#so Lokes will still have his truth-telling curse which will be interesting!

[benevolentgodloki]

@bamfxblue continued from here

Leaning upon his sword, still catching his breath, he couldn’t decide whether guarded curiosity or relieved optimism was the best way forward. Loki was, by his very nature and reputation, one to be cautious of and yet there was nothing he could give which the trickster could take advantage of. Trusting to honesty (and a dash of vanity given the compliment), he flashed a smile.

“No hard feelings,” Kurt reassured, a touch of faux ire in his tone as he brushed aside thoughts of what had transpired in favour of humour. “You still owe me for the medical bills, however: America wrings enough money out of non-mutants, imagine what I must pay.“

Settling the sword across his shoulder, he gave a tilt of the head. “What of yourself, though? I’ve heard some rumours but nothing concrete about what you’ve been up to. Forgive the assumption but subtle doesn’t seem your style.”

Loki gave Gram a flashy little twirl before he cast the blade out of sight. He had been impressed with the mutant’s skill; the little devil was pretty terrifying when he was evil and Loki had been hard-pressed to make sure he kept his head. Literally.

“I’m not a particularly concrete person,” he confessed. “Some days I do things on the quiet side, others I can’t resist a show. What have I been doing? Trying to make a new name for myself, I suppose. Well, not actually a new name. I intend to be sticking with ‘Loki’ for the next side of forever. You know what I mean. Anyway, I robbed a bank and stabbed my brother - for good reasons, might I add! And I found out I have a sister.”

[mdelpin]

Lyoke Week 2019 Prompt: Warmth AO3 | FF.Net

Stellar Performance

Summary: When Lyon learns of Gray's feelings for Natsu he decides to enlist Lucy's help to get the two stubborn mages together. Loke volunteers to act as a go-between for the two mages, but due to Fairy Tail's usual nosiness, Lyon ends up fake dating Loke instead.

Chapter 1 

Somewhere in Crocus, x-791

“Stay focused, this is a war zone!”

Lyon kept his eyes on their surroundings trying to stay ahead of the never-ending throng of dragonlings. He thought Gray would heed his warning, so he was surprised to hear him continue to speak.

“Juvia, listen for a sec. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now.”

"Whatever something is, I'm ready to hear it..."

“I mean it’s not that big of a deal but—”

Lyon listened on in disbelief. Could his idiotic foster brother be choosing this moment to confess his love for Juvia? It didn't make sense, Gray had said over and over he wasn't interested, so why now? Lyon hoped not, he really was enamored of the blue-haired water mage, and he'd wanted to spend some time with her in Crocus if she'd allow it.

A rustle of falling gravel caught his attention, and he saw a small group of dragonlings climb over the rubble and ignite their breath attacks, all focused on the spot where Juvia and Gray were standing.

“Juvia move!” Lyon yelled in desperation, it was too late for him to do anything himself. Gray moved and shoved Juvia out of the way, but Lyon didn’t even have time to breathe a sigh of relief as something much worse than Juvia being attacked unfolded right in front of his eyes.

A multitude of beams converged to pierce Gray's body, now occupying the space Juvia had, only seconds earlier,  Lyon could just watch as Gray collapsed to the ground with a dull thud after one last beam pierced his head.

"GRAAAAAAAAAY!" Lyon screamed in agony, suddenly not caring about the dragonlings or anything else, not now that his last remaining family member lay dead in front of him.

That's when things got decidedly strange, for suddenly, like a granted wish that he never knew he'd asked for Gray was standing in front of him once more and the same situation was playing out again. For a moment Lyon thought he'd somehow tapped into some new ability, one that let him see the future, but he could see that all of them looked disconcerted and he heard Gray utter words he hoped to never hear again.

"I died?" Gray examined his body, reassuring himself that he was still alive. Meredy reminded them where the dragonlings had come from, and this time Gray was ready, attacking them with his ice. They left the area as quickly as possible.

