#loke what did you want me to do you fucking prick are you joking

[marlborogf]

Feeling confrontational should I say something to my boss about the passive aggressive comment he made vaguely about me.....he does it often but today is really getting to me

[mdelpin]

Gratsu Bingo 2019 Prompt: Obsession AO3 | FF.Net

Things Aren’t Always As They Seem

Chapter 1

Gray looked around the dimly lit room with disinterest. Women were walking around in tight leather miniskirts, and bikini tops, small aprons tied around their waists with Blue Pegasus embroidered on them in blue thread identifying them as waitresses. They had a smile for everyone, and the fakeness of it all irritated Gray’s every last nerve.

Not to be outdone, the male waitstaff walked around in the typical Chippendale’s uniform, tight pants showing off their every asset, a bow tie the only decoration on their torso. Gray’s eyes lingered a bit longer on these as their expressions at least differed one from the other. Some were trying very hard to look appealing, while others seemed increasingly bored with the attention they were receiving from the patrons.

Gray could relate. Hell at this point the only thing that differentiated him from them was the sash reading Groom that was draped diagonally across his chest.

 It should have read Groomsman, but it had ripped at some point when he had unconsciously stripped, and someone had fixed it in a way that hid the rest of the word. He would have removed the offending fabric, but Lyon had demanded he keep the damn thing on, and tonight was supposed to be all about him, so Gray had relented without putting up much of a fuss. At least he was in the one place in Magnolia that wouldn’t give him shit about walking around half-naked.

If it had been up to him, he would have left hours ago instead of sitting next to Loke, who was quite busy with the girl that was gyrating oh so teasingly on his cock, her expert movements letting his friend know what could be his for the right price. She’d already mentioned the private rooms a few times. Gray almost felt sorry for her, Loke did not pay for what he could readily get for free.

Gray looked away, uncomfortable by the display. He could sit there, order a drink and try to tune them out, but he really didn’t want to watch was coming next so he made his way to the bar wondering how much longer he’d be forced to stay in this club.

He sat on one of the stools as soon as one opened up and was surprised to see someone he knew behind the bar.

“Mira?” His eyes widened in surprise as he took in the sight of his old classmate dressed in a very lowcut dress.

“Gray!” Mira squealed enthusiastically leaning over the bar to wrap him up in a friendly embrace, “You’re here for Lyon’s thing, right? I was hoping I’d get to see you. How’ve you been?”

Gray snorted as his answer, quickly taking a drink from the beer Mira had set in front of him before he could even ask.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry!” Mira hung her head low, letting her bangs cover her eyes, “I didn’t think about the fact that you used to be with her, this must be so hard for you.”

Gray began to laugh, causing Mira to peer at him confusedly. “Trust me, it’s totally fine.”

He changed the subject, not wanting to delve into the topic. All that ever did was remind him of the real reason for his misery. “Does Elfman know you work here?”

“Yeah, of course. He does too,” Mira looked out on the floor trying to find her large brother among the other male staff. “He’s around here somewhere. He was planning on doing his dancing debut tonight but will all of you here, I rather think he won’t.”

“Elfman’s a stripper?!” Gray chuckled into his drink, and it felt good. It was a real laugh, not the fake shit he’d been dishing out lately.

Mira laughed along with him, “Well, he’s been working on it. They get paid more, plus tips. College is really expensive, you know?”

Gray could only nod at that, he’d found that out too, although he’d never considered stripping. He wondered how much it paid.

Stupid stripper

Gray shook his head, trying to get that well-loved voice out of his head, but it didn’t help. All the emotions he’d been keeping locked inside came crashing down on him from just that one innocent insult. One that he’d heard from those lips more times than he could count.

“Well, I’ve got to get back to work, I’ll check on you again in a little bit.” Mira gave him a quick peck on the cheek before moving away.

“Wait! I never paid for my beer,” Gray called after her, knowing Mira could be a bit scatterbrained sometimes.

“It’s on the house,” Mira waved at him cheerfully. She’d already moved on to another customer, and Gray noticed how her shoulders tensed uncomfortably. Gray made sure to leave a nice tip for her. He couldn’t imagine it would be much fun for her to work here.

Now that he had found Mira, Gray decided to stay at the bar. He made a cursory sweep of the room looking for his twin brother. He hoped Lyon was smart enough to not get into any trouble tonight, Juvia was forgiving, but she was also incredibly jealous. She’d wanted to have a Jack and Jill party but Yuka, Lyon’s best friend, had refused, and so the two parties had remained separate.

He found him quickly enough, looking drunk and uncomfortable in a situation not that dissimilar to Loke with Yuka and Toby cheering him on. Gray whistled, glad not to be in his shoes anymore. Juvia had a way of knowing things like that.

It was still hard for him to believe he had finally caved and dated Juvia. He sighed, not that he’d had much choice. He’d had to do something to quiet the emptiness and longing that had never quite healed after Natsu had left.

Natsu.

There was so much of Gray wrapped up in that name. He could still remember summer days spent climbing trees, lazing on the beach and challenging each other in every possible idiotic way they could think of. They had known each other most of their lives, had been friends since the moment they met. Although to anyone who didn’t know them well, they would appear anything but.

Natsu was sunshine, ice cream, wet dreams, and every other possible thing that brought him joy all wrapped up in one irritatingly loud package. He was the one who had unknowingly held his heart all through high school, and the one he let get away.

In his defense, he hadn’t actually known the idiot was leaving. They’d even enrolled in the same university so as far as Gray knew life was going to remain the same as always. No. It was going to be better because two weeks before school let out for their last summer, Natsu had confessed to Gray that he was gay and that had been all he’d needed to push him into confessing his feelings.

Except he couldn’t do it right away, Gray had waited so long he wanted to do something special. What a joke. He’d ended up getting drunk at their graduation party and kissing him. He put everything he had into that fucking kiss, there was no way Natsu could not have understood his meaning.

But Natsu had not responded, and when Gray had pulled away, there was only sadness in his best friend’s eyes. And that was the last time he’d ever seen him.

No matter how many times he’d called, no matter how many pathetic messages he’d left begging for the prick to just please talk to him, silence was the only response he ever received.

No one knew what had happened to him, or even where he’d gone. His roommate Sting said he’d just disappeared overnight with no explanation, taking all his things with him and leaving one month’s rent on the table to give him time to find another roommate. That had been two years ago, and Gray had never gotten over it.

Good things had come of it, Juvia finally wore him down, and they’d dated for a few months. It hadn’t lasted long, even her fantasies weren’t enough to make the reality of dating him bearable.

In a move that surprised everyone but him, Juvia had dumped him for his brother, and now they were getting married. Honestly, he wished them well. He’d been a dick to her, and she deserved better, and Lyon was definitely that. After the initial awkwardness, he found he really didn’t care.

He tried dating, tried having casual sex, then he tried just being alone as much as possible, and found that was what he preferred. His already surly personality deteriorated to the point only a few people could stand being around him, and that was how he liked it.

Still, his thoughts would return to his best friend. Why had he looked so sad after he kissed him? Where did he go, and why did he have to leave so suddenly? How could he have ignored Gray’s pain so blatantly after everything they’d meant to each other. Had their friendship all been in Gray’s mind?

No matter how many times he thought about it, he could never come up with an answer that satisfied him, and it pissed him off. It had become an obsession. One that he couldn’t seem to claw his way out of.

He still checked in with Sting from time to time, but he had no more clue than Gray did. Lyon had suggested he hire a private investigator. If only to put an end to his questions once and for all, but Gray wasn’t ready to do that yet. Taking that step would force him to let go of too much of himself, and he wasn’t sure he’d like what would remain.

“Gray?” Hands were shaking his shoulders, and he found himself peering into his brother’s worried eyes.

He felt the fake smile curl on his lips, but before he could say anything, Lyon had waved Mira over.

“Hey, Lyon!” Mira must have been feeling generous because she also gave Lyon a hug. “Congratulations! What can I get for you?”

“Do you guys sell any t-shirts or something?” He pointed at Gray’s naked torso, and she giggled.

“Haven’t you tortured the poor guy enough? I doubt he’d want to walk around with a shirt from this place. Let me see if I can find something in Elfman’s locker.” She walked over to a fellow bartender who took over her area as she rushed into a back room, returning a few minutes later with a black shirt that looked to be too small for her burly brother but should fit Gray just fine.

“Here I grabbed one of his muscle shirts, he won’t mind,” Mira said kindly as Lyon thanked her.

He tossed the shirt at Gray, “Put this on, and let’s get out of here before Yuka can get me into any more trouble.”

Gray felt like he should be convincing his brother to stay at his bachelor party, but then again, he wanted to get the hell out of there. He took the dreaded sash off to put on the shirt, happy to see it wasn’t a bad fit after all. He was about to toss the sash into the nearest trash receptacle when Lyon stopped him.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“You can’t be serious,” Gray whined, “I’ve worn it all night, come on have a heart.”

“Put it back on, the party isn’t over,” Lyon grinned somewhat drunkenly as he put the sash back on his brother, chuckling at his obvious discomfort, “This is my last night of freedom and I am not done yet. Let’s go get something to eat.”

Gray let Lyon lead him out of the club, stopping to breathe in the fresh air. He looked down at his watch and saw that it was still quite early, not even ten o’clock. “Alright, where do you want to eat? My treat.”

“Steak, lots of steak! Ooh, is there one of those Brazilian steakhouses around?” Lyon asked hopefully, “Juvia wants me to become a vegetarian, says it will make me live longer.”

Gray snorted at the idea, to him that was a fate worse than death.

“Uhm, dunno, lemme check,” Gray grabbed his phone and opened a search window plugging in Brazilian steakhouse near me into the text box. A few seconds later results popped up.

“You’re in luck, it looks like there’s one about a twenty-minute walk from here. Let’s go,” Gray began to walk, and Lyon followed although his steps were a bit wobbly. “Would you rather take an Uber?”

“No, I want to build up an appetite so I can eat more meat, “Lyon replied, his voice sounding almost cheerful, something Gray was definitely not used to.

Gray snickered and kept walking, keeping a loose grip on his brother’s arm.

“You were thinking about him again, weren’t you?” Lyon scolded, “You promised me, no Natsu tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” Gray hung his head, feeling sorry he’d disappointed his brother, “I tried.”

“I know,” Lyon’s voice was surprisingly gentle, something Gray was not expecting. Usually, when the topic came up, Lyon became angry.

“Where do you think he went?” It was a question Gray asked himself daily.

“If it were anyone else, I’d say he was hiding from a gambling debt or something,” Lyon shrugged, “I just can’t think of anything that would make him leave.”

“Or to treat you like that,” this last bit was muttered under his breath but Gray still heard it.

They were getting a lot of strange looks from passersby, and even some cheers and high fives and Gray finally realized that both their sashes read Groom. His mood darkened further, and he tore the sash off, ignoring Lyon’s complaints as he tossed it into the nearest trash bin and sped up his steps towards the restaurant.

Groom, he scoffed. As if he’d ever be such a thing. There was only one person he wanted, and clearly, that wasn’t going to be happening.

They lucked into a last-minute cancellation and were seated right away, both drinking heavily as they picked different items from the waiters that stopped at their table every few minutes. Lyon ate his fill of meat until he was sated, all while looking at his brother worriedly.

“Do you think I’m making a mistake?” Lyon asked suddenly, surprising Gray out of his thoughts.

“Marrying Juvia?” When Lyon nodded, Gray thought about it for a minute. “Nah man, she makes you happy. How could that be wrong?”

“It wasn’t that long ago that you were all she wanted, she could change her mind again.”

The doubt in Lyon’s face gave Gray pause, made his heart feel tight in his chest. He’d thought Lyon was long over that.

“I’m pretty sure I scared Juvia out of that idea,” Gray’s laugh sounded brittle, and he just wanted to go home, but he also wanted to be a good brother. “This might be the one time where you are the better man,” Gray deadpanned before breaking into an amused smile, “And I will forever deny saying that.”

“I wish,” Lyon began before Gray interrupted him.

“Don’t.”

“Alright,” Lyon complied, although he looked sad again and Gray could have kicked himself. “I love you.” Lyon’s eyes welled up, and Gray took that as their cue to go home. He asked for the bill.

“I know, but save your tears for the wedding,” he advised, as he squeezed his brother’s shoulder, “I’ll be fine.”

They called an Uber, and when it finally arrived, Lyon drunkenly refused to get in unless Gray wore his groom sash. He finally did just so they could get home, knowing they would have to get up early for the wedding preparations. Lyon fell asleep in the car, and Gray could only snort. His brother had always been a lightweight, more interested in his studies than partying.

Gray studied his brother’s sleeping face, smiling fondly at how the anxiety Lyon normally exuded just melted away when he was resting. Growing up, he hadn’t really enjoyed being a twin, although it had helped that they weren’t identical. But the last few years they had gotten closer.

When Gray tried to push everyone away in his grief and anger, Lyon had steadfastly ignored him, moving into his apartment and refusing to let him hide away. But after tomorrow everything would be different, and Gray was going to miss him.

He stared out the window for the remainder of the drive.

Natsu, where the hell are you?

To be continued...

A/N: This should only be a two-shot, I think.