolk cried out in protest as he pushed by them, but Natsu didn’t notice. Blood pumped in his ears, matching his racing footsteps as he hurtled himself down the stone streets. As Lucy’s apartment came into view he pushed his legs faster, using his fire to boost himself through her window in a single bound.

Once safely inside, the first thing he noticed was the silence. Despite the distinct sound of a shower in the background, the stillness hung like a thick fog in the air, suffocating him.  Steam seeped from beneath the bathroom door as he flung it open to reveal a horrific jungle. Vines grew up and off the walls, roots digging out of cracks in the floor.  Leafy plants twisted in midair like worms burrowing through the dirt, dragging curious fingers along his face and down his legs. “Lucy!” Natsu shouted, digging through twists and snarls in the vines. “Lucy!” No answer. Frantic, he set his body ablaze, burning down every vine he could get his hands on. The twisted nether of green squealed and screeched, cutting at his arms and face as every vine soon turned to ash. Finally, there was nothing left but a pale sleeping beauty curled up on the scorched and broken tile.

“Lucy…” his voice was barely a whisper as he pulled the blonde into his arms, swaddling her in a nearby towel. Ashen vines were like cobwebs arching across her ghostly pale skin, her fingers tinged blue as if frost bitten. Even her hair seemed somehow drained of life, as the last of her magical energy seemed to fall dangerously low.

“Nat-su,” a shuddering gasp swept past her grey, cracked lips. “Help m-me… S-so c-cold…” Her words came out in little puffs as her eyes fluttered open, straining to gaze up at his face.

“Lucy. Lucy, look at me. I – I’m here. I’m here. I’ve got you.” He hugged her into his chest, his tears melting into sobs as the smell of strawberries and vanilla wrapped around him. Desperately, he looked around the small apartment before his eyes settled on his blue companion, standing wide-eyed at the door.

“Get Wendy!” He cried out to the little exceed.

“Natsu?” His little eyes rounded with horror.

“NOW, HAPPY!”

“A-Aye, sir!” Happy jumped up and gave him a determined nod before soaring back out the open window from whence they’d come.

A shaky hand grasped onto his scarf, pulling his gaze back down to Lucy’s shaking form.  She curled like a sunflower into his warmth before letting out a shuttering gasp.

“Don’t leave me,” she wheezed. Every note grated against his ears, her normally melodic voice cracked and broken. Regret settled like a stone in his stomach as he cradled her closer to his chest.    “Never,” he whispered.

A soft kiss warmed her clammy skin, flowering across her cheek, as exhaustion finally pulled her into a deep, restless sleep.

______

Warm hands wrapped around her as the smell of wood smoke and cinnamon swirled through the air. She knew that scent. It meant safety, warmth. It meant home.

A slow smile stretched across her lips as her eyes fluttered open to see a chiseled chest and strong arms holding her close. A quick blink shot her eyes upward, only for them to be met with slightly parted lips. As her eyes roamed over the curved planes of his jaw, the slightly parted lips morphed gradually until she was met with a wide, toothy grin. One more shift left her breathless, as she tumbled deep into the depths of his obsidian gaze.

“Natsu –” she stammered.

“Welcome back.” He pulled her closer, resting his forehead onto hers before finally releasing a heavy sigh of relief.

All the pain that had previously ensnared her was gone without a trace. The telltale signs of the guildhall infirmary told her that she had Wendy’s sky magic to thank for that. The warmth that flooded her senses, however, was thanks to her one and only favorite dragon slayer. Although, she doubted it was his naturally higher body temperature that caused warmth to flood her cheeks. Curious eyes peered up at him as his eyes danced behind hooded eyelids. Her very presence seemed to melt him, soften his normally sharp edges.

“Natsu?” She questioned as his face lowered towards hers, their noses brushing together.

“Hmm?” he hummed a response, not quite focusing on her words.

“I –” she began, her words causing their lips to brush. Fire raced through her veins at the sudden touch. A gasp escaped her as their lips finally connected, the sound muffled by the gentle caress of his lips on hers. She felt the fire that raced through him swirling just beneath the skin, held back by an unseen floodgate. He nipped playfully at her bottom lip as their lips danced together in perfect harmony. Abandoning its previous position around her legs, his right hand slid up her side to cup her face while his left hand snaked around her waist, tugging her closer still to his chest. Trails of fire blazed across her skin wherever his fingers danced, sending a shiver of delight down her spine. Her delicate fingers dug into his silky salmon locks as all of their raw emotions were poured out, left open and vulnerable for the other to see. Their kiss grew desperate as the spicy taste of cinnamon filled her senses, causing her toes to curl and her fingers to tug harder at his cotton candy locks. With one last shuddering breath Natsu pulled away, studying her rosy cheeks and her chocolaty brown eyes alight with joy and complete contentment. A deep, throaty chuckle escaped his lips, vibrating against her chest, as he took in her dopey smile. Swollen red lips downturned into a pout, enticing him into another sweet kiss upon her lips, before her dopey grin returned with renewed vigor and her laughter intertwined with his. Lucy gazed sleepily up at Natsu as he mindlessly spun her golden locks through his fingers, a gentle lullaby to her tired mind.

“I –” she began slowly.

“She loooooves him!” came a teasing voice, followed by fits of laughter and giggles. Lucy’s eyes widened, taking in the audience staring at them from the doorway. Spotting the culprit for the interruption, her eyes narrowed on a certain blue exceed hidden in the crowd.

“SHUT IT, CAT!” She screeched as Natsu’s chuckles rolled into cackles, his body shaking as his face twisted with laughter. Lucy burrowed into his scaly white scarf, groans mixing with laughter as she took in a beautiful, terrifying truth. Happy was right about her and Natsu. She really did looooove him, and the adoration he showered down upon her told the mage that he really did looooove her, too.

[vannahfanfics]

New Year's Kiss, GrayLu

Hello, Anon! Thank you for requesting, and here’s your story! Hope you enjoy~

To New Beginnings

Lucy’s hands slid down her curvaceous sides as she smoothed out the fabric of the elegant chocolate-brown kimono hugging her body while she admired herself in the mirror. It really was a beautiful work of craftsmanship; though the earthy brown served as the base color for the clothing, it was accentuated with flower patterns made simply of thin lines, outlined in bright white and warm beige and sandy tan. The center of each flower was filled in with tiny beads to give the kimono a textural pop. The look was completed with a soft silk sash wrapped around her waist of white, a fashionable contrast to the darker tones of her look.

Lucy wasn’t quite used to wearing kimonos, given the westernized, modern society of Fiore, but she found she actually appreciated the garment as comfortable and chic; on a recent mission, Wendy had visited a more traditional mountain village and had been enraptured by the fashion, and as a gift for her assistance they had presented her with a beautiful hand-crafted kimono. Wendy had been ecstatic but afraid that the garment would look very out-of-place in a contemporary place like Magnolia City, so Lucy had suggested the idea of their annual New Year’s Party having a kimono theme. They all wanted to see Wendy happy, after all, and the little girl had been so overjoyed at her suggestion. So here Lucy was, turning this way and that investigating how the new piece of clothing accentuated her figure and nodded approvingly. She just loved nice-looking clothes!

“Hey, Lucy!” The blonde-haired girl smiled wryly at the reflection of the grinning boy with cotton-candy hair perched in her window, who was holding up a hand in greeting. Natsu’s kimono was a fiery red with dappled salmon patterns across the surface like it had been sponged with paint, but not in a messy or unpleasing way. His obi was white, as well, to match the dragonscale scarf wrapped around his neck. As she turned around to greet him, Happy squeezed through the window to land on her floor with an oompf!; he hastily jumped to his feet to proudly display his own little custom kimono of sapphire blue patterned with jumping light gray carp.

“Lucy! Lucy! Does it make me look handsome?”

“You’re the handsomest little man I’ve ever seen, Happy,” she assured him with an endearing smile. He whirled around to Natsu puffing out his chest in pride, tail waving back in forth in a clear display that he was exceptionally pleased.

“She called me handsome!

“Natsu! You were supposed to bring food too, y’know!” she scolded him as he dashed down the hallway laughing maniacally. A half-ass apology drifted behind him as he all but dashed down the hall, and Lucy groaned loudly as she heard the distant clinking of ceramic and glass as he attacked the small array of party foods she had prepared for the evening. Happy stood in the doorway of her bedroom looking guilty, holding his paws together as he stared at the floor.

“I’m sorry, Lucy… I had fish crackers made, but… I got so hungry this afternoon that I ate them all myself!” he sniffled pathetically. Happy was making such a sad display that it was hard to be mad at him, and she wouldn’t have been in the first place, because really it would have been the other Exceeds who had eaten the snack anyway. She smiled softly and walked over to crouch down and pat his soft little blue head.