Lyon could tell that Gray was still shaken, but he fought on as he always did, interiorizing his feelings to analyze them later. Lyon was determined to talk to him about it before they left back to their respective guilds. The last thing Gray needed was one more thing to fester in his already overburdened soul.

The opportunity arose after the Grand Magic Ball. Lyon watched with disgust as Juvia continued to fawn over his brother, but this time Lyon was paying attention. The loss he'd been forced to witness had made him hyperaware of every little thing Gray said and did. It was the only way to really gauge how Gray was doing since he would never voice anything serious. Everything in Gray's body language screamed leave me alone, and for the first time, Lyon realized that Gray had been telling him the truth the whole time.

Lyon had expected Juvia to apologize, to realize that her constant behavior around Gray had been part of the reason for his death and to change, but she acted as if nothing had happened and that irked him. His brother had almost been taken away from them, and she was going on about being Juvia 2.0 or some other nonsense. He realized then that his feelings for her had diminished after the incident.

Gray told her off, and even then she refused to accept it, continuing to attempt to cling to him. Thankfully Natsu showed up just in time to horrify everyone with his antics. Lyon turned to say something to Gray, and that's when he noticed, even though Gray was smiling he looked troubled. He decided to ask Gray if he wanted to leave the ball.

There were no bars open, so with a mischievous look they stole a few bottles from the party and left before anyone could notice. They walked around the ruins of the city, each drinking from their own bottle, unconsciously heading towards where it had happened. They sat among the rubble and continued to drink, taking in the destruction they had been such a central part of.

“Are you okay?” Lyon asked before cursing himself. What a stupid thing to ask, of course he wasn’t okay.

Gray laughed nervously, his hand shaking as it moved to touch the spot where the final beam had pierced his head.

“What was so important you had to tell Juvia right then?” Lyon wasn’t sure Gray was drunk enough yet for him to probe but sitting in the ruins of where he’d watched Gray die was making him antsy, he’d rather be anywhere else.

Instead of answering him directly Gray seemed to be having a conversation with himself, “I died and I never even told him.”

Now Lyon was confused, who was Gray talking about? “Him?”

"Natsu," The name came out in a whisper, but Lyon still heard it and while it shocked him to learn that his brother harbored feelings for his rival it also felt oddly right.

He knew there was a lot of history between the two men, he supposed it wasn’t surprising for feelings to develop. Gray had always closed himself off from people, but from what Lyon had seen on Galuna Island and while fighting the Oracion Seis, Natsu was able to get through to his brother better than anyone else.

It begged the question, did Natsu feel the same way?

“I -- there’s still time, somehow you got a second chance, just tell him now.”

“Why would he want me?” Gray once again laughed, “I’m a mess and he’s--”

"Also a mess?" Lyon added helpfully, thinking of the Fire Dragon Slayer and his constant penchant for destruction and chaos.

"No, no," Gray's words were starting to bunch up on each other, and he waved Lyon's words away making him wonder if Gray was really that drunk or merely trying to get out of the conversation.

"Warm," Gray smiled blissfully as he said the word, his eyes almost shut, but even so Lyon had to acknowledge he hadn't seen him look so happy in years. It was a look Lyon recognized from shared evenings sipping hot cocoa with Ur when they were children, and it filled him with a longing for those simpler times.

Gray opened his eyes, his body swaying a bit,  "Don't wanna scare him, need him."

Lyon stared, he couldn’t remember the last time Gray had said so many words about how he felt in one sitting.  He must really be drunk.

Gray uttered one last phrase before collapsing in the same spot he’d died, “So tired of being cold.”

He'd passed out leaving Lyon to figure out how to get him back to his room. He was somewhat honored that Gray had confided in him, even if he'd had to be extremely drunk to do so. As he carried his brother back, he began to think about how he could help him out. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Gray.

o-o

Front of Lamia Scale Guild - Margaret Town x-792

Natsu raced headfirst into a horde of monsters screaming “Get outta my way!” as he headbutted his way through, intent on getting his Exceed, Happy, back from Chelia.

