#ftfanfics

[neen-writes]

Silver for Monsters -- Ch. 7: The Dancing Windmill

Series: Witcher/Fairy Tail

Pairing: Gajeel/Levy

Summary: In a world ravaged by monsters where magic is becoming outlawed and nonhumans are hunted, the Witcher known as Black Steel Gajeel takes up a contract. He expects to find a simple old herbalist, terrorized by a beast in the woods. But in his many years he has learned to never trust what he expects.

Notes: Here we are, the first entirely fresh chapter for this fic in five years. I spent a long time sitting and listening to music, and going over old notes to really nail down where I wanted this to go. Which has included looking at a lot of interactive maps and picking places for our two to go! As a note, I had "On the Champs-Désolés" from the Blood and Wine OST on my mind for the last dance. Which I know is technically combat music, but boy just imagine a wild, hedonistic dance circle to this. Anyway, enjoy!

Read on Ao3 Here

--

The locals were in a tizzy. Something about a pile of dead drowners on the beach and no real inkling of how they got there. Just whispers of some scuffle at the crack of dawn. ‘They killed each other,’ ‘something bigger got ‘em,’ and then finally, the one that made the corner of Gajeel’s mouth tilt.

“You fetid whoreson, I told you to burn them, not dump them in the harbor!” Shrill, aged. Without a doubt a long-suffering wife shrieking at her husband that had most certainly ran afoul of her good graces years past. Well, he found the careless farmer it seemed; or at least, one of them.

He scratched the side of his mouth absently, moving with some familiarity to pick up his contractor.  He’d taken his time leaving the city proper, knowing that she likely had a list of preparations to see to before they could be on their way. His interests aside, Gajeel did not fancy sitting awkwardly on Lucy’s couch while Levy packed for what was predicted to be an extended period of each other’s company. No, he preferred to mentally work that scenario to death ahead of time while browsing the shelves of an apothecary for essentials, then stopping at the stable he had boarded his horse at for the night.

The Witcher had agreed real quick to inserting himself in whatever big picture the mage was being painted into. In the moment, it seemed like the only thing to do. She needed help, and was already on a variety of his waking and resting thoughts, so he could provide. Then, as he silently packed his items into the leather saddlebags, his better judgment came knocking. Loud. 

Not a single one of them had missed the signs that something astronomically significant was brewing right there in Novigrad’s harbor. Two of the most powerful political powers of the territories agreeing to participate with one another to hunt the Lodge for some common goal. For Emhyr to find the tolerance to cooperate with a madman like Radovid, to put their war second to finding the remaining sorceresses…the carrot at the end of that stick must have been remarkably rich. 

Men were foolish, violent; driven by their lusts in whatever flavor it happened to be. For the flesh, for power, for blood. A simple grudge and common distaste for the Lodge was not so rewarding a dish to bring those two together. No, some deeper desire had them both by the throat.

Gajeel saw all of that, and without a second thought said ‘excellent, I’ll get in the middle of that.’ His boot scuffed the dirt loudly and a grimace fell over his features.

Hell’s teeth, Lily was going to be livid when he found out.  

Which, realistically, Gajeel could put off for some time. They often traveled separately from one another, coming together here and there when it served them. It was perfectly feasible to get all this Lodge business sorted, Find Levy’s lost compatriot, then be off on the Path once more. He would collect on some reward for whatever work Jellal had for him, and then call it a day. Easy.  Cut and dry. Uncomplicated. 

Gajeel repeated that mantra to himself as he tied up his horse just inside the old fence around the familiar townhouse. Uncomplicated.

His fist rapped twice against the worn wooden door, and the ginger-haired man from before opened it carefully; Lucy’s polymorph. Relief rippled over her features, but she did not drop the form. Cautious, good. Knowing what we know now.

“She’s just grabbing the last of her things upstairs,” Lucy said by way of greeting as she stepped to the side. Gajeel’s brows lifted a fraction; the conjured voice that she matched to this form was foolproof. A comfort for her, certainly.  The untrained eye would never know the difference or that something more lay beneath. They just had to hope that the witch hunters remained untrained in polymorphy.

He nodded once and helped himself inside, awkwardly shouldering through the tight doorways. Farcorners wasn’t the neighborhood of wealth, and it showed in more ways than one. Particularly in the economical way most buildings were constructed: shorter ceilings, narrow doorways, small rooms. A collection of cut corners to save on building costs.

The Witcher didn’t bother sitting, and instead assumed his favored lean on a wallspace with crossed arms. Lucy didn’t make any effort to strike up conversation, but judging by the way she hovered around the space and avoided eye contact, he could see it was anxiety that had her tongue. Mercifully, it wasn’t long before the other mage descended the stairs with a light pack at her side. She had put on fresher clothes since this morning, and looked more prepared for the road than she did before. Judging by how quickly and thoroughly she put herself together, this wasn’t the first time she had to move on with such short notice.

When Levy’s eyes found him, there was a spark on her face, like she hadn’t expected him there. She did not hide that it was a pleasant surprise, and a glimmer of satisfaction swirled in his chest.

His earlier mantra, whatever it was, conveniently drifted right out of his head. Couldn't have been that important. 

“Gajeel, you’re right on time,” she remarked with a strained smile. The mage was on edge, as she rightly should be. It didn’t suit her. 

“Saw no reason to stall,” he replied, having stalled most of the morning.

“True enough,” Levy glanced over at Lucy, who had stepped over to fuss at her shirt. She was still in her glamour, so she stood nearly a head taller as she checked the security of her bag strap. An easy familiarity of old, old friends. No space boundaries.

“Did you remember–”

“Yes, I have everything you gave me, Luce,” Levy cut her off before she could start fretting all over again. The morning had been tense for the two of them, and Lucy tried at least twice to get Levy to reconsider. To no avail, of course. There was no stopping Levy once her mind was set on a direction, and Lucy knew this well enough. But not knowing when, or if she would see her friend once she rode off with the strange Witcher was motivation enough to at least try. Gajeel’s only saving grace in her opinions of him was his relationship with her complicated blacksmith, and likely the only thing that kept her from doing something drastic to keep Levy safe.

Lucy heaved a tired sigh and laid both hands on Levy’s shoulders. “You’re the best of us, you know.”

“Stop it,” Levy replied with a gentle smile, “I’ll be in touch with Erza soon. You just remember our agreement.”

“Kovir.  Two weeks,” she responded.

A gentle clattering reminded both of them that Gajeel still stood, awkwardly, in the room with them. Waiting for whatever this was–so many emotions–to be over. This was largely why he traveled alone, if not with Lily. People were so complicated, and so full of things to say when actions worked just as well. The urge to not settle, to not linger longer than was necessary was a wordless understanding between Witchers. Socially, they weren’t meant for the world anymore unless drunk enough to stifle their inhibitions, but they got on just fine with one another. If he had it his way, they would have been long gone by now, but this seemed important to her. In an odd turn, he seemed keen on validating what was important to her.

A few more quiet words, a clasping of their hands, and then Lucy’s glamour gave Gajeel a curt nod that said everything her words could not before they headed out the door. ‘Take care of her.’

The door closed, and Levy’s face fell slightly when she saw the single horse tied up outside, “You still just have the one.” Not a question.

“Apologies, I did not find the time to buy ya one all for yourself,” the eyeroll was all over his tone whether he physically did so or not. Regardless, he held out his hand to help her up into the saddle, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. 

She stared at the offering, then up at the horse. “Too busy buying yourself new armor? Or killing the neighborhood vermin?” Levy cast him a half-annoyed look and eased back slightly.

Ah, so word of his escapades had spread. “Ya mean my profession? Correct,” he replied, his tone full of easy mockery.

Levy huffed and motioned for him to mount the horse first, “I’ll ride in the rear this time, if it’s all the same to you.”

He blinked, wondering why that would matter or make it any different. Either way she was going to be close enough to make his skin crawl and–

Heat clawed at the back of his neck, mercifully hidden by the cascade of black hair he’d pulled up into a ponytail earlier.  Without any more protest, he hoisted himself up into the seat with fluid ease, then leaned over to extend a hand, again, to the mage.

She pondered for half a second on whether or not she should take it, then settled on the fact that trying to get up on her own would surpass any embarrassment from simply taking his hand.  It was an assist, that was all. The mage placed her right hand over the top of his and braced her left on the back of the seat.  Hers disappeared into the palm of his and for a split moment she found herself distracted by how rough it was, before her heart dropped to her feet.

Either oblivious to his own strength or seriously overestimating how much effort he needed to put in to lift her, she clumsily hopped into the saddle behind him and nearly slid right on over the other side with the momentum. Levy might have, were it not for the quick twist back of his right shoulder to catch her with a small oomf into his back. “Easy,” he chided, and he can practically hear the steam billowing out of her ears as he gave a gentle pop into the horse’s side. This was going to be a long ride.

—

“You know, if you gave me an idea of where we were going, I could probably teleport us there.  Or at least close.  Rest and Lucy worked wonders.” The increased distance between homes were the first indication that they were coming to the edge of district, and closer still to leaving Novigrad behind. Her hands sat securely on her thighs to minimize any unnecessary contact with the Witcher in front of her. The seating arrangement did allow her to feel like she wasn’t quite so close to him, but the unforeseen circumstance to that was the fact she couldn’t see a damn thing past his wall of a back that wasn’t directly to their left or right.

“No,” he responded a lot more sharply than he had intended, but the suggestion wrought an immediate twist of nausea in his gut. “No portals.  Sworn off ‘em.”

Levy scrunched her nose, “Well, that’s a little dramatic. We did fine last time when I wasn’t even at my best.”

Gajeel cast a quick look over his shoulder at her. “Sorry, ya mean when I was swiftly delivered into a mouthful of dirt?” He was full of bitter accusation.

The sorceress raised her brows at him and grazed her fingertips over her chest in mock scandal, “The drama persists,” she huffs and dismisses his bravado with a wave of her hand, “Again, next time you are welcome to navigate yourself out of such a situation yourself if my assistance so offends. I’ll file away your preferences for the future.”

Gajeel bared his teeth slightly and instead just looked forward, pulling their horse due north. “If we want to avoid the border posts, we’ll need to leave by way of Seven Cats Inn, head north to avoid the high traffic over the river crossings, and then east,” he leaves no room for any other option. This would involve some level of roughing it through untraveled landscape, but with so much activity in and out of Novigrad, it was their best option. Especially if they were benign tailed in any way, the least direct route to his friend’s base was the safest choice.

The sorceress heaved a sigh, but didn’t fight him on it. “Your horse, your rules. Lead on.”

There’s the faintest of hums in his medallion as they pass the seedy tavern on their way out of the last vestiges of Novigrad’s reach.  The feral cat colony that call the inn home are everywhere as they pass through, some roused from deep sleep to give the two of them one look and then hiss emphatically. 

Levy peeked up at Gajeel, amusement prickling at the corners of her eyes. She’d heard rumors, folklore, surrounding Witchers in excess. As stories passed from generation to generation, cautionary tales and ghost stories alike, it was hard to know what was real or not. 

‘Keeping your barns vermin free besides, always keep cats to your property. They will surely see more than your eyes can on every occasion, and will always know when a Witcher comes knocking to steal your younguns. When the cats hiss, know your home’s amiss.’

“So, the stories are true,” she remarks, casting a thoughtless glance into the windows of the already busy tavern as they ride by.  For a split second her eyes snagged on something familiar, but it’s already out of view as they ride forward.

“And those are?”

“Your affinity for cats, of course,” there’s laughter in her tone, but she could see him bristle as another cat hissed on their way out. 

—

The sun glowed at the horizon by the time sounds of revelry reached the two of them. Levy, absently, placed a hand on Gajeel’s bicep to lean as far as she safely could to the side to get a look. Her curiosity had her oblivious to the way Gajeel straightened at the contact, and instead she regarded what at first just looked like a simple windmill. With the steady westerly breeze, it turned slowly, but the rest of its body had seen far better days.

Gajeel looked, stiffly, over his shoulder at the intrigued mage, then forward at the windmill at the top of a small hill. Various horses were tied up wherever anyone could find the space, and as they ambled forward on the path, more and more signs of movement became apparent. The space around the mill was positively swarming with folk, and a thin stream of fresh smoke indicated the start of a fire.

Somewhere in that direction, someone gave a loud ‘woop!’ and music immediately hopped into a fever pitch as the collection of people whirred into unison with one another. Two things that didn’t seem to go together: a decrepit windmill, and unfettered revelry. 

“Strange place to come together,” Levy commented, trying to crane her neck to see better.

“Surprising, I didn’t think they still did this,” he responded, pulling the horse to a halt.  From the corner of his eye, he could feel the questioning stare. “Used to be, probably still is, called the Dancing Windmill. Some well-to-do dancer used to own the place and threw wicked parties,” a small, knowing smile curved the corner of his mouth, “but when he died I thought they went with ‘im. Guess tradition ain’t easy to bury.”

He felt the woman shift behind him, a kind of uncertain bounce in her seat. After a moment, she scooted back suddenly from him and tucked a leg over to slide out of the saddle, her boots impacting the dirt with a soft thud. Levy quickly reached up to adjust her hood, pulling it securely around her face and tucked brown hair behind her ears.

“O-oi, what’re ya doin’?” Gajeel started to protest as she stepped forward, took hold of the reins, and began leading them up the path towards the commotion.

“Relax, I just want a look. Not every day that you find something like this outside the city.”

The Witcher grumbled to himself and dismounted with a much heavier thud, not keen on being led like a maiden on horseback by the small sorceress. “Much as I’d love a bender, we ain’t got the time. Not sure if ya remember,” he came round front to take the reins from her, but continued in the direction she was heading.  

Levy rolled her eyes, “I’m not planning to stay.  I just,” she paused, not taking her eyes off the raucous swirl of bodies as a new song struck up its tempo. She recognized it from a time long past as something she had danced to once in a tavern. Back when there was time for simple joys like dancing. The memory of the dance came to her, and a bittersweet warmth spread in her chest when she tracked the same dip, spin, partner switch in the revelers when they came closer. “I just want to look back for a moment, to be someone other than myself.  Just for a few minutes.”

Gajeel swallowed the remainder of his protests then, studying the faraway look on her face. It made sense, being what they were, that simple pleasures like a night of dance and drink would be bygone memories. He found himself wondering then if she danced, if her cheeks flushed when she tossed back one too many ales. Or, rather, if she preferred a Touissaint red, or a honey-sweet mead. The questions swirled faster than he could choose from, and instead he chose to watch the party-goers as they stopped just at the edge of the growing firelight, the sun quickly dipping below the horizon. “Shouldn’t bother us none, these used to draw in noble stiffs all the way down to the stable’s shit shovelers, and any non-human that could hide so much as a pointed ear. Folk’d dress however they needed to blend in and come mornin’, no one spoke of it again until the next one,” he offered as an attempt at breaking the silence. A weak reply to her when he could feel every part of her drawing in towards the party.

The sorceress’s shoulders sagged as a small sigh left her. She wanted more than anything waltz in there as an unnamed face and blend in to the swirl of common-folk. In another life, a life where the chaos of magic had not been a siren song that ensnared her into conflict neverending. A life that was not and would not be hers, made clear by the occasional wary glance cast upon them as folks took their breathers at the edge of the property. They were noticed, but be it the energy or the alcohol, the participants appeared to choose not to consider them a problem unless they made themselves one.

For the moments she stood there, watching the unrestrained twirls, yips, and splashes of tankards against one another, she could put herself in their shoes. Levy was there with them, remembering the steps because each week’s end would be another chance to practice. There were no boundaries amongst dancers, freely placing their hands where necessary to throw from partner to partner in a fever step to match the rising tempo. 

