#we don’t talk about Natsu leaving around these paths

[beargyufairy]

Hold me

Console me

And then I’ll leave without a trace

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 302: As the Todoroki Turns

Previously on BnHA: 

Today on BnHA: We have a very fun chapter in which (1) Shouto grows up lonely on account of his parents being worried that his siblings will literally try to kill him, (2) Natsu and Fuyu grow up neglected on account of not being special and/or self-destructive enough to attract attention, (3) we get to revisit all of that exciting spousal abuse from chapter 39, and (4) Touya burns to death right on cue, pretty much exactly like we expected it to happen. Thankfully since this is a shounen manga, Horikoshi finds some hope in all this misery as the Todoroki family rallies together, with Shouto getting his long-overdue credit for being a perfect sweet angel who put up with all of this shit for sixteen years and somehow came out of it strong and kind and empathetic and determined. Anyway, so that flashback was a barrel of laughs. But now that it’s over, we can put all of that angst behind us, and move on to... well I guess, probably, more angst. Look, we’re short on variety at the moment. Bear with it.

ouch. we knew this was coming, but still

A+ parenting move there. “ho boy, our eldest just tried to murder our youngest, now what? hmm how about we isolate our youngest from all human contact”

though in their defense, we probably shouldn’t have expected this rabidly strength-obsessed fire man and his wife who was groomed since childhood to obey her family’s whims to have any idea of how to raise stable, well-adjusted offspring

SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS

this is a perfect example of Enji’s tragically self-revolving viewpoint right here. just because being a hero is your entire world doesn’t mean you can just excuse yourself from anything outside of that and act like it’s out of your control. “alas, all I care about is hero stuff and my son can’t be a hero, we are doomed to inhabit two different worlds” no you jackass, it’s called having more than one hobby?? figuring out how to spend some time with your son that doesn’t involve training?? the same exact thing you were telling him to do last week, while ignoring that you’ve never done that yourself in your life??

that said, yet again we have that complexity though because it’s obvious that Enji at least on some level is aware of his own flaws, even though he seems unwilling or unable to confront them. honestly, from what we’ve seen so far, Enji’s obsession with surpassing All Might might be more accurately called an addiction. he literally can’t let go of it even though he’s fully aware of how it’s slowly destroying his life. and so in the same way that a lifelong smoker or alcoholic might tell their child to stay away from cigarettes and booze, Enji tells Touya not to follow down the same path as him, even though he himself doesn’t know how to leave that path. so yes, it’s hypocritical as fuck, but there’s also an element of helplessness there as well because Enji literally doesn’t know how not to be like this

though all the same he sure could stand to put in more than just a token effort. but it is what it is, and we already know how much he’ll come to regret it

and meanwhile Baby Shouto has frozen his sleep bubble with his quirk lmao. so I guess his quirk did come in early. that’s a recipe for chaos right there

once again Shouto is ruining every single dramatic panel in this flashback

this was so dark and intense... and then I spotted the lil bubs in the corner. Horikoshi please control yourself

“some hero you are, running away” and then all of a sudden, “FIVE YEARS LATER” lol what. OKAY THEN

(ETA: love the confirmation that eight-year-old Natsu comes from the Iida school of puberty and is basically a fully grown man, and meanwhile Touya comes from the hobbit school of puberty and has been perpetually eight for the past five years.)

“HEY BIG BRO WANNA COME RECREATE AN ICONIC FLASHBACK SCENE WITH US. WE’VE GOT THE SOCCER BALL RIGHT HERE, BUT HURRY UP OR WE’LL BE TOO LATE FOR SHOUTO TO WALK ON BY AND STOP TO LOOK”

lol and that’s literally the next three panels. but Horikoshi did add this extra bit after Endeavor starts to drag Shouto away

seriously Enji what the hell did you expect was going to happen here. “Touya went nuts and tried to kill his little brother out of jealousy, so let’s make it clearer than ever that Shouto is the important child and all the other children are just rejects. this will definitely not make the problem 100x worse, and will surely lead to Touya giving up and living a happy life, having been emotionally abandoned by the person he admired more than anyone.” good for you pal you figured it all out. no need for that plan b, “we all just go to therapy”

anyway so he’s telling Shouto he can’t play because he needs more endurance training. and meanwhile Touya’s patented Todoroki Drama Genes are going through puberty as well

definitely the face of a happy, emotionally stable child who’s not still plotting to murder his younger brother in his sleep

“WELL ACTUALLY MAKESTE” lol I stand corrected??