Lyon couldn't help but chuckle at his idiocy, which he'd come to find oddly endearing. He watched as monsters flew left and right in Natsu's wake. Lyon could tell the Fire Dragon Slayer had gotten a lot stronger this last year, it was evident in the way none of the monsters were attempting to get back up. His thoughts quickly went to his foster brother and wondered with amusement what Gray would think when he saw Natsu again.

Gray had been a source of worry for him for the last few months, he'd disappeared entirely off the radar. No one seemed to know where he'd gone to and with Fairy Tail disbanded there was no easy way to keep track of its mages. Still, he'd hoped that Gray would have made a point to stay in touch every once in a while, let him know he was alright. Lyon worried about him after all.

The monsters charged ever closer to the Lamia Scale guild forcing Lyon to halt his thoughts and focus his attention on them. He got into his Ice Maker stance and was already freezing the monsters when he noticed a bright light glowing next to him. He gave a quick look to make sure that Lucy was okay and saw a man standing next to her.

He was tall, his lean body accentuated by the fitted suit he wore. He had a head of messy orange hair, and even though it was nighttime, he wore sunglasses. Lyon was intrigued as to where he'd come from but soon remembered that Lucy's magic consisted of using her keys to summon spirits from the Celestial Kingdom. This must be one of her celestial spirits, although he couldn't be sure as he had not heard her invoke any.

He continued to fight the monsters keeping his eye on how Toby and Yuka were faring, ready to lend a hand if needed. Every once in a while when there was a lull in the attacks Lyon's eyes would make their way back to the celestial spirit, he now knew to be called Leo. His magic exuded a warmth that immediately appealed to the ice mage. Leo was clearly skilled at fighting, dispensing a large number of the monsters with barely any effort. He caught Lyon's gaze and winked as he continued fighting by his master's side.

Just as quickly as the attack started it was over, they could only assume Natsu, Wendy and Chelia had defeated the mages from Orochi’s Fin that were behind it. With no enemy left to fight the mages made their way back inside the Lamia Scale guild and sat at the bar to celebrate their victory.

Lyon sat next to Lucy, there were things he wanted to discuss with her without any of the other Fairy Tail mages around.  He ignored the celestial spirit who had chosen to sit next to him, figuring since he was contracted to Lucy anything Lyon said to her should be held in confidence.

“Have you heard from Gray?” Lyon came straight to the point, it had been months since he’d heard from his brother and he thought if anyone knew where he might be it would be one of his teammates.

He could see he was wrong the moment he saw Lucy’s face become serious.

“I tried to keep track of everyone, but I lost Gray some months ago,” Lucy looked down at the table, “I’m sorry.”

Lyon shrugged into his drink, “No need, I lost track of him too. I don’t know why I’m surprised, after everything that happened at Tartaros I can imagine none of you was too keen on company.”

“I’m just worried about him you know, that was a lot to deal with,” Lyon sipped his drink slowly pondering how to bring up what he wanted to know,  “At least Natsu looks well.”

Lucy’s lips curled into a sad smile, “He does, but I can tell he still hasn’t worked through anything. Those two, huh?”

They clinked mugs in a silent toast to their friends. After a few minutes spent coming up with ruses Lyon decided this was one case where honesty would work better. “Can I ask you something?”

Lucy smiled at him, intrigued. She knew Lyon wasn’t much of a talker. “Of course.”

“You and Natsu, are you together?”

Lucy, who had been mid drink, spit out the contents of her mouth all over Lyon. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

Leo began to laugh. “Are you interested in her or him?”

“Sorry?” Lyon turned his attention towards Leo as he looked around for something to wipe his face.

Leo removed a handkerchief from his suit pocket and smiled as the flustered Lyon cleaned himself off. “The name is Loke by the way.”

“Thanks, “ Lyon gestured at the handkerchief, “I’ll get it cleaned for you.” He stretched out his hand towards the celestial spirit and introduced himself, “I’m Lyon.”