She wanted to join them, and she could, easily. She could step in there, just for one dance, so quickly. Or two, or–

Pressure, his hand, settled over her shoulder and she snapped out of a trance she hadn’t even known she was in. Levy looked quickly at her confused companion holding her back mid-step, as the hairs stood on the back of her neck. 

She swung her gaze back to the party so sharply, he thought someone might have called her name. Levy, a woman possessed, looked closer at the dance than she had before, eyes darting from face to face.  Looking for something. The music swelled, pulling her erratic heartbeat with it.  This was familiar again, a tune she knew heralded from taverns in Toussaint.

“Levy?” Gajeel probed, going tense. The mood had shifted drastically, and where before she had been just observing, now she seemed drawn. Panicked even. There was no indication that she even heard him, or chose to acknowledge his presence.

The mage didn’t answer, looking for something without knowing what it was. She shouldered out of his grip and took another step forward, searching, searching.

Searching until a flash of blonde, nearly white hair swept through the middle of the swirling crowd. Levy felt the color drain from her face and her heart seized, before launching into a gallop. Somewhere in the band, someone took up the beat of the drums to thrust the melody forward, boots stomping the dirt in wild unison. Another swirl, and a short woman dressed in white leapt from one partner to another, a wild trail of ashen hair behind her, and disappeared again into the mess of bodies.

Levy’s throat went dry, her hands grasping up at the empty air in front of her. The edges of her vision darkened as she stood on her toes, trying to search as much as she could of the crowd short of walking in there herself. She leaned harshly left and right, nearly throwing off her hood, and opened her mouth to call out.

A harsh reminder of the Witcher’s presence came in the form of a large, rough hand clasped over her mouth. The sorceress felt her world tilt as he wrapped another arm around her waist and hauled her up and back off of her feet. “What are you doing?” he hissed into her ear, before cursing sharply as a numbing shock sparked into the hand over her face. Gajeel dropped his hand to shake out the sensation, but held his other arm firm around her middle.

Levy bobbed forward, and a single name tumbled in a gasp from her mouth, “Mavis?!” Her eyes scanned again, the music arcing downward again as the dancers separated out into two lines opposite each other to conclude their flurry. Bright hair caught her eye again, and her chest seized, before ice water in the form of stark disappointment crashed over her. A woman with a mess of ashen-blonde hair stood there true enough, her sides heaving from the effort of the dance, but it was most certainly not the person she imagined seeing. 

Gajeel felt her body sag and waited an extra moment before setting her back onto her feet and pulling her round to face him. He blanched backwards at the stark white color of her face and the vacant look of undiluted shock in her eyes. Surprise gave way to action, and Gajeel seized her chin to force her eyes up to his, still needing to lean forward to avoid craning her neck too far.  “I’m gonna need ya to say somethin’ here, shorty,” he pushed, hoping the nickname would be enough to pull her back to the present.

There was a glimmer, but she still did not supply the reaction he hoped. “I,” she started, blinking once, then a hard twice, “I thought I saw,” she was out of breath. Another heartbeat, and urgency fell over her features, “I was wrong, we need to go.” The abruptness with which she pushed past him to head back onto the trail left him stunned for a moment.  He hazarded one curious glance back at the party, which would continue well into the morning hours, and then pulled the horse after him to prevent her from creating too much distance.

“Look, I know we all got our things, but if I’m stuck with ya, I need ya to give me somethin’.  Anythin’, ‘specially if it is something that will, I don’t know, blow our cover? In front of a large group of people?” he caught up to her fairly easily, his steps much longer than hers.

It took Levy a moment, refusing to look at him now as embarrassment alone brought the color back to her face. Stupid. That was almost, disastrously, stupid. “I’m sorry,” she replied finally, quieter than she had hoped. “I saw a ghost, that’s all,” she was, noticeably, refusing to look at him. “She is–was someone important to me. To all of us, but she died a long time ago. I haven’t been sleeping well, and I got caught up in the past, that’s all.”

Gajeel wanted more than anything to probe further, but she looked absolutely drained from the mere possibility she had seen the living body of an old friend. A severe reaction that didn’t warrant digging into just yet.  He would, of course, eventually. Gajeel was not and would never be known for his patience and tact. “Looks like we should find somewhere to set down for the night, then.”

[mdelpin]

A Proper Send Off

Gratsu Week 2021 Prompt: Goodbye Pairing: Gray x Natsu

AO3

Summary: Natsu is having trouble coping with everything he learned during the Alvarez War and tries to sneak away again, but Gray isn't about to let him go alone.

They take off together and find all their friends waiting for them at the Magnolia town marker. After all, no one is allowed to leave Fairy Tail without a proper send-off.

0-0

Gray caught up to Natsu and Happy about a mile from the Magnolia town marker.

“You going somewhere, Flame Breath?”

Gray’s heart caught in his throat when Natsu refused to look at him, his eyes staying firmly on the ground.

“I tried to talk him out of it, Gray, but he wouldn’t listen.” Happy complained, “It’s just like last time.”

“Don’t worry about it, Happy, I’m not about to let him make the same mistake again.”

“I have to go.” Natsu said in a strangled voice. “Please don’t try to stop me.”

Gray wasn’t really surprised. He’d been expecting something like this for days.

Tartaros, Alvarez, Zeref, END…

Any one of these was a lot to handle, but all of them at once? It was just too much.

For both of them.

Things still hadn’t gone back to normal between them, and truth be told, Gray was still worried that Lucy’s attempt to rewrite the book of END might have changed Natsu somewhat.

But he knew that wasn’t exactly fair. It wasn’t so much that Natsu was different now; it was more that he didn’t know how to act around others.

And who could blame him? Even the people around town who had always treated Natsu as a friend had begun to treat him differently.

On top of that, after spending years searching for answers to his past, he’d certainly learned more than he’d bargained for. Who his family was, how he’d ended up with Igneel, the connection he shared with Wendy, Gajeel, Sting and Rogue as well as Lucy’s ancestor.

Even more, he’d learned what he was and the purpose he’d been meant to fulfill.

How many people had been killed or had their lives destroyed because of Zeref’s attempts to resurrect him? How did anyone live with that knowledge?

It was something Gray could easily sympathize with. After all, guilt was something he dealt with daily. For the people who had died so he could live, for not returning Juvia’s fervent affections, and for not being able to offer his father the peace he’d asked for.

And now he could add trying to kill the person he loved most and breaking a promise to the list.

Gray didn’t know how they were going to come back from any of this, but he knew that as much as he wanted to tell him he was wrong, Natsu was on to something. He needed to leave to sort through all of his doubts and fears, including this new one that he was a danger to his friends.

Zeref might be gone, but that had never stopped dark sorcerers from searching out any vestiges of his magic, and that was part of what Natsu was now.

But Gray wasn’t just about to let him do it alone.

And he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“Who said anything about stopping you?” Gray said. “I’m going with you.”

Natsu’s head jerked up and Gray pointed at the travel bag that hung on his shoulder.

“But what about Juvia?” He blurted out before adding in a softer tone, “And the others?”

“Juvia will never get over her creepy obsession if I stay, and as for the others,” he paused, because the truth is this part did make him sad. “They’ll be fine.”

The members of Fairy Tail had been his family for so long, he knew he’d miss them all terribly.

But everyone had to leave home sometime. It was part of growing up, and he truly felt that his future lay with Natsu.

He knew mending their relationship wouldn’t be easy, but it was important to him to try. Besides, he’d already discussed it with Gramps, and the old man had agreed. This was what was best for Natsu right now, and it would be much better if he didn’t go alone.

“I don’t know where I’m going.” Natsu said, looking a little embarrassed by the admission.

“I expected that from a Flame Brain like you.” Gray laughed. “That’s okay. We can figure it out on the way. I doubt it matters much, anyway.”

“Are you sure about this? It could get dangerous.”

“Standing next to you is dangerous,” Gray scoffed. “Don’t worry about me, love, I can hold my own.”

“Love?” Natsu said, sounding puzzled at hearing the familiar term of endearment. “But I thought…”

“Well, that was your first mistake,” Gray quipped, but when Natsu didn’t laugh, he gave up the pretense that everything was alright between them.

“I know I fucked up. Said and did things I didn’t mean, but that doesn’t mean I stopped loving you. And I know it won’t be easy, but I want to work on us again.”

Natsu searched his eyes for the briefest of seconds, and satisfied with whatever he found in them, he began walking, pulling Gray along with him.

Happy flew around them, looking much more cheerful now that he knew Gray was joining them on their journey this time around.

They heard the commotion before they saw what it was, and Gray groaned as they got to the top of the hill, only to find Erza and just about everyone else in the guild waiting for them.

“You didn’t really think you’d be able to leave us without a proper sendoff, did you?” Erza asked, looking incredibly pleased with herself as everyone else snorted their agreement.

Yes, he’d rather hoped so. Gray hated scenes and he could already feel Natsu stiffening next to him. He shot an annoyed glare at Gramps, but the old man merely shrugged his shoulders unapologetically.

Natsu was examining the ground again, and curious what brought that about, he looked around and noticed Lucy heading towards them.

“It’s alright, Natsu. I’ll be just fine this time.” Lucy smiled. “I’m even working on a book about all of our adventures. Levy is helping me.”

Natsu looked up at that. She wrapped him up in a quick hug, and Gray backed away to give them some space.

“I-I just wanted to say thank you for everything. All the times you saved me, and all the fun we had. These last couple of years I was able to find a family again, and it was all thanks to you. I’m going to miss you. You too, Gray!”

“We saved each other,” Natsu corrected with a fond smile, even as Happy flew into Lucy’s arms and hugged her.

“Don’t let him destroy too much, Happy, okay?”

Happy nodded solemnly and gave his customary, “Aye, sir!”

Everyone jumped in with well wishes and words of encouragement until there were only a few left.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry,” Wendy wailed as she hugged them tightly.

“It’s okay, kiddo. You’ll see us again!” Gray assured her, hoping that he was right. He didn’t know how long this journey of theirs would take, but he hoped they could return someday.

“Try to keep your pants on,” Cana said as she hugged Gray. She whispered, “Unless you don’t have to…”

“Cana!” Gray protested as he shoved her away playfully.

“I heard that,” Natsu grumbled.

“I know,” Cana winked, capturing him in a hug as well. “Take care of each other, and say hi to my old man for me if you bump into him on the road.”

Natsu nodded.

Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna came as a group. Mira handed Natsu a bag with food.

“Here you go, I packed you both some lunch.” Mira fussed over them, “Don’t forget to eat, and write us letters from time to time to let us know how you’re doing.”

Lisanna giggled, “Like Natsu would ever forget to eat.”

She gave him a big hug, “Take care of yourselves.”

She whispered something into Natsu’s ear that Gray did not catch, but his face turned an interesting shade of red, and he shushed her.

Interesting…

Gray had little chance to think about what she might have said because Elfman enveloped them in a hug and slapped both their backs hard enough for it to hurt.

“Elfman, are you crying?” Mira asked, watching her younger brother with an amused smile.

“Crying is manly,” Elfman wiped away at his eyes.

Warren stepped forward and handed them each a mobile lacrima device. “Here, take these, in case you want to get in touch or something.”

“You don’t have to-”

Gray got no further as Warren turned away, muttering “Just take them.”

“Is he crying?” Natsu whispered, and Gray could only shrug in response.

Macao and Romeo came next, and neither made any effort to hide their tears. “Take care, you two, and try to get along, will ya?”

Romeo only stared at them and it was then Gray remembered he’d been the one who’d never given up on them all those years they’d been stuck on Tenrou.

“You’re going to have to train hard,” Natsu told him, “Cause I’m leaving you in charge of the guild while I‘m gone, okay?”

Romeo nodded, and like Wendy before him, hugged them both at once. Gray found himself petting his head, as Macao used to do to them when they were younger. It didn’t feel like it had been all that long ago, really.

“I’m not gonna say goodbye, since I plan to pop in on you now and again.” Loke gave them each a fist bump. “So make sure you have interesting stuff to tell me.”

He stepped back to stand between Cana and Lucy.

“Juvia doesn’t see why Natsu has to take Gray-sama with him,” Juvia wailed loudly to anyone who would listen.

“Try not to get too lost in that little head of yours, alright?” Gajeel slapped Natsu on the back. He shook Gray’s hand and muttered. “I’ll try to keep the crazy away as much as I can, but you guys might want to hurry the first couple of days, so there isn’t a trail for her to follow.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Gajeel waited while Pantherlily and Carla said their goodbyes to Happy.

That left only Erza and Gramps. Erza pushed Makarov’s wheelchair over to them.

“I better not hear you two are running around destroying towns and bothering people,” Erza started off sternly, but by the end of her scolding, there were tears in the corner of her eyes.

Gray could feel matching tears coming on and he could hear Natsu sniffling next to him too.

“Come here, you two,” Erza said, grabbing them both into a fierce hug. “You’ve come so far. You’re going to be just fine, I just know it. I’ll- I’ll miss you.”

They held on to her tightly, letting her cry over them. Gray had known she’d be the hardest. For as strict as she’d always been on them, they shared the most history. Not to mention she’d also been the one to force them to get past their stupid rivalry.

They finally let go of her, smiling as they wiped away their tears.

“There’s only one thing left to do.” Gramps said, and everyone lined up behind him.

“While you are leaving us, always remember that Fairy Tail will always be your home, and should you, no, when you choose to return, it will be here waiting for you.”

“Now, as you know, there are three rules that any mage who leaves Fairy Tail must abide by.

Number One - You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live.

Number Two - You must never use former contacts met through your being in the guild for personal gain.

And Number Three - Though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might. You must never consider your own life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget about your friends for as long as you live.”

Gramps looked so small in that wheelchair, fragile almost, and Gray had a passing thought that this might be the last time they got to see him. He felt his heart clench at the thought, not ready to think about losing anyone else that was important to him.

“Thanks, Gramps.” There was so much more Gray wanted to say to him, but he had a feeling the old man knew. “For everything.”

“Yeah, Gramps, thanks for taking me in.” Natsu smiled, the first genuine smile Gray had seen since the war had ended.

“The pleasure was mine,” Gramps grinned, “Well, most of the time anyway. Now, get going!”

“Take care of yourselves boys, and try not to be so reckless.”

“Bye everyone!” Natsu and Gray called out, waving to everyone before turning around and walking away.

Gray reached out for Natsu’s hand, wanting to test the waters, and was pleased to find Natsu didn’t fight him off.

Now that they were finally on their way, the wave of sadness lifted and the excitement creeped in again, and as they turned back one last time they saw everyone had lifted their hands in air making the Fairy Tail hand signal.

Even if we can't see you... no matter how far away you may be... we will always be watching you.

“We’ll be back someday,” Gray squeezed the hand he held in his.

“I hope so.”

Happy took one look at their joined hands and squeaked. “I knew it! You looooove him!”

“Do not, shut up!” Natsu yelled, pulling away from Gray and chasing after the Exceed.

“You looooove him, you looooove him!” Happy chanted, flying just out of Natsu’s reach.

Gray watched them and chuckled, glad to see Natsu acting more like himself. They had left their home behind, and it would be tough going, but in the end, he truly hoped Natsu could find the peace he was looking for, and he wanted nothing more than to share it with him.

But of course, there was nothing wrong with having a few adventures along the way!

0-0

A/N: This is immensely personal for me. Today is the last day of the last Gratsu Week hosted by @becausewhenyoupracticeyouimprove and the @gratsu-week blog on Tumblr. It was the first event I ever participated in back in 2018, and it's an event that I have helped organize for the last three years. It's very special to me.

So it is very fitting that the last ever prompt was goodbye.

More than just a story, this represents my goodbye to canon as well. I will go no further than this point.

I was one of those people who was really excited by the announcement that Fairy Tail would continue in 100 Year's Quest, because God knows I wasn't ready to let go.