apparently during the five year interim Touya actually stopped blaming Shouto and realized Enji was the one at fault. good for him! a bit inconsistent, given what we know happens later, but I assume we’ll get to that in good time

anyway. “yeah man I agree that dad sucks, but it’s the middle of the night and I’m only eight and you’ve been monologuing for the past two hours bro”

LMAO

the manga is making my jokes for me, only better. fine then

looks like someone’s still miffed about that disagreement he had with his baby sister back when she was like four

“Fuyu doesn’t get properly riled up like I want her to so ranting to her is annoying.” okay but having been in Fuyu’s shoes, it really is just a different way of coping, and I can guarantee she’s not as fine with the whole situation as Touya might think. but making your peace with something is often a decision that’s made for emotional self-preservation reasons. and I sure as hell don’t fault her for trying to shut out a situation that she had no control over, and trying to make the best of it, and scrape together as normal a childhood as she could manage

and now in Touya’s defense as well, that is of course easier said than done, and I’m sure if there was a “push this button and instantly get over all of the trauma in your life” switch readily available for Touya then he would have pushed it too. unfortunately it’s not always that simple

so now Rei is pleading with Touya not to go train up on his little emo hill again, but it doesn’t seem like much has changed since he was eight

I don’t think he gives two figs about being a hero; he just wants his father to look at him again with pride. fucking hell, stop doing this to me you damn Todorokis

guh, they keep telling him the same thing over and over again

even if we hadn’t already known he was gonna go melt his jawbone off soon, I wouldn’t have expected a line like that to go over well

yep. fuck

that Todoroki puberty angst, though. nothing else quite like it

“you have a part in this too, Mom” ooooooh man

okay but look, he’s not entirely wrong. like, I’m not saying any of this is Rei’s fault at all! she’s in an impossible situation where she’s afraid to stand up to Enji (who by this point has shown that he’s willing to physically attack her if things get too heated, which is terrifying), and doesn’t really have anywhere to turn for support. her parents aren’t helping much if at all, and Japan in general is just a terrible country to be in when you’re in a domestic abuse situation. everyone’s expected to put on a brave face and deal with their problems all on their own in private. Rei is basically completely isolated at this point, and she doesn’t know what else to do, and so she’s just trying to keep the situation as stable as possible for the kids

but on the other hand, “for the kids” is also where that argument starts to break down a bit, because at this point Shouto is also being physically abused by his father, and the other kids are continuing to be neglected (emotionally if not physically), as they have been for years. so the situation really isn’t stable at all for them. and as a kid, what you end up learning in that type of situation is that you can’t rely on either parent. not the abusive one, certainly, but also not the other one who can’t protect you from any of it. even if they love you and they’re trying, they’re just as helpless as you. Rei is struggling to deal with all of this with one hand tied behind her back, and I get it, and I’m not blaming her at all. but all the same, particularly given that she’s (understandably) putting almost all her focus on Shouto, the end result is that the other kids have basically been left to fend for themselves

so yeah! a shitty situation all around. and one of those cases where it’s not really anyone’s fault (aside from Enji’s), but I can understand the resentment Touya is feeling all the same. and I’m so glad Horikoshi is acknowledging this, because it’s something I probably would have been too uncomfortable to bring up otherwise. as it is it’s still an incredibly heavy subject, and one that I probably have too many personal feelings about

anyway, so once again the whole “we’ll try talking to him and then just shrug our shoulders when it doesn’t work” parenting strategy doesn’t really pan out for the Todoroki fam

sob this boy is Anakin Skywalkering before our very eyes. all that’s missing is AFO to come and start whispering in his ear. any minute now...

“anyway so then he got taller and his fire changed from red to blue”

guess we’re getting pretty close then huh. this is the part of the flashback that I really don’t want to see, but also unfortunately the part that I’m most curious about :/

oh for fuck’s --

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IGNORING HIM FOR FIVE YEARS DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM” sob. back to the drawing board I guess

I thought he got taller, why is he still only like a third of Enji’s height here

oh fuck me these are armor-piercing feels. this is the heavy artillery right here

ENJI I’M BEGGING YOU PLEASE STOP AND THINK FOR ONE MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE BEFORE DOING SOMETHING YOU’LL REGRET FOR THE REST OF ALL TIME. your child just told you that he still thinks beating All Might is the only thing you care about, and that he believes his existence is a mistake unless he finds some way of doing that for you. please stop for a moment to contemplate that and choose your next words with care and grace and oh who the hell am I kidding

-- OR WE COULD JUST BLAME REI

go on and blame everyone but yourself then!! that’s a great solution!! jesus christ man I know this is Endeavor at his literal worst but still this is fucking hard to watch

POOR BABY SHOUTO IS YELLING AT HIS DAD NOT TO HIT HIS MOMMY THIS LITTLE BRAVE BOY NEEDS SO MANY HUGS OH MY GOD

AND MEANWHILE THE OTHERS ARE HUDDLED IN THE NEXT ROOM TRYING NOT TO CRY AH FUCK

(ETA: Fuyu covering Natsu’s ears cuts RIGHT TO THE CORE OF ME. Horikoshi if you’re really not gonna get these kids some therapy then at least consider giving your readers some. what is this.)

you know it’s bad when you’re starting to think the part where the kid burns to death might actually be a less traumatic thing to cut to right now

holy shit, actual Rei thoughts

“I was the one who ultimately made that choice” well there we go, wonder if that’ll put that whole argument to bed at last. I doubt it, but you never know. actually who am I kidding it’s not gonna settle jack shit lol

oh thank god, they decided it was getting too intense and cut away back to the present to narrate this next (final?) part

get ready to cue up that Alicia Keys. THIS BOY IS ON FIREEEEEEE

yeah I think that’s one thing we can mostly all agree on. neither of them had any clue what the fuck they were doing pretty much at any point. though I will say that the hypocrisy of him being all “WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HIM” followed by him IMMEDIATELY DOING THE EXACT SAME THING is a bit rich

(ETA: and he still has this problem, doesn’t he? he froze up when Ending snatched Natsuo, and again when Dabi was attacking Shouto. he’s so afraid of doing the wrong thing that he ends up not doing anything, which of course is exactly what led to Touya’s death. damn Enji I guess you’ve still got some additional character development to unlock.)

and of course neither of them could possibly have known how badly it was going to turn out. like, the consequences here were WAY disproportionate even for the shittiest of parenting. no one expects “I didn’t know how to talk to my son” to snowball into “my son burned to death and then somehow came back as a villain and murdered thirty people”

ohhhhhhhh fuck me

LITERALLY INCINERATED THE ENTIRE HILLSIDE. fuck. and I am so not ready for the scene of Enji finding the remains of his jawbone afterwards. at least we were spared anything super-graphic (for now at least)

I feel like the timeline here is off, btw?? wasn’t Touya’s death supposed to happen after Rei got hospitalized? this might be the first actual retcon of the entire flashback. although I think it makes more sense this way tbh

I do appreciate that ten years later Enji is finally reflecting on the fact that if he’d just given up his stupid obsession he could have stopped his family from crumbling apart. that probably sounds sarcastic as fuck, but it’s not. there are countless jerks out there who would have still managed to find a way to blame literally everyone and everything under the sun except for themselves. at least he finally figured out how to take responsibility, even if it came too late to stop his son from dying and being radicalized into a villain terrorist organization

and speaking of, it seems to me we’re missing a third and final part to this little tale of woe, and one which only Touya himself will be able to shed any light on. so we’ll see how that goes

oh man seeing the other kids blaming themselves even though none of it was their fault hits hard af. Rei wasn’t kidding when she said they’d been bearing that burden of guilt far longer than Enji

SHOUTO I SWEAR TO GOD IF THE NEXT PANEL IS YOU APOLOGIZING FOR BEING BORN, I WILL... WELL I’LL BE VERY SAD, I GUESS. SO DON’T DO IT

oh good he’s just being quiet. good. it absolutely is not your fault lil bean. it’s not theirs either, but feeling guilty about things that aren’t your fault is a time-honored shounen tradition

goddammit I braced myself for the angsty Shouto panel a page too early. gotta do it all over again now lol. okay here goes

;_;

well well well would you look at that

imagine that. talking things out with your child before they make a rash decision. looks like the Todorokis’ parenting skills are finally leveling up

OH MY GOD

holy shit. this is the most quintessential moment of father/son Todoroki bonding in the entire series. for me it even tops the “nice scar” scene lol. Enji sobbing at the fact that he still has a chance to set things right. and Shouto offering his hand in what is actually the most mature and selfless gesture I’ve ever seen, and being all “we’ll stop him together” to his dad who he hates, but also doesn’t really entirely hate anymore. and all of that is incredibly moving... BUT ALSO HE STILL REFUSES TO MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH HIM AND HE WOULD LIKE HIM TO STOP BEING SO FUCKING DRAMATIC ALREADY IF YOU DON’T MIND. “WHEN YOU’RE DONE CRYING...” fkjldsk

OH MY FUCKING LORD

(ETA: wouldn’t be a Todoroki drama fest if there wasn’t somebody listening in on the whole thing in secret just around the corner lmao.)