“Don’t worry, Happy, it’s all right. There will still be plenty of food for everyone,” she reassured him. He grinned widely at her and dried his tears right there and then before whirling on his paws and taking off down the hall shouting at Natsu to wait for him. Lucy breathed a deep sigh and rubbed at one of her temples; the night had only just begun, and she was beginning to question why she had agreed to host the gathering at her house instead of pawning it off on someone else…

~~~~~~~~~~

It was no time at all before everyone arrived and the party was fully underway, several hours before the clock struck midnight and they would usher in the new year. Though Natsu had absorbed a notable amount of her freshly prepared food in his gullet in the short time it took her to walk down the hall, all it had taken was a whack to the back of his head with a wooden spoon to send him scampering to the couch whining like a literal wounded dog. He was even wearing a pair of glistening puppy-dog eyes, but unfortunately for him, Lucy was immune to such childish ploys. Unlike his forgetful self, the rest of the guests brought food for all of them to enjoy, so his dent really didn’t end up cause much damage. The settled around her kotatsu table (that she had bought on sale from a local odds-and-ends furniture store to complete Wendy’s vision of a traditional New Year) laughing and cutting up and enjoying the snacks. The time was about ten-thirty when someone (she honestly could not remember who) brought out the alcohol and things began to get a bit more raucous. Suddenly, a slightly pink-faced Levy who was snuggled in the arms of the much brawnier Gajeel gasped aloud.

“Oh, dear! We have to decide who each other’s New Year’s kiss will be!” she exclaimed. Her shoulders were falling out of her spring-inspired kimono, sky blue with colorful butterflies matching the ornament in her wavy blue hair, and with pursed lips Gajeel casually adjusted it for her. She giggled and lifted up her head to press a kiss against his chin. “Thanks, honey~ I mean for you guys, because obviously I have mine,” she purred while sloshing around a bottle of sake. Gajeel blushed lightly and looked away, muttering something unintelligible.

“Yo, Erza, is Jellal stopping by?” Gray asked teasingly as he leaned onto the table with wiggling eyebrows. Erza turned the shade of her hair and looked down at her lap in complete embarrassment. Her hands dug into the fabric of her simple black kimono before twisting into her sunset-colored sash.

“I-I have no idea what you are suggesting! I-I mean… If anyone were to be my New Year’s kiss, that would be- Ah! No! I don’t have to talk about this with you all!” she wailed and buried her face into her hands with a mortified wail. Laughter erupted around the room; Gray’s stopped short and turned into a grunt as Juvia threw herself onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Gray, my darling! Surely you will be Juvia’s kiss, yes?” she purred delightedly while nuzzling the back of his head with her cheek. Her lavender kimono with accents the shade of her hair was a stark contrast to Gray’s midnight blue one patterned with gray stripes, but they also complimented each other well. Gray didn’t seem to think that sentiment extended to their personal lives.

“No way. I don’t buy into that girly crap.” He mumbled as he shoved a custard-filled confectionary of Levy’s creation into his mouth. Juvia let out a wheedling whine and melted into a puddle-literally- behind him before slinking off in half-water form to seek comfort from a wine bottle. Wendy, who was sitting beside Lucy, fidgeted uncomfortably in worry.

“I don’t have anybody to give me a New Year’s kiss,” she murmured miserably as tears welled up in her round eyes. Lucy tutted in a motherly fashion and wrapped her hands around the side of her head to pull her into a hug (more like squish the poor girl into her cleavage, but she was a bit tipsy already). Wendy’s response was muffled as Lucy lovingly stroked her hair, which she had let flow free rather than contain it in pigtails.

“S’okay, Wendy! I’ll be your New Year’s kiss, don’t worry!” Natsu laughed while waving around a bottle, and he hastily added with an affronted look and a blush, “I meant on the cheek; damn, guys, I’m not a creep!” Wendy’s head popped out of Lucy’s grasp to look at him with joyful, sparkling eyes. She clasped her hands together as she stared at him in total admiration.

“Really, Natsu, you mean it?”

“O’course! Why should you miss out just because you’re a little younger than us?” he grinned and leaned over to throw his thick arm around her neck and snuggle into her affectionately. Happy tottered over to Carla with big, begging eyes, and the pretty white cat snorted in derision but obviously must’ve agreed because Happy crowed ecstatically, throwing his little paws in the air. Pantherlily looked disgruntled for a second before Carla nudged him in the shoulder and told him that she would give him one, too, and the buff black cat turned away bashfully, toeing at the fibers of the rug beneath him.

With all the talk about New Year’s kissing, Lucy was suddenly very acutely aware that she had no one to give her a kiss, either. Something about that fact made her exceptionally depressed. Perhaps it was the alcohol; it always resulted in her having disastrous mood swings, if the stories that Natsu told her were true. It wasn’t that Lucy thought that at this point in her life she would already have somebody to share such things with; after all, she was still young and had plenty of time to pursue romantic endeavors. However, seeing Levy and Gajeel and Gray and Juvia and even Erza and Jellal moving forward with their relationships (whether established or not) suddenly made her very conscious that she had nobody, nobody at all, she was even considering as a romantic partner. Her shoulders sagged a little as she pouted down at her little plate half-full of food that she now couldn’t stomach eating. Not wishing to ruin the fun everyone else was having, she brooded in silence. The melancholy slowly swallowed her up like a gaping abyss steadily drawing her in with an unbeatable current, until she was stranded in the black depths with nothing but the sadness and crushing dark. As Levy gleefully announced that it was nearly time, Lucy quietly excused herself from the table to walk into the other room, where she stood in front of the window trying not to cry.

This is so stupid, she told herself bitterly. All this fuss over a kiss. Lucy wasn’t quite drunk enough to be unaware of how pointless her roiling emotions were, but apparently drunk enough that the statement didn’t keep her from sulking anyway. She knew there would be many more New Years’ to come, and eventually she would be spending them with someone who loved her, but for some reason right now she was incredibly impatient. It seemed to her, in her sad, clouded mind, that everybody in the world had someone to share a kiss with at midnight but her. She knew that was entirely untrue, but alcohol made her so aggravatingly dramatic. She clenched her teeth as the first set of tears rolled down her cheeks, which were flushing red with frustration with herself. She pushed her hand into her face to try and catch them before anyone noticed. I can’t believe myself! What has gotten into me?

She could hear them yelling as they counted down. “Ten! Nine! Eight!” She wasn’t sure what saddened her more, the fact that they were all having so much fun and here she was being a stick in the mud, or that they hadn’t noticed her disappearance. “Seven! Six! Five!” She should really go back in there, but she couldn’t bring herself to. She was rooted to the spot with watery brown eyes staring through the glass, ever so lightly frosted by the chill outside. “Four! Three! Two! One!” Her eyes beheld the glittering expanse of stars. How she loved the stars. They always reminded her of her mother, softly flickering with an unwavering light… “Happy New Year!” all her friends screamed in the other room, laughing and sloshing alcohol all over themselves and her floor, giggling as they all partook in their New Year’s kisses.

“Happy New Year,” Lucy whispered miserably with a voice impossibly thick with longing.

“Happy New Year, Lucy.” She whipped around with a small gasp at the gentle voice behind her, shocked to find Gray standing there with a softly sad smile on his face. Guiltily, she shrunk into herself, drawing her arms to her chest as if to shield him from her inquisition. The rest of the group was chattering loudly back in the room, seemingly ignorant of the two of them standing out there. He had his head tilted down knowingly as his stormy dark eyes looked at her as if he knew all her secrets. She felt her heart thump hard in her chest; there was just so something… evocative about the look he was giving her, so raw and powerful and dare she say, sensual.

“S-So, I take it Juvia stole a kiss from you?” It was her pitiful attempt to play off the situation. He shrugged with a boyish smirk.

“All it took was a little peck on the cheek and she fainted,” he remarked casually. Lucy was beside herself suddenly; why was she relieved that Juvia and Gray had not actually kissed? All of a sudden it was like a flickering movie reel began to roll in her head, rapidly streaming through all of her and Gray’s history together… Natsu was her truest friend, her partner, but… There had always been something bubbling at the surface with Gray too that she could never really name. Considering that Juvia was always there combatting for his affections and they were always embroiled in some momentous battle or another, Lucy had never really cared to name that feeling, but right there, as he crossed the short distance between them to gently take her elbow with one hand and sweep her blonde hair from her face with the other, she was beginning to think that mysterious flutter of unknown feeling was in fact the fledgling bird of love.

“Gray,” she murmured pleadingly, though she wasn’t really sure what she was pleading for. Instinctively, her body leaned forward to just barely press into his. His hand fell from her elbow to land at her hip, lovingly hugging the natural curve of her figure. Tears still glittered on her lashes as she blinked up at him imploringly, and they fell like fruit from a tree to roll down her cheeks, only for his thumb to gently sweep them away.

“I’m sorry it’s not right on time,” he whispered. There was a husky, desiring tone in his low voice that made Lucy shudder lightly. Their eyes remained locked in a smoldering gaze the entire time, never wavering. Fire and electricity bloomed over the sensitive skin of her cheek as the tip of his finger ever-so-lightly feathered over it, “but Happy New Year,” he repeated in a whisper before his face enclosed over hers. Lucy’s eyelashes fluttered shut in anticipation of his lips meeting hers, but nothing could physically prepare her for the feeling. His mouth melded against hers as if they were simply made to fit together, soft and pliable yet firm and sure. Lucy’s hands curled into the fabric of his kimono over his chest in the instinctual need to ground herself, as something burst inside of her with the intensity of water surging through a dam. Sparked danced where his lips met hers, smearing the lingering taste of liquor over her lips for the aroma to waft up her nose. She wasn’t sure if that or the act in itself was intoxicating her, but inebriated she became; her legs became wobbly and her mind fogged over with a thick mist that prevented her from thinking of anything else besides the man holding her and kissing her with a fervent yet tender passion. When he pulled away from her, she swore he took her breath with him, because she had to inhale sharply. Her eyes drifted back open to see him smiling warmly down at her. “Feel better?”

“Mhmm,” she answered, suddenly shy. He sneered confidently at her in a dashing way that sent her heart to skittering like a pebble across concrete. Oh, dear, I have gotten myself into something, haven’t I? she thought as she tried to find an expression to match what she was feeling, only there were so many emotions at once that it was just one confusing mess. Gray chuckled under his breath and pulled away, only grabbing her wrist to tug her back into the room. Lucy was not sure how to explain her sudden disappearance to all her friends, but Gray had it covered.

“Man, Lucy, how could you run off to the bathroom right as it turns midnight? You missed all the fun,” he scolded her with a click of his tongue and a shake of his head. Everyone in the room jumped at her at once with New Years’ glee, and Lucy laughed, glad again to be surrounded by all of them. Gray, standing at the other end of the table with a powered glass of sake, raised it to her with a wink. “To new beginnings.”

“To new beginnings!” the rest of them cheered loudly and drank, though they had no idea of the message underneath that seemingly simple dedication. As she sipped at a cup of wine, eyes linked to Gray’s the entire time, she nodded in understanding.

“To new beginnings.”

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to perusemy Tableof Contents!

Tag List: @searchfortheonepiece

[fallen029]

Hey so I just saw your miraxus post about Master finding out and I was wondering if you could do one where they (miraxus) tell the guild about them getting married

I’ve touched on this before (I feel like I say that in response to every request, but hey, I have a bunch of one-shots), in Clandestine and here’s the original request that spawned this one. Wedding Wars also has a secret marriage (sort of) in it’s plot, so here’s that. Anyways, thanks for asking for so much guild stuff, guys. I forgot how much I liked writing the chaos of them all together. 

.

They were arguing about which job to take, Natsu and Lucy were, because he wanted to go on this cool sounding quest for treasure while she wanted to go the much safer bet of journeying to find a bandit with a reward clearly marked while his was ambiguous. Following a long discussion over just what ambiguous was as Happy snickered in the background, Lucy had nearly won the slayer over to her side when it happened.

Just as she was preparing to snatch the job down and skip right over to the bar, to ask the Kinana to put in the request for them, the guildhall doors opened and in walked Mirajane. And Laxus. Which was weird on it’s own because Mira rarely entered during midday; she’d usually been around for quite awhile. And he wasn’t much of an afternooner, honestly. Laxus either came in at the crack of dawn, to snag a job, or slumped in late in the evening to start his drinking off early before hitting a more apt bar.

But there they were, right around noon, walking in together.

And oh, it was clear they were coming in together. Not just happened upon the doorway at the same time. No. Laxus had an arm tossed over the woman’s shoulder and she had this giddy look about her. A real one. Different than the usual facade of one she put on.

Neither had been seen in a week as Mirajane had claimed to want to take off, a rarity, but a welcome one, everyone felt, and Laxus was prone to long absences, but the sight of them then, wrapped up in one another, was more than a cause for concern.

Lisanna, who was filling in and helping Kinana tend bar in her oldest sibling’s absence, rushed right over at the sight of Mirajane there, once more, in the guildhall, but found herself skidding to a stop as both she and all those around them took notice of the obvious oddity.

“Mira,” she began slowly and uncertainly as she glanced between the two. Mira was grinning brightly and Laxus looked off. “What’s, uh, going on?”

“Well,” her older sister started as, in the hall now, she looked all about as, slowly, the noise died down and everyone began to wonder much the same. “Laxus and I got married.”

“You what?” was the resounding noise from all those present.

Happy, in fact, fell from where he was fluttering about above them, right onto Lucy’s head.

“Hey, cat-”

“Am I,” he asked her, “dreaming?”

“Married?” Natsu looked to Lucy. “Is that what she said?”

“Would you both,” Lucy complained as she reached up to grab the Exceed and shove him off on the slayer, “shut up? I have to go talk to Mira.”

Everyone did in that moment. Save three people who had to talk to Laxus.

“What is she speaking of, Laxus?” Freed was the most impassioned. “We demand answers!”

“Answers,” Bickslow’s baby’s agreed as the man himself was slinking through the crowd, so he could get real close to Laxus and Mira. Mostly Mira. For, uh, inspections reasons. “Papa needs answers!”

“Marrying a Strauss?” Evergreen fanned herself as she stood from the table she definitely was not just sharing with the male member of said family. “Who would ever even concieve such an idea, much less- Elfman!”

He shoved her, full on, out of the way then, to get to Mirajane. “Big sis, I think you’re delirious! Come sit down. Did Laxus slip you something?”

“My boss here,” Bickslow snickered as he was beside the glaring Laxus then and giggly Mirajane, “slipped her somethin’ alright, didn’t ya, boss? Huh? Hey, Mrs. Boss. Can I call ya that? After this whole thing goes sour, you can be Mrs. Ex. Ya like that?”

“Fuck off.” And Laxus shoved him away finally as Mirajane only stared. But he was far from the only one at their sides.

“You cannot,” Lisanna, coming to grab her sister and drag her away from the slayer, “be serious, Mira. How did this happen? You-”

“Marriage is a serious commitment.” Erza had risen from her seat at a table with Cana and Gray, but didn’t make a move towards the pair. No. She just stood and seemed to be glowering somewhat. “One that you must plan for. Even years, decades, perhaps, out. Do you even own a wedding dress, Mirajane? Have you even dreamed of the perfect one? Bought many, even, perhaps, over the years? Hmm? Is no one else concerned with this?”

“I think,” Cana muttered to Gray who remained sitting, just glancing all about because, yeah, this sounded like the exact fuckery that happened on a day when everyone was around, “I mightta had too much to drink. Did Mirajane say that she and Laxus are-”

“Married?” Suddenly, they were joined at their table. Err, well, Juvia didn’t so much sit at the table, but rather, practically, in Gray’s lap, nearly causing him to spill his ale all over himself. “That is what I fear I heard as well. Could you imagine? Marrying someone you only know through random encounters at the guildhall? That will be nothing like our wedding, in the coming months, will it, my darling Gray?”

“Our what?” he complained while trying to shove her then, out of his lap.

“She doesn’t even own a wedding dress.” Still standing, Erza fumed enough for all of them. “How is this fair? It is unjust!”

“It was a surprise,” Mirajane insisted to all those around. Lucy finally had shed the dead weight that was Natsu and Happy (for the time being, at least) and shoved her way through the others so she could stare at her best friend as she spoke. Mostly though, Lisanna’s gaze was the one that the oldest Strauss sibling was holding. “Really. Laxus asked me and then we decided, while we were on our trip-”

“You went on a trip with him?” Elfman raged from where he stood. “What kind of man goes a trip with another man’s sister without saying something to him?”

“Probably the kind that marries her without saying something,” Wakaba suggested around a cigar to Macao who stood by with crossed arms and a glare.

Made sense though.

“Your grandfather isn’t going to like this,” Macao said simply as Laxus, finding his gaze, glared right back. “You know that?”

“I don’t like it,” Lisanna wailed then as she stared up at her sister with tearful eyes. “I mean…Laxus? Mira? Really? Him?”

“Hey!” Bickslow was shoving up then, from where Laxus had tossed him. “Boss! Ya gonna let her talk down to you now? She’s your sister! Put her in her place! Like this.” And he looked to Lisanna then. “I mean…Mira? Laxus? Her?”

“That’s right, Bickslow.” Freed was rare to pick on a defenseless woman (he felt Lisanna pretty defenseless), but desperate times called for desperate measures. “We will crush Lisanna for her insolence!”

“I mean, I dunno about that, dude,” Bickslow snickered as his babies cheered on the idea, “but if that’s what you’re into-”

“Hey!” Elfman, reinvigorated, was shoving his way to the front then. “You will not talk to or about my sisters like that, you-”

“I will so long as she speaks in of Laxus that way,” Freed retorted with a glare.

“Now, now,” Mirajane tried to appease them all though, at the moment, her main focus was pulling Lisanna in for a hug. “You’re all brothers now. Play nice.”

“The hell they are.” Laxus could not hold his tongue for much longer. “They ain’t my brothers.”

“Well, Elfman definitely is, now, dragon, so-”

“Dragon?” Lucy repeated. It was drown out, however, by Happy landing on her head and saying the word to a much higher volume. As she tried to shake him off though, she felt a shove in the back as Natsu was beside her now.

“Hey! Laxus! Where do you get off, huh?” the pink haired slayer complained.

“Probably on Mrs. Boss, I’d assume,” Bickslow snickered which made Elfman rush to attack him, but then Freed was drawing his sword on him and, well, it was a brawl from there.

Still, Natsu’s desire to fight was washed out as he had his eyes on a better prize.

“You can’t marry Lisanna’s sister and not at least fight me for her,” Natsu growled and he shoved Lucy again, this time to get passed her and Laxus was so frustrated then, with the entire thing, that it was just a single crack of thunder, over the pandemonium already going on, that ended the Salamander right where he stood.

“I knew,” Pantherlily complained, over at the table he and Gajeel were still at, the former standing atop it while the later just grumbled about the racket, “I shouldn’t have come in today.”

“Oh, it’s alright, Lily,” Levy giggled. She was sitting with them, before, but stood now, craning her neck to see over everyone, watching the events unfold. Still, she reached over then to pull the black Exceed into her arms and rub at his ears, so he didn’t have to cover them with his paws. “Just a little thunder.”

“A little?” he griped as Gajeel only snorted, still grumbling.

“Who the fuck gets married nowadays anyways?” he griped, more hung up on the idea rather than the participants. He couldn’t give a shit what Laxus did, at all, so long as he left him the hell alone and Mirajane, well, he was on the outs with her after an incident in which he definitely didn’t steal her guitar before she was going to preform at the hall because it wasn’t fair that he wasn’t allowed to preform too. Nope. Definitely didn’t happen. “It’s stupid.”

“Well,” Levy thought, hardly glancing at him. “I might get married someday. I’d hope.”

He choked some, on his drink, before grumbling once more, though this time it was something along the lines of, well, maybe, if someone was really into that idea, it wasn’t so bad.

“Elfman!” Evergreen was the one yelling then as she stepped over the fallen body of Natsu as well as Lisanna, who’d detangled herself from her sister just to go check on him (one shot of Laxus’ lightning and he was pretty bad off) “Let Bickslow go!”

“Never!” He had the other guy in a headlock then as Freed kept shouting at him that if he didn’t release him, he’d be forced to stab him. The man’s wooden dolls weren’t doing so great either. “Not until he apologizes to my sisters!”

“My,” Bickslow gasped out, “sisters too. Now.”

“No,” Laxus growled as Mirajane was shoving at him then, telling him to get everyone to calm down, “they’re not!”

“How can you get married, Mira,” Erza was yelling still, “without a wedding dress? How is it, even, that someone who might have a wedding dress or seven on hand is not gifted the bless of a wedding?”

“Seven?” Cana slurred with a frown as even Juvia stopped peppering Gray with hugs and kisses at the number.

“Perhaps even eight,” the scarlet swordswoman admitted as her cheeks turned much the same.

“What would you even do with that many?” Gray asked, also at least somewhat interested. Maybe. He wans’t sure. He also felt in awe of the woman. “Erza?”

“I like,” she defended as, slowly, she sank back into her seat, “to have options.”

“Or,” Juvia decided then as her eyes glazed over and she imagined the exact scenario, “you could just have seven separate weddings. With your beloved. Tell me, Erza, do you have one of those? Or-”

“Wh- This isn’t about me!” She frowned at all of them. “This is about the irresponsible decision that Mirajane has made.”

“Yeah, marrying a guy without knowing him is kind of more my thing,” Cana offered, also in awe, it seemed, at such a thought.

“What?” Erza huffed. “I meant getting married without a proper dress.”

But there were much bigger concerns, up at the front, as Mirajane had begun to try and at least explain, a bit, to the others. To ease the tensions.

“There is no way,” Lucy said as she refused to go aid the fallen Natsu (he and Happy were getting on her nerves that day, purposely, like always), “that the two of you have been dating that long, Mira. And none of us knew. Not even Lisanna. No way.”

“I agree.” Lisanna had the dazed Natsu’s head in her lap, but still managed a suspicious glance up at her sister. “If this is some kind of a joke-”

“It’s true,” Mirajane insisted as, finally, Laxus went to break up the guys from their brawl, barking out orders now not only to Freed and Bickslow, but Elfman as well.

“I don’t have to listen to you,” the muscular man growled. “Laxus. Who are you to me?”

“He’s your older brother now, I think,” Happy offered and wow, no, Elfman never considered that.

As he tossed Bickslow from him and into Freed, he got the glares of all three members of the Thunder Legion, but it was his sudden tears that threw Laxusoff.

“Oh, Mira, how’d ya know?” Elfman sobbed. “I always wanted an older brother. And now ya married this guy just to give me one?”

“Well,” Mira began uneasily. “Not exactly, but-”

“Why is he hugging me? Demon, get your brother off me!”

“Demon?” Happy didn’t even give Lucy a chance to question it that time.

“This has to be some sort of setup,” Lisanna kept up, “or something. Sis. Please, tell me that-”

“Would I have this?” Mira asked as she held up her hand to them then, flashing the bright diamond of an engagement ring. “If it was just a joke?”

“U-Uh, hey, Laxus?” Suddenly, Lucy was focused on the seething man who was still being hugged by his brother. “Remember all those times that you were so interested in many going out on a date? Well-”

“Don’t be a gold digger, Luce.” Natsu was better then, sitting up as he rubbed at his head. “Anyone can get loaded, when they’re S-Class. It’s not an accomplishment.”

“I would feel accomplished,” Happy remarked as it was Mira’s head he landed on then, so he could stare down at the ring on her finger. “If I bought a woman that. Is Carla around? Don’t let her see this, Mira. It’ll really undersell that fish I was gonna split with her.”

“This,” Erza complained as, finally, she slammed her hands down onto the table with such force it nearly toppled Cana’s barrel, “is absurd. To be so wasteful with your jewels. I am unimpressed! Disapproving, more like it.”

“Didn’t you just say you spent hundreds of jewels on seven wedding dresses?” Gray asked with a frown.

“Eight,” Juvia whispered.

“And what,” Erza growled at them, “of it?”

“N-Nothing! My darling was merely wondering, is all.”

“T-That’s right! Just curious!”

Levy sighed though, still hanging back with Gajeel and the now soothed Pantherlily. “Imagine. Having a diamond like that. It’s beautiful.”

Gajeel set his jaw. “Not that big. Or nice.”

“You haven’t even looked at it, so-”

“Probably doesn’t even taste good.”

“You don’t eat them, Gajeel!” Lily yelled at him as Levy just stared with wide eyes at the implication.

Mirajane though was all giggles as her sister, ditching out on the no longer downed Natsu, came to stand her hand and examine the ring closer. “Dragon proposed to me, the first night of our trip together-”

“A real man,” Elfman sobbed as Laxus finally shoved him off, “is great at surprises!”

“-but then, the last day we were there, we just thought, you know, why wait?” Mira finished as Lisanna turned her wide, blue eyes onto her sister’s similar ones.

“Because of us, Mira,” Lisanna insisted softly. “I mean, I’m in shock right now, so this is really going to hit me later, but I thought we were always going to, you know, plan weddings together. Yours, mine. Now what?”

“You can still have one. A big one. Laxus will fund it.”

“Yeah, but-”

“Laxus can give you one right now.” Mira looked to the slayer. “Make Freed or Bickslow marry Lisanna. Please. Just so we can have a pretend wedding.”

“What exactly do you think I do, Mira?” Laxus complained. “Huh? Just go around bossing people-”

“Laxus? Question.” Freed even rose his hand. “Are Mira’s commands now as binding as yours? Since you are one in the faith? Are you? One in the faith?”

“The faith of what?” Laxus complained.

“We are,” Mira assured him.

“If Mrs. Boss has the same power as the boss, then I guess we gotta listen to her.” Bickslow sighed. “Okay, Lisanna, even though you’re our sister now, I guess you and Freed gotta get hitched.”

The rune mage bowed his head. “I will do my duty.”

“Don’t call marrying me a duty,” Lisanna carped as Natsu and Happy snickered uncontrollably.

“How many toes will their kids have?” Bickslow mused to his dolls and any who were willing to listen. “Since they’re siblings now? And gonna bone and all that?”

“Can we please,” Evergreen begged then, looking to Laxus, “go somewhere and talk about this? Seriously?”

But that was where they were exactly at the moment as it was then, from all the commotion, that the Master awoke from his midday nap in his office. With a yawn, he’d strode out into the bar expecting to have to break up some sort of fight or something or other over a job request, maybe, or a drunken spat. As he glanced about though, seeing everyone crowding around the entrance way, he wasn’t sure what was afoot and rushed over to where Erza sat.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked the woman. Typically she could handle such disturbances on his behalf, but she seemed to be stewing rather than assisting at the moment. “Erza?”

“Laxus and Mirajane,” the swordswoman got out threw clinched teeth, “have gotten married. Without a wedding dress! Or even true love. What a disgrace.”

“What? Married?”

And it only took a moment. The man grew then, sizes above his natural height, causing the entire guildhall to fall into silence once more.

“Laxus,” growled his super big and super scary grandfather. Mirajane, for some reason, was the only one that giggled at his current state as Makarov’s head brushed the roof of the multiple story building. “What is the meaning of this? Married? I thought you told me you were going to just propose to her first?”

“You knew?” came the group complaint of the hall and, at it, Makarov deflated slowly. Figuratively and literally.

“Yes, well,” the man sighed as he returned to his normal state. “Perhaps a bit, but-”

“We’re in love.”

But that didn’t come from Mira.

Instead, as she beamed from his side, Laxus spoke, arms tossed over his chest as he refused to make eye contact with any of them.

“Ain’t that all that matters?” he griped and, even though Erza still was pretty pissed about he dress and Gajeel was definitely gonna take a least a bit of a nibble of that engagement ring when he got the chance, yeah.

That was all that mattered.

[riverofmemoriesft]

Master List

Unreleased WIPs: 

Title: Between the Lines: Scripted in Iron Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Gajeel x Levy Chapters completed: 2 Summary: “‘You did not ruin me, Gajeel Redfox.  You hurt me, broke my body in a way that even Porlyusica could almost not do anything for, but you did not ruin me.  You made me realize how much work I have to do to live up to others in my guild, but I am here.  I am alive.  I lived to fight another day.  When you came after me, you didn’t ruin me, Gajeel.  You ruined yourself.’” Notes: How Levy and Gajeel got together in the BTL-universe.

Title: In Tenebris {Rewrite} Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy, Gajeel x Levy Chapters completed: 4 Summary: After discovering a trio of scientific experiments who are the equivalents of dragons, life for Lucy Heartfilia and Levy McGarden gets flipped upside down.  Apparently, protecting dragons brings a few others like them knocking and makes things crazy.  It doesn’t help that some of the “others” are a whole lot less friendly. Notes: Bet you didn’t think I was still working on this.  REWRITE!  This is gonna be a whole lot darker than the original. 

Title: Out of Reach Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Sting x Rhith Vila (OC), Natsu x Lucy Chapters completed: 1 Summary: When a series of odd dreams leads Natsu, Sting, and Rogue to an anti-magic village in the mountains near Crocus, they’re alarmed to discover that things aren’t quite as peaceful as they seemed to be.  Acnologia’s returning, the entire truth of END is brought to light, the stars are going out, a supposed god has come knocking, and the dead are apparently coming back to life. Notes: Sequel to Not As It Seems.  Got inspired when reading reviews and drawing Rhith.  

Title: Withstanding Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy Chapters completed: N/A Summary: When Makarov gives Natsu a small, in-town job, he doesn’t expect to find himself in a hostage situation.  Things take a dark turn, and Juvia, undercover, is devastated to realize she can’t help him, nor can anyone else until the demands are met.  Time is running out, and Lucy finds herself having to make an impossible decision she isn’t sure she can make. Notes: A story akin to A Game of Life and Obsessive Impulsive.  I’ve got plans, my friends. 

WIPs

Title: Between the Lines: Tales of Fiore Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Various Chapters completed: 3 Summary:  A collection of stories from the universe of Between the Lines.

Title: Of Dust and Shadows Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy Chapters completed: 38 Summary: After falling through time, Lucy Heartfilia finds that history – both the world's and her own – isn't as black and white as she thought it was. With the discovery of magic and the fact that she's arrived in a three-year period no one knows anything about, Lucy is determined to stop the devastation she knows is coming – all while being irreversibly tied to the one who creates it. Notes: A delight to write and share.

Title: Skinwalker Series: Supernatural Pairings: Dean x Alex Montgomery (OC) Chapters completed: 44 Summary: After confronting a young British woman about a dog that mysteriously appears at several crime scenes, the Winchesters gain an ally in their war against what comes knocking in the dark of the night. Except this ally may or may not be one of the very things they're determined to kill.  Notes: Let’s see if I ever finish this.

Title: Songcraft Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy, various other pairings included throughout Chapters completed: 22 Summary: "Perhaps we were someone else, once upon a time. Perhaps we even hold their memories in our heads. Maybe it means something that we've found one another now for some strange unknown reason, but it doesn't mean we are them." Notes: Reincarnation AU

Title: To the Stars and Back Series: Doctor Who Pairings: 10th/11th Doctor x Jayden O’Connors (OC) Chapters completed: 17 Summary: Tagging along in the TARDIS after being rescued from a situation she was sold into, Jayden O'Connors finds that life isn't quite as pointless as she thought it to be. When the Doctor's involved, it's full of adventure and constant running. But the clock is ticking, and it doesn't look like running is an option - especially when you're facing death. Notes: Someday I’ll finish this one as well.  I have a lot of work to do.

Complete: 

Title: Between the Lines  Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy, various other pairings throughout Chapters completed: 343 Summary: In a world that knows nothing of magic, there's a hidden society of people with incredible abilities. After joining the Fairy Tail guild and partnering with a crazy pyromaniac by the name of Natsu Dragneel as well as his flying blue cat, Lucy Heartfilia begins to learn that everyone has secrets - some of which even lie within her own family - and that nothing is ever as it seems.

Title: Not As It Seems Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy, Sting x Rhith Vila (OC) Chapters completed: 18 Summary:   When Rhith Vila, an illusion mage employed by the Magic Council, is sent to investigate an influx of magic in Magnolia, she discovers that things are worse than originally thought. Meanwhile, Natsu and the guild are thrown into chaos when something that was never thought possible is discovered, leaving them brimming with determination to find their nakama and bring her home.

Title: Obsessive Impulsive Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Gajeel x Levy Chapters completed: 20 Summary:   "'I've been trying to find you alone for weeks, but you've been avoiding me.' He clicked his tongue, as if scolding her. 'I tried approaching, but you always had someone with you to give me nasty words and looks. They turned you against me, Miss Levy.'" [Not for sensitive readers!]

Title: Oculto Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Gajeel x Levy Chapters completed: 20 Summary:   When Levy takes a job requiring that she retrieve a treasure from ancient ruins, she doesn't expect there to be a guardian. In fact, she rejects Mira's offer of sending someone with her or even the idea that she should invite anyone other than Lily with her. "Good thing it's Mira, she's probably already sent Gajeel after us." {Gajeel x Levy}

Title: Paranormal Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy Chapters completed: 31 Summary:   Living with a mostly friendly poltergeist and dealing with his "generous" acts of "kindness" is one thing. Figuring out just how he ended up there is a completely other matter that has Lucy's head spinning. And it certainly doesn't help that he's getting to be not nearly as friendly as time goes on. {WARNING: some of the content might not be for sensitive readers!}

Title: Paranormal: Tranquility Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy Chapters completed: N/A Summary:   Saying goodbye is the hardest thing in the world. But sometimes, it's impossible, and Lucy knew that it was what trapped her there for so many years. {One-shot}{Semi-sequel to Paranormal}

Title: Redemption Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy Chapters completed: N/A Summary:   There is a story rarely told, only beneath the comforting light of a full moon with a brightly lit fire as an offering to the demon they speak of. It is said to be a sacred tale that no man wishes to whisper unless it is done freely, beneath a blanket of stars that help to remind the demon of vows long since lost. A tale in which a demon breaks beneath the weight of redemption.

Title: The Game of Life Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy, Gajeel x Levy Chapters completed: 13 Summary:   "You're new here, so I'll explain the rules once. Winners get one lash, losers die. It's quite simple. The last one standing gets no lash. We do one game a day here and you live as long as you can stand it. If you somehow miraculously try to get away, I kill you. It's quite simple really." [Not for sensitive readers!]

Title: The Traverler’s Song Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy Chapters completed: N/A Summary:  "The song is not a popular one, only known by a select few that it has been passed down to. She's grateful that it was entrusted to her by the last member of the Fairy Tail guild before they'd passed away. It is known as the Song of Travelers and tells the story of a woman who travels with her lover and friends in search of help escaping from a bargain."

Title: The Twelve Days of Fairy Tail Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy Chapters completed: N/A Summary:   "Every year, we do a little Christmas tradition that we call the Twelve Days of Fairy Tail. From the fourteenth of December until the twenty-fifth, one person will get on the nearest table at around ten in the morning and blurt out the song lyrics they've made for the song as well as the last set." In which Lucy experiences her first real Christmas in years and a guild tradition.

Title: Shattered Boundaries Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: N/A Chapters completed: N/A Summary:   The day Lucy was cursed, the Celestial Realm went into an uproar. Time shifted, the gates closed, and there wasn't much that could be done. Not that Loke didn't try.{One-shot}{Third in the Shattered Series}

Title: Shattered Dreams Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy, various other pairings throughout Chapters completed: 25 Summary:   Lucy knew her dream of being a part of Fairy Tail was complete when they became her family, but sometimes when following your dreams, you forget that nightmares are dreams too. {First in the Shattered Series}

Title: Shattered Reality Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Gajeel x Levy Chapters completed: 13 Summary:   As Lucy battles her nightmares, Gajeel, Levy, and Pantherlily set out to rid the world of the one behind them. Joined by someone they never expected to come across, it falls upon their shoulders to stop what could quite possibly be their demise alongside the destruction of Fiore. {Gajeel x Levy}{Spin-off of Shattered Dreams!}

Title: Shattered Souls Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: N/A Chapters completed: 8 Summary:   Team Natsu is a mess. And that's putting it lightly. {Last in the Shattered Series}

To Later Be Deleted...

Title: In Tenebris {Original} Series: Fairy Tail Pairings: Natsu x Lucy, Gajeel x Levy, various others Chapters completed: 29 Summary:  After purchasing a beautiful mansion for a ridiculously cheap price, Lucy and Levy are suspicious but can't find anything wrong with it...until Lucy discovers a trio of scientific experiments in a dungeon. Apparently, when confronted with the challenge of protecting people that are practically dragons from others like them, life tends to get a little crazy.

[kuronekolily]

By way of apology for being gone so long, Levy did her absolute best to make this Kiwi Juice all by herself. (With a little help from Mira and a good Recipi book.) Placing it on the table before him, she sat down and grinned. Obviously itching to pull him into the tightest of hugs, but holding back to she gained his consent to do so. "I'm betting you have been the voice of reason while I was gone, right?"

PantherLilys tail twitched slightly, when Levy sat down a glass of kiwijuice. He knew by the smell, it was homemade - because they smelled different.“Thank you.”The feline knew her well enough to know what she was thinking of, if it had not been noticeable enough already anyway. She had that habit to hug him, thankfully not too tight after that experience at the Grand Magic Games. He still wondered why. He had made it clear he was not a stuffed toy or anything, even though he was not too bothered by her hugging him. The Exceed might not have expressed it, but her hugs were the best. The feline took a sip from his juice, smirking, it came out really tasty.“Who else would be? You know Gajeel, he will fight everyone if he is not kept in line.”With this, he sat down the glass of juice, a bit removed from himself, and away from Levy, as a small sign of consent. He had missed her hugs, not that he would admit it.

[smartcookie727]

Tell us more about your ships and why do you ship those... both my hero academia and ft cus I'm looking for more ships to fill my life

Sure thing! Let’s start with FTcause bnha has soooo many characters and is a hodgepodge of ships.

Fairy Tail:

Gajevy -My true OTP. They are the halves that make each other whole. Both are greatcharacters on their own but together they make each other better. Levy isanalytical and shy with the intellect and work ethic beyond anyone else. Gajeelknows how to get the job done; he is fiercely protective and very in touch withhis emotions. He doesn’t care what others think of his attitude, and to him actionsmean more than words. Both could be classified as people who like to work aloneyet they both have small teams (Shadow gear and pantherlily / dragonslayers).Levy is the planning to Gajeel’s punch and Gajeel is the confidence behind Levy’swords. I love their dynamic so much. They have gone through pain, recovery,trust, friendship, and love. There is so much to explore with both of theircharacters and life in general. The flirty banter is strong with these two.They fall into the “world melts away” relationship. They sometimes don’trealize how obviously in love they are because neither is good at hidingemotions, and both are direct, passionate people with their feelings. Levy andGajeel push each other just enough to foster growth without crossing the lineof fighting all the time. In a word they are balanced. I can’t see them withothers because they make for the most supportive, balanced pair long term.

Nalu - Whata dynamic and friendship! These two have a great connection and trust in eachother. They are playful but caring with corny innuendos sprinkled in. They makesense. They have moved from friends to partners who have saved each othersasses enough times for them to think…why do I run headfirst into danger foryou. I find them interesting since they have a different dynamic than my otherdragonslayer/bookworm duo. There are threads of similarity but they have adifferent core bond. They are a couple that shows that love can grow andchange, relationships develop at different speeds and love doesn’t have to be asudden burst where you just know.

Jerza -Being a leader is a lonely job. These two are really interesting to me. Theyare the stoic captains that put everyone before themselves. Erza cares deeplyabout her guild and puts the weight of everyone’s happiness above her own. Shemade what she believes to be a selfish decision long ago that defined her andhas been trying to make up for it since. Jellal is similar. He made terriblechoices he is unwilling to forgive. Neither believes they deserve the love andaffection they desire. There is a constant inner turmoil is fun to play with.Head vs heart. I believe these two are each others’ home. No one understandsthe pressure they feel like the other can. When they can be together the wallscome down and both can enjoy the simple things they normally give up. Together,neither has to be the person people will turn to for help or guidance, they canjust be themselves. Let your hair down Erza, you deserve love andrelaxation.   

Bixanna -Mischief making matchmakers! I love these two. They both are the cutewisecrackers of their respective groups. Bickslow has this gruff edge, keepcalm and kick ass side, and totally dorky jokes. He’s not afraid to get sillyand gives zero fucks. Lisanna is the total support he needs to be himself.Wanna be silly and go play pranks? Lis can keep up. Wanna go fight monsters?Lis can keep up and look cute doing it. Wanna chill on the couch and thinkabout how strong of a bond your team has? Lis does too. They work well in thesense of balance too. Lisanna tends to be the person that is quietly friendswith everyone but is close with a select few. Bickslow brings her out of hershell. She’s had a strange distance since returning to the guild and primarilyhangs with fam…I think that those years people thought she was dead made herreturn bittersweet. They tried to move on as best they could and she got leftbehind. When she gets back it’s hard to find her place. Her old dynamics havechanged…the bond is still there but things aren’t the same. Theirrelationship isn’t built in the past or defined by her return. They are peoplewho found each other unexpectedly…one of those relationships that suddenlyhappened when neither was looking for it. I think I’d categorize them ashope and future. Both have had dark times that may haunt them occasionally, butthey give each other a clean slate and zero judgment. 

Merelow -My official crack babies. I was randomly thinking one day and this ship fellinto my lap! Bickslow: badass jokester. Meredy: badass bubblegum girl. Put emtogether and magic. These two are ready to try anything and everything. Theybring out the adventurous spontaneity in each other. Both have been on thewrong side of the fight and have moved forward. They have a core team thatmeans the world to them and are supremely loyal to each other. These two aresimilar to the bixanna dynamic with more of a wanderer side thrown in. They’vehad their breakdowns and have forgiven themselves and grown. They both give somuch love and cheer to their friends. I also love how compatible their magicis. Soul control and soul link. These two aren’t afraid to fight and cry andlove and sing. Neither tries to hide anything from the other. They are socomfortable together and they truly understand each other. They make everyeffort so that the other will smile, and I just love them.

Sildarts -OK. so. @gsut​ and @sanguine-fairy got me on this ship. Grumpy kickass dudes withgrumpy kids. They’ve been through many hardships in life and have loved andcried and have so much more life behind them than most of my other ships. They havea deeper connection by their love for their kids and their strain to have alife of their own. These two experienced individuals kinda trip over themselveslike teens as they explore a new side of themselves in this relationship. Noone knows how it’s supposed to go. Silver has many of the qualities I admire in Gray and kindareigns in Gildarts’ craziness. Gildarts gives him balance. He throws stoicSilver and all caution to the wind and make them both laugh and fill the piecesof their hearts that have been empty. Also these men know how to brood and beangry and glum…they have held in their emotions so much that both understandthe subtle cues when the other is upset…though it doesn’t always stop somepretty intense fights. They are passionate guys that hold each other up whenlife tries to punch them in the gut. 

Lyredy - Two sweet, sensitive cuties. These two are harmony. Lyon is hella romantic and is always doing things both large and smallto show how much he cares for her. Meredy can see through the bravado he putson to the core person he is. She helps Lyon not to take himself too seriouslyand he always makes her laugh and smile. Meredy has insecurities about her pastand Lyon understands this himself. He will be as over the top as her can or asdown to earth as he needs to make her feel better. Both talk big about love butfind themselves remarkably shy when it actually happens. They are a mix ofadventure and shyness and pull each other along to find new things to love.They are a softer romance and I adore them.

Gruvia - Pushing through barriers these two truly stumbledinto romance. She could see his walls from the start and has felt the pain ofbuilding them herself, but Gray showed her such kindness that she truly felt achange. Gray and Juvia are elements that shape each other, pushing each otherto grow without necessarily trying. They became friends who feel a strong senseof responsibility to each other. Time turned friendship to love and I enjoy theway they play with the intensity of their romance. At times they are soft andsweet and others they are hot and heavy. She gives him a place to be candidwith his emotions and he reigns in her dramatic side. At their cores they carefor each other deeply and rely on their mutual support more than they realize.They will always drift back to each other, even when things tough.

Miraxus/Laxana/Canajane/Fraxus - idk why but I love them ALL. Miraxus is so cute andfun. They both have a calm and wild side. They are the heads of theirrespective groups and take things very seriously. When they’re together theycan let their hair down. Laxus sees through the smile she always wears down tothe fragile person she can be. Laxus is so stoic and Mira can always tell whathe’s thinking. They are more reserved as a couple and just enjoy each other’scompany. Laxana is fun and flirty. They rile each other up and don’t let thefun stop. They can laugh at anything and take great fun in jokes and quips witheach other. Always exploring and having an adventure with these two! Canajane.Talk about flirty cuteness and innuendos. They truly care about each other andCana is always pushing Mira to try new things. Mira keeps Cana grounded andwill always support and carry her. Fraxus. Mutual love and support. They aren’tfond of pda but the love can always be seen in their eyes. These two trulyhave each other’s back and always understand what each other needs.

Anyone else…I enjoy mymultishipping (aside from gajevy) so if there’s another couple that I canreally understand I’ll probably enjoy them: Chendy, LaLu, GrayLu, Alzack/Bisca,Stinerva, Minerza, Freed/Rufus, ships with Juvia, peeps from Mermaid Heel, etc.The only problem I have is if I can’t understand the relationshipdynamic…then things just fizzle in my mind.

Hahahaha now onto BNHA! OK I’mkinda tired from FT so I’ll keep these explanations less elaborate

BNHA:

Todomomo - insecure strong kids that lift each other up andbelieve in each other. Momo is such an interesting character and I love her.

Kacchako - fight like a girl. He respects her and she respectshim. They push each other to be better and I just love a cinnamon roll with agrumpy boy

Iihatsu - who better for a machine inventing girl than the guywith the engine built right in? she’s not afraid of anything and helps iida letloose. He’s always there to try her new inventions and she always makes himsmile.

Fuyusei, Bakumomo, Bakushima - love them all and they totally make sense

KiriMina, Jiro/Kaminari - such cute kids

Momo/Iida, Ochako/Iida,Ochako/Deku, Hakagure/Ojiro - cute potential and they have moments that make me smile

[dragonshost]

It’s All In The Cards - Chapter 9

Chapter Title: Living Arrangements

Pairing: Navia & Colu

Summary:  While Cana was busy infusing her cards with more magic, a guild brawl developed and knocked into her. Her beer spilled and caused some of the character cards to stick together - and therefore their real life counterparts, as well. Can everyone survive being literally attached to each other until a solution is found? Or will they tear each other apart?

On FFN

On AO3

And here is the first update for my November updating spree!

Special thanks go to @raijindork for helping me proofread and edit it.

Freed and Bacchus took the seat across from Cana and Gildarts, a sullen aura hanging above them. Their arms slung across each other’s shoulders, so definitely not by choice.  It made them look much more buddy-buddy than either of them currently felt.

“Palm of right hand on Freed, to right shoulder blade on Bacchus, and palm of left hand on Bacchus, to left shoulder blade on Freed…” Lucy intoned, scribbling the information down with the rest.  “There we go.”  Setting it down, she looked up at Cana.  “Gotta ask though… why do they seem to have two sticking places?  Everyone else only has one each.”

Sweating profusely, Cana refused to meet the gaze of any of the involved parties.  “…I may have a problem,” she admitted.  “It was just… it was too funny, at the time.  Bacchus was drunk, I was drunk, Freed was asleep…  My cards were in my pocket… things just escalated from there.”

Lucy wasn’t sure she particularly wanted to understand just what Cana was insinuating.  So she let it go.  “So, Mest.  What did Lahar say?”

The Direct Line mage sighed, all of his energy drained from the events of the day.  “He’s coming to see about your… situation.  And he’ll probably stick around…”  A giggle-snort erupted from Cana, which he judiciously ignored, but for the slight stiffening of his jaw.  “He’ll probably stay a while to help with warding your apartment.”  Doranbolt turned and pointed at Cana, her hand wandering dangerously close to her cards.  “And you!” he stated with a meaningful look at the Card mage.  “Don’t even think about it.”

Cana withdrew the offending hand, pouting.  “Boo. You’re no fun.”

“Oh, I’m tons of fun,” he reassured her, “I’m just not a pushover, and neither is Lahar.  Trust me, this is for your own sake.  I personally think it would be hilarious to see him glued to someone, but I also realize that that person will probably be me, so let’s not do that.”

Elsewhere, Lahar sneezed. Strange.  Was he coming down with a cold?

Shaking it off, he unlocked his apartment door.   Immediately, he headed to his bedroom for a fresh change of clothes.  Given the secrecy that Cobra’s escape would require, he felt it prudent that he not show up to Fairy Tail alone and in his official uniform.  Worse, people might assume that he… liked… the guild and was on friendly terms with them.  He shuddered at the mere notion of such a horrible thing.

Lahar had forgotten to instruct Doranbolt to keep everyone there until he arrived, so he could debrief them all on the importance of keeping their mouths shut about the escaped criminal.   But he assumed that his colleague would have the good sense to stop them from leaving. The last thing they needed was for a reporter to get wind of the situation and sensationalize it.

“Okay so… everyone should hash out their new, temporary living arrangements,” Doranbolt lectured the group.  “And then get to them.”  At the collective groan from the gathered mages, he rolled his eyes.  “Seriously, just figure it out and get on with it.  I suggest anyone attached to a Fairy Tail mage should stay here in Magnolia, since you’re here already.  I also heavily and personally recommend that everyone keep their traps shut about this one.”  He gestured broadly to the irate criminal on the ground.  “Because if you do, I will make it my personal mission to ruin your lives.”

“What about a cure?” Sting questioned.  “Shouldn’t everyone just stay in Magnolia anyway?  I mean… Cana’s here, so if a solution…”

A snigger came from Cana.

“…is found, then wouldn’t it make more sense to be close to it?”

Doranbolt shook his head. “We don’t know how long that will take, is the problem.  And you’re a Guild Master.  Unless you have someone that can manage Sabertooth indefinitely, your being absent would be a problem.”

Sting sighed.  “You caught me – I was trying to get out of the work.”

“I knew it,” Rogue grumbled, unheard by most.

“Aside from which, you might be hard pressed to find a place to stay,” Doranbolt continued.  “I think everyone outside of Fairy Tail is matched…”

Another snigger.

“…to either someone from Fairy Tail, or from within their own guild.  It’s going to be cramped here, I’m guessing.”

“I am so glad I have an apartment of my own,” Lucy said.  “What are the Fairy Hills girls going to do, though?  Especially you, Erza.  Since Ichi–”

“Don’t,” the scarlet haired woman warned softly.  “Don’t finish that sentence.”

The Trimens swept in front of Erza, dazzling smiles all around.  “No worries, Miss Erza!” they exclaimed in unison.  You will be staying at our Boss’s place!  Lord Ichiya has plenty of room to accommodate you in his abode.”

“Indeed!” the small man proclaimed, though it was muffled by Erza’s hair.

Hibiki turned to face Doranbolt, who was staring at them, gob smacked.  “No offense to the Council meant, Sir Doranbolt.  Fairy Hills is a women’s only domicile, if I remember correctly. Therefore, the only option here is for the Titania to come over to Blue Pegasus for the time being.”

With a grumble of irritation and a look of pity thrown in Erza’s direction, Doranbolt was forced to accept their solution.

“My place,” asserted Laxus, his tone brooking no argument with his fellow Dragon Slayer.

Contemplating it for a moment, Gajeel had to agree.  “Fine, whatever, Sparkplug.  Lily, you and Carla can have free run of our place for a while.  Need to stop by and pick up clean clothes and stuff, though.”

“Appreciated,” the black Exceed said, relieved.  “I don’t know if Fairy Hills’ ‘no males’ policy extends to Exceeds, but I’d rather not take the chance to find out.”

Carla nodded. “Likewise.  I hate to leave Wendy by herself, but....”

“You’ll like Fairy Hills!” Wendy promised Chelia with a heartfelt smile, completely unaware of Carla’s concern.

Chelia grinned back at her… as much as she could without being about to directly face Wendy. “It’ll be kinda like an extended sleepover, right?”

“I think they’ll be fine,” Pantherlily commented, pointing at the two girls with his paw.

Carla felt sweat run down the back of her neck. “Indeed.”

Natsu and Juvia chose then to exit from the men’s restroom.  “What did we miss?” Natsu asked, a toothy grin across his face.  He was over the moon that Juvia had not felt the need to slice off anything he wanted very much to keep.

“We’re figuring out…” Erza paused and swallowed hard, turning almost the same shade of green that Natsu usually did on a moving vehicle. “…Living… arrangements…”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Natsu nodded, confident in his next statement.  “Can’t stay at Fairy Hills, so we’ll be staying at my place.  Happy and I have got tons of room.”

“Room?” Lucy suddenly scoffed, eliciting a burgeoning smirk from Cobra as well at the image in her head. “Where in that pigsty is there room? It’s like… a dragon’s hoard in there.”

“Hey!” her partner protested.  “I can clean!”

“But have you?” Cobra joined in.

“I can start!”

Juvia went pale, then flushed, and paled again in quick succession at the thoughts tumbling around inside her skull.

Just what was she in for here?

Like it or not, Natsu staying with her at Fairy Hills was definitely not an option, so she would soon find out.

[whereisthefood123]

Broken

Based on this amazing story from @neen-writes Go read it first if you haven’t yet! (’Broken’ can be read as a complementary fic and follow-up story?)

Word count: 1.6k

Angst ahead!

Thanks to @bluuesparrow for beta-ing :)

Seeing him like that, beaten to the ground with no strength left to stand back up, had Levy moving instinctively to stand protectively between Gajeel and the rogue mages.

“LEVY!” She heard him yelling, probably cursing under his breath for her recklessness. She was at her limit too, but the fire in her soul commanding her to protect him helped her deal with the exhaustion and pain that wracked her body.

Without noticing it, Levy’s hands were moving, drawing the spell ‘Mirror’ and pouring all the magic she had left into it. This was it; this was their last chance to make it out alive. If she screwed up now, not just her, but Gajeel too will-

No. Get it together, Levy. I’ll do it right.

Her magic flowed into her spell which grew into a massive script in front of her. With the magic blast coming towards them and with no more options available, Levy braced herself for the impact.

This will have to do it.

“Damnit Lev, get-” She didn’t hear the last part of his sentence as it was drowned out by the loud sound of magic clashing against her barrier. The attack was stronger than she expected and she had to dig the balls of her feet in the ground when she was pushed back from the impact. Her body tensed up with the effort of keeping the barrier up. Her lungs burned for the much needed air while her consciousness threatened to leave her at any given moment.

I can’t give up! I want- no, I will protect Gajeel!

She screamed when she willed the last traces of her magic to be poured into her barrier. She knew it was risky as hell to use that much magic, but if she was to fall, she would make sure she’d at least take down most of the enemies with her.

Thank the heavens above, her spell worked wonderfully just as she expected. The attack flew back towards the rogue mages, blasting them away and knocking most of them out cold. Relief flooded through her as she tried to recover her breath with painful effort.

Her arms fell limp to her sides as Levy was unable to will her trembling body to listen to her anymore. She knew the risks of her plan but went through with it anyways.

At least…

She managed to turn her head slowly to look at Gajeel on the ground staring at her in awe and concern. The corners of her mouth moved upwards in a weak smile when her hazel eyes met his red irises.

He’s… okay…

The distinctive metallic taste of blood in her mouth reminded her of the unavoidable predicament she had dragged herself into. She felt light-headed in a moment and her eyelids grew heavy as she couldn’t focus her eyes on Gajeel anymore.

I’m sorry, Gajeel.

Levy’s eyes rolled back into her head as she fell unconscious to the ground like a broken doll.

“LEVY!!”

When Levy opened her eyes, the only thing she could feel was exhaustion. Even when it seemed like she had slept for ages, her body felt like lead and her eyelids were so heavy that it was an impressive feat that she had her eyes open. Heavy breaths escaped her lips and fogged the mask that covered her mouth and nose helping her breathe.

“Levy…” Her tired eyes looked to her right and there she found Pantherlily in his large form looking down at her with concern in his eyes. When she met his gaze, a relieved smile graced the Exceed’s features as the corner of his eyes crinkled in happiness.

“How are you feeling?” He brushed her hair from her sweaty forehead with a gentle paw. She tried to utter a ‘Fine’ but instead a groan escaped her lips.

“Don’t push yourself. You still need rest.” Levy blinked slowly in understanding and smiled tiredly at her friend.

“I’ll let the other-”

“Lily,” Gajeel growled, interrupting his friend before he could finish his statement. He stood at the end of the bed with arms crossed over his chest and narrow eyes directed at Levy. His body language screamed tension and anger.

“Get out,” he commanded in his gruff voice.

“Gajeel, I don’t think-”

“Out I said!” He raised his voice and bared his fangs in an angry snarl at the Exceed looking him dead in the eye. Levy instinctively winced at his harsh tone but Lily hardened his face at his friend. He shifted his posture to a more protective stand beside Levy and met Gajeel’s fierce gaze with his own.

Tension was palpable in the room while Levy looked at both males trying to understand what was happening around her.

After a minute that seemed to last longer, Gajeel softened his gaze and relaxed his posture ever so slightly, uncrossing his arms and letting them rest on each side of him. “Please, Lily.” His voice was softer this time and his eyes weren’t as harsh as they had been a minute ago.

Lily huffed in understanding and he too let the tension leave his body. He looked back at Levy and squeezed her shoulder gently. “I’ll be just outside, okay?” He smiled when Levy blinked slowly again.

Okay.

Lily walked to the exit of the infirmary room but he paused for a moment to send Gajeel another fierce gaze. Against all expectations, the dragon slayer looked away from his friend in discret submission to his silent request.

Be nice.

After Lily closed the door behind him, silence took over the atmosphere in the room. Levy looked at Gajeel with tired eyes but he stayed rooted to his spot. He lowered his face and his black hair shadowed his eyes. His mouth set into a thin line and he clenched his fists tightly.

“Ga-” Levy tried to speak again, but even if she had the ability to do so, the dragon slayer interrupted her with his angry demand.

“Tell me what the hell were ya thinking, Levy?!” He tried his best not to raise his voice at her, but she could feel the rage in his words. Pent-up tension dripped from his question and Levy tried her best to decipher his expression but he didn’t raise his eyes to meet hers.

“Eh?!” He exclaimed and took a couple steps to stand next to her. “Ya almost- Tsk,” his voice quivered a little but the tension never left his words.

“I thought ya were smarter, Shrimp! But yer just too stupid fer your own good!” He snarled and Levy’s soul ached at his harsh words.

Why are you saying such horrible things? I did that to protect you, stupid. Why are you being such a jerk?!

Then, Levy noticed his shoulders shaking and his lips trembling. “Too stupid…” his voice broke down and finally he met her gaze with his red eyes.

Levy felt a stab to her heart when she saw the despair and anguish in his eyes. Unshed tears gathered at the corner of his crimson orbs but his lips couldn’t hold in the sobs that wracked his soul.

“Yer too stupid… Ya almost-… what if-?” His voice was thick with sadness as he was unable to utter that terrible word that had haunted him for several days since Lily brought them back to the guild.

Died.

Because Levy being alive was nothing short of a miracle. And the minutes that he had endured waiting for any sign of her waking up had been the most painful and agonising minutes in his entire life.

And if she had died, it would have been all his fault, for not being able to protect her. She was a bright light in this world full of darkness and she would have faded out to save someone as tainted in blood and shadows as Gajeel.  

Levy’s eyes looked at him with concern for his pain and it was all that was needed to tear down the last thread of his tough exterior. He knelt beside her bed and caressed her cheek with so much tenderness that was so foreign for someone as rough as Gajeel while he let the tears stream down his face.

“Don’t ya ever-! You-! I won’t-!” He growled in frustration when words were replaced by sobs and hiccups but he wasn’t able to control anymore the wave of emotions that overcame his heart.

He closed his eyes trying to get a hold of his feelings. Wetness on his hand, the one that was caressing Levy’s cheek, had him snapping his eyes open and looking at her immediately with the utmost attention.

Levy was looking at him with such tenderness and love in her gaze as thin tears streamed down her porcelain face. She saw how broken and vulnerable Gajeel was at the moment. The heartache and fear in him were in plain sight now that his tough facade had faded into oblivion.

Levy understood that his angry demeanor moments ago had been his way of dealing with how close he had been to lose her forever. The big fearless iron dragon slayer stood there as a broken man who almost lost all that was precious to him in this world.

She agreed with him in how stupid she had been. Her actions had caused the man she loved so much pain that Levy scolded herself for ever putting him in that position. But she knew that, if the situation should arise, she would do it again. She wouldn’t hesitate to risk her life for the man she loved. But next time, she would make sure to not be so reckless.

She leaned into his touch as much as she could and a small tired smile graced her features.

I’m sorry.

A new wave of tears came to Gajeel’s eyes as he leaned forward to press his forehead against Levy’s. He hugged her, ever so gently to not hurt her, but strongly enough to reassure his heart that she was still here with him. And nothing, if he had any say into the matter, nothing will take her away from him ever again.

Thanks for reading! Like, comment, reblog, use cute tags or GIFs if you liked the story!

WTF (Where’s The Food?)

[pyropsychiccollector]

Fairy Tail Random Drabble - All Hail King Natsu~

Gray: ... Could you run that by me again one more time? I musta misheard you.

Hisui: Alvarez is requesting that Natsu Dragneel succeed their Emperor, as he is the only remaining relative of Zeref. In return, they will vow to never attack Ishgar again.

Gray: ...

Lucy: ...

Wendy: ...

Levy: ...

Gajeel: ...

Exceeds: ...

Freed: ...

Laxus: ...

Mira: ...

Erza: ...

Natsu: :D

Makarov: *without hesitation* Absolutely not.

Arcadios: Are you sure? We have a chance at ever-lasting piece with a superpower that rivals our continent.

Makarov: Not going to happen.

Natsu: But whyyy? D:

Gajeel: 'Cause you'd wage war with Ishgar every time one of us pissed you off. Because "numbers".

Natsu: ......... N-No I wouldn't!

Pantherlily: That long pause is telling enough. -___-

Lucy: Not to mention the mischief you and Brandish would get up to. >__>

Mira: Not everything is about YOU, Lucy~. ^_____^

Hisui: Are you SURE there isn't anything we can do to convince you to reconsider?

Makarov: That boy wreaks enough havoc with his own power and resources. Giving him a unified continent at his beck and call would be giving him the power of a god. -____-

Hisui: And what if we preoccupied him somehow?

Laxus: Natsu's only happy doing two things: Fighting and eating. There's no way you can keep cramming food down his bottomless gullet - even he has a limit.

Arcadios: Have you tried... *cough* introducing him to the fairer sex?

Hisui: *narrows her eyes at her trusted knight*

Mira: Oh my~

Erza: -___-*

Makarov: *cough* W-Well... Natsu just really hasn't shown any interest.

Natsu: HEY! ... Whatcha talkin' about?

Gajeel: *ignores the Pyro* Well, Salamander HAS shown perverted tendencies before. Just ask Bunny Girl, Titania, and even that cute sister of the Demon over there~

Mira: *sickly sweet smile* Do you mind running that by me one more time...?

Lucy: I'd rather not be involved in whatever perverted antics you guys are up to, so I'm just going to give you a solid "no" here and now. >__>

Makarov: What part of "no" do you people not understand?! Natsu will be staying here, end of discussion!!

Hisui: Alvarez is allowing up to four women to accompany Natsu for the purpose of keeping him... occupied. Really, they just need him as a figurehead ruler while Invel handles the real duties of running an empire.

Freed: Then why is Natsu needed at all...?

Arcadios: Because Alvarez took a major hit in their war with us, and they would really like their Majesty's brother to "succeed" him to keep everyone together and in relatively high spirits.

Hisui: He wouldn't hold any REAL power... We're not that foolish, you know. ^^;

Makarov: *rubs his chin* I don't know... You're asking us to cough up as many as five of our mages. >_____>

Erza: *valiantly* For the sake of peace between two longtime enemies, I will sacrifice even my happiness!!

Mira: Yeah... no. You're pretty gung-ho about this. I'd better go to make sure you don't make Natsu UNCOMFORTABLE.

Erza: Who asked you to butt in? >__>

Mira: I'm sure Natsu would~

Makarov: Mira, nooo! T_T

Gray: Okay, okay, so you got two lined up to go with Flamebrain, but I don't think you're gonna find any takers for the last two spots-

Yukino: U-Um... Hi? I hope I'm not interrupting, but Queen Hisui summoned me. ^^;

Sorano: Fufufu... From what the messenger said, I figured I'd come along, too, to watch out for my baby sister~ **And have a kinky good time~**

Gray, Gajeel, Laxus: ... **Lucky bastard...**

Wendy: Uh... um... Where did Natsu-niisan go?

Happy: Oh, he went off with that one cross-dresser from Jellal's Guild! She showed up out of the blue, and Natsu got this look in his eyes when she shook her hips~

Erza, Mira, Sorano: **THAT BITCH!!!**

Hisui: *aside to Arcadios* Make sure to change that number to "five" women that will be accompanying Natsu-san...

Arcadios: *nods sagely*

Yukino: Can someone please explain to me what's going on? Neesan wouldn't tell me what the messenger said. ^^;

Levy: *pats her shoulder*

Lucy: ^^; You poor thing.

[lil-blue-one]

The Definition of Insanity - Chapter Nine

Elfman was leant on the fence which surrounded Fairy Hills, tapping his foot on the pavement in front of him. He hadn't brought any bags, they hadn't needed it the last time so he assumed they wouldn't need it this time either. He heard Evergreen's footsteps come down the path, and turned around slowly before having to take a moment to digest what he saw in front of him.

Evergreen was wearing sports leggings and a fitted crop top, her hair scraped back into a ponytail as she walked up to him. He took a moment to collect his thoughts as he handed her the coffee and sausage roll he had brought with him. They had opted to get an early night and a good rest the night before, and neither trusted the other to allow them to rest properly if they shared a bed.

"You look… different."

Evergreen scoffed, taking a bite out of the roll as she started to head towards the docks.

"You know, if you weren't so dense it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that my normal attire isn't actually the best for fighting in. I thought I would get as much as an advantage as possible."

Elfman nodded. It was a pretty good idea, if he came to think of it.

"Did you sleep well, at least?"

She nodded, starting to drink her coffee as they walked side by side along the street.

"And your magic reserves? All filled up?"

Elfman himself was brimming with magic, and he could feel it darting across his skin like a cool breeze. Then again, he hadn't used much in the last week. He watched as Evergreen's wings materialised, unfurling slowly and flapping on the breeze although she didn't take to the air. Elfman watched them, almost mesmerised as they glittered softly in the sunlight. Even in these more conservative clothes she was still shockingly beautiful. He was pulled out of his thoughts as she began to speak, slowly as if she was considering her words.

"Not as high as before, but still good. We may make it through the first round after all."

She chuckled slightly, but Elfman felt the tension underneath it. He could see the boat up ahead, and while they weren't the last to arrive it was still full of their guildmates, both those competing and those seeing them off. He grabbed her arm, maybe too roughly by the yelp she gave and turned her to face him.

"Evergreen. Before we go."

She looked at him in annoyance, before turning her attention back to her coffee.

"Whatever happens out there, it doesn't matter. I am so so proud of you, and I know everyone else is too."

Her face softened slightly, but she still refused to meet his eye as he bent down to place his forehead on hers.

"Whether we come home S-Class or not, I still love you."

"I just don't understand why we have to be on a boat, Luce! Can't you have Virgo just take us there or something?"

Lucy glared at her partner so she could keep from laughing, his pitiful whining as funny as it was annoying.

"I've told you, Natsu! She can come anywhere I am, but I'd have to be ON THE ISLAND in order to call her!"

The Dragon Slayer groaned, turning green just from looking up at the boat next to them. They were still standing on solid ground, but his stupid motion sickness was already acting up. Suddenly, he brightened, grabbing Lucy's shoulders and staring into her eyes.

"I know! Call her and make her stay here with me! When you get to the island, you can call her again and she can bring me!"

She tried. Really she did. He looked so hopeful and scared at the same time, she really didn't mean to laugh so loudly. Natsu wilted, his hands dropping to his sides before he just gave up and sat down in the middle of the street.

"I really am sorry, Natsu. I don't know that I would be able to do that and still have any magic power left afterwards. I don't ever have my spirits summoned for that long, or at such a great distance! I'll see what I can do though. The other Dragon Slayers all seem to have a plan, maybe I can get someone to share."

Lucy reached down to run her hand through his hair as she looked around, a soft smile on her face. Her partner just sat there pouting, his arms crossed over his stomach as if he was already nauseous. Maybe he was. As she looked towards the ship, she saw her best friend jumping over the side, waving at Juvia. Lucy ran forward quickly, coming together with the bluenettes in a warm hug, all three of them beginning to babble excitedly about the upcoming trial. She had a few minutes to catch up before asking Levy, everyone else wasn't here yet.

Carrying Wendy was so much easier than carrying Gajeel. It wasn't just the weight, either. Wendy had cast a support spell on him, which was useful, but also she didn't wriggle as much as Gajeel did. At least, that's what he told her when he insisted he didn't mind carrying her to the docks when she had overslept.

In all fairness, it was probably his fault. He had probably been training her too hard. They had amped up their training towards the end of the week, and although he had let her go early the night before she was probably so exhausted from the week in general the early night hadn't done much. An idea came to him to give the girl a little bit of fun, and he grinned as he worked out how to do it.

"Hang on, I'm going to drop us down."

Lily muttered in her ear as he started circling the boat. Once she nodded so he knew that she'd heard him, Lily lined them up over the center of the foredeck, circled a little lower, and then just closed his wings. Wendy let out an excited shriek that devolved into giggles as the boat rushed up at them. As they came even with the mast, Pantherlily snapped his wings open again, leaning back to toss the girl above him, which of course made her shriek again. He immediately shifted to his larger form, landing on the deck with a THUMP and throwing his arms out to catch her. Wendy settled into his arms as if they'd planned and practiced the maneuver a hundred times, still giggling uncontrollably.

The Exceed smiled at her before setting her on the deck, preparing to shift back to his smaller form. He paused though, when her happiness faded almost instantly, one hand flying to her stomach.

"The boat isn't even moving yet! Why?"

Her voice was so pitiful, he scooped her up again, settling her onto his shoulder and walking towards the gangplank.

"Why don't I fly above the ship once we get going? I can carry you at least most of the way, it won't be a problem. I'm sorry, I should have remembered that you have the same sensitivity as Gajeel."

Wendy patted his head, scratching slightly as she smiled at him.

"That's alright, Lily! You shouldn't waste so much energy flying!"

The Exceed settled her on the dock before finally changing back to his smaller form.

"It's nothing, really. You're very easy to carry. I'm just going to talk to Gajeel for a bit, and I'll come grab you when we're ready to go."

The Dragon Slayer nodded to her partner before heading over to sit next to Natsu.

"Good job, cat. Try to show off an' end up makin' yer partner sick."

Lily rolled his eyes as he walked up to his friend, ignoring the dig.

"I was just trying to entertain the child. Not show off."

Gajeel just snorted, leaning against the railing of the ship and crossing his arms over his chest. Lily silently hopped up next to him.

"So. How'd the kid do?"

Juvia was practically skipping as she made her way along the sea front towards the docks. Gray hung back slightly, perfectly happy to simply watch her as she danced along the sand. The training had gone well, despite the few acid burns that still adorned his skin. Meredy had told him Juvia had excelled, nudging him with an elbow and whispering in his ear that it might be best not to wind her up too much anymore. But the sun was shining ahead, as good an indicator as any that Juvia was in high spirits.

They got to the end of the beach, and Gray had to make steps in order to get back up onto the docks. He held his hand out to Juvia, even though he knew she could hold herself steady perfectly well, and kept a hold of it even when they were back on solid ground.

They had barely made it to the boat before Juvia was barrelled up in an embrace with Lucy on one side, and Levy on the other. Gray couldn't help but smile as Juvia giggled, wrapping her arms around each of their shoulders as they were whisked up onto the boat, Wendy following along not far behind. Something creeped at the back of Gray's mind that he really fucking hoped she would be able to fight them when the time came but he also knew that at the end of the day, when all this was over, they would all need to fight as a team again. Juvia would give it her all, if not for herself then for him, and that's all he could ask for.

"How has your training gone?"

Erza's voice came from his left and he turned around to look her in the eyes before crossing his arms in front of him. The redhead was in her bikini already, but Gray couldn't complain as he did a quick stock check of his body and realised he was currently shirtless.

"It's gone… well. We focused on Juvia, I guess. Went to visit Jellal actually."

Erza hummed, and Gray instantly realised that she already knew that. It wasn't the biggest secret on the planet that she spent many a night talking to the man on the lacrima, he supposed it wasn't too much of a stretch that he would have told her. He just hoped the man hadn't said too much, it was entirely possible the two of them would come up against Erza in the trials and he didn't want to show all of his cards just yet. Not that Juvia probably wouldn't tell everyone as soon as she was asked.

"Well, I'm happy for you Gray. You both deserve S-Class you've worked so hard for it. Just remember you need to keep your cool and Juvia needs to… lose it."

It was an odd choice of words, and Gray was almost certain Jellal had let the cat out of the bag. Erza didn't elaborate though, simply smiling again as she walked off, probably to bother someone else. He sighed, glancing around the assembled guild members before deciding it was probably best to just get on the boat.

"There. That should keep you settled. Oh! There's Juvia! I'll be right back!"

Gajeel opened his mouth to say something as the bluenette took off across the deck of the ship, but he just snapped his mouth shut again. There was no stopping the woman when she was on a mission, and apparently that's what she was doing. He'd just have to thank her when they got to the island again. He wasn't really going to mention that he wasn't motion sick, he didn't want the bunny girl asking Levy for help. There was a very real possibility that she'd help the other Dragon Slayer, and Gajeel didn't want her wasting any more magic than she had to. Besides, watching the Salamander's struggle was going to be hilarious.

Across the boat, the females had huddled together, catching up on their weeks. Each of their training partners had been so focused and kept them too busy for much time with each other. Eventually, after a few minutes of pleasantries and realising they still had some time Lucy dropped her voice to a whisper to try and keep it a secret.

"Levy, I need to ask you something. How are you planning on combatting Gajeel's motion sickness?"

Levy smiled, she always loved talking about her magic and the new things she had learned. She pulled a notebook out of her bag, and flicked through a few pages until she found the one she wanted. Lucy saw a few runes written on the page in a handwriting that definitely wasn't Levy's.

"I… borrowed... this notebook from Freed a couple of weeks ago, and these runes should stop the motion sickness. Seems pretty long term too, it should last until we journey back so if there are any vehicles on the island we won't need to reapply them. If I give you this you can…"

She was halfway through handing the book over when a large body shoved in between them, snatching the book up in his hands before holding it above his head.

"I'll take that, thank you…"

Both girls looked up as Laxus walked towards the back of the boat, waving the notebook in the air as he did and Lucy swore. Maybe they had all underestimated just how sensitive the Dragon Slayer's hearing could be.

"It's okay, Lu-chan, I can still remember how to do them it just means I will have to do it for…"

"No, you won't. You need all your energy for the trials."

Of course, if Laxus had heard their conversation Gajeel would as well. He stood behind Levy with his arms crossed and Lucy deflated. Obviously, this wasn't going to work. Levy shot her an apologetic look, Juvia covering her own mouth as she began to giggle, and she knew that the smaller girl would not be helping her out. She would have to find another way.

Freed and Cana were down in the hold of the ship, Cana studying her cards while Freed drew various runes across the two of them. Each symbol tingled as he drew them with his fingers across her skin, and if she was honest it made concentrating fairly difficult. He had already written many of them throughout the week, trying to spread out his use of magic power, but he insisted that these didn't take up too much of his magic and they absolutely had to be done last minute. Cana allowed herself a slight smile. She had gotten herself the only person who could prepare this much for the trials, and there was a chance that she could actually win this year. And she was taking Freed with her.

He had already drawn a number of runes across Laxus' bare stomach, when they had been the only ones there along with the S-Class wizards. It had been hard to subdue a chuckle as the rune mage settled in between the Dragon Slayer's legs to do it, and even harder to bite back a sarcastic comment but she had managed it. Freed insisted he was the leader of Laxus' body guards first and foremost, and that included protecting him from motion sickness. He had, however, explained to Cana that he had temporarily waived all of the runes that usually covered his teammates, with their permission of course. In the interest of fair play he had also removed ones that would have benefitted him, such as the tracking runes on Evergreen or the runes that alerted him whenever Bickslow got too close. Cana decided not to ask too much about that one. She tried to ignore the twinge of sadness when she realised she had no one like that. Sure everyone in the guild were family to her, but she had no teammates. No one to watch her back. Which had become starkly apparent when the time came to choose a partner for the trials.

"Do you know why we have been delayed so much?"

His voice was a low whisper, obviously still trying to hide the fact he was down here from all of his competitors. And Gildarts too, come to think of it. Cana gathered her cards back into a deck and allowed her magic to flow through her fingers as she shuffled them, finding the cards she needed and throwing them onto the table in front of her.

"It looks like Lisanna and Bickslow haven't made it here yet. Master is waiting for them."

Freed chuckled quietly as he moved to her back, drawing larger runes across the skin there.

"You know, I don't know what I was expecting."

C'mon, Bickslow. Even if you don't come yourself don't drag her down with you.

He had thought Bickslow had gotten over this. He never would have nominated him for S-Class if he didn't. But the hurried conversation he'd had with Lisanna a couple of nights ago told him different. Maybe Bickslow wasn't ready? Maybe he was that terrified little boy again.

Laxus chewed his bottom lip as he paced the deck of the ship, hoping that no one else noticed. He was the Thunder God! He shouldn't be affected by this, by anything! But he was, and he hated to admit it. His three closest friends, and by extension their other halves, genuinely meant the world to him.

"Can you not keep closer grips on your little pets?"

Laxus growled as he looked up to see Gildarts stood in the middle of the boat, careful not to touch anything around him at all. Good. Can't have the clumsy old fool destroying the ship before it even set sail.

"Shut up, old man."

Laxus wanted to send him packing to find Cana, but he didn't want to give Freed any trouble. He wasn't even sure if Gildarts knew who she had teamed up with, the two of them had been almost non contactable since the nominations were announced.

"He is kinda your responsibility, isn't he? You don't see my kid being late, do you?"

Laxus growled, but it hit him hard. The Raijinshuu were his responsibility, and without Freed to keep him in check Bickslow could be halfway across the country by now. When was the last time anyone had spoken to him? Maybe he should go and find Freed… Gildarts must have seen the worry on his face because he stopped teasing the Dragon Slayer and even had the humility to look kind of sheepish at what he had done.

Laxus took a deep breath in order to fight back, when a very familiar scent started to fill his nose. He sniffed again, sure that he had got it wrong. The air smelt overwhelmingly of the sea, along with the assorted scents of all of the guild member's around him but he always had been better at smelling out the Raijinshuu for some reason. But… that shouldn't be right. He shouldn't be coming from that way. Laxus turned slowly, looking over the side of the boat and out across the sea before sighing heavily.

His nose hadn't been lying. Out in the distance he could see two figures slowly getting closer and closer, one stood across what looked like a column and the other flapping two wings. What the fuck had they been doing for them to be coming from that direction? After a few minutes Natsu started whooping and hollering when he caught a hold of their scents as well, and soon everyone was waving at their guild mates as they made their way over to the boat, Bickslow starting to show off as he got closer. The Sieth started to jump from totem to totem, flipping in the air each time and getting bolder the closer he got before he finally jumped free of his totems all together, dismounting and landing upside down on top of the sails. Usually, he knew people wouldn't bother applauding but there was already just an excited atmosphere and he could just as easily pretend it was all for him.

Lisanna touched down gently next to Laxus, who looked down at her incredulously.

"Where the fuck have you been?"

Lisanna just shrugged, smirking up at him before tapping the side of her nose.

"That's our little secret, isn't it?"

Laxus sighed, about to say something more before his grandfather shouted that they were about to set sail, and his attention was taken up by laughing at Natsu as he was dragged almost screaming onto the boat by Lucy.

"Thirty-Four"

Droy looked over at Jet as the two of them stared at the horizon that the boat had disappeared over a long time ago. They had stayed in a comfortable silence, both sat on the edge of the dock as the rest of the guild had slowly filtered away and left them alone. Droy made a questioning noise, not really feeling like asking anything further.

"That's how old we're gonna be when she comes back this time."

Droy suddenly knew what he was talking about. It was a concern that had rippled around the guild in the last week, and it hadn't evaded those who were on the boat either. He didn't think either Makarov or Macao knew that he heard the two of them talking about provisions that would be made if the boat never returned. He didn't think he would ever be able to stay if Levy was gone for almost a decade again.

"It probably won't be…"

"We thought that last time, Droy. We thought it would be a week, tops. Then no longer than a month. Or a year. We were wrong then, and we can fucking be wrong again."

Droy didn't know what to say, looking down at the choppy waves in front of him as they hit into the side of the dock. Maybe they should have gone with her? But what was the chance of hiding on the boat with all the Dragon Slayers there? His hand moved over to where Jet's rested on the stone, encompassing it in his in what he hoped would be a comforting way. Jet simply squeezed his fingers for a second and didn't speak again.

A/N This chapter was so much fun! Starting out the trials, here we come! As always, we love your opinions, and your theories! Theories as to what is coming next sometimes even give us ideas, so keep them coming! Much loves!

Fanfiction.net - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12460904/9/The-Definition-of-Insanity

Archive - http://archiveofourown.org/works/10706709/chapters/25110132

[otakugirlkrod]

Three years have passed

A/N: Thank you all for your support and reviews on ff.net and here.  Special thanks to @whereisthefood123​ for always being so kind.

Anime: Fairy Tail

Couple: Gajevy

Rated: T (Language)

Genres: Romance, Hurt/Comfort

Status: On going

Summary: Tired of being “the damsel in distress”, Levy left the guild without telling anyone except Master Makarov. She spent three years far away from Magnolia learning new spells to improve her skills. But finally, is time to return home. What’s that strange magic she learn?

Chapter One:https://otakugirlkrod.tumblr.com/post/158442724445/three-years-have-passed

Chapter Two: https://otakugirlkrod.tumblr.com/post/159584893235/three-years-have-passed

Chapter Three: https://otakugirlkrod.tumblr.com/post/159780767225/three-years-have-passed

Chapter four: Out of control

The moonlight filtered through the crystal windows lightening the pitch black hospital hallway. It was near three in the morning. The petite blue haired mage ripped the IV cord off her arm and got out of her room silently. A line of blood ran down her forearm and began to drip on the white floor. She held her arm firmly.  I have to find the exit. Levy was terrified. Why did the runes appeared and disappeared out of nowhere? She was confused. I have to go now, or I’ll never have a chance. Strong footsteps caught Levy’s attention, making her look ahead to find out who it was.

“Oi! Where do you think you’re going?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

She looked away and asked. “Gajeel, what are you doing here?”

He looked down at her. “Answering with another question is suspicious, you know. Why are you wandering around the hospital?”

She refused to answer. “Just…leave me alone.” Her vision became blurry from the tears building up.

“Idiot, why are you crying about?”

She clenched her eyes shut and took a few steps further. “Forget about it. It’s none of your business. I gotta go.” Her voice sounded harsher than intended.

“Stop talking nonsense.” She stopped in her tracks and turned around at Gajeel’s comment.

Their eyes finally met.

“YOU KNOW NOTHING!” She shouted at him. “You don’t understand.” She looked away and said the last part quietly.

Gajeel walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders roughly. “How the hell I’m supposed to understand if you don’t spit it out!?” He leaned down his head and let it rest on Levy’s right shoulder. “If it’s because of that weird magic.” Levy’s eyes widened. “I won’t judge you like your lapdogs…” He stated.

She sighed in relief. “Gajeel…” A tear escaped from her beautiful eyes.

Silence settled between them. “I know you will tell me sooner or later.” His rough voice softened.

“I…” Levy bit her lower lip.

“Don’t…” His raspy voice murmured.

“I have to.” Levy looked into his eyes.

He raised his head and smirked. “If you really want to…You will have to endure my fucking attitude.”

“Would you really do that?” Her face brightened. Those hazel eyes looking crystalize.

“Of course.” He looked directly to the eyes. “Gosh Lev, don’t look at me with those fucked up eyes.” He ruffled her blue locks.

“S-sorry.” She let out another sob.

“Nah it’s ok.” Gajeel answered and turned around. “Get those thoughts out of your head and hop on.” He kneeled down and used his thumb to point at his back.

“Huh?” Levy blushed.

“Don’t get used to it. This is a once in a lifetime thing.” Levy’s arms spread around his neck. Her chest touched his back and Gajeel’s hands held the back of her thighs.

“Thank you…” She hid her face in his black mane.

Gajeel looked over his shoulder and chuckled. “I only did it ‘cuz you look like crap.”

Sun rays pierced the cold weather at Onibus Town. Pantherlily and Shadow Gear male members decided to pay their friend a visit but stopped in the hospital hallway when an alarm resonated through the whole building. The exceed quickly flew down the long hallway looking for Levy’s room.

With his amazing speed magic Jet followed Lily and kicked the door open.  “LEVY’S NOT IN HER ROOM!” He panicked.

Droy was the last man to enter the now empty room. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE’S NOT HERE?” He asked.

“He’s right. Levy-chan’s not here.” Yasu spoke as he stood by the door frame. The Fairy Tail trio looked at the voice’s direction.

“Sir Yasu.” Said the small feline.

Levy-chan? Droy thought. He was confused at how this young man referred to his petite friend.

Jet stood in his fighting stance. “Who are you?”

The twenty five looking man walked up to them. “Yasu Toshiro, I was Levy-chan’s client.”

Both Shadow Gear members looked at each other and then at the man standing before them. They didn’t trust him at all. For being Levy’s client, getting to know her and not reacting at the situation made both of them uneasy.

Yasu smiled at them and look sideways to Lily’s direction.

The exceed placed a paw on his forehead. I bet Gajeel is involved in this. That iron head doesn’t think of the consequences of his actions. I’m certain he knows exactly where she is or should I say, I know where they are staying. He thought about his friend’s careless actions.

Gajeel stretched his body in the small couch he slept in. Then he remembered her, he got up fast and ran to his bedroom. He leaned on the door frame as he let out a relief sigh.

“That was one hell of a dangerous getaway. Don’t you think?” Gajeel looked at her sleeping form and admire her peaceful face. But I couldn’t do anything else. He smiled as his thoughts ran through the events that happened last night.  I gotta admit you surprise me every now and then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flashback

“I’m sorry for causing you all this trouble.” Levy was nervous.

“Don’t worry. Is only for a few days, so don’t get yourself too comfy.” He laughed and looked at her. “I can lend you some of my shirts, because you look like a granny in those.” He mocked, and threw her a shirt.  “Here, take this.”

Levy caught the shirt Gajeel tossed her way. His gaze seemed strange. Curiosity invaded her mind and she finally asked.  “What?”

“That should reach your toes.” He scoffed.

“Of course not!” She inflated her pink cheeks and headed for the bathroom “Don’t you dare peek, ok?”

“I already saw everything, back in your room. Gee hee!” His comment gave her shivers.

She slammed the door. “Shut up! I’ll be out in a minute.” She leaned her back on the door, put the shirt near her face and smiled.

“That will take more than a minute, Short Stuff.”Gajeel laughed.

He removed his black shirt in preparation for going to bed. Then, he heard the bathroom door opening. “Trying to get some revenge by seeing me half naked or what? Geez, I didn’t knew you were a perv.” Gajeel laughed and cocked a studded eyebrow.

“I’M NOT A PERVERT!” She had returned to his bedroom to find a half-naked Gajeel, “WHY ARE YOU UNDRESSING?” She blushed intensely.

He decided not to look at her in case she wasn’t fully dressed, but replied. “What the hell!? This is my house, I can sleep however I want to.” He sighed and smirked. “Wanna see me naked?” He teased her.

“O-of c-course not!” She stuttered and looked away shyly. She wished to change the subject so badly. “Anyways, this is pretty comfortable.”

Gajeel finally turned around and swallowed hard. If she’s trying to seduce me, she is doing one hell of a job right now. He thought when he saw the beautiful solid script mage wearing his shirt.

Her blush invaded her whole face with shame. “Thanks for helping me, Gajeel.”

He glared at her as if he was trying to see her soul. “Don’t stare at me like that. It’s weird.” She pushed some of her blue locks behind her ear.

Fuck! Now I feel like a pervert dumbass. Gajeel couldn’t think straight.

“I will sleep in the couch, ok?” Levy stated.

“It’s okay, Lev. You can take the bed.”Gajeel headed to the door. If you want to go on with your life you have to stay away from her…is just for a couple of days, right? He said to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden touch. Levy grabbed hold of his hand “Gajeel…When I say ‘thanks’,” she walked forward, “I really mean it.” She wrapped her free arm around him, giving him a gentle hug.  “If it wasn’t for you, I’ll be far away from here by now.” She let her face rest on his warm naked torso. “And about my secret…please be patient.”

His nerves hardly let him speak. “Uhh ok.” His heart was pounding hard. “Now go to sleep.” He jerked away from her touch and left immediately.  Dammit, you’re always making me feel so strange.

End of Flashback

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gajeel went downstairs and served a small glass of water. “These days are going to be different. Gee hee.” He took a sip.

“Drop that smile and answer me: Do you know about Levy’s escape? Do you know where she is?” Lily’s voice surprised him and he spit out the water.

Gajeel coughed. “What’s wrong with you? I don’t know anything about her and I don’t care what she did or where she is.”

The exceed looked at him doubtfully. Lying bastard. “Oh really? Do you expect me to believe you?” He crossed his paws in front of his chest.  “Just tell me already.”

“GOD DAMMIT LIL’! Shut up and leave me alone.” Gajeel was avoiding Lily.

“I won’t leave unless you tell me the truth.” Lily followed him to the couch and saw a gray blanket tossed on the floor. “How curious, you never sleep here.”

“Are you working for the council again or what?” Gajeel asked sarcastically.  “I already told you”

“Hey Gajeel, do you have an extra toothbrush?” Levy’s voice was heard from his bedroom.

“Did she really had to open her mouth at this time when I’m spitting a bunch of lies?” He murmured.

“I don’t know anything about her and I don’t care what she did or where she is. Huh?” Lily imitated Gajeel’s exact words. “Oh Mavis. Gajeel, did you kidnapped her?” He asked in disbelief.

“Of course not you idiot!”

“Lily! Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m here because I want to. Gajeel’s helping me. That’s all.” Levy tried to explain as she entered the room and saw the two of them arguing.

“I don’t know the real reason why you were trying to run away, but you can count on me.” Lily knew something was fairly odd, but decided not to dig in.

“Thanks Lily.” She said relieved.

“Are you going to keep it a secret or what?” Gajeel stood behind Levy and place his hand on her head.  “Do you want all the guild here to destroy everything we have? I don’t think so.” He said to Lily.

Lily looked at him. “You should know my answer to those questions.”

“You heard him, Lev. You’re stuck with me for a few days. You have his approval to stay. Gee hee.” He ruffled her hair.

Lily smiled. “We still need to make a good plan.”

“I’ll leave that to you.” Gajeel sat down again on the sofa with a little piece of metal between his teeth.

“That will take a while.” She let a sigh out. “Let me take a bath first.” She head back to Gajeel’s bedroom.

Lily decided to ignore the blanket on the floor and started teasing Gajeel. “If Levy stayed last night here, that means you share the same room?”

Gajeel almost chocked. “Of course not, I slept on the couch.” He coughed.

“But you wanted to.” He looked at Gajeel with devilish eyes.

“Fuck off.” He pushed the exceed out of the comfortable sofa. “Where were you?” He asked trying to avoid every topic related to Levy.

“Probably on my way to Onibus.”Lily replied. “You should take this opportunity to tell her how you are feeling.” He scoffed.

Gajeel knew what he meant and tried to fight back the blush that was trying to invade his whole face. “WHAT THE- WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?! STOP TALKING NONSENSE. She’s only a guildmate.”

Back in Gajeel’s bedroom. Levy took something from her bag and let the tub fill up with crystal clear hot water at the personal bathroom. She finally submerged in it and let out a breath she didn’t knew she was holding. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm feeling.

Exposing her eyes to the light once again, she looked up to the ceiling and pulled out of the water her left hand. She held up a seed Droy gave her. She’d been carrying it with her to remember that the other Shadow Gear members will always be there for her even when she had already bloomed.

I still do not know why those runes appeared and disappeared like that. The books didn’t say anything about that. She looked at her hands intensely.

This whole thing is getting scarier. I don’t know why the magic got out of control. Some leaves began to appear.  

Maybe it was because I was exhausted and decided to use such powerful magic. A small white flower began to grow.

When I touched him last night, it felt normal. She let the little flower grew bigger. I wasn’t absorbing his magic, and that made me feel happy somehow.

Her eyes darkened…But that doesn’t make anything back to normal. The flower turned black and withered.

She got up, wrapped a towel into her body and examined her skin in the mirror’s reflection.

Meanwhile, the iron dragonslayer and his exceed were downstairs enjoying the comfortable silence.

The exceed decided to broke the silence. “Gajeel, could you do me a favor? Can you bring me my sword? I left it in your bedroom.” Lily’s inner self was laughing.

“Sure, whatever. I’ll be right back.” He rose vaguely from the sofa, went upstairs and opened the door the same time Levy was unlocking the bathroom door. Why this keeps happening?

“G-Gajeel”

Lily’s gonna pay for this. “Ummm” Gajeel turned around, he didn’t like the feeling of his face reddening.

“KYAAA!” She threw him her bag and every object near her. “GET OUT OF HERE!”

“OUCH! STOP THROWING THINGS! IT’S LILY’S FAULT” He got out as fast as he could slamming the door behind him, went downstairs and laid besides Pantherlily.

Lily smacked Gajeel’s head with his sword. “That’s what you get for being such a liar and for keeping this a secret from me.”

A few moment later Levy joined them and sat down. “Ok now, let’s create a plan where Gajeel doesn’t look like a kidnapper.” 

“I bet that’s what Jet and Droy are thinking.” The exceed stated.

“If those lapdogs of yours start a fight, I won’t hold back.” Gajeel growled.

“Gajeel, please have some patience.” Levy looked at Gajeel.

Pantherlily felt the tension between them and spoke. “I will take full responsibility of the situation. That way, no one will get in trouble. As for you Levy, you will have to explain the whole thing when you feel comfortable.”

Fairy Tail guild was more crowded than usual. Thanks to the stormy-like weather most of the guild members decided to stay and delight themselves with some beer, games, and music.

Gajeel interrupted their evening by opening the guild doors abruptly. “Oi Salamander, you missed me?”

Does he have to open both doors to have attention? Lily thought.

Droy looked at the entrance of the guild. “Jet, look who’s here.”

Jet got up of his usual spot. “You finally showed up.” Both Shadow Gear members walked up to the iron dragon slayer.  “Where’s Levy? We know you were with her.” He glared at Gajeel.

Gajeel stepped closer. “What are you talking about, Speedy?” He was now face to face with Jet. “I don’t know anything about her.” He replied calmly.

“That’s bullshit.” Jet replied angrily.

“I don’t give a shit if you believe me or not.” Gajeel raised his voice.

Pantherlily transformed to his battle form and got between both men. “Calm down guys. There is no need to be aggressive.” He said peacefully.

“This idiot is accusing me.” Gajeel growled.

“We do it because we know you’re involved in this whole situation.” Droy said.

Lily sighed. “In fact, Gajeel has nothing to do with it. I was the one who helped her escape, she practically begged me to not tell anyone.”

Fairy Tail guild doors opened once again and a cheerful voice was heard. “Good evening everyone! I’m feeling much better now.” Levy said happily.

Macao looked at the blue haired mage. “She looks skinnier”

“I would say curvier.” Wakaba clarified.

“She still smells like metal head.” Natsu said still doubting the exceed’s story.

“That’s our Levy!” Lucy, Jet and Droy ran to her and hugged her.

“Levy where were you?” Lucy asked.

Oh no.Her eyes widened in terror.

Droy confessed. “We were so worried.” And decided to ask. “Why did you escape?”

She stayed silent. I can feel it. Levy thought.

“Yeah, why did you do it?” It could have been dangerous.” The orange haired mage said.

“Guys, that’s enough. Let me go.” She ordered. …please… She tried to warn them. The feeling made Levy terrified.

“What would have happened if Lily wasn’t with you?”

I’m absorbing their magic… Her powers were surging.

“We don’t want to let you go Levy.” Jet and Droy said in unison.

“We missed you, let us hold you a little more.” Lucy said smiling.

I can sense something. The three dragon slayers thought.

A vision appeared in Carla’s mind. Making her eyes widened in terror. “STAY AWAY!” The female exceed yelled.

“GET AWAY FROM HER, LUCE” Natsu screamed at Lucy.

A black and purple mist started to cover Levy. “I SAID GET OFF OF ME!” The impact of the power hit Jet, Droy and Lucy. They were sent backwards. “DON’T TOUCH ME!”

Natsu caught Lucy before she hit the ground. “L-Levy” Lucy said worriedly, watching some runes appeared on her friend’s body.

“I knew something was off.” Gajeel said passing through the other members of Fairy Tail. He stood in front of Levy face to face but kept his distance.

Levy. Jet looked at her with concern. This is worse than the last time.

Levy, w-what’s wrong? Droy tried to ask her but his voice didn’t come out.

“GAJEEL, WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING!” Pantherlily yelled.

“OI, LEV! LOOK AT ME!” Gajeel glared at her. He was so concerned. He raised his hands in front of his chest trying to calm her from the short distance between them.

“AHH!” She screamed. The excruciating pain made her back arch backwards. Her hands holding both sides of her head.

“Maybe I can help her.” Wendy tried to get closer.

“Wendy, don’t!” Carla shouted so loud that made the sky dragon slayer stop in her tracks.

“DON’T COME NEAR ME!” Levy’s head turned to Wendy’s direction. “STAY AWAY! PLEASE!” Tears started to form on the edge of those white eyes. The hazel hue of her eyes was gone.

“We have to help her” Jet and Droy said in unison. They tried to approach her but were stop by Lily’s arms.

“Don’t go near her. She’s not the same.” Makarov’s voice was heard. His tone showed how worried he was.

“But Master-” Jet tried to replied but stopped when he heard another voice.

“Hey Lev, look at me.” Gajeel said slowly. He tried to catch her attention desperately. “Calm down.” He tried to calm her down. “Nobody will hurt you.” Gajeel took a deep breath.

Her eyes blinked a few times and returned to normal. The purple mist vanished, but the runes on her body remained. “W-what?” Levy was sweating and trembling.

“You okay?” Gajeel lowered his arms and stood straight.

Levy looked at Gajeel’s worried face. “Gajeel…” And then looked around the guild.

Their eyes were looking at her.

Lucy. She thought when she saw Natsu standing in front of Lucy protectively. Her eyes kept scanning her guildmates’ faces. Lily. The exceed was holding her fellow Shadow Gear teammates. Both of them were startled. Jet, Droy. She took a few steps back and turned around. And then she saw her father figure.  He was worried. Even Master…

The guild started murmuring. Levy’s hazel eyes started to watered.  They are afraid of me. What have I done? She started running as fast as she could, she wanted to be out of the guild.  They must be thinking I’m a monster.

Gajeel chased after her. Levy. What have you been doing during all these years? He thought while getting himself deeper into the darkness of Magnolia’s outskirts.

TBC

[colorofyourhair]

Civic Duty

Prompt:

Prompt Rating: T

Note: Requests are currently closed. I will make a post with guidelines when they are open again. As tumblr is the only site that will let me list an individual rating per chapter I’ll rate them as content demands. However the larger compilation on both FFN and AO3 are rated M.

Also posted here:

FFN

AO3

She positioned her coffee cup as far away from her laptop as possible. Experience had taught her that lesson the hard way. Erza bit into her croissant and instantly wished she'd went with chocolate instead of plain. She opened the network's front page while brushing pastry flakes from her shirt. The bolded headline nearly made her choke.

E.N.N. CEO HAS PRIVATE DINNER WITH SENIOR COUNCIL MEMBER.

With a fifteen hundred jewel bar tab citizens can rest assured their tax dollars are well spent on burying murdered intern sex scandal!!

Erza glanced around the newsroom before taking another bite of her breakfast to hide her smirk. The headline may be sensationalist but it wasn't exactly untrue. For the last week, the news manager had been under increasing pressure to make the reports of Gran Doma's affair with a recently found dead intern go away. For his part, the news manager resisted but if the CEO had been bought and paid for, the story would very likely get buried.

Private dinners and money changing hands couldn't bury the growing public dislike of Gran Doma and his brand of authority, though. He'd filled the Council with cronies and government agencies with family members. Erza found it to be the worst kind of nepotism. She didn't doubt he had the reach to have an intern who'd become a problem murdered without ever getting his hands dirty. So far, though, solid proof of both the affair and involvement with her death had remained elusive.

“Wow, Erza,” Lucy said from behind her. “Looks like your hacker struck again.”

“It's not my hacker.” Erza muttered, stuffing the rest of her croissant into her mouth.

“It's your thing, though,” Lucy teased. “I'd love to know who he is. Got any leads for me?”

“There's no way of guessing who they are, and no I don't. I just fix the site when it happens and that's all.”

“Sure thing, Erza. You'd let me know if you knew anything, though, right?” Lucy leaned against the edge of Erza's desk. “You wouldn't give the lead to anyone else?”

Erza sighed. “Of course, Lucy. I'd give it all to you over any one of these testosterone slinging idiots any day of the week.”

“I'm just sick of the fluff pieces, you know? I want something juicy.”

“Trust me, I get it. I'd love to stick it to all the mansplainers in IT, too.”

“At least you were promoted out of The Dungeon.”

Erza nodded as her eyes began to scroll through the lines of code. The hacker had been clever this time and her eye twitched. Lucy was still talking.

“Though, you were probably the only reason the bottom floor smelled like anything other than scorched coffee and Axe Body Spray.” Erza half-laughed at Lucy's joke but her fingers were already clicking away. “Ooh, is that Makarov over there?”

Erza jolted and her eyes frantically swept the room. She didn't need the news manager over her shoulder – not that he could've seen over her shoulder anyway.

“I'm kidding,” Lucy said, nudging her shoulder. “You need to lighten up. You've been jumpy all week. Don't tell me this hacker is getting to you?”

“Not at all,” Erza muttered, glancing around the newsroom again. “Listen, I have to go fix that snag in the office chat boxes. Want to have lunch together?”

“I'm meeting Natsu. He's got a nightshift this week and I won't see him as much. Maybe tomorrow?”

“I understand about the nightshift. Jellal's been on the ER graveyard for what feels a month.” Erza stood and closed her laptop. She would leave it behind but definitely not open for prying eyes.

“I'll see you, then.” Lucy smiled and wove her way through the maze of desks.

The Dungeon was a term used to describe the rooms of servers and Tetris-like layout of cubicles used by the IT department. Erza used to have one such cubicle until earning a promotion to the newsroom floor where she personally managed the layout of the Era News Network's front page and oversaw bug reports that were sent to the IT group in The Dungeon. Most of the time her stress level was pretty low and that was mostly due to her new desk location. Despite her expertise and time with the network, certain male employees still failed to recognize her seniority.

Erza stopped next to Hibiki's cubical and he grinned up at her in a way that might have perhaps charmed someone who didn't know him as well. He was flirtatious in a mostly self-aware way.

“And what can I do for you today, Miss Scarlet?” Hibiki asked leaning back in his chair and linking his hands together.

“Can you handle the chat situation for me, please? It should be a simple fix, I just don't have the patience today.”

“Sure, it would be my pleasure, ma'am.” He suddenly sat up and grinned. “You've seen the front page, right? I bet they're having a shit fit upstairs.”

“I fixed the CEO headline but he fucked with the code this time. I have to go through and –” Erza sighed and flicked the fringe of hair from her face. “Anyway. If you can handle that, I'd love it.”

“No problem.” Hibiki's phone chimed and he nodded subtly to the elevator. “Ichiya's on his way.”

“Thanks, Hibiki. I owe you one.” Erza navigated the cubicles – shooting a sharp eye at Ren who wasn't even trying to hide the game on his phone – and quickly slipped through the door leading to the stairs. Avoiding Ichiya would be the pinnacle of her day.

Erza kicked off her shoes and gave Pantherlily a pat on his furry head before shedding her skirt and shirt on a bee-line for the bed. The sheets were still rumpled and a light steam rolled from the cracked bathroom door. Just before closing her eyes, Erza saw Jellal's open laptop on the edge of the desk. She rolled her eyes and pulled a pillow over her head.

A slice of periwinkle blue blocked her view and the smell of his soap filled the room. Erza tossed the pillow vaguely in his direction before rolling over to her back.

“Aw come on,” Jellal said softly. “It could've been worse.”

“I suppose I should thank you,” she sighed. “It got me out of spending my afternoon fixing a stupid chat bug.” Jellal laughed and stretched out in the bed beside her. His clean scrub top was still folded on top of the chest of drawers and the sleeves of his white undershirt hugged his biceps.

“Anything but a chat bug,” he joked, slapping hand over his heart. “The horror!” His dimpled grin faded. “You're wasted in that office, Erza.”

“I know,” she whispered touching his cheek with her fingertips.

“Am I making it worse?”

“You're doing the public a service.”

“Maybe it's selfish but I won't do it at the cost of your stress level or job.” Jellal settled onto the sheets next to her and Erza rolled to face him. She leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth softly.

“I'll survive. I look like a hero every time I fix it. As long as you use the backdoor I gave you, it's untraceable.” Erza swiped the remnants of her lip balm from his cheek with her thumb. “I'm more worried about you and your source.” She ran her fingers through his damp hair. “Are you sure this is safe?”

“As safe as I can make it, Erza. He's a cop and if Gran Doma's tentacles are worming around in law enforcement as well as the private sector and media, we're all fucked.”

“The sex scandal headline you put up this morning had over three thousand clicks before I took it down and the front page itself cracked ten.”

“Good.” Jellal's phone alarm shattered the quiet of the moment and Pantherlily perched on the edge of the mattress. He reached behind himself to grab the phone and silence the alarm. “I work until three this morning. I went shopping so there's plenty of stuff for dinner.”

“Oh, thank you. I'm so tired I was prepared to eat dry cereal.” Jellal laughed and leaned over to kiss her before standing and pulling on his scrub top. She blew him one last kiss as he gave Pantherlily a goodbye scratch behind the ears. Once the front door of their apartment shut and she heard the deadbolt latch, she pulled the cat onto her chest. He settled into a bun and purred loudly.

Erza woke to a gentle shake of her shoulder. Jellal plugged what looked like a flash drive into his laptop. She sat up and ran a hand through her hair.

“What's –” her words were cut off by a yawn. “What's going on?”

“This is a bunch of raw files from the EPD server. My source left it for me. You're going to want to have a look at this.” Jellal slid his laptop over to her. Erza's eyes widened as she flipped through the document previews.

“Wow,” she muttered. “This is – this is pretty damning.”

“Erza we're looking at original documentation of the body and the autopsy. This is ugly.”

“It looks like I'll have a story for Lucy after all.” Erza reached for her phone. Hopefully Lucy would be awake and ready for a bombshell.

[muddyevil]

The Definition of Insanity - Chapter Nine

Wendy was folding her hands over and over in her lap when Lily made his way over to her, landing on the table in front of her lightly. Wendy smiled up at him, she had worked out as soon as the nominations were read out that she was probably going to be partnered with the Exceed. She couldn’t see Freed wanting to partner up with someone who’s magic didn’t line up with his very well, and Cana looked too drunk to even begin to plan anything out.

 “Well, Miss Marvell, it appears that we will be partnered together.”

 Wendy nodded, Carla smiling oddly at the polite way the two of them were conducting themselves.

 “My offensive power isn’t very high, but I believe if I use my support magic on you we should be able to beat everyone else in the room.”

 Lily grinned. Wendy was the perfect blend of modest and confident in her abilities, which was so rare to find nowadays. Especially in Dragon Slayers.

 “I’m sure your offensive power is greater than you think, Wendy. It’s just a matter of training, just like in any fight. But your support magic is invaluable as well. Shall we begin today? Or would you like to wait until tomorrow?”

 Carla stood next to her Dragon Slayer, nodding in agreement with everything Lily had said, watching the girl for her response. Wendy’s cheeks flushed at the compliments, her head ducking a little as way of thanking her new partner.

 “I’m honestly okay with either, Lily. Which would you prefer?”

 The Exceed crossed his arms over his chest, his right hand coming up to tap his chin as he considered. They would presumably need a bit of adjusting in order to learn to fight together. Sure, the girl had an Exceed she partnered with, but they’d been together for years. Carla probably didn’t even have to think about how to support Wendy anymore. Lily, for himself, was used to fighting with other powerful people, but they had always been fully trained fighters.

 “Why don’t we just test out a few things today, and tomorrow we’ll begin training in earnest?”

 Wendy brightened up a little, smiling confidently as she jumped to her feet.

 “That sounds like a good plan! There’s a field outside the city, they hold carnivals there sometimes, we should head there! That way we don’t have to worry if I shout or anything.”

 The girl rubbed the back of her head a little as Lily chuckled. Definitely a benefit to partnering with Wendy. She wasn’t unaware of the destructive nature of her magic, and planned for it. The other Dragon Slayers knew what their magic could do too, they just didn’t care. How many times had Lily been left to clean up the mess they made? He turned and gestured towards the door of the guildhall, laughing again when the tiny girl sprinted towards it, only wobbling once as she went. Once the girl was a good distance away, he turned back to Carla, still keeping his voice low because, well, Dragon Slayer.

 “Do you think you and Happy might be available to help with our training? I do not feel comfortable sparring against her, if I’m honest, and you know Happy is going to be sulking because he’s not partnering with Natsu this year.”

 They both turned to where the blue Exceed was sat on a table by himself, looking a little lost. Carla sighed, considering Lily for a moment. He simply stared back at her, knowing that she didn’t much care for Happy sometimes but would do anything to help Wendy. Finally, the white Exceed sighed again, nodding as wings sprouted from her back.

 “I’ll ask the tomcat to join us. I know what field the child is meaning. You go ahead and follow her, we’ll meet you there.”

 Lily cracked a smile, his own wings popping out of his back as he leapt into the air to follow Wendy. He stooped quickly, grabbing the back of her shirt as they cleared the building and soaring into the air.

 “Which way?”

 Wendy smiled, genuinely loving the way the wind flew through her hair and brushed across her skin. Lifting her right hand she pointed Lily in the right way, and her grin spread even wider as they sped towards their destination.

   “It’s a little scary that someone so small and adorable has that much power, don’t you think?”

 Wakaba leaned back on the bench he and Macao were sitting on, taking a pull from his cigar. His best friend snorted, pulling his right foot up to rest his ankle on his other knee.

 “That’s because when she’s older and you flirt with her, she’ll be even more powerful and she’ll kill you.”

 Across the field, Wendy blushed, her sensitive hearing picking the men’s conversation. She knew they were just like that, talking tough to each other all the time. She also knew she wasn’t in any danger of either of them actually giving her any of the sort of troubles that she’d have to kill them for. But it still, it was embarrassing to hear them discussing her so bluntly.

 “Pay attention, child! I know I’m not as much of a threat as someone like Natsu or Gajeel, but I WILL hit you!”

 The Dragon Slayer blushed darker, bowing her head in apology. Carla stood across from her, having used her transformation magic to take human form to train with her. To her dismay, Pantherlily hadn’t wanted to train with her. It was understandable, really, she wasn’t anything like the person he was used to training with. But it was still a little disheartening. It had only been two days though. Maybe tomorrow she’d be stronger. Wendy smiled, clenching her hands into fists. She glanced over her shoulder to check on Lily’s personal training. He was shadow boxing in his battle mode, throwing punches and kicks, changing his pattern every few minutes. He’d been sparring against Happy in his regular form, but the blue Exceed had given up after only a few minutes and declared himself the “Master of Energy Providing” and left to find some food for everyone. So now Lily was training in an effort to lengthen the time he could stay in his battle form.

 “Pantherlily-san, will you hold still a moment?”

 The Exceed threw a few more punches before pulling his fists back to himself and dropping them to his sides. He turned to face her, smiling slightly.

 “Yes, Wendy? Is everything okay?”

 The girl smiled brightly, nodding her head as she walked towards him a little.

 “I would like to try some enchantments on you, if you don’t mind? They’ll take some getting used to, so you should get as much practice as possible.”

 Pantherlily’s face split into a larger smile, his body relaxing as he nodded, waiting for her to cast her enchantments. They had discussed them on the first day, but she hadn’t shown him what exactly they did yet.

 Wendy’s face set in determination and she raised her right arm before swinging it across her body, then twisting and throwing her hands into the air. Magic circles appeared underneath both of the Exceeds as well as Wendy, then she dropped her right hand in front of her, her open palm facing her partners as another circle appeared.

 “Vernier! Arms!”

 Lily looked down, raising his hands as he felt magic course through them. He clenched his fists, flexing his arms and marvelling at the new strength he felt there. Raising his hands into a ready position, settling his breathing before throwing a right cross… and stumbling forward. The Exceed grunted, adjusting his balance and stance, readying himself again. He threw another punch and lurched over, flailing a little as he tried to slow his fall but moved faster than anticipated. Wendy for her part jumped forward, placing a hand against his arm to help. Carla covered her mouth with a delicate laugh, turning away a little.

 “I’m sorry! I should have warned you that Vernier increases your speed as well!”

 Lily carefully placed his hand over hers, laughing loudly.

 “I could have asked as well, Wendy. There’s no harm done. Thank you for your concern!”

 The Exceed patted her hand a few times and stepped away, once again lifting his hands and beginning to shadow box again. The small girl smiled as well, turning to walk back with Carla to their own area so they could spar some more.

 Across the park, two old men shook their heads, laughing to themselves.

  “Very good, Wendy! Exactly like that!”

 Pantherlily clapped his paws together, flying over to the girl as she helped her friend up off the ground. They had been training for four days already, and Wendy was winning her spars with Carla within a few moves. Carla had advanced as well, of course, but their focus had always been on the little Dragon Slayer. Wendy smiled, brushing her hair off her face as her Exceed released the hold she’d had on her transformation. The young girl waved her hand in the air, a gentle breeze blowing around to cool them all off.

 “Carla, Carla! I brought you a yummy fish! You must be hungry after such a great fight!”

 Happy flew over with a fish in his hands, the white Exceed looking away from him with a grumble. She was hungry, but fish? Ew. Why couldn’t he just bring her some tea? Happy’s ears drooped a little as he pulled his bag around off his back, sticking the fish back in there.

 “I know… you don’t like fish. I just thought I’d offer.”

 Within a minute he perked up again, still rummaging in his little knapsack. With a triumphant cry, Happy whirled to face her again, holding out a thermos and a small cloth that was tied into a carrying sack with a bow on top.

 “I knew I had it somewhere! There’s a few biscuits to go with your tea!”

 Wendy giggled at the expression of shock on her best friend’s face, and the little bit of pink that was creeping onto her cheeks as Carla muttered her thanks and accepted Happy’s offerings. The blue Exceed puffed his chest out, swelling with the pride of having made Carla happy, and the two made their way to the bench along the side of the field. Wendy and Pantherlily watched the whole exchange without saying a word, the black Exceed shaking his head. After the other two had left, the Dragon Slayer turned back to her partner.  

 “Thank you, Lily-san! Do you think I might train against you now?”

 The black Exceed tapped his chin, considering her request. It was important that she not overdo things in training, he wouldn’t want her hurt with no real way to recover. He wasn’t quite sure if her magic worked on her own body the way it did on others. However, it was also essential that she have a good idea how to physically fight against someone larger than herself. The vast majority of their opponents would be, well all but Levy, to be exact. And there were a few who would be able to take magic out of the fight. Pantherlily nodded slowly, letting magic flow through himself to shift into his battle form. The tiny Dragon Slayer grinned, waving her hands in front of her as she cast her enchantments again. The magic circles only appeared under her this time, and again the Exceed nodded his approval.

 “Right, don’t go easy on me, Lily-san! I know our opponents won’t either!”

 Pantherlily matched her smile, balling up his fists and pulling his hands to a ready position. Fighting her was going to be vastly different from fighting with Gajeel, but he knew that he shouldn’t underestimate the girl. She had quite a bit of power in those tiny little arms. Especially with that particular enchantment cast. He stood there waiting for her to make the first move, assessing her height so he was ready when she suddenly lunged forward. They weren’t very far apart, but the girl still had to take a few steps forward to be in range. Pantherlily drew his arms a little closer together, watchful of her speed as he went to block what looked like an incoming jab from the way she was holding herself.

 However, Wendy was moving faster than he was used to, and at the last second she ducked, kicking out her right foot and spinning on her left. The boosted strength paired with the element of surprise worked together and Pantherlily found himself toppling backwards as Wendy’s leg slammed into his own. He shifted his momentum, pushing off with his other foot to propel himself backwards a little, springing off his hands to flip through the air. She was on him again in an instant, throwing three quick punches at his stomach that Lily barely had time to block. He blinked in shock at the determination on her face as the girl continued her assault, even as he struggled to finally regain his balance. That’s how it is then.

 The Exceed grinned, letting himself get knocked back by one of the Dragon Slayer’s punches, his wings sprouting behind him to help with his balance. Wendy still did not hesitate, running after him and leaping into the air. She spun as she went, a high kick aimed at Pantherlily’s head. His hands flew up, catching hold of her leg. She squeaked in surprise, some of her focus lost as the Exceed’s hands closed around her, spinning himself to throw her across their training area. Wendy drew in a breath to use her air magic to stop the momentum, but remembered at the last second that she was supposed to be fighting without it for this match. Just before hitting the ground, she forced her body to relax so the impact wouldn’t be as great, all of the air she’d just taken in escaping with a loud “Oof!” Lily was next to her in an instant, offering the girl a hand.

 “You got a little too cocky there because you caught me off guard at the beginning, which was great, by the way! Just remember that most of our opponents are going to be used to fighting with their hands. You’re not likely to catch them off guard. You’re also not likely to have to fight them, hopefully I’ll be able to keep them busy. But just in case, let’s try again.”

P.S. go check out @gajeelswoman she’s fantastic

[spacklefritz]

Shadow & Light

A/N: Hey Guys! This was written for my Valentine @killjoyshipper (hope you enjoy dear!) as a part of the Ft Secret Valentine Fic Exchange hosted by @ftfanfics​

Rating: T (for swearing)

Summary: Even though one future may have been diverted, the shadows still came out to play. Luckily, Rogue is not alone.

Rogue had maybe two anchors in the world, something to keep the darkness away. The darkness was always there, whispering in his ear. Power was there to take. He was weak, but he could become stronger, if only he removed all that made him who he was. All that kept him human. He was straddling a line over which it was very easy to fall.  He dealt in shadows after all, the dark spaces not often reached by the light. They see your fears, your weakness and prey on them.

He rested a hand on Frosch’s head. ‘So soft.’ He thought to himself. He remembered when he met the little exceed. He was so young, still reeling from the loss of his dragon, his memories altered to believe that he caused the death of his father. The darkness had threatened to pull him under. But then he met Frosch.  He was so tiny, something pure and innocent. Frosch depended on him for everything. The wide-eyed exceed that wanted to be a frog. As Frosch grew and learned about the world around him, his every belief, every enthusiasm, every smile, every accomplishment, whether it was finding a rock of a particular shape and seeing a new bird, everything kept the shadows at bay. Rogue was able to breathe easier when he focused on Frosch… and he began to regain that sense of family.

Here was somebody who would not leave him.

Admittedly, the shadows weren’t as much of a problem as they had been before the GMG and Tartaros, before Sabertooth shifted their focus from sheer power to strengthening the bonds between their guildmates. That was power in itself, and it allowed for light to disperse the shadows.

Below his rooftop seat, he could make out the muffled sounds of his guildmates. It was Saturday and that meant the mandatory pool day. It also meant water sports and whatever other pool activity could be done.

Frosch leaned over for a better view and Rogue physically fought back the instinct to haul the little exceed up in his arms. It was dangerous, damnit! But he had to learn not to crowd Frosch. He was old enough now, and not quite helpless. Still, it was hard to let go.

“You could go down and join them.”

Rogue would’ve gone down there with him. It was just that, he glanced at the hand not on Frosch’s head, the shadows played just under the surface. A black snake, ready to strike. He didn’t want to risk anyone getting hurt by them. He’d just have to wait until they settled down.

“Fro thinks he’ll stay with Rogue.”

Rogue’s breath hitched. His body turned to face the exceed, only to find Frosch smiling widely at him. Sometimes he had the urge to just grab the little exceed and hold him close. He was just so proud of him.

“We’ll be down there shortly.” He said, willing the shadows away.

“Fro thinks so too.”

 “Rogue!”

A heavy arm was flung around his shoulder. The sudden movement caused Rogue to stumble backwards into a damp chest.

“You’re wet.” He said to his companion. Blond hair and a cheeky grin filled his vision. The side of his lips twitched, threatening to smile.

No.

He was not going to encourage him.

“Come on Rogue.” Still grinning, Sting turned to face him slightly. “We just installed the new slide by the pool.”

Sometimes Rogue wondered how this carefree, idiot became head of Sabertooth.

“Yeah, you should totally come! Orga and Minerva are hogging the slides.” Lector added.

Then Rogue remembered that this wasn’t the old Sabertooth. This was Sabertooth as it should’ve been, and really the best person to bring out that camaraderie in all its members was Sting. There was no one else.

Frosch tugged on Rogue’s robe and he swore he saw stars in the exceed’s eyes.

“Fro thinks so too.”

Sting laughed, his other hand coming around Rogue’s chest to balance himself and he looked on the two exceeds. “Then it’s settled! Lector, you and Frosch head down to the pool. Rogue and I will join you guys in a bit.”

Lector winked and gave him a thumbs-up. “Sure thing boss!”

After the exceeds left, Sting dressed back, removing his hands from Rogue. The Shadow Dragon Slayer felt a twinge of disappointment. There was something about Sting that always seemed to settle the shadows.

“Rough Day?” Sting said glancing at the other Dragon Slayer’s hand. Before he could answer, he felt the brush Sting’s fingers above his left hand, where the shadows were the most active.

A bit of Sting’s magic trickled out entwining around his shadows, softening them. Soothing them. Whenever this happened, it was always as if they were being entangled. To a mage, their magic was the essence of themselves and even though he wasn’t standing that close to him, Rogue could feel Sting’s steady heartbeat. He could feel his breath as if he were no more than a centimetre away. Although, knowing Sting, that would soon become fact. Most importantly he could feel him.

In that simple exchange of magic, he could feel the smiles, the touch, the sometimes downright idiotic behaviour. He could feel him. And the shadows, they gravitated to the light, because the light welcomed it. They welcomed him. Without light, there could be no shadows. And without the dark, where would the light shine?

Sometimes, he was immensely grateful to have met Sting.

“You know, you could’ve come down.” Sting said, breaking the silence. “It doesn’t seem as bad as it used to be” Still, his hand never left his, their magics still dancing.

Rogue clenched his fist. “We don’t know that for certain.” What the future him had done, the madness in his eyes, he didn’t think –

“Tch! That ain’t going to happen Rogue.”

“Did you forget the GMG?” Did he forget that he had killed Sting, taken his powers and –

His breathing hitched. Damnit! He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block out those thoughts. He knows that the present him would never do that to Sting but, “We don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“Hey!”He felt Sting’s touch even before he heard him speak. His left hand pushed at the back of Rogue’s head, pressing his forehead to Sting’s. The Light Dragon Slayer’s right hand held firmly onto his, dissipating the shadows in an instant.

“I thought we went through this already.” He could feel the furrows forming between his eyebrows, the hot breath against his face. Sting was pissed. Rogue understood why, but at the same time he didn’t.

Yes they talked it over but it was a risk. “You know what I’m capable of. I could kill-”

Sting let out an undignified snort. His hand pressed harder into Rogue’s hair. “We circumvented that future already, idiot.” The words were firm, unwavering in their belief.  Then, he said, “And no one in this guild is going to leave you to suffer alone.”

That, more than anything else, seemed to get through to Rogue. Yes. Sabertooth, wasn’t as it was before.

“Sorry. You’re right.” Rogue, gave a little smile while Sting chuckled.

“Of course, I am.” His hold on Rogue’s loosened as the Shadow Dragon Slayer slid his head down, nose brushing softly against the shell of Sting’s ear, and then down further, until he rested his head in the crook of Sting’s shoulder.

“You know,” Sting started, “I’ve seen your magic, felt it. You know it’s not evil, right?”

“I know.” And he did, but sometimes the whispers were so strong.

Sting leaned his head backwards, as he brought both arms around Rogue. “Sometimes,” He took in a deep breath, “sometimes the light is so blinding. You can’t see the world in front of you. It’s so absolute in its power that it doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe.”

Just then, he felt something brush against his magic. Soft and silky, the shadows pressed against him. He smiled. “At least, that was until I met a brooding boy with black hair.” Rogue let out a deep chuckle and Sting let out a bit more of his magic to entwine with the shadows.

He could feel Rogue in his magic, all the things running through his head, all the doubts, all the whispers. He felt everything, even the love he had for people, the complete care that proved shadows wrong.

 Rogue was amazing. He dealt with these shadows every day. A lesser man would’ve been lost to it. A lesser man would’ve thought nothing but power, but Rogue understood what was in the shadows. Maybe, because of that he had an inherent kindness, a knowing. He knew what darkness the shadows could breed, and because of that, he sought not inflict that kind of darkness on others.

Like drew to like, and the exceeds, in some ways, were much like their dragon slayers. Pantherlily was strong like Gajeel, Charla was protective like Wendy (for such a tiny person the Wind Dragon Slayer was very strong), Happy had unwavering faith like Natsu, Lector was as cool as he was –his exceed was number one- and Frosch, Frosch was as kind as Rogue.

Rogue would say it was Frosch that made him kind. Sting called bullshit. For someone perceptive, he sometimes wondered how Rogue could be so dense when it came to himself.

He snorted mentally. Thought he could kill me. As if. That alternate future Rogue may have done so, but the Rogue in front of him. The Rogue in his arms, this Rogue, would sooner cut out his own heart.

Hot breath tickled his ear and he shivered. “We should probably go now.”

“Mmm. The others are probably wondering what’s taking so long.”

Neither of them moved.

The others could just fucking wait. It wasn’t often Rogue came to him like this. He was taking as much of this moment as he could.

 Meanwhile

At the poolside, Rufus slathered some sunblock on his body. “I wonder why Sting and Rogue haven’t come down as yet?”

Minerva absently splashed some water on Lector and said, “They’re probably going at it like rabbits.”

“M-M-inerva!” Yukino sputtered, red-faced, as she tried to cover Frosch’s ears. The green exceed looked around, a little confused.

“What?” She said distractedly. She was engaged in a full on water war with Lector now. When the hell did this turn into a battle and how did that damn cat get Orga to join so quickly. “It’s not like you weren’t thinking it.”

She transported Lector on top of the slide, while Orga sent a deluge of water her way.

“Yukino, stop your dawdling. I need back-up.”

[shell-senji]

Gajevy Week 2017: A Surreptitious Suitor, Chapter 4

Chapter four! Find Chapter 3 here.

Again, I am so appreciative of everyone who has liked, reblogged, and/or reviewed the story so far. Thank you! Read HERE on fanfiction.net.

                                                    Day 5 Prompt: First Date

Late one afternoon, early evening really, most of the guild members were hanging out in the hall, eating, drinking, and socializing, as was the usual.

Team Shadow Gear had just returned the night before from a job, and they were regaling their friends with the tale of a supposedly kitsune-haunted mansion, which had turned out to be little more than a couple local village pranksters. As she talked, Levy snuck glances at Gajeel, who appeared to be more interested in observing the rest of the guild than listening to her story.

And just like that, the last thread of Levy’s patience snapped. She was sick of waiting on Gajeel to do something, but she unhappily acknowledged that she was too insecure to ask him out. The fear of rejection and losing their friendship was too great.

When Jet and Droy finished speaking, Levy turned to Lucy.

“Ne, Lu-chan? I’ve, um, got a date tonight… Could you come help me pick out what to wear?”

The blonde whipped her head around to look at Gajeel and then back at Levy, her face lighting up in amazement.

“Did—”

Levy shook her head. “Nope.”

Lucy arched an eyebrow and then grabbed Levy’s hand, dragging the bluenette out the door, barely giving them enough time to say bye to their respective teams.

Jet and Droy reacted predictably to the news, wailing about their “Levy-chan” as they flopped deafeatedly onto the tabletop, tears streaming down their faces.

Gajeel, however, said nothing.

After several minutes of watching Gajeel, or rather watching his lack of reaction, Gray crossed his arms over his suddenly bare chest, leaned back in his chair, and regarded the stoic dragon slayer. “Hey, what gives? You seem awfully calm for Levy to be going out with some guy tonight.”

Gajeel grinned slyly. “Gi hi. I ain’t worried. She’s not going out with anyone tonight.”

Natsu cocked his head in confusion. “Huh? How can you be so sure?”

“Shrimp’s got a tell—she twirls a bit of her hair around her finger the whole time she’s lying. Salamander, your Bunny Girl’s got one too, ya know.”

Gray rolled his eyes at the implication that Natsu owned their teammate. Natsu and Happy leaned in close, mischievous smiles spreading across their faces. “Ohhhh???”

Gajeel snorted. “Not that hard to miss. She giggles and won’t make eye contact.”

While they processed this fairly non-Earthland-shattering information, Gajeel walked up to the bar to get another drink.

Mira smiled as she wiped down the bar. “Same thing?”

He nodded, and she set about preparing his version of a Screwdriver—whiskey neat, literally poured over an iron screw.

“Mira, when you’re finished with that, can you make me another appletini?” Evergreen propped up against the bar next to him. “Hi, Gajeel.”

He inclined his head in acknowledgment and, once he had his drink in hand, was about to return to his seat when something Mira said to Evergreen caught his attention.

“So, Ever, what’s with Bickslow spending so much time at the library these days?”

Evergreen shrugged and fanned her face. “Who knows for sure… But…” She leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially, “I think maybe he’s taken a liking to a particular blue-haired volunteer librarian. Wouldn’t surprise me if he asked her out soon.”

Gajeel gulped his drink and slammed the empty glass on the bar, shattering it in the process and eliciting twin startled squeaks from the women. Then he stomped out the door, not even bothering to wait for Pantherlily, who looked at him with wide surprised eyes.

Evergreen snapped her fan closed and winked at Mira, receiving a Cheshire-cat grin in return.

After a short chat and no small amount of frustrated tears, Lucy and Levy commiserating over baka dragon slayers, the celestial mage went home, assuring Levy she’d keep up the ruse.

Levy knew she was being petty and immature, but she was so very tired of feeling like a foregone conclusion.

Damn that man! Is it so hard to make just a little bit of effort?

She sighed. Maybe she should simply bite the bullet and ask him herself.

Levy flung herself on her bed, wincing in pain as something dug into her midcalf. Squirming around, she retrieved the offending object. It was the newest book left by her clandestine admirer, a rare anthology of dragon fairy tales from various cultures across the world.1

Whoever this person was, they had excellent taste.

She was thumbing through the collection, smiling at the colorful pictures, when a loud thwack against her apartment door had her bolting upright, heart thundering in her chest.

“Oi. Shrimp. I know you’re home.”

Gajeel.

“How’re you even in here? Guys aren’t allowed in Fairy Hills!”

“Heh, as if that would stop me.” He cleared his throat. “Listen, you, uh, want to grab a bite to eat tonight or somethin’?”

“Gajeel… I’d love to, but I already have a date.”2

“Yeah? With who?”

“Umm…a library patron. You don’t know him,” Levy said hesitantly.

“’Course you’re not the kind of girl who would break a date…”

“No, I’m not.”

“And I ain’t the kinda guy who’d ask you to.”

“I know.”

“So, uh, pick you up at eight?” he asked.

“I’ll be ready.”2

She listened to his retreating footsteps and pressed her hands to her mouth to muffle her gleeful squeal.

A date. With Gajeel. Our first date.

Finally!!

Except… Now she really did want Lucy’s help!

Meanwhile…

Lucy had planned on going home, but her short heart-to-heart had left her feeling a bit blue and needy. Rather than wallow in her thoughts at home alone, she decided to go back to the guild for a bit. She knew someone’s antics would cheer her up.

No, you just want to see Natsu. You liiiiiike him.

Why the traitorous little voice in her head had randomly adopted Happy’s voice, Lucy had no clue.

Heading for her team, she saw Laxus at the bar with Mira and Evergreen, a scowl on his face, and she overheard him saying something like “that was just dirty.”

Before she could sneak over to eavesdrop for some juicy gossip, she was accosted by Natsu and Happy. Their matching sly expressions immediately put her on guard.

“Luuuuuuuccccyyyyyy…” Natsu’s grin was a little too toothy for her liking.

She began backing away slowly. “Y-yes?”

“Got any food at your apartment?”

“Yeah, Lucy, maybe some fish?” Happy added.

“Ah, ano…” She bit her lip and glanced at her feet. Sure, she had just bought groceries, including fish, but there was no way she could tell THEM that.

She giggled nervously and peeked at them. They were staring expectantly at her, awaiting her response.

“N-no… I, um [giggle] need to go to the store tomorrow.”

To her surprise, their smiles didn’t fade. No, instead, they grew larger if possible.

Happy chuckled ominously, and he and Natsu said in unison, “You’re lying!”

And then each grabbed ahold of her, and with Natsu on one arm and Happy on the other, they dragged a shell-shocked Lucy out of the guild toward her apartment.

Ehhhh?? What the hell just happened?

Author’s Note: Nope, not going to describe their first date. Everyone’s ideal first date is individual, so I leave that up to readers’ imaginations.

Footnotes:

1. Note: Refers to A Book of Dragons, by Ruth Manning-Sanders. Published in 1964, it’s a collection of 14 dragon-related fairy tales. Whether it actually has colorful pictures or not, I couldn’t say.

2. Note: Starting with the line “I’d love to, but I already have a date” and ending with “I’ll be ready,” this scene was adapted from the 1959 movie Pillow Talk, starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Though technically it would’ve been nice to use this on the Pillow Talk prompt day, it just worked better here 😊