But from the moment it first came out, I was horrified by what it turned out to be (a horrible story whose only purpose was to further the big 4, with even more fan service than before, and I won't even get into the character assassination). As such, I refuse to have anything to do with it. So I have ended things my way, because if the point of Fairy Tail is now ships, then I will sail with mine.

Hopefully, this will also provide some of you with the same comfort it gives me.

[whiskas-pandastar]

Request: GrayLu; Gray listening to Lucy's heartbeat as she rewrites the book of END, END markings spreading to her heart as she does this

Lucy breathes heavily as she continues writing over the book of E.N.D. Her body glistened in sweat despite the blizzard Gray creates for her. She clutches the quill in her hand tightly, fighting against the heated inner turmoil in her body. It feels like her soul itself is on fire, biting and burning relentlessly from within. It is not Natsu's flames; because while he would never let his flames near her, his flames were not so angry...so unforgiving. It is a weird feeling, being engulfed in cold on the outside and burning up on the inside.

Despite it all, she continues to write, because this is the only thing she can do now to save him. It rested in her hands.

But with every letter she rewrites, the burn in her heart becomes even stronger, and breathing becomes more laborious. The burning sensation is intense, spreading like poison over the right side of her body, the malice force preventing her from writing. But she couldn't stop now. Natsu's life was in danger.

Gray watches over Lucy with a mix of awe and concern. He has never seen her like this before. She is strong and determined and so tantalizingly fierce. Her eyes seem fiery as she works her way with the letters. At this moment, he doesn't see any traces of the cute and naïve girl he initially thought her to be. She is hardly the dainty little princess she was when she first entered the guild.

The same girl who would cower and back off at the sight of any demon, was now fighting off something even more sinister than that. She puts up a strong front, but Gray notices every bit; the increasingly ragged breathing, the slight tremble in her hand, the excessive sweat on her body despite the chill. He cannot bring himself to imagine the pain she was experiencing from within. But she continues without a word, because he knows, he understands her so painfully well; they had to save their friend.

He swallows thickly as he notices the red veins on her body, spread viciously from the tips of her fingers to her arm, slowly branching off on her chest. The demonic power of the book sought to dominate her, body and soul, and all he could do is watch helplessly.

His stomach drops when suddenly, she gasps and shudders as she lets out a heavy pant, eyes glistening slightly and she presses a palm to her heart. His heart jumps when he notices how quickly the red veins were spreading across the area her hand was placed.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Gray asks, voice laced with worry. Just from being next to her, he can feel intense heat emitting from her body.

She shakes her head, her back slumping a bit as she clutches her chest in pain, "I-I'm fine. Don't worry." she still manages to throw him a smile.

Gray bites his lip in frustration. She was obviously not okay. As she picks up the stylus slowly and raises her hand and continues writing again, another heavy shudder passes through her body.

"Lucy -Lucy stop-" Gray takes her hand in his gently and lays it down.

"But Gray I can't - I need to-" She starts protesting but she stops when she sees Gray's desperate expression.

"I know, Lucy. We need to save Natsu, but I can't afford to lose you in the process too!" he tells her seriously. The words hang in the air for a while before Happy adds tearfully, "Gray's right, Lucy. I don't want to lose you too!"

Lucy nods firmly, but once again, she feels a tugging pain in her chest and claws at her heart, panting heavily.

Gray takes her in his arms, intensifying his magic as much as he can.

"W-Water-" she pants roughly.

"I'll go fetch it immediately!" Happy flies off urgently in search of the nearest water source.

As she continues to press her chest painfully, Gray gently takes her wrist and presses his ear to her heart. Her heart was beating abnormally fast, and her pulse rate confirmed that.

"Relax, Lucy. Take deep breaths." he strokes her head soothingly. She follows his commands and closes her eyes, inhaling and exhaling. “I’m here for you.” He reassures her, reminding her and giving her courage, that she wasn’t alone. That he wouldn’t let her fall. A smile graces her lips and she nods gratefully.

Happy returns with a flask of water, which Gray cools down with his ice magic before helping her gulp it down.

She lets out a calmer breath, the pain in her heart subsiding a bit, "Thanks, Gray, Happy." she nods gingerly. "I'm ready." She grips the quill firmly, the resolute expression back in her eyes as their minds mirror the same thoughts.

Hold on, Natsu, we're going to save you!

A/N: I hope this meets your expectations, anon :)

[dustyphantom]

When You’re Gone

Angst warning, but also family fluff and children.

Prompt: Loss

Pairing: Fraxus

Laxus sighed, running his hands through his hair. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this. All of it had happened so quickly, he wasn’t sure what to make of the news. After all, Fairy Tail’s worst enemy was dead.

But so was his dad.

He heard footsteps approaching him, steady thumps against the carpeted floor over the gentle patter of the rain outside, “Are you alright?”

Laxus smiled. At least through all of this, he had his husband by his side, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

There was a pause, “May I have a seat?”

The dragon slayer patted the seat beside him on their couch. Freed placed a peck on his cheek as he sat down, swinging one graceful leg over the other. They were both silent for a moment before Freed spoke again, “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?”

Laxus nodded, “It’s just… so weird. As a member of Fairy Tail, I feel like I’m expected to be happy about this. But… he was also my father. I mean, he was never a great dad, but he was there.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I… don’t know,” Laxus admitted, “Empty, maybe? I’m not sad, but I’m not happy either. I don’t really feel anything.

Freed hummed, “That’s understandable. You don’t have to feel a certain way about it. Nobody is expecting anything from you about this.”

“It’s just… something that’s been there my entire life is just suddenly gone. I guess I kinda miss him, but not as a father. Just as someone who’s always been out there. Is that weird?”

The rune mage shook his head, “We all process in different ways. Everything about this is complicated,” Freed’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling the dragon slayer closer, “If you need some time off to process, we’d all understand.”

Laxus let out a huff of laughter, “I think that would be the worst thing for me. I just need something to take my mind off of it.”

Freed smiled before resting his chin on Laxus’s shoulder, “If there’s anything you need, I’ll be here.”

Laxus kissed his husband’s forehead, “Thanks. I love you.”

“And I you.”

The dragon slayer sat still as the rune mage slowly fell asleep, still leaning against him. Freed always looked so peaceful when he slept, his features gentle as his chest rhythmically rose and fell. It was always comforting to see him rest, since he hardly ever slept when they had first met. The Thunder Legion had always been like a family, and they had lost their eldest brother as children. Freed had taken it the hardest, hardly ever sleeping in fear that he would have nightmares about all the people he had lost.

“Papa?”

Laxus looked over to the little boy in the doorway, trying his best to not disturb his husband, “Hey Yuri. What’s up?”

The boy made his way over to Laxus, climbing up onto the couch and then onto his father’s lap, “Is something wrong?”

“Huh? No, why do you ask?”

Yuri frowned, “Your eyes look sad.”

Laxus sighed. Even though he was only five years old, Yuri was always very empathetic. He cared so much for every living thing, insisting that they take in injured birds and nurse them back to health. It was adorable, but Laxus had always wondered where he’d gotten that from, “I guess I am a little sad. But it’s not anything you have to worry about.”

“Is it about Robin?”

The dragon slayer froze. It was rare anyone ever mentioned their lost daughter. Robin was Yuri’s twin sister who had suddenly died three years ago. Although it was no longer taboo to mention her in the guild, nobody ever had much of a reason to talk about her. Laxus always hated remembering the months after she had passed away, when everything had been so bleak and he and Freed grieved every night.

But this was nothing like that. All in all, it was a good thing Ivan was dead, “No, it’s not about her. I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“Oh, okay,” Yuri said, “I’m sorry I talked about her. She makes you upset.”

“It’s alright. It’s just a little hard to talk about her sometimes.”

“Can you tuck me in?”

“Of course. Just give me a minute, I don’t want to wake up your dad.”

Laxus slowly shifted Freed off of him, laying the smaller man down on the couch as carefully as he could before taking Yuri back to his own bedroom. The boy climbed into bed, pulling the covers over himself. The lightning dragon pressed a kiss against his son’s forehead before tugging the covers up just a little further. Yuri yawned, curling up on his side. Laxus waited until the boy was barely conscious before standing up. He brushed a strand of bright blonde hair out of the boy’s face.

“Good night, Yuri.”

“‘Night, Papa,” he mumbled sleepily.

Laxus sighed, slowly closing the door behind him as he left his son’s room. He was lucky to have a kid who was so kind and easygoing. Even he couldn’t remember much of Robin, but he was sure she was more difficult than Yuri was. Still, just thinking about his daughter made his heart ache.

It was an age of peace for Fairy Tail. There hadn’t been any major conflicts in nine years, and the guild was flourishing with new life as the members settled down and started families. Even so, Laxus had suffered so many losses. Makarov had died exactly a year before the twins were born, then Robin, and now Ivan.

When he walked back to the living room, Freed was sitting upright, staring at the lake beyond their window. He stood when he heard Laxus approach, blue eyes almost glowing in the low light.

“Sorry,” Laxus said quietly, “I tried not to wake you up.”

“It’s quite alright,” Freed responded easily, “You had to take care of Yuri. Besides, I’ve always been a light sleeper.”

The dragon slayer looked at his feet, “So did you hear what he asked me about?”

Freed frowned, “I didn’t. Is something wrong?”

Laxus shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. It’s not important.”

The rune mage crossed his arms, “You know you don’t have to try to protect me. Come now, I can handle it.”

The lightning dragon sighed his resignation, “He noticed that I was upset and he… he asked if it was about Robin.”

Freed went quiet.

“Of course, he’s allowed to talk about her, but it still hurts, you know?”

“Yeah. I know.”

They both stood silently for a long moment, until Laxus heard a quiet sniffle. Freed wiped tears from his eyes as the lightning dragon looked up.

“Oh, Freed,” Laxus murmured, pulling his husband into a hug.

The rune mage shuddered, “It’s been three years since then. I should be over it. It shouldn’t still make me feel like this.”

“No, no. It’s fine to still be upset. What happened was horrible. Nobody expects you to just get over something like that,” Laxus comforted, “It still hurts me when I hear people talk about her.”

“Gods, I miss her so much.”

Laxus pulled his husband closer, “So do I. But when someone dies, there’s nothing we can do about it. We just have to be happy that they lived.”

Freed chuckled softly, “You inherited the master’s way with words, too.”

“Yeah. I guess I did,” the dragon slayer murmured, “I’m sad he’s gone, but I’m lucky to have had him there when I needed him.”

Laxus smiled, thinking of all the ridiculous things his grandfather did to cheer him up when he was little. He truly was grateful to have such a person with him.

“Freed?”

“Hmm?”

“Promise me you’ll always be by my side.”

“Of course, love. I would never leave you,” Freed responded, “But in return, you must promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“If, for whatever reason, something happens to me, take care of Yuri and the Thunder Legion. They need you.”

Laxus chuckled, “Of course. But nothing will happen to you, right?”

“Of course not. I love you all too much to ever dream of leaving.”

“Good, ‘cause we need you too.”

@ft-wwtdp

[ftlgbtales]

for the drabble requests - can you do trans Sting and nb Rogue stingue?

It was strange, how much could change in a lifetime.

Raios Cheney. Charlotte Eucliffe.

They had both known from a young age that they would be together forever, but neither of them could foresee this.

“How do I look?” Sting asked, pulling his suit lapels and spinning away from the mirror.

“Incredible.”

Rogue approached Sting slowly, smiling, circling their arms around Sting’s waist.

This was his first suit, one that they had chosen together. Sting had been excited, and even if Rogue did not fully understand the relevance they were simply pleased to see their boyfriend happy.

“This is the first year that I’m excited for the ball.” He sighed against Rogue’s chest, threading his fingers through their hair.

“I still haven’t decided what to wear yet.” Rogue sighed, and Sting offered an empathetic smile.

“That dress you bought was beautiful.”

“Yeah…” Rogue winced. They enjoyed clothes of all capacity, knew that Sting loved them regardless, but not everyone outside of the guild understood their gender… or lack thereof.

And that was the dilemma: if they wore a suit, they felt as though they were presenting as too masculine, and if they were a dress then that could issues for both their boyfriend and their guild. It was frustrating, and Rogue was tired of thinking about it. They were considering going in a t-shirt and jeans, or simply just not bothering at all. That would solve their problems. But the latter in particular was not a viable option, not when this was the first ball with Sting out to the public as a man. Rogue had to be there for him, because they knew how much of a big deal for Sting this was.

“Either way,” Sting began, pressing his lips against Rogue’s cheek. “You’ll look lovely.”

Their lips met, and it was sweet. They had fallen in love as a boy and a girl, and now they stood together, a man and his partner. Rogue wanted to be with Sting forever, and was planning for such strong emotions; they had already chosen a ring. Now it was just a matter of time.

Knowing that they had that, that all the time in the world was theirs, was a beautiful and euphoric feeling. Rogue was getting dizzy from it, from the indescribably bliss of an eternity with Sting. And they realised that it did not matter what they wore. People would still talk, and Sting would still love, and the world would move on without any serious damage. All Rogue had to worry about was the next step, getting down on one knee and asking the man of his dreams to be with them forever.

It was a daunting prospect, but they were ready. With Sting on their arm, Rogue felt as though they could face the world. And with Sabertooth’s ball looming ahead, they really just might.

We will be closing this 500 word drabble game tomorrow, so if there are any last-minute ideas which you would like to see then please send them asap :)

[yamigooops]

Avis Draconis - Chapter 3

Pairing - Gajevy

Type - Fairy/Dragon AU

Words - 2338

A loud noise was the first thing she registered. It was like metal spikes being dragged over stone, making her feel as if someone were pounding nails through her skull.

Then she noticed the pillows pressed to her cheek, the silken sheets beneath her skin. Her mind snapped to attention as she remembered where she was, and she felt her heartbeat pounding faster in her chest. She had awoken in his nest, the Iron King, "Black Steel" Gajeel. He wanted to take her as his queen in an effort to end the war and bring peace. And he terrified her.

But he also intrigued her, captivated her. She wanted to learn everything about him, wanted to know every part of him. So she lay there for a bit longer as the scraping continued, her curiosity nearly forcing her to open her eyes and figure out where it was coming from. But if it was in fact Gajeel there, she didn’t particularly want him to know that she was awake yet.

“How are your wings?” Came a gruff voice from beyond the walls of the nest. Of course he was here... This was his Aerie, after all, so it was somewhat foolish of Levy to believe he’d be elsewhere. Instead of responding, Levy merely opened her eyes and shifted into a fetal position against the mound of pillows she was propped against. She shuffled her wings slightly, only feeling faint soreness in her joints. The skin along the bones felt tight with the promise of new feathers within the next few days or so.

“Come on little fairy,” he called, his words followed by the muffled sound of rustling leather and a soft thud beside her a moment later. “I knew you were awake even before you did.”

Giving up the act, Levy slowly rubbed the sleep from her eyes, keeping her gaze fixed on the gold embroidery of the pillow beneath her cheek. From her periphery, she knew the dragon was sprawled next to her, one elbow against the side of the nest to prop up his head as the other raked through that unruly mane of his. He seemed so content, lying there with her, while she held her breath in anticipation for what he’d do next.

Using the hand that wasn’t beneath his head, Gajeel reached out to gently run the tips of his fingers along the top of her wing. Levy jumped at the contact, not expecting him to make such a bold move only two days after meeting her. She recoiled, moving away from him and glaring as she did. Not many among the Avis would allow someone to touch their wings so....intimately. Unless absolutely necessary, the only fae who allowed such contact were lovers, and he was certainly not that, much less even her acquaintance.

“What’s wrong? Did that hurt?” A look of pure confusion crossed his sharp features, as he surely didn’t know what he did.

“Please...” Levy muttered. “Unless I tell you otherwise, don’t-” her voice caught in her throat. The weight of her current situation seemed to crash down on her all at once, and her eyes teared up. Here was the dragon who had started the war that had killed so many of her kind, looking so...so normal and almost friendly. Yet his actions brought a very real fear into her mind that she had only glanced over last night: he not only stole her from her people, he stole her future from her as well. If everything went according to his plan, as it very well might, she would never get to have a future with Jet, or see her friends anymore. She wouldn’t be able to do most of the things she had always dreamed of, and it was all because of him. Curling even further into herself, she tried her best to keep the tears from falling, but nevertheless she felt the fabric beneath her skin dampen.

“What? Don’t do what? Why are you crying?” He sounded genuinely worried as he came closer, seemingly not knowing how to deal with a fairy crying on his bed. After a moment, his fingers came to brush back her hair as he tried to find her eyes. But Levy simply covered her face with her own hands, hating to show him how weak she could be. As her memories of the previous night replayed in her mind, she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.

Gajeel made an attempt to shift her onto his lap, believing he could help comfort her at least slightly. If she wanted to be angry with him, so be it. But he couldn’t stand to see the little bluenette crying and looking so helpless. So when she shoved him away, he was more than a bit confused, and that confusion slowly changed to anger as she moved to the opposite side of his nest with a tear-filled glare.

“You took everything...” She choked out. Had it not been for his heightened hearing, he would have had difficulty making out what she said. But considering he could make out her racing pulse, her whispered words weren’t much of a challenge. “I was supposed to have a future, I had friends, a man who loved me. And you took that all away from me. I can hardly stand to look at you right now, much less even consider the possibility of marrying you. Even if it would save my people a hundred times over...”

Her words stung, made his heart feel things he didn’t expect to feel. Her declaration felt more like a dull knife slowly dragging across his skin, and he wasn’t sure why it hurt so much. He took a moment to consider all the ways he could respond, before deciding this wasn’t an argument for today. So instead, he stood once again and stepped out of the nest to return to his previous business.

Levy couldn’t help but stare in befuddlement as he simply walked away. It was as if her words hadn’t even phased him, but merely bounced off his steely exterior. She couldn’t help but wonder if he even heard her, though surely he must have. He calmly strode over toward the pile of treasure that ringed the massive space and picked up a wooden chest filled with scrolls and leather-bound books. Scanning the pile for something else, he shook his head and turned back toward her.

“I have things I need to attend to, but this all should tie you over until I return,” he grumbled as he made his way up the dias steps. “Hopefully you won’t find it too difficult.” He grunted softly as he set the chest down with a dull thud. It was solid looking, as broad as his shoulders and lined on all corners with heavy looking metal. The top looked as though it had been torn off, judging by the mangled hinges that connected to nothing on the back edge of the container.

“I’m sure it can’t be anything I’ve never seen before,” Levy mumbled, letting some of the tension release from her limbs.

“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, little one. These are Draconic texts,” he chuckled.

“Please don’t call me that,” she demanded softly. That was what Jet always called her, and this dragon king had no right to the same courtesies as the love of her life. “Do you have anything in Fiorean? I can try my best to decipher these, but it would take me days to do on my own without your help...”

“Unfortunately, to get Fiorean texts, I’d have to go to Fiore. And the only times I ever did that , there was quite a bit of fire involved,” he responded in a snide tone. “Fire and paper don’t really go well together.”

Levy wrenched her gaze from the silk beneath her to glare at Gajeel. “Don’t patronize me, dragon,” she hissed.

“Then don’t test my patience, fae. Be curt and honest with me,” he growled, leaning down to place his large hands on the edge of the nest as his eyes narrowed slightly. “Dragons aren’t like you fae, we don’t twist our words and act without reason. If something is wrong, you’re going to need to tell me, because honestly you’re a bit hard to read. For instance, what was I not supposed to do earlier that upset you so terribly?”

Levy stiffened at his words. It was true, fae are often taught how to mask emotions and thoughts from a very young age, especially in higher tiers. She hadn’t been sure how to tell him about the meaning of such intimate wing touching before, but unless she told him he would likely never know of such a custom, and may try to do it again. “I apologise for not communicating clearly,” she began, trying her very best to keep eye contact to show her sincerity. “I was just overwhelmed by waking up to everything all at once. I got upset earlier because you...” Her voice trailed off as she began to lose her nerve. Her eyes drifted away from his, and he shifted before her.

“Did I do something wrong, princess?” The way he said her title made a shiver run down her spine. His wings rustled, the leathery sound causing Levy’s eyes to snap up to focus on them in unintentional curiosity.

“You...you touched my wings...” she whispered after a moment.

“And what’s wrong with that? I was seeing how they were healing,” he asked, sounding somewhat confused.

“It’s very...inappropriate. Touching someone’s wings without asking and receiving permission first is something reserved for family until reaching a certain age, and...” She choked on the last word, shifting her gaze to look at her hands as they rung in her lap. “It’s reserved for lovers,” she finally blurted.

She heard a soft, sharp inhale pass through Gajeel’s lips, and felt her face heat up. There was a moment of stunned silence before Gajeel let out a small sigh and let his head hang. “I apologize but I’m not very well versed in fae customs. I suppose there will be a lot we have to learn about each other in the future, won’t there?” He looked back up at her with a softer expression. “I won’t do it again, princess. Not until the day you give me permission.” With that, his lips quirked into a small, rakish grin.

As if I’d ever give it to you, Levy thought. “Thank you. I promise I’ll try to be more forthcoming with my thoughts in the future. Though it will take a little time. Being taught my entire life to hide my emotions makes it hard to break the habit,” she grimaced. Levy gently drew her eyes over the old, slightly worn parchment he had placed before her before meeting his crimson gaze. “Thank you for the reading materials, they should keep me busy for a while. Draconic texts are hard to come by in Fiore, even as the princess, so I look forward to trying to finally decipher it.” She returned his grin with a small one of her own.

“I’m sure it won’t take a bookworm like you too long to figure it out. It’s much easier than Fiorean,” he scoffed. “Like I said, the Draconis are a very direct people, so our language reflects that. If you have any difficulties figuring it out let me know when I return later today and I can try to help. I’m no linguist, but I know how to speak my mother tongue.” He straightened to his full height, but his eyes never left hers.

“That sounds wonderful,” she nodded, her voice coming out softer than she expected.

There was a pause of silence that stretched on for a moment longer than was comfortable, and Gajeel was the first to break his eyes away. He raised his hand to scratch the back of his neck, looking somewhat sheepish. “Well then, I’ll leave you to it. If you need anything just let Pantherlily know, he’ll be around. I’ll be out for most of the day so, uh... I guess you can feel free to explore if you’d like.”

“Alright, thank you.” Levy looked down at her hands once more. The tension in the air was growing unbearable. Just moments ago they had both been so upset, and now she didn’t know how to feel. She appreciated that he was trying to be accomodating, but she also felt anger, despair and a pang of loneliness at being stuck here without her friends. “I suppose I’ll... see you later then...” she trailed off, unsure of what else to say as he just stood there awkwardly.

“Yes, until later then,” he nodded resolutely before turning toward the steps of the dias.

“Gajeel,” Levy called as a thought crossed her mind. He stopped halfway down the stairs to look up at her, and she had to move to the side of the nest to see him fully, crossing her arms on the rim and resting her chin on them. “Should I stay away from all your treasures?” She motioned to the myriad of things on the perimeter of the room.

He hesitated for a moment, as if he were going to tell her yes, she should not touch anything in the Aerie, before he closed his eyes with a sigh and nodded. “I’d be willing to bet you’re going to explore anyway, given how curious your kind are, so no, I guess you can look around. But try to put things back where you find them. I have a system,” he grumbled as he turned back away and headed for the towering door.

Levy smiled to herself. At least if she was going to be stuck here, and with the king of the Draconis no less, she would have some entertainment between the scrolls and books, the treasure trove surrounding her, and exploring the caverns she currently had to call home.

[watcher-ofthe-sky]

We will be everything that we’d ever need

Day 2 of “I take pride in what I am” hosted by @ft-wwtdp

Prompt: “We will be everything that we’d ever need”

Pairing: Gratsu 

xxx

Gray stared at the frosty bandages on his arm.

His body was still radiating cold more than the usual. Subconsciously, his skin was dotting itself with ice. The effects of the Lost Iced Shell spell that he had tried to cast before have not worn off till now. His body was taking time to adjust to its body temperature and casting away the excessive coolness that has come as a per se side effect.

He took a sip of the warm tea that Natsu had shoved in his hands a few moments ago and enjoyed its warmth for once.

“This is what you always do. You throw yourself in abysses and every damn time he has to come to save you,” a voice within Gray said to him.

The ice mage shook his head, trying to ignore it; at the same time, he couldn’t help but notice the truth behind the words.

It wasn’t the fact that it is always Natsu who pulls him out of his darkness which bothered him. If there is anyone in this whole world who is needed to save him, if there is anyone who can save him, it is Natsu. Gray wouldn’t have it otherwise.

What bothered him was the fact that Natsu has to save him at all.

“Am I really this pathetic?” he said to himself.

“Yes. Yes, you are.”

Gray closed his eyes, remembering the events that happened at that time. One moment before he was standing with his arms crossed over each other, his ice wrapping Zeref in the shell. In the next moment, he was on the ground with Natsu on top of him, tears streaming down his face, yelling at him to stop.

To live.

Gray snapped open his eyes as the memories turn vivid. He took deep breaths, tried to calm his heart which was speeding in the rib cage. He looked down at his palms when it hit him. He realised the monstrosity of what he had tried to do.

“I promised him that I won’t try it again. And there was I, selfishly trying to kill myself, hell erase my entire existence,” he said aloud and bit his lips, hard enough to tear out blood.

His caught the salmon pink hair. The Dragon Slayer was sitting beside Lucy, talking animatedly with his wide grin and loud laugh.

Something inside of Gray rippled.

Again, the visions of the incidents flashed before him. But this time it was different.

Zeref’s words echoed in the guildhall. Natsu was going to die.

Natsu was going to die.

Natsu was going to die.

And at the moment, Gray knew that he has to do what he had done. Because this is what people do for the people they care about; they sacrifice themselves if it means to bring a ray of happiness for others.

And for Natsu, Gray knew that he will gladly lay down his life.

The ice mage again took a look at him-- how his eyes light up with happiness and mischief, as if they have sparks of fire in them. Natsu was made up of noises, laughter, fire, destruction and sunshine. His loudness and optimism was enough for both of them and compensated the lack on Gray’s part.

“And you clouded his brightness when you did what you did,” the voice said.

Gray knew it was true. He knows that  it’s always better to live. To be in a future where you can be with those for whom you will drop down everything. Because without you, their future won’t be bright.

To be in a future where he could simply be with Natsu.

But does Natsu deserve that?  He who makes even the existence bigger deserve someone like Gray who was messed up in many ways?

“Hey,” a voice said from behind.

Erza came and plopped down next to him.

Gray gave her a small smile in return.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

He dismissively shrugged. “Okay, I guess?”

Erza nodded and let a comfortable silence fall between them.

“Was...Do you think it-it was right?” he said, gesturing to his hands.

She smiled before saying, “We seldom reason with our actions and think of their consequences when we are dealing for the person we love.”

“Don’t you think it is wild and foolish?”

“Well, that is what they say about love.”

Gray smirked at that. “Yeah, right.”

“I think what justifies the aftermath is that you let each other grow; in between all the hell and the good times around you, you take each other’s vulnerabilities, weaknesses and strengths and stand together. There are no right answers, Gray, only right causes and people. You both deserve each other, you have chosen each other. It’s okay to fall and need them; it’s okay to lean on them because that is what trust is. That is what love is.”

Something in Gray lightened; like a fog getting clear. He realised that this is what they have always been-- they have always beat the shit out of each other to bring out their best. They have always pushed each other to become better.

They have trusted each other.

They have loved each other.

In that split second, Gray knew that he would be anything that Natsu will ever need. And he knew that Natsu would do the same.

xxx

“We will be everything that we’d ever need,” Natsu said to Lucy.

He was watching Gray talking to Erza. He was watching the way his lips slightly curl when he smiles, the way his eyes wrinkle, the way his voice sounds like a calm ocean.

He knew that he has always been way too reckless, not that he was complaining, but he was worried that he had pushed Gray beyond his limits; like he had in some way, demanded him to do the same.

It was until Lucy explained to him that they both are idiots in love who are built that way. At the same time, when you love someone, you live for them and be less heedless.

Natsu knew that they weren’t perfect. And he wouldn’t have things any other way. They communicated more through actions rather than words. Sometimes their every movement screamed that they love each other while they twist their words the other way.

Natsu had been afraid that he was not enough; that somewhere he fails to make them whole; complete.

But now he realised that all they have to do is to simply love each other with so much conviction and all their heart. And that will be more than enough.

Suddenly Gray looked in his direction and their gaze met. He smiled at him and Natsu returned it, because at that moment, he knew that they’ll be each other’s everything.

[otakugirlkrod]

Three Years Have Passed

A/N: Thank you all for your patience, support and reviews on ff.net and here on tumblr.  I can finally say that my story is UPDATED! I really hope that you guys like this chapter. (It might be a little dark) and before hand I wanted to say sorry if you find some mistakes in the grammar.

Anime: Fairy Tail

Couple: Gajevy

Rated: T (Language)

Status: On going

Chapter Nine: What did they do to you?

It took Gajeel’s team two days to get to Crocus. As soon as they set foot in the city, they noticed that something bad was about to happened.

Sachiko created a big lacrima to protect the group.

Gajeel looked at her. “What the hell are ya’ doin’?” Then he sensed something stronger and looked once again to the city.

All of a sudden the whole city was covered by a black sky and purple mist. In a blink of an eye everything was turned to stone but the sky remained the same.

“This is not a good thing. We have to hurry up!” Sachiko made the lacrima disappear and started running. The whole group followed her.

“This magic seems familiar.” Pantherlily was flying beside them while looking at the people that were petrified.

“It’s similar to the Thunder God Tribe’s stone eye magic.” Gajeel said.

“The ancient magic is developing new stages of every magic Miss Levy learned through the years.” Sachiko explained.

Levy-chan… Yasu thought.

Tsuyoshi and Katsumi were all bruised up, they were doing spell after spell trying to tame the person that was before them.

“I told you it was feeling threatened.” The guild master told his elite while panting.

“We were too late.” Katsumi replied with a hint of fear in her voice.

“Tsk. I don’t get it. How weak can you be Tsuyoshi?” Said the magic within Levy. It was using her body to create chaos. A long black dress was covering Levy’s body exposing part of her breast in a deep v neck and the dress had a cut on its left side to show Levy’s leg. Her long hair was down and her eyes were white. Her neck, shoulder, arms, forehead and part of her cheeks were stained with black and some purple runes were visible in both of her arms. The original beautiful hue of her eyes was gone.

“Although I have to thank you since your spells made me stronger.” She had a wicked smile. “Let me make this more private.” Levy’s head turned to Katsumi’s direction and extended her left arm to cast a spell. Katsumi tried her best to escape the room and started running through the hallway. “You were summoning me and now you’re running away? Don’t make me laugh.” Levy turned herself to a shadow and followed Katsumi.

This bitch is crazy. Katsumi thought as she was running for her life but she didn’t noticed she was being followed. All of the sudden Katsumi found herself crucified by iron shackles in the hallway’s wall. “What the fuck?!”

“Surprise” Levy’s possessed form stood before her and stabbed her in the chest with her arm now turned to an iron sword.

“You bitch.” Katsumi spit some of her blood to Levy’s smiling face.

Meanwhile, Team Natsu were now arriving Crocus.

“What happened here?” Wendy said nervously. She noticed that even the Sabertooth guild was turned to stone.

Lucy looked up to the dark sky. “Guys, do you feel that?” She said referring to the amount of magic power that she was sensing. All of them nodded.

Happy looked at Natsu’s determined yet worried face. “Natsu, what are we going to do to help Levy?” Happy said worriedly.

“I’m going to turn this magic into ashes.” The dragonslayer said seriously.

Natsu… Lucy looked at him worriedly.

“Metal head is not so far, we should go after him” the pink haired man told his comrades. “Let’s go.”

The red haired woman stood in front of an old crumbling building. “It’s here.” Sachiko said.

Gajeel rushed in and found nothing. Where are you Lev?

“They must be at the dungeon.” Sachiko said confident.

“Why I can’t sense her presence?” Gajeel turned around and asked the woman behind him. She kneeled and touched the dusty floor with both hands.

“I have to get rid of this runes first before we can find her.” She said while reading part of the now visible red runes. She focused all her magic to her hands and created a yellow magic circle. “OLD RUNES OF PROTECTION OF THE ANCIENT MAGIC I NOW CANCEL YOUR POWER! LED US TO YOUR ORIGIN!” Sachiko said as all the runes created a path to the dungeon.

Yasu was stunned. She’s so powerful.

“Gajeel, look!” The exceed said.

Gajeel nodded and followed the runes. I’m gonna save ya’ Lev.

“Looks like we have visitors. Don’t you think?” Levy gripped Tsuyoshi’s hair and forced him to look at her now red eyes. “Too sad that you’re not going to be alive by the time they arrived.”

Tsuyoshi was panting more than before. He was now at the verge of death. She has been torturing him.

The guild master was pale, covered in blood in multiple parts of his body and all bruised up. Levy absorbed all his magic and had him all tight up with plants.  “You know what? I’m going to let you see how I get rid of these intruders for your entertainment.” With that been said, she left the room but left the door opened so Tsuyoshi could see how one of elite died in the middle of the hallway.

Levy’s body turned to a shadow once again and hid.

Team Gajeel was now reaching the hallway that lead to the dungeon but stopped when they saw a figure hanging in the wall. “What the-” Gajeel stopped abruptly.

“T-t-that’s Katsumi.” Sachiko stuttered of fear. If that happened to her… She looked worriedly at Yasu that was still watching the scene. I won’t let anything bad happen to Master Toshiro.

“Levy-chan did this…” Yasu couldn’t believe his eyes.

Gajeel’s eyes were widened, he made sure to look at every detail. The position of this person, the iron shackles, the bruises…were almost the same as the ones he once did to Levy in his darkest time. It can’t be… He felt that he had a heartache.

Pantherlily reached the dungeon and saw how much blood was covering the walls and floor. Until he saw HIM. “GAJEEL! YOU SHOULD COME HERE!” The exceed called the iron dragonslayer.

Gajeel ran to dungeon and saw Tsuyoshi. That bastard! Gajeel gripped his shirt and forced the man to look at him in the eyes. “WHERE IS SHE?!”

Tuyoshi smirked. “I’m going to let you die just like me.”  

“GAJEEL LOOK OUT!” He heard Yasu’s voice. The iron dragonslayer turned around as he transformed his arms into swords. To his surprise, he noticed that Levy was his attacker and she also had her arms turned into swords.

Levy smirked while looking directly to Gajeel’s red eyes. “Are you looking for me?”

Gajeel stood back.“What did they do to ya’?”

“They woke me up.” She laughed.

“Levy what are you doing?” Pantherlily said as he transformed to his battle form and started walking closer to the scene.

“Don’t get any closer Lil’!” Gajeel warned his partner. “This thing is not Levy.” He said while looking at the person before him. Gajeel didn’t want to take his eyes off of her.

Levy raised an eyebrow to intensify her glare. “That’s right Kitty.”

“LEVY-CHAN!” Yasu arrived to the dungeon. “What happened to you?

Levy turned head to Yasu’s direction. “FALCON HEAVENWARD!” She rushed to him and kicked him. The attack sent Yasu flying back to the hallway but he was caught mid air by Sachiko. She held him tight and landed to the ground.

“Master, are you ok?” Sachiko asked worriedly.

Yasu spit some blood to the floor and cleaned up his mouth with his right hand. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Both of them stood up. “Master, she’s stronger now because the ancient magic is controlling her body. We have to find her soul so the real Levy-san can help us.”

“Alright, let’s do that!” He ran into the dungeon once again and Sachiko followed.

“Where is she?” Gajeel looked at Levy’s figure.

“It’s not going to be fun if I tell you, sweetheart.” She smirked evilly.

This thing is not going to spill the information we need. We have to fight for it. Pantherlily thought as he looked at her. But I don’t think Gajeel is going to be able to touch a single hair of Levy.

Levy started walking closer to Gajeel. “Why so serious?” She chuckled.  

“GET OUT OF HER!” Gajeel change his position to a fighting stance.

“Tsk” Levy covered herself with iron scales and head forward. “LET’S END THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!”

“SOLID SCRIPT: THUNDERBOLT!” Yasu attacked Levy.

“AHH!” Levy screamed out of pain.

“SOLID SCRIPT: CHAINS! Sachiko tried to keep Levy’s body immobilized but she broke free as if was nothing. How is it possible?! I made sure to add an anti-magic spell in those chains!

Sachiko’s magic caught Levy’s attention. “So you are a magic canceller. Interesting. I might need you to get rid of every single one of you.” She turned to a shadow and appeared behind Sachiko. “But you are going to be a problem if I keep you alive.” Levy was about to touch Sachiko to absorb her magic but she was stopped when Pantherlily threw himself at her but she blocked him. “Are you really going after me Kitty?”

Sachiko took advantage of the confrontation between those two to run towards Yasu. “Master you have to leave now.” She was so worried about his safety that she didn’t want his life to be endangered.

“I’m not leaving until we save Levy-chan.” Yasu was determined.

While this was happening Levy heard every detail of the conversation. He’s your weakness. But her thoughts were interrupted when Lily started to use his swords skills at her. Damn! This kitten is good with the sword.  Levy took a step back and requip to Erza’s Black Wing Armor, broke through the ceiling and waited for Lily.  She knew that with this armor she had the ability to fly around for a short instance.

Lily looked at her and then said. “I’ll keep her distracted for a while.” The exceed then looked at Gajeel’s conflicted face. “Get a hold of yourself!” Then he flew towards Levy to confront her.

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!” Yasu pushed Gajeel. “SNAP OUT OF IT!” Gajeel quickly responded and punched him.

“DON’T TOUCH ME FANCYPANTS, YOU KNOW NOTHING!” Gajeel didn’t want to fight Levy. He’s not going to be able to hurt her body again.

The time was still running and they still didn’t knew how to defeat the magic within Levy. Lily made sure to leave some bruises here and there but he knew that it wasn’t enough.

Levy was having a furiously swords fight with Pantherlily. “Your good but not as good as I am.” She made disappeared her sword and kicked Lily right in the stomach, used her flying ability to appeared behind him and placed her hands on the exceed’s back. “EVIL SPARK!” The magic electrocute him.

Pantherlily’s aera wings were damaged. “Damn it!” He said as he was falling.

“Sachiko, stay here with Gajeel! I’m going to help Lily!” Yasu ordered. “SOLID SCRIPT: WINGS!” The words appeared in his back and he flew to the exceed.

Levy noticed his moves and casted “Darkness Stream”. Two dark big hands held Lily and Yasu, squeezed them and threw them full force to the ground.

They ground shook and that’s when Gajeel notice that a bright light was now visible in one of the dungeon’s brick.

Flashback

Gajeel felt a light weight in his arms. Huh? He watched her physical body fall but he was still holding her. “LEV! LEV! Can you hear me?”

She vaguely opened her eyes. “Gajeel…”

“What’s happening?” He noticed that the Levy he was holding was glowing and was wearing a white dress.

“La-cri-ma…my life…my soul…” She said before disappearing from his arms.

“Lacrima? What do you mean?” Gajeel was confused.

End of Flashback

That’s the lacrima! Gajeel ran to Lily and notice that he was now in his chibi form. He took him and placed him in a corner. “Don’t worry Lil’, I just found a way to bring her back.”

Levy landed very gently to the ground as she changed once again to the black long dress. One down, three to go. She said as she looked around but stopped when she took a glance of Sachiko helping Yasu.

“EXPLOSION BULLET!” Levy extended her right hand in direction to Yasu and formed a black beam-like bullet.

Sachiko pushed Yasu and the spell pierced the left side of her body. SACHIKO!!! Yasu held her before she hit the ground and looked at her pained face. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!” He said desperately. “WHY DID YOU DO THAT?”

Sachiko smiled and placed her right bloody hand in his cheek softly. “I would not forgive myself if something happened to you too.”

“WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID?!” Yasu was hurt and mad.

“I have always love you more than anything, Yasu.”

Hearing her say his first name gave Yasu chills and a heartache. “Don’t say that just yet, you will get out of this.” He held her tightly to his chest.

“You are the only one…that I have left.” His voice trembled. Yasu’s hazel eyes started watering.

“I’m so sorry.” He heard her say. “I’m sorry for not being brave enough, for not being strong enough, and for not being able to protect you after this…”

“Don’t talk like these are your last words” Yasu tried to maintain a tough attitude but he failed. “Please…” He started crying. Minute by minute he was starting to notice that Sachiko’s body was getting colder. “I-I can help you. Solid Script: Hea-” He couldn’t finish casting his spell because Sachiko placed her free hand in his and used the little magic she had left to cancel it.

“Don’t waste your magic in a simple maid like me. Miss Levy needs you.” She said between bloody coughs.

“SHUT UP!” Yasu said angrily. “Levy has Gajeel and that will be enough, but I need you to stay by my side…like always.” He casted the “Heat” spell in his body and hold her tight to his body. Both of them were now surrounded by a blue mist.

I don’t want this moment to end… Sachiko thought at she embraced his warmth.

Pathetic. Levy thought as she watched the scene, but noticed that the dragonslayer was no longer visible. Where are you? She looked around and noticed that a shadow was getting closer to the lacrima. There you are. She turned herself in a shadow, took him by surprised and threw him out of his spell.

Pantherlily was worried. She did the exact same thing he did to Rogue in the Grand Magic Games.

Gajeel looked up and noticed that she was looking for the bright light.

“Are you looking for this?” Levy was holding the lacrima that held her remnants. But instead of being shinny it was dark. She covered it with black magic to prevent the light from coming out and squeezed it hard enough that it cracked a little.

“Levy don’t!” Gajeel shouted desperately.

“I already told you, I’m not that weakling!” She squeezed the lacrima more.

“Gajeel, if we want to save her, we have to fight back!” Pantherlily told his friend.

Levy smirked. “What are you going to do? Crucify this body again? Ha! Pathetic!”

Gajeel’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he heard. Levy would never say such thing, she forgive his past actions.

“I know you still have some Phantom Lord spirit in you. Show me.”

This person was playing with Gajeel’s head and heart. “I will never go back to being a piece of shit.” The iron dragon slayer said seriously. “I found something that will always lead me to the light.”

“It’s unfortunate that you’re going to lose it in a matter of seconds.”

“I’m sorry Levy” Gajeel apologized and this made the person before him look at him curiously.

“What are you-” Levy was cut off by one of Gajeel’s attack. The lacrima flew through the air and she knew that Gajeel want it. While she was being sent backwards she casted “Dark Blades” to break what’s left of the lacrima.

TBC

You can check out the whole story here:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12446283/8/Three-years-have-passed

( Or in my tumblr page: search #tyhp )

[partyanimal167]

Your Local Starbucks 2- Gajevy

Here’s the second part!

Oh this was awkward~

If you had asked Gajeel, how he felt about the bluenette that frequented his work place, he would claim to not know what you were talking about. To be honest, he couldn’t wrap his head around it either. He barely paid attention to people, and at work, it was more about the food and drinks that the people he was serving. He kept to himself so much that even his play-cousin, Natsu, had no idea he worked there. Not that he was ashamed. It was a hard job and took some time to master, and Gajeel needed something for himself. Something different away from the stereotypical jobs that people assumed he did.

So he worked at Starbucks. He made drinks, bettered his customer service skills, was able to speak his mother’s tongue, and enjoyed the peace in the moments of chaos.

But she made him crazy in a way. Like he didn’t even know what was going on. It was like his brain saw that bluenette and would take over. He would already be busy and sometimes manage to avoid her, but then if he did have to talk to her, he could barely say a word. He was always relieved when the ticket came in and saw her name with a mobile order. That meant as minimal interaction as possible. Everyone knew she never stayed inside, so that meant Gajeel could force himself to stay focus and only get a second to glance at her before continuing the task at hand.

Truthfully, he didn’t mean to give her a size up from her order. The first time was an accident. He had way too much extra from her drink and just poured into another cup. This was another mobile order of hers, and when she came to pick it up, she had paused for a moment to examine the drink. To be fair, her expression was well…cute. The size-up order came from his lips without much thought, and the employees seemed to listen for some unknown reason.

But here he was now. Staring at that bluenette up close and personal. Natsu invited him to hang out with his friends for a birthday, and Gajeel needed some relief after a long double-shift especially the first half with nagging from two particular women. He had no idea Natsu knew the girl otherwise he would have come up with some lame excuse. He didn’t know what to say. Sure, he noticed his coworkers speaking to her earlier, but he wasn’t prepared to deal with Levy head-on that same day.

The two just starred at each other.

Feeling the tension in the air, Lucy got up and grabbed Natsu by the arm. “Come on, let’s see where the others are.”

Levy groaned mentally. Lucy, what if he’s a psychopath?! Levy shook her head. Calm down, Lucy knows him. She wouldn’t leave me if he wasn’t a decent guy. Levy spoke first. “Hello, my name’s Levy.” She smiled sweetly on the outside, but was screaming on the inside.

Gajeel cleared his throat and shook her hand. “Uh hi,…Gajeel…happy birthday.” He couldn’t look her in the eye.

“Thanks…”

Gajeel sighed. Get it together! Say something you idiot! “Uh-,”

“Okay, look I’m so sorry if this is awkward. I have no idea who you are, and it is so weird seeing you here. I mean like, when I go to Starbucks and see you, I’m like ‘oh cool cute scary piercing guy is here.’ I had no idea you were friends with Natsu and Lucy like ah! I hope we can get to know each other and be friends!” Levy was always good with words. She loved reading, blogs, interviews, language—anything with words! But that had to be the most thrown together, pile of throw up of English she has ever put together. She blushed and covered her face.

She wanted to evaporate. She smelled her food in front of her. The waitress must have come, but Levy didn’t want to move at all.

She then heard an exchange between the waitress and her new acquaintance. They were going back n forth in Spanish, and she could hear the teasing tone in the waitress’ voice.

“Oh my gosh Levy, I didn’t know you were Gajeel’s girlfriend.”

God, please. It’s my birthday. Levy moved her hands and smiled shyly. “What? No, we literally just met today. He’s a friend of friend. I promise!”

The woman looked deviously at Gajeel. ‘Wife her.’ She mouthed at the man. Their exchanged went on. Levy could only pick up a little of what was going on, but she watched at Gajeel’s face grew more and more red. He seemed to be shrinking as the woman kept going on.

“Oh I’m just teasing! I’ll leave you two alone now. Tell your friend to come in and get her food.” The waitress then left.

Levy couldn’t even move her attention to Lucy. The two were both blushing so hard for their own reasons. Levy had to keep the conversation going. This was already a lot going on to begin with. “So um…you go here a lot?”

Gajeel perked up immediately. Well at least she’s talking to me. “Uh yeah…she’s like an aunt to me. Our families go to the same church.” He chuckled. “She would drag me to confessional when I was teen in exchange of not telling my parents.”

Levy laughed. “Oh my gosh, that’s hilarious. She must love the piercings.”

Gajeel chuckled. “Gihi, look shrimp, I’ve done worse things to confess than these.” He seemed to beam with pride. They both laughed a little. “Uh, I just wanted to say…” he paused and cussed internally. “Sorry, I ain’t good with words n shit. I had no idea I’d actually meet you, so I hope you aren’t freaked out or anything. You’re cute n shit, and I bet you’re smart since you go to that big fancy school.” He coughed awkwardly. “I uh…yeah. I wouldn’t mind being friends either.”

Levy beamed. “Oh Gajeel, that’s great! I can tell you mean well. Plus, we’re friends with the same people. We’ll definitely get to hang out more.” Gajeel smiled a little and nodded.

Natsu and Lucy came back with the rest of their friends. They approached the two who seemed to have gotten a little more comfortable with each other. As they got close, Gajeel and Levy both turned red and blurted out simultaneously, “Wait, you think I’m cute?”

~~~

So that’s that. I hope you like it. Just some initial interactions. I didn’t want them to hook up or confess anything major. Slow and steady and all that good stuff. Thanks for reading!

[whereisthefood123]

And you are...?

A/N: Hey everyone! this was a request made a long time ago by @bianww and seemed very fitting for this year's gajevy day ❤ hope you enjoy it! haha sorry Bian for taking forever to do it! As usual huge shout out to @ranunculusfox for beta reading this! thank you dear!

Modern AU

Request: Gajevy blind date

Word count: 3.7k

FFnet

Gajeel hated his current situation. More so, he hated Natsu the most. It wasn't enough that his pink haired cousin decided to finally propose to his girlfriend, but Natsu had gone full groomzilla mode, much to everyone's surprise and dismay, bugging all his cousins to have someone decent as their partners for the wedding.

And of course, the only one fucked by that demand was Gajeel.

Sting and Rogue had their respective partners for a long time now. Everyone was surprised that Natsu jumped the boat first than them but no one was really pressuring the two brothers as they were the younger from the cousins after Wendy. Laxus dared to make a joke that he was going to take one or two of his one night stands to the wedding for fun. Natsu about chewed his head off until he promised he would take Mira, his oldest friend. Then there was Wendy but she could have avoided the bullet as she's the favorite out of all the cousins. Nonetheless, she pleased Natsu by telling him she would take Romeo to the wedding. The poor boy swore on his life that he had no ill intentions with Wendy and that he would be the best gentleman he could be after all the cousins rounded on him one afternoon after classes. And finally, Cobra had surprised everyone when he revealed he had been dating this nice girl for about 3 years already and that he would take her to the wedding.

So, all the cousins were set with their partners but Gajeel. He tried to escape Natsu's wrath by saying Lily would go with him but the groom-to-be had already gotten the confirmation from Lily that he would go to the wedding with a plus one.

Fucking traitor.

So, to ease Natsu, because he was honestly driving everyone crazy at the home and at work, Gajeel agreed to the stupidest shit he had ever done in his life.

A blind date.

The fuckard didn't even show him a picture of the girl he was supposed to meet in 10 min at the coffee shop. He said something about Gajeel being too eager to judge people based on their looks. Da fuck. He didn't judge others, Gajeel was just really good at reading people. It was a gift when it came to dealing with stupid customers at the mechanic shop, but truthfully, it had made Gajeel more wary when dating someone.

Too prude.

Too crazy.

She'll call the cops once she sees me.

Gajeel knew he was just using any excuse to avoid dating, but who could blame him. It was just so boresome to pretend you're interested in someone you just met, and the stupid relationship drama seem greatly unappealing to him.

But now, there was no escape for him. Natsu had set this date up and the girl would be waiting for him at the coffee shop. And even when Gajeel was an asshole, he wasn't the type to stand up a girl on a date.

No, he had manners. He would order his coffee to go and approach the girl at the table. If she even asked about his cup, he would brush it off saying that the barista fucked up his order. He would then give the date 10 min or so, so it wouldn't be too obvious when his alarm would go off and he will pick his phone up pretending that it was an important call from work. If she made a scene it would be more than obvious that the girl was not for him. Who the fuck would make a scene after someone tells you they have an emergency at work, right? Either way, Gajeel would go out the door to never see the girl again.

He would still need a plan to ease Natsu's wrath, but he was dealing with one step at a time.

Gajeel entered the coffee shop and went straight to the counter to order his black coffee to go. As he waited, he tried to remember the little details Natsu had revealed about the girl he was supposed to meet.

"Her hair is a unique color."

"She's short."

"I think she likes books."

Natsu wasn't the most brilliant person when describing other people. Mavis bless the woman that had agreed to marry his idiot cousin. Besides, he did mention that this girl was a friend of a friend, so he might had gotten some of the details wrong or forgotten other ones.

Gajeel sighed. He just hoped there were not a lot of girls sitting by themselves, so he wouldn't made a fool of himself multiple times. Or get kicked out of the coffee shop by the police for acting like a creep. Not like it hadn't happened before.

Gajeel looked around the coffee shop and spotted a group of friends sitting at a table to his right, some other customers were seated at the counter next to the window. He saw a girl with hair a less ridiculous shade of pink than Natsu's and scoffed thinking that it might be getting popular to dye your hair pink. She was by herself but didn't really looked like she was short or that she was waiting on anyone, so he decided to let her be. He kept surveying around until his eyes landed on the far-left corner of the shop.

By the window, a girl sat curled in one of the love seats, enjoying the sun rays that filtered through the crystal framing her heart shaped face and kissed her pearly skin. On the coffee table in front of her lay a pile of books and a grey mug with pink lipstick on the rim of the cup that matched the one on her plump lips. Her hazel eyes trailed over the words on the book she held close to her and Gajeel swore he saw an infinite number of emotions dance behind those beautiful orbs. She flipped to the next page and fixed one sky-blue strand of her curly hair that had escaped her yellow bandanna behind her ear. She bit her bottom lip and a tiny smile tilted the corner of her mouth. She was gorgeous and Gajeel forgot how to breathe or think. His mind was completely consumed by the blue haired woman and he wondered if maybe he was so fucking lucky that she might be his date.

Something stirred in his gut. Gajeel started feeling embarrassed and so fucking nervous. This is why he never liked dating, because he would more often than not be stupidly rude to the girl or make a fool of himself. He swallowed hard and played with the coins in his pocket.

As she bit her lip again, Gajeel groaned inwardly. He wondered how those lips would taste, he wondered how beautifully she would moan as he would lavish those plump lips of her as his hands would roam over her curves-

"Here's your order sir. Black coffee to go." Gajeel was startled out of his daydream by the barista who not so subtly snickered at the obvious blush on the man's face.

"Thanks," Gajeel grumbled quietly and his gaze returned to the blue haired woman. She matched all the vague descriptions that Natsu had given him and for Mavis Gajeel really wished that she was the girl set up in a date with him. She was by herself too and the empty love seat across the coffee table from her was the only indication that she might be waiting on someone.

Gajeel found himself moving to stand next to her before he even had anything in mind to say to introduce himself without looking like a creep. Nonetheless, she didn't seem to notice him as she continued with her book. Gajeel shifted on his feet and cleared his throat loudly to catch her attention. She blinked rapidly like a spell had been lifted from her and then she noticed for the first time the tall broad man that stood next to her.

Her eyes widened as she tilted her head as far back as she could to see the man's face. How freaking tall is this guy?!

Gajeel sure expected the woman to freak out or at least get startled once her eyes reached his face. With his red eyes, his unruly black hair that he had tried to tame for today's date and all the piercings that adorned his face, he was sure fear would cross through those hazel eyes that hid no emotion to the spectator. He braced himself for the high-pitched shrill that would surely escape from her, but when her eyes met his she remained silent, her mouth forming a small "o" that lacked all the fear he was expecting and displayed all the surprise of a small kid that had discovered something new and intriguing. There was no fear in her eyes either. She seemed surprisingly... curious.

That was definitely a first for Gajeel as he tried to hold his gaze on hers, feeling like he wanted to shrink on himself at her curious scrutiny. Her hazel eyes seemed to bore into his soul and Gajeel had never felt so bare to anyone else in his life than to this woman. She was intriguing to say the least and all this silence was driving Gajeel mad. So, he blurted the first words that crossed his mind.

"Quit with the staring, Shortstuff." Ah, it seemed that today was the stupidly rude attitude on Gajeel's part and he wanted to slap himself as the woman almost flinched from his gruff voice. But then…

"I'm not that short you know!" She stood up and he realized that she was indeed quite short. But he found her to be more adorable then. She got into Gajeel's space and he took a step back from the intimidating woman that blazed like sunfire. Her blue curls bounced when she lifted her chin high up and poked him in the chest. "You just happen to be stupidly tall!"

Her eyes shone with a raging fire he had never encountered before and Gajeel wanted nothing more than to kiss her in that moment. She was definitely feisty and didn't care at all about Gajeel's intimidating looks as she stood her ground, crossing her arms over her chest to make herself bigger. And Mavis, she had become the biggest thing in Gajeel's mind in that moment.

So, her height was a sensitive topic for her, eh? Gajeel stood up straighter then, puffing out his chest and he adored how a blush that had nothing to do with her anger dusted her cheeks. But as she "hmpf" and lifted her chin higher as if grasping at every single inch of height she could Gajeel couldn't help but laugh. Loudly.

"Gihihihi!" He clutched his sides as he bent over from laughter. His coffee had been abandoned at the coffee table as a precaution to not spill it all over himself as he roared with his laughter and his body shook in amusement. The other customers turned to look at the scene of a pouting blue-haired woman and a tough guy laughing like a maniac. Some curious glances lingered longer on them, but the couple didn't seem to care at all.

Gajeel took a deep breath, trying to reign control on his mirth. Geez, how long had it been since he had laughed this way? The girl tried to grasp at her anger a little bit more, but the weird laugh of this guy was oddly contagious that she couldn't help the small smile that betrayed her fury.

Gajeel wiped away the tears at the corner of his eye and chuckled one last time before his gaze returned to the girl. She huffed, pretending to be annoyed again but having some trouble to keep mad at this stranger.

"You're mean, you know?" The mirth that hid at the corner of her eyes told him it was not an insult thrown his way.

"Heh, I've been called worse." He shrugged, and a tiny almost invisible smile tilted his lips. She caught it before it was gone and spiked her intrigue even more. "Is this seat taken?" Gajeel pointed to the empty love seat across her and swallowed hard, hoping she wouldn't notice the eager note in his voice.

"Uhm, actually." She bit her lip and her brows creased in apology, "I'm waiting on someone, sorry."

"Ah." Gajeel hid his hurt by sipping on his coffee. Somehow, the bitter taste of the beverage tasted sweet compared to the feeling that settled heavy on his tongue. "That's alright. I'm actually looking for someone. Stupid as it is, I'm here on a blind date."

Gajeel was never one to talk much, and less to people he had just met, but the words almost blurted out of his mouth before his mind could registered it happening. Her eyes widened in response and she chuckled as her gaze softened on him. "A blind date, eh? Me too. I-I'm waiting on the guy now."

"Ah." Hope bloomed in his rib cage leaving him lightheaded. For once Natsu had done something right in his goddamn life. "My idiot cousin wouldn't show me a pic of the girl, but you fit the description he gave me. Short, unique hair and book lover." He looked over the table and just noticed the additional pile of books that were underneath it. Holy shit, this girl really likes to read!

Her gaze hardened, and she was about to chew him off for mocking her height again when recognition flashed over her eyes. "Wait." She drew back and looked him over once again, the gears in her mind connecting the dots. "My friend didn't show me a photo of the guy either." A soft smile settled on her lips and she visibly relaxed. "I'm guessing you're the tall, vibrant-eyes, peculiar-face guy then?"

"Peculiar face?" He quirked a pierced eyebrow. The fuck was that kinda description?

"Well, not everyone has their face heavily pierced like you." Gajeel felt self-conscious then. Did she not like his piercings? "But," she continued, "I think they suit you just fine." And then she smiled at him and Gajeel swore to kiss Natsu's feet for arranging this date with the most gorgeous woman in this whole damn universe.

He let go of a breath he didn't notice he was holding and pointed to the empty seat again. "So?" She giggled and nodded her head for him to take the seat. Gajeel had never heard a laugh so beautiful and sweet and something deep within him wanted to hear that laugh for the rest of his life.

"I'm Levy, by the way."

Levy. The name tasted sweet as he repeated it in his mind.

"Ah. Gajeel." He smirked.

She extended her hand and he wrapped his around hers, marveling at the size difference. Her skin was so soft in his calloused touch. She was so delicate and beautiful that he had the strongest urge to protect her, to wrap her in his arms and horde her away from the world so no one could harm her. And yet, she was a force to be reckoned, a little spitfire with a quick tongue and blazing eyes. She was an enigma to him and Gajeel wanted to spend his life figuring her out.

As he took his seat he wondered if there had been any other moment in his life where he had felt such peace. It was so strange. Less than 30 minutes ago he had been dreading this date and now he felt like his life had suddenly shifted. It was stupid to think that after talking with this tiny woman for 10 minutes his life had brightened, but there was no other way Gajeel could wrap his head around this odd but pleasing feeling. He wanted to know her more, to make her happy.

"So Gajeel, you-" A shrill interrupted her question. Gajeel cursed under his breath for forgetting his phone alarm that was going to get him out of this date. He wanted nothing more that stay as long as he could. He quickly took out his phone and dismissed the alarm.

"Sorry, I-"

"Work emergency?" she questioned and something sad pulled at the corner of her eyes.

"What? No! No," he corrected quickly, panicking over upsetting Levy. "I just fucked up with my alarms that's all."

Her eyes narrowed in disbelief but settled back into her seat as she shrugged. "It was a solid plan though."

"Uh?"

"Well, the coffee to go and then the alarm? You were planning on ditching the date, right?" His red eyes widened in shock. Is this girl psychic?!

She giggled at his shocked expression and continued, "I'm not sure why, but you don't come off like the type of guy who dates a lot." She gave him a sheepish smile. "I usually do something similar but use the family emergency card instead." She giggled again.

"Heh? Is that so?" He smiled softly at her and enjoyed how she blushed at the gesture. "So shortstuff, is there going to be a family emergency today?"

Her gaze darkened at the nickname and he enjoyed how easily it was to push her buttons. Then she smiled and tucked her legs under her. "I don't think so. And you?" There was a hopeful note in her voice and tension settled subtly on her shoulders as the question hung between them.

"Not a chance." He smirked, and his red eyes shone with emotions he was trying to figure out. The smile she gave him in return was dazzling and Gajeel looked aside to cover the blush that spread over his face. "Uhm, I'm gonna grab a muffin or something cuz I'm starving. Want something?"

"A black coffee would be nice, thank you."

He grunted in response as he stood up to order his food and her coffee. As he waited in line he sneaked a glance at Levy. She was in the same position as he saw her before introducing himself. The light framed her breathtaking features as her hazel gaze got lost in the pages of her book. Gajeel felt his insides flutter in an indescribable way that had him almost clenching his hand over his heart at the rapid beating in his chest. She made him feel so much and he felt a tad bit uncomfortable with such strange reactions he was getting from his body, but he welcomed all these feelings, because something about her made him feel whole, made him feel at peace and Mavis he had never felt this way with anyone before.

As Levy felt Gajeel's gaze on her, her eyes sought for him at the line by the counter. When she met his red irises, she smiled sweetly. He returned it with his own gentle smile. When he turned back to pay for their order, Levy took out her phone and quickly sent a text to Mira.

Thank you so much for this. He's great! ❤  talk to you later!

She put away her phone and missed Mira's reply.

! You got this Levy! Tell me all the juicy details later~

Bickslow hurriedly entered the coffee shop. He was beyond fucked! He was incredibly late to the stupid blind date Mira had set for him. He just hoped that Mira's friend was still there and that she wouldn't be pissed at him for being so late.

He checked his phone and started looking around for the blue haired girl that was supposed to be his date. Laughter caught his attention and he saw the girl he was looking for at the far left of the coffee shop. There he found the Mira's friend, but she seemed to be having a really good time with the black haired man sitting in front of her. His date seemed to have gotten herself her own date and she was enjoying it to the fullest.

Bickslow smiled. He was fine with that but just worried about Mira's rage for ruining her matchmaking plan. Well, she wouldn't be so mad if he got her some new gossip, right?

He took out his cellphone and took a quick picture of the couple. He looked at it and he had to admit that they looked really cute and happy together. The girl was smiling a mile a minute and the guy had that soft look you only get to see a handful of time.

Bickslow wrote a text to Mira and sent the picture with it.

I just arrived at the coffee shop but seems that your baby blue already got herself her man.

He put away his phone and ordered a sandwich. As he looked for a place to sit, he spotted a girl with pink hair over the counter by the window and luckily for him the seat next to her was empty. He tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention and she took off her headphones and turned her gaze to the man.

"Hey darling, is this seat taken?"

She turned her eyes to the black-haired man that roared in laughter at something the blue-haired girl just said. Her eyes softened and looked back at Bickslow, shaking her head no. "Not anymore, go ahead." She smiled sweetly and Bickslow returned the gesture with a grin.

"Heh, just my luck that my date got herself someone else." He laughed starting a random conversation with the pink-haired girl who giggled in return.

"Same happened to me actually." She turned to look at the couple at the far left before giggling again.

"Really? You and that guy?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Blind date set up by some friends. But they warned me he didn't know what I looked like."

"Heh! Lots of coincidence then. Baby blue over there was supposed to be my blind date too." He laughed. This girl was very easy to get along with and she had such a nice vibe to her that Bickslow wondered if they had indeed been very lucky to mix up the set-up dates.

"I'm Meredy." She extended her hand and he gladly took it.

"Bickslow." He said between bites of his sandwich.

A/N: Thank you everyone for reading! Please let me know your thoughts on this ❤  it was really fun and cute to write it :D I still got some WIPs from fallfest and the last chapter for Posibilidad but now I'm done with uni for the meantime so I can focus a bit more on writing :D

[mdelpin]

Male Order Bride

I wrote this story for the Mashima’s Heroes Big Bang Event, and I was lucky enough to be paired with the wonderful @oryu404​. Click here to see art for a future scene in the story (CH 3).

Male Order Bride by mdelpin , Oryu404

Chapters: 1/9 Fandom: Fairy Tail Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Gray Fullbuster & Lyon Vastia, Silver Fullbuster/Ur, Natsu Dragneel & Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet/Lyon Vastia, Gray Fullbuster & Ur

Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Lyon Vastia, Erza Scarlet, Lucy Heartfilia, Ur (Fairy Tail), Silver Fullbuster

Additional Tags: Some Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, First Love, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friendship, Family, Crush at First Sight, Magical Illness, Pining, Idiots in Love, Protective Gray Fullbuster, Crossdressing, NOT A KINK, Denial of Feelings, Gray wants to fall in love, Natsu wants to find Igneel, Silver's heart is in the right place, FT Big Bang 2021, Artist Writer Collaboration, Loosely inspired by Viking Lore and Traditions

Summary: Gray Fullbuster is desperate to get out of the tradition that requires him to get married before his 18th birthday.

Natsu Dragneel manages to avoid being imprisoned for arson by posing as a woman.

The two meet by chance, and knowing Natsu isn't who "she" claims to be, Gray comes up with the most outrageous idea he's ever had.

0-0

I'd like to start by telling you a little story...

I went to a con with my daughter and nephew in September 2019 and for the first time in a long time there was a bunch of Fairy Tail merch, including a Gray plushie which I bought. Fast forward to February 2020 when the pandemic generated closings. I had been hoping to find a Natsu plushie at the Boston Anime Con, but now that wasn't a possibility. So off I went to Amazon in search of a companion for Gray, who looked lonely standing on a shelf by himself. And find one I did! I ordered him up and a within a week he had arrived. I placed them next to each other, and that's when it hit me, I had effectively ordered Gray a mail-order bride. 😂

This what they looked like!

That is sort of where the idea for this story came from, although of course being me the more I thought about it, the more complicated it got. I hadn't really planned on writing it out, but then the FT Big Bang came around and I decided (well, @oryu404 helped convince me) that this was the right story for it.

Speaking of my partner in crime, @oryu404 signed up to be the artist for this story (for which I was really excited) so you will get to see some of their art as well! They'll probably end up on the writing side later on! (keep an eye out for their BB entry posting next week. It’s a stingue!)

@ft-ez-bb​

[ancient-artificer]

it's been a long time (untitled)

just to get back into it

Random writing prompt: "barbed wire"

Levy's gaze shifted away from him to the fence before them and listened as her boyfriend continued telling the weird story. Her mind wouldn’t let her take it as true. With a gingerly touch, she rested her hand on the barbed wire above the old wire panel fence that separated the two fields, her thumb and forefinger hovering over the sharp, rusty progs.

"And to this day, people say you can see a woman in a tattered blue dress walking along the fence line," Gajeel said. His eyes slowly looked down the fence to their right.

Levy followed his stare, turning her head to look down it as well. She briefly pressed her thumb against the prog it rested upon. Her eyes narrowed. Gajeel liked to exaggerate truths and embellish falsities all to frighten her.

She hummed. "It sounds fake."

"Could be," he stated. "It's the story I was told."

Gajeel wasn't one to take stock in oral legends that held no proof of authentication; ghost stories were only fun to retell for reactions. Especially when a gullible Levy believed him.   

He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and turned to walk back to the gravel path. The strong breeze picked up once again, blowing his black hair around his neck.

Levy let go of the wire fence as she surveyed the area. Autumn was in full force. Vibrant colors that had once filled the treetops were now falling to the ground. The earthy scent of dirt and wet leaves caught her in her nostrils. As pretty as it all was, it gave Levy a sense of slight dread. 

Things were going dormant. Nature was essentially dying. Soon dark, bare trees would cover the hillsides, perhaps snow would blanket the grass. Life went on though, Levy knew. Seasons came and went as faithfully as the sun rose and set each day and night. Still, something slightly unsettling always accompanied the temporary change.

Maybe it was just her boyfriend's spooky stories that stayed with her.

A loud, abrupt growl came from behind her. Tight pressure closed in on her sides. In a rush of excitement, Levy violently jumped in place and a small scream escaped her throat. It echoed through the trees and into the foggy unknown.

Gajeel's laugh increased a moment longer. His hands dropped from her sides. "It's too easy," he said, his baritone laugh disappearing.

"That's not funny." She scowled. The back of her hand slapped his arm.

He then took her hand in his and they turned to leave the secluded area.

Levy let him lead her away toward their parked truck. "You can't just tell me a creepy story like that and then do that. Jerk…" she quietly added.

"Eh, it's the season."

"Halloween," she stated with a half-hearted nod. Not her favorite.

Gajeel squeezed her hand. "Ghost hunts."

[whiskas-pandastar]

A Father Believes

Submission for Fairy Week 2020

Prompt: Day 7 Acalypha

Summary: Even after 7 years, a father believes that his daughter is alive. Jude Heartfilia-centric.

Genre: Family/Hurt/Comfort

Rating: K

Jude Heartfilia was a man of no consequence. He had made many mistakes, and had never tried to fix them. The world spun around his will, was what he believed. There was nothing money could not buy, and he had all of it. Power, fame and most importantly fear. He was feared as a mighty businessman, who could shatter companies with the flick of his finger.

He lived in a luxurious mansion, had servants at his command, owned many estates worth millions of jewels. He has a flourishing business and several companies and shares. He had a beautiful daughter; clever and obedient, soon to be of marriageable age. She would spend all her time reading, at the library and in her room, without bothering him, like how it should be. In return, he gave her an abundance of pretty clothes, gowns, jewelry, accessories, shoes, everything a girl wanted.

She was to wed the Prince Sawalu of Julenelle, which would be extremely beneficial to the Heartfilia railways. Tracks would cross borders and extend the railways, and business would expand more and more. They were wealthy too, a family fit for the Heartfilias. After her marriage, she would bear a son who could then take over the business. Everything would be perfect.

And then he lost it all.

Today, everything comes back to Jude but with a different perspective, and all he could see was how utterly foolish he was.

His very first loss had been his wife, Layla. So caring and gentle and so full of kindness for this cruel world. She was taken from his hands, in a cruel twist of fate, by the very magic that she loved and was proud about. He stood by the side of her bed watching her helplessly as she breathed heavily, watching the life in her slip out. Her early demise shattered him in unimaginable ways as he regretted letting her continue to pursue her family legacy. Something she should not even have been bothered about.

"It's for our baby girl." She had smiled, feeling not an ounce of regret on her decision. "Now she can be free."

He swore to protect their daughter, his only sign of her memory, to never let even the shadow of danger near her. But in doing so, he realized that he had inflicted more misery on the child than any father could, by becoming the object of her fear and hatred.

He found solace only by sinking himself deeper in his work, the business swallowing him up until he forgot all about the daughter he swore to protect who grieved not only the loss of a mother, but a father as well.

His second loss was his daughter, who ran away, leaving him a single note, "I'm going, Father. Don't try to find me. Goodbye."

He should have suspected, when he found her oddly obedient during the weeks before she ran away. Whiling away silently, not retorting back over any of his commands, and not supplementing her knowledge and intellect in any business proposal, which she had a habit of doing very often even when it wasn’t welcome.

"Should we send out people to look, sir?" the servant asked.

Jude Heartfilia crushed the note and fed it to the burning fireplace. "She'll come back when the time is right."

He let her see for herself, the cruel world out there, and why he had kept her confined at the mansion. A part of him wanted that she come back on her own, realizing her mistake for throwing away her life of ease, apologize and never utter a word of complaint. But he also knew that she had the same stubbornness running in her veins as him, and her pride would never allow her to return, no matter how much she struggled, or despised it.

Jude’s anger knew no bounds, when he found that the daughter of the prestigious Heartfilias had joined a lowly mage guild, Fairy Tail or something, that was known for its loud and brash mages, creating trouble everywhere they went. He knew that he ought to have confiscated those keys, sealing it off or selling it away at a high value. But it was the price he paid for the small heed he paid to Layla’s final wishes; to let Lucy own the keys she had carried and use them as she deemed fit.

When the time was indeed right, he commissioned Phatom Lord to bring her back. She was a free spirit, a free bird, like her mother, caring and compassionate. She was meant to see the world, not to be confined in a cage.

And she did so courageously. She returned and faced him.

Lucy tore the pink gown, the very symbol of her oppressive life in the mansion, "What I want isn't pretty clothes or dresses. I want a place where I'm respected for who I am." she said fiercely, "Fairy Tail is my other family and it is far loving than this one was."

“If Mother was still alive, I know she would tell me to follow my heart.” She smiled, and for an instance, he could see Layla’s reflection in her.

It was at that time when Jude's memory returned to 20 years back, when everything was happy. When his beloved Layla was alive.

He realized then that he had lost Lucy, not when she left the house, but when he stopped being a parent, shutting her away and sinking deep down in his work.

How had he forgotten those times? How had he let this happen? How had he changed so much?

His third and final loss was his wealth, the wealth that he had treasured so immensely, the wealth that he had prioritized over everything.

Gradually, within a few months, Jude lost everything. The empire he had built by working tooth and nail, and by sacrificing his only daughter came crashing down. All his shareholders, business partners and investors turned their backs on him. As his business slumped, his debt went on increasing.

He sold various items in the mansion, ancient relics, antiquities, jewels, and paintings. All the lands and estates were sold, one by one and the servants sent packing away, until the bank took over the house.

Despite being stripped away of all his luxuries, the tremendous ego and temper continued to burn within him, when he appeared before his daughter, demanding for money, hurting her once again in the process.

As he walked to Acalypha, a long gruelling journey from Magnolia to Love and Lucky, the merchant's guild, he found his temper dissolving away and his mind swam in his memories dragging him back to the days when he met Layla at Love and Lucky. She was a beautiful and energetic young woman, bright and intelligent and holder of powerful magic, yet at the same time, extremely humble and kind. He could never fathom how she had fallen in love with him, chosen and married a man who had neither any luxury nor magic. An ordinary man, just working hard to make his name in the world.

At that moment, hope returned within him, like a glimmer of light and he believed that he could do anything. Just when he thought he had lost everything, he realized that it wasn’t too late to fix his wrongs. He recalled the hard times when Lalya motivated him and picked him up from his miseries. She had been the key to his success.

Lucy, too, was out there in the world, living on her own power, making her name in the world as a great celestial spirit mage. She had done so without a penny from his treasury. It made him feel like he could achieve anything.

 He decided to work hard and make his daughter proud. He knew that he did not deserve her forgiveness. He could not reverse time and take back the misery her inflicted on her. But he wanted to be a respectable man for her sake.

And when he found out that Lucy had come searching for him and single-handedly defeated goons, his heart was filled with immense joy and pride. She was extremely kind and humble, so much like her mother.

Beginning from that day, Jude worked to change his ways. He worked day and night, thinking only of Layla and Lucy, how much he loved them and how important they were to him. He traveled, met new people.

He read the news, about how Fairy Tail was always involved in destroying cities and damaging public property. But in his mind, he knew he did not need to worry, because Lucy had called them her 'family' and he knew he could trust her judgement more than any accredited newspaper in the world.

His heart swelled a hundred times as he read that she had been a part of defeating a major dark guild. He went around telling all his colleagues at Acalypha, 'That's my daughter! She's a mage from Fairy Tail!' as a proud father.

He longed to see his daughter again, even if for a moment. He knew she couldn't stand him, after all he had said and done and he was fine with that. Just seeing her again was enough for him.

Her birthday was approaching soon too! Would she be happy if he sent a parcel to her?

Jude clutched an old photograph of Layla, "Layla, how dearly I miss you. Do you think, Lucy could ever forgive me? Would she be slightly happy to see her old man? I wish you were here to tell me." His eyes soften slightly as his daughter's words ring in his mind, "I am sure, you would ask me to follow my heart too."

And then came the news.

A major chunk of the core members of Fairy Tail had been to an island for the ongoing S-class test, and had been allegedly attacked by a dark guild, Grimore Heart. And the next day, they vanished, with no trace of the island or it's members.

Jude dropped his cup of tea as he frantically read the list of names mentioned under disappeared people.

His knuckles turned white, heart thumping wildly in his chest as he found her name, sticking out and a picture along with it. Tears fell from his eyes and soaked the newspaper, "Impossible... "

Lucy is... no more...? He finds his head spinning, and the world darkens.

How can this be? He lost his daughter again? He can never see her again?

His mind conjured an image, of Lucy smiling softly and nodding, as she waves him goodbye, the last time he saw her in Acalypha, after she went with her friends.

Why? How could her life be snatched away like this, at such a tender age? He couldn't even repent... Couldn't even apologize properly, for all those horrible years...

What was he doing, still alive?

He looks at the framed photograph of his daughter, the newspaper and magazine  cut outs he saved whenever there was an article that featured her. She was smiling, the bright spark in her eye. An uncanny resemblance to her mother, not just in looks, but in spirit too. So kind and gentle, yet passionate and strong.

No, it couldn’t be. His daughter cannot be dead. He didn't know where his conviction came from, but his mind was resolute. She was out there somewhere, he was sure of it. She was a mage, a proud mage, a brave girl who didn't hesitate to throw away all the riches served to her on a sliver platter, and push herself out there in the cruel world and make a name for herself. And above all, she was Layla's daughter. She would never give in without a fight. She was a child of light, and nothing bad could ever touch her.

He puts all his faith in his belief. Belief that his daughter was safe and sound. Because that is what it meant to be a parent. To believe in their children, to believe for them, when the world refused believe in them.

He continued to believe, and it became the crux  of his life, the driving motivation to live, the hope that he would meet his daughter again. Despite the crushing failure of several ships went on the rough waves of the sea, repeatedly, to find any trace of the missing island, despite the fact that he himself had set out to find her and failed, he put his entire faith around that belief.

And even when 1-4-7 years passed, every year, on the same day, Jude sat down on his desk with his quill and ink, and wrote a letter addressed to his beloved daughter.  It had been long years, and he was a changed man.

A part of him knew that there was no point in sending these gifts and letters. All those years at the mansion, and he had never cared to celebrate her birthday.  

He wrapped the box with a beautiful red wrapping paper and delicately tied a decorative ribbon over it.

In his neat handwriting, he signed her name on the gift tag.

He knew it was foolish that he had requested the landlady of Lucy's apartment to keep it under her name, even though so many years had passed since her disappearance. He was aware of all the sorry glances thrown in his way, whenever he set out to post the parcel.

"Poor man..."

"I heard he lost his daughter... "

"She disappeared without a trace... "

"Not even the body was found..."

"It's been 7 years already and he still sends her a gift every year on the same day... "

"It must be really difficult for you to come in terms, Heartfilia-san. She was very young after all... "

Paying no heed to everyone's words, he continued to believe. Lucy was truly a blessed child, and was sure she was out there, and Layla was definitely protecting her.

If loving and caring for his daughter meant foolishness, he was fine with being the foolish parent.

He went on his day following the same routine, working away, never stopping to rest. But this time, with the faith that his wife and daughter were with him, always.

The next time he wakes up for his daily routine, he lies on a hospital bed, his breathing heavy and body frail. He lets out a resigned sign, as the sad looks, and hushed whispers around him make him realize that he wouldn't be able to see his daughter again. His resolve crushes, and he is filled with regret.

But still, he smiles at Michelle, who came to him like a daughter in the course of his business, reminding him of the years back at the Heartfilia Konzern. He thanks her and entrusts Lucy to her, and she tearfully bids him goodbye.

He summons his old friend and business partner, and entrusts him a few final tasks, about his inheritance and the last parcel to be sent; all to be left, in obvious finality, in the name of Lucy.

With his last breath, he thinks only of his lovely daughter, hoping that she would only follow her dreams and be happy wherever she was, and would find it in her heart to forgive him despite everything.

He cannot help but still feel a slight regret, still plagued with the thoughts of whether he did anything right in his lifetime, and whether at least in final moments, he was able to make amends and at least heal the broken part of Lucy’s life. But as he closes his eyes, what he sees isn’t darkness, but light. It is warm, beautiful, gentle light embracing him from all sides, and it washes all his regrets and lingering thoughts away.

It was finally the time return to Layla.

x-

A/n: Hello there! this time i chose to write on Jude Heartfilia and I think Lucy resembles him in many ways. Besides her temper and stubbornness she’s also dedicated and strong-willed like her dad! It was really fun to explore a more family theme than a usual shippy fanfic. I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know your thoughts!

Long live Fairy tail!! :D

[dustyphantom]

Fairy Tail Pride Day 1

Hello! I'll be participating in Fairy Tail pride this year. I may not post every day and probably won't do both prompts since I have finals, but I'll try my best!

Prompt: "Girls like girls like boys do, nothing new

Pairing: Canajane

Mirajane was washing dishes at the bar like she normally did. It was a Thursday night, which meant there would be a lot of drinking the next day. As she sat at the counter, cleaning the dishes, she overheard Macao and Wakaba talking.

"She's so pretty and graceful, even when she's doing chores," Wakaba noted.

Macao nodded in agreement, "When is she not pretty?"

Mira sighed. She knew the two men were talking about her, but it wasn't bothersome anymore. It had been going on for so long that she had eventually stopped caring. They all knew what the she-devil was capable of if they went too far.

Cana leaned forward on the bar counter. She hated when people hit on Mira like that, and was pretty sure she was the only one who still cared about that. She also hated that the she-devil never stopped them. Cana would never say it out loud, but she wanted the snowy-haired wizard all to herself. That was when a plan came to her mind. She quickly downed her beer and called Mira over in her best wasted voice, "Hey beautiful, can I have some more to drink?"

Something wasn't right. Cana had only had five beers, but she already sounded plastered. Or, maybe I just lost count, Mirajane thought with a  giggle, "I'll be right over!" She filled up another mug and brought it over to the wasted card mage.

The she-devil had just set down the beer when something unexpected happened. Cana grabbed Mira's face and pulled her into a passionate kiss. She froze, too shocked to move until the card mage released her. Mirajane was acutely aware of all of the eyes staring at her as her normally pale face grew red. Not knowing what else to do, she grabbed Cana's arm and dragged her into one of the guild's large closets, closing the door behind them.

"What were you thinking?" Mirajane whisper-yelled as tears began to well in her eyes.

The card mage reached over and wiped the tears away from the she-devil's eyes, "I wasn't just going to stand there and let them say things like that about you."

Mirajane swatted the other woman's hand away, "You didn't have to embarrass me!" she cried

Cana took a step back, her expression changing from playful to hurt, "You were embarrassed by me kissing you?"

"How did you think I would feel? Everyone was staring at me!"

"I'm sorry… I just," The card mage began, "I kinda thought you liked women."

Mirajane stopped crying, "How did you know that?"

Cana looked up, "What?"

"How did you know that I liked girls?"

"B-but you just said you were embarrassed by me-," The card mage stumbled through her words.

"I'm not embarrassed because you're a woman," Mirajane stated, "I don't like being kissed in public by anyone."

It took Cana a minute to process what was going on, "So… you do like girls."

Mirajane nodded.

Slowly a smile spread across Cana's face, "And because you haven't hit me yet, you like me."

"Something like that..." She confirmed, her face flushed.

Cana's grin grew increasingly more mischievous, "Well, there's no one in this closet but us..."

The card mage forced the she-devil against a wall, her hands on either side of her snowy face. Mira looked surprised, but not scared as Cana leaned in for another kiss.

After what must have been at least a couple of minutes making out, the door behind the two women swung open. Cana turned around, her bra strap loose and sliding off her shoulder as she made direct eye contact with Max.

"What..." he began

"Girls like girls like boys do. This shouldn't be a surprise." Cana shot back. The sand mage slowly backed out of the room after grabbing his broom. When he left, Cana broke down laughing.

"What's so funny?" Mirajane asked, her tone edged with concern.

"His face was great!" Cana laughed, but quickly turned it into a pickup line, "But not as great as yours."

The she-devil giggled, "You're practically turning into Loke now!"

Cana smirked, "Yeah, I've learned a few tricks from him. His best tips were dating advice, surprisingly, which I'd like to try out..."

Mirajane smiled, making her already gorgeous face look even more beautiful, "I'd love to,"

@ft-wwtdp

[furidojasutin]

Title: Traditional Dreyar Stew

Pairing: Fraxus (Freed x Laxus)

Universe: Canon

Rating: K+

a/n: Hey look I wrote a thing?? So you know I’ve watched Shadowhunters and #Malec and this is inspired by one of their scenes. Peeps who know Shadowhunters will recognize it ;D And I’ve got at least one more oneshot based on a malec scene in mind so let’s see. I hope you guys enjoy ;w; (and tagging u @damasath bc um yes u know I hope u like it too >.<)

Seeing Laxus be nervous was a rare occurrence and even now his nervousness only got exposed by the tiny strain Freed could spot on his boyfriend's features. The rune mage watched him in silence, not wanting to bother Laxus in his concentration.

Master Makarov would be coming over for dinner this evening and they had something important to tell him. It had become apparent quickly that the dragon slayer didn't exactly have magic hands when it got around the art of cooking so Freed was surprised when his boyfriend insisted on preparing a certain stew he knew his grandfather liked all by himself. So this time it was the blond in an apron, Freed was merely the emotional support.

He couldn't deny that Laxus had made progress during the time of them being together and it made him smile a little every time he thought about it. Unfortunately, it was one of his duties as a good boyfriend to be honest and so he's had to confess to his dragon slayer that whatever he had prepared was far from perfect multiple times up until now.

Leaning against the kitchen counter Freed let his boyfriend work, unable to conceal the small curve of his lips as he watched him. The tiny wrinkles on the taller man's forehead were rather cute and it was always a welcome change to see Laxus let loose a little. He always made so much effort not to reveal too much of himself or his feelings that it was nice to know that, around certain people and him especially, he could relax a bit better and actually show the one or other vulnerable side even.

“So, this is a recipe Master showed you when you were a kid?” Freed asked with sincere interest, deep voice calm. In case his boyfriend got a little stressed or exasperated if anything wasn't going as planned, he would be there to soothe him.

The expression of utter concentration stayed put. “Yea. I remember he told me it's one of his favorites, so I thought it'd be nice to cook it for him.”

“Well, judging by the ingredients alone it sounds like a quite delicious stew,” Freed hummed.

“It is.” Laxus' eyes darted to the note resting on top of the counter. He'd written down some stuff so he wouldn't forget anything important.

They may have gone through some major troubles but Freed was well aware of how important Makarov was to Laxus. How important they were to each other. All of them had found a family in Fairy Tail, screw blood relation because any strong bond was relevant no matter what kind, but Laxus and his grandfather still had each other and they had always played an important role in each other's life. That much was undeniable.

It was because of this fact that the Raijinshuu's captain was a bit nervous himself. Ever since Laxus and him had announced their romantic relationship to Fairy Tail's Master, he had expressed nothing but joy and support. He made loving jokes and said how 'it took them long enough' and seemed quite happy that his grandson had found this love in the rune mage in general. Even though there had never been anything else apart from positive reactions, Freed still wondered how he would react to the news that the two of them were engaged now.

Obviously, his reaction was just as, or perhaps even more, important to Laxus which is why he was working so hard for this stew to turn out perfect.

“Did you ever cook it before?” After handing Laxus the spices he had asked for, Freed went to the cupboard to get himself a glass. Considering for a moment, he then decided to pour himself just a bit of wine. It was five in the afternoon and it wouldn't be all too long until Makarov would arrive at their shared apartment.

“Uh, yea. I prepared it one time. Gramps said he liked it, so I don't wanna disappoint him this time either. That'd be fuckin' embarrassing.” Confusion passed Laxus' face for a split second before he began to stir the soup again, hoping that he'd added an accurate amount of the spices.

A silent chuckle appeared on Freed's face, slipping past his boyfriend's notice. “Perhaps it would.” Knowing their Master he would definitely tease Laxus a little about a horrible result but they knew it was all in a completely playful manner and not meant to shame him. The chuckle grew back into a small smile, wine glass lightly swaying in his left hand. “But you're a good man, Laxus. Even if you were to mess up, Master would appreciate the effort.”

Because having Laxus prepare a stew and put so much thought and hope into it revealed more than any words could.

Sure, they both may have messed up in their life big time, some times shared and others not. They were far from perfect. They were far from having exclusively good morals, instead moving in a grey zone very often. But he would still like to believe that they had become better men over time.

The dragon slayer had acknowledged Freed's words in silence. The wrinkles on his forehead had become more visible for a moment there.

“A good man,” the captain repeated. His tone had changed a little though and if Laxus paid attention to it then he would surely have been able to pick out the smirk on the other man's face. “And so adorable with herbs in your hair.”

The dragon slayer stopped stirring the soup and turned his head just in turn to spot the amused glint in Freed's uncovered eye. He gave a huff and reflexively reached up to ruffle his hair.

Putting down his glass the rune mage took two steps closer to stand in front of the taller man and if he wasn't being delusional then he was certain that he saw the tiniest of blushes on Laxus' cheeks. Before the blond could mindlessly ruffle his own hair more, Freed reached up to help him get the herbs off his head with more precision. Laxus let him do so without any protest.

Once the blond strands were freed of the herbs again, the green-haired man gently cupped one of Laxus' cheeks with his palm and stroked his thumb along the skin. “I'm sure he's gonna love it. And I love you.”

Laxus sighed. It felt as though the soft contact of the swordsman's calloused hand against his skin took tension out of him. This one single moment alone had a soothing effect. “Love ya, too,” he muttered and exhaled lightly before showing the hint of a smile.

Freed returned the smile, then leaned up to place a shortly lingering peck on the dragon slayer’s lips before then taking a step back again. His gaze fell on the soup in the big boiler with curiosity. “Well, when will it be ready?”

Laxus had another look at his little note before adding the final ingredient. He was definitely contented with the consistence of it so by the looks of it, his stew should be an utter success. The scent was good as well, nothing that bothered his sensitive dragon slayer nose either, so now there was to hope that it tasted as good as it smelled and looked.

In order to discover that, there was only one possible thing to do. Freed loved using him and his team mates as taste testers (what wasn't a bad thing most of the time since the man was a great cook – but god forbid, they never wanted to touch any winged fish ever again, not even if it was prepared by Freed) so it would just be fair to have Freed act as his taste tester as well.

“Just a few more minutes now,” Laxus assured, and by this time the nervouness had seeped out of his features almost entirely. If Freed had to guess what this sudden new emotion was he spotted then he'd almost dare to say that it was excitement. Or perhaps something hopeful.

The rune mage watched how the taller man grabbed a big spoon and ladled some of the stew before holding it towards him.

“Here, try it. Careful though.” Because it was still hot, obvisouly.

Where Freed had been leaning against the counter again previously, he was now standing up straight. His gaze switched between Laxus' attentive eyes and the filled spoon right before his mouth but not wanting to let the dragon slayer wait he tried the stew.

And his expression changed immediately. Much to Laxus' pleasure, though Freed could tell he tried not to show it too much, Freed emitted a hum of approval and another one. Eyes had widened a tad bit and he nodded in encouragement. “That's, mmmh, that's really good. Yes. It tastes great, Laxus.”

“Hell yeah.” Laxus grinned and put the spoon away into the sink. Now he at least didn't have to be nervous about the stew anymore and only about this evening's subject of conversation. “Gonna go and lay the table then.”

And once the dragon slayer was out of sight, Freed grabbed his emptied glass in a quick movement. His expression had changed at once and with the back turned towards the door, he spluttered out the stew into the glass.

Dammit.

Perhaps it was the spices or the weird mixture of herbs that Laxus had used. Perhaps there was an error in how he remembered the recipe. But god knows there was something about this stew that made it taste not good.

Rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand, Freed reached for the stirring spoon. “I'll join you in a bit!” He shouted before he thought about all the different ingredients they had in store because one thing was clear: he had to do something to try and save Laxus' stew.

For some reason he didn't have the heart to tell Laxus the truth once he tasted what he had fabricated with so much effort and concentration. He didn't have the heart to tell him that this stew he wanted to prepared for his grandfather was far from tasting good and even if this could be considered cheating, he had to do something so it tasted better.

Screw his duty of being a brutally honest boyfriend for once. This matter was different. Clearly. It was Freed who began to feel a little stressed at this very moment but there was no way around it so with his mind at work, he proceeded to work on the stew without Laxus noticing.

Perhaps he would have had a little less of a bad conscience if he could have foreseen that Makarov would reveal his surprise about how comparably good the stew tasted later this evening, claiming that the first time Laxus had prepared it for him had actually been horrible but he had faked his joy not to disappoint the young boy.

It had led to Laxus frowning very hard while they were seated at the table and eating. He'd clearly been confused because he had certainly used the very same recipe and a bit angry and certainly a little disappointed but after silently putting some pieces together he had shot his boyfriend a knowing and judging look who instantly focused on Makarov and their conversation far too hard.

Yea, very suspicious.

What this had done though was to take away some suspense about the actual main revelation of the evening and the relief and anew happiness that coursed through the two men after hearing Makarov's reaction to the news of their fresh engagement overshadowed everything else.

At least for the next hours.