Loke shook his hand firmly, “Ah, so you’re Gray’s foster brother, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

"As for my earlier question, I find humans tend to dance around the questions they really want to ask. I was just trying to save you both some time."

"Uhm, Natsu I guess," Loke was looking at him appraisingly, and Lyon was not prepared for the sharpness of his gaze. He realized that his words could be misinterpreted, "Oh not for me, for a friend."

"A friend, you say?" The gleam in Loke's eyes made no effort to hide that he didn't believe Lyon's words, but his smile was amused like he was sharing a joke only he and Lyon understood.

"Leave him alone, Loke," Lucy chastised her spirit, Loke was a flirt, and she'd seen the way he was looking at Lyon.

"No, Lyon. Natsu and I are not together," Lucy's smile was a bit sad around the edges, but Lyon couldn't detect any animosity. "The truth is Natsu's heart has belonged to someone for a very long time, I never really had a chance."

“Oh, so there is someone," Lyon was disappointed, he'd hoped he could help Gray, but if Natsu were already involved with someone else, he would have to respect it. "Does Gray know?"

At this point, both Lucy and Loke began to laugh together.

“What’s so funny?”

“No, Gray doesn’t know,” Loke took the initiative, talking although Lucy was smacking his arm yelling at him to be quiet.

“I will close your gate!”

“Actually, Princess I came here on my own power so you can’t. Besides, if he knows something then maybe Natsu could get what he’s always wanted. He’s your friend, don’t you want to help him out?”

Lucy became quiet and looked around nervously, probably worried Natsu would return soon.

"Is Gray the friend you're referring to?" Loke once again got straight to the point, and Lyon found that he really liked that about the spirit. He found himself nodding in agreement before he realized he'd just betrayed his brother's drunken confidence.

"Excellent!" Loke grinned, "I've known your brother for years, but I could never get him to admit to anything."

“Wait, you’re saying that Gray likes him back?” Lucy squealed, all vestiges of her earlier nervousness gone. “That’s wonderful!”

“Not so loud,” Lyon hissed, “I’m not supposed to know.”

He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to their conversation.

“Are you sure about Natsu?” Lyon pressed Lucy.

"Y-yeah," To Lyon's surprise, Lucy's face had turned beet red at his question. Loke was laughing at her with uncontrollable mirth, and the sound made Lyon smile despite his confusion.

"She caught him jer--" Loke attempted to explain, but Lucy began to punch his chest repeatedly.

“Shut up! You promised you’d never tell anyone about that!”

“She’s sure,” Loke grinned, once again winking at Lyon.

“Oh,” Lyon blushed as well, although he wasn’t sure whether it was because of the implication that Natsu touched himself to thoughts of his brother or Loke’s wink beginning to affect him. He decided to go with the former, it was more comfortable than thinking he might be interested in a man. Not even a man, a celestial spirit.

He shook his head trying to clear all thoughts other than figuring out how to get Natsu and Gray together out of his mind. “So, now that we know, what do we do?”

“I think it’s obvious, we try to get them together,” Loke looked over to his master, awaiting her approval.

“I think it’s a bad idea, they’re both really private... but if we can somehow get them together,” Lucy mused, chewing on a lock of her hair, “Maybe they can help each other get through Tartaros.”

Lyon nodded in agreement, “But how do we go about it, if I start spending time with Lucy won’t it seem a bit strange? No offense.”

"You're right, so I can be the go-between. I can come and go as I please as long as Lucy doesn't need me," Loke shrugged, "Besides, it's about time those two idiots got their act together, and...I'm not averse to seeing more of you."

Lyon wasn't sure what to make of that last comment, so he just ignored it, telling himself Loke was just friendly. He kind of wished that they'd come up with another solution, Loke unsettled him, but he could put up with it for Gray's sake.

"Once we find Gray and get everyone back we'll come up with a plan," Lucy's excitement was contagious, and all three of them clinked mugs.

Talk moved on to other things, and by the time Natsu arrived with the girls they were all laughing like old friends.

@fuckyeahlyoke