“you think we should have waited somewhere else?” “yeah, probably.” “are you feeling a lot of secondhand embarrassment too?” “god, you have no idea.” STFU HAWKS IT’S NOT EMBARASSING TO BE MOVED TO TEARS BY YOUR FAMILY ALL COMING TOGETHER IN YOUR DARKEST HOUR TO GIVE YOU HOPE THAT YOU PROBABLY DON’T DESERVE BUT ARE NONETHELESS INDESCRIBABLY GRATEFUL FOR

and anyway you chose these guys as your found family, bucko. too late to back out now. next time go get yourself adopted by the Iidas then

AND MEANWHILE NO WORD ON THE WHOLE “HOW DID A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD SURVIVE A FIRE THAT COVERED HIS BODY WITH HORRIFIC SCARS AND MELTED HIS JAW OFF, AND HOW DID HE SOMEHOW THEN MANAGE TO GO INTO HIDING FOR TEN WHOLE YEARS, AND WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT INTERIM TO CHANGE HIS GOAL FROM ‘SURPASS ALL MIGHT TO IMPRESS MY DAD’ TO ‘KILL ALL HEROES TO MAKE MY DAD SUFFER’.” as if we don’t know the answer to that. but still, would it kill Horikoshi to just confirm AFO’s involvement in all of this already. at this point it’s basically just a formality

so here’s hoping next week we’ll either get that, or more Hawks action, or (DARE I EVEN SUGGEST, I’M AFRAID TO JINX IT) finally cut back to Bakugou and Deku and All Might omg. either way I’m hyped

[redsbrainrot]

Gruvia Week - Discovery

This is my first time positing on here lol - go easy on me please

Warning: minor smutty themes

_ _ _

"Juvia, you feeling alright?" 

Juvia, sat on a bench in the guildhall next to Levy and Gajeel, continued to rock back and forth in her seat with her arms clenched around her stomach. In Levy's lap was placed one of the twins in her hold, giddy and babbling while the one Gajeel was cradled into his shoulder and fast asleep. Therefore their conversation had to remain quiet or the six month old baby would awake screaming. 

"Juvia's okay," She mumbles, "I think I just ate something weird." 

Levy and Gajeel glance at each other, "Do you feel sick?" Levy asks. 

She nods, "A little." 

"Weren't you feeling crappy yesterday?" Gajeel adds. 

"A bit." Juvia would bend her truths to save her friends from worrying too much. 

For the past four days, Juvia had been experiencing mild nausea. Every day it appeared to be more frequent, this day being the worse. 

"Come on," Levy stands up and carefully hands over the twin she had to Gajeel, "I'll take you home."

Levy walks Juvia down the sunsetting street to the apartment Juvia shared with her boyfriend, who was currently out on a long lasting job, leaving Juvia with a feeling of absence in her apartment, and peacefully waiting for him to return in a months time. 

Juvia frantically gets out her keys to unlock the door, a sensation of rush bursting through her veins. As soon as she enters, her direction is in a locked path directly towards the sink as it was the closest thing for her to unleash half digested food from her stomach. 

Levy quickly grabs a chunk of Juvia's wavy blue locks to save them from being stuck together by portions of puke while her hand eases her by rubbing circular patterns on Juvia's back. After Juvia retracts her position from over the sink, she sinks to the ground, exhausted and somewhat hungry again. 

"Juvia, how long have you been feeling like this?" Levy questions, dropping next to her. 

"A few days." 

"Are you sure it's something you ate?" 

Juvia's eyes widen a little, peering up towards Levy's face. She hadn't exactly thought what it could be. Truthfully, she was denying what it most definitely was. Juvia's an intelligent woman, and can tell the difference between an illness and... the other topic. 

Juvia begins to twiddle her thumbs in nervousness as her nose buries into the skirt of her dress on top of her knees, "Juvia's not exactly sure..." She confesses. 

Levy's next query would for sure strike something, "Is your period late?"

That one didn't actually enter Juvia's mind. She mutters a sequence of dates and numbers to herself, counting on her fingers in concentration. "Shit!" Juvia cursed on rare occasions. 

"Is that a yes?" 

Eyes wider than ever, she nods. "Two weeks late!" 

Levy knew all these symptoms. Juvia had been oversleeping and coming to the guild at later times in the day, the nausea, the missed periods... It wasn't hard to calculate. She pushes herself from the floor and taking Juvia's hand with her, taking her towards the bedroom and implying her to sit on the bed, as this will be pretty heart stopping. 

She takes her hands into hold, and kneeling in front of the puzzled blunette, her voice gentle and calm, in attempt to keep things light hearted, "Juvia, I think you're pregnant." 

Her eyes slant to the side, taking in the life changing information that may be a high possibility. "No..." She says under her breath, "Gray-sama and Juvia aren't even married yet... not even engaged." Juvia likes to keep traditions in mind.

"Doesn't mean it's not a possibility. All the evidence is right in front of you, you can't possibly deny it. Plus you've always dreamed of having kids with Gray. This can be a good thing if you want it to be. If not, that's totally fine too." 

Juvia and Gray hadn't discussed kids more than once. At least alone together and not in a teasing situation surrounded by their guild-mates. 

"Have you got any pregnancy tests here?" 

Juvia shakes her head in reply. 

"I'll go out and get you one." She breaks the contact, exchanging a smile with her as she heads out the door. 

Juvia falls into her bed, glaring at the ceiling as she processes the situation. The chances of it being true were actually quite high. The two of them were very sexually active, yet also taking precautions. Most of the time. Once or twice, Gray may have relied on the withdrawal method. A few weeks before Gray left for his job along with Natsu, Lucy and Erza, the two of them went out to stargaze. Mere touches were grazed on each others skin. Those touches becoming more lewd, lewd gestures forming into kisses, and eventually, the kisses leading to sex under the midnight sky. 

Juvia's hands slap to her face in utter embarrassment, and stupidity flowing through her mind. No contraception which was one hundred percent effective existed, and they increased the chances of conceiving by using the worst method possible. 

Juvia unconditionally loves her Gray-sama, and even though it took some time, the feeling was completely mutual. However, Juvia had planned out her life with Gray. First moving in together, which had already been achieved. Second, waiting for the day he proposes (she doesn't have the guts to do it herself). Third, the day the two lovebirds finally get married. Last but not least, babies. 

Juvia had strong mother instincts, she was born to be a mother. What made her dream bigger about it was the fact Gray would one day be a father to them. 

Ten to fifteen minutes later, Levy returns with a plastic bag. Containing some comfort food and of course a pregnancy test. 

Juvia hesitantly takes the test, and heads inside the bathroom. 

She follows the instructions while her heart beats worryingly fast. In fear of the answer, she slaps the test into Levy's hand while they wait a few minutes for the result, not wanting to see for herself. 

"Juv..." Levy calls after a few minutes. 

Juvia peaks up from her slouch as she sat on the end of the bed, her teeth grinding with anticipation. 

"It's positive." 

Juvia had trouble believing it. She was actually pregnant? Even though she was going to beat herself up for not being more careful, a hint of joy sprung out of nowhere. Hormones, perhaps?

A brief smile emerges on Juvia's round, porcelain face, while her eyes are screaming. She's actually, after all these years, going to have a baby with the man she's wanted to the most. Just a little bit earlier than she had originally planned.

Gray doesn't return for another month. After this, she wouldn't be able to bare another moment with him not knowing. 

"When does Gray get back?" 

"Just over a month... I don't know what I want to do..." 

_ _ _

On the couch, dressed in her boyfriend's shirt and a pair of shorts, Juvia sat in peace and comfort while skimming the pages of one of her favourite books to pass time. Gray's arrival was due that day. Juvia had a burst of anticipation to see her boyfriend after so long, but coated with fear in addition. 

Juvia slams her book as she catches the sound of keys turning the locks. After discovering she's pregnant with her Gray-sama's baby, she'd spent the previous month reading pregnancy books, making space for the baby in the spare bedroom, which was previously used as a storage room which would grow like mould. For the majority, she'd be sleeping and having naps three times a day, and throwing up anything that'd enter her body. Her cravings were wild, her tongue rejected almost all of her favourite foods, including her most adored Gray buns. 

Juvia'a smile lightens Gray's life up as he opens the door. His jacket is immediately stripped without a thought and his arms around her body, first pulling her closer to him and their lips briefly locking for a sweet moment. Juvia's hands crawl up to his neck, she retracts her lips for a second and tugs him back for an even deeper, more tender one. 

"Fuck," Gray curses in a breath, "I've missed these lips," He kisses her once more, "I've missed you." 

He makes her squeak as he grabs her thighs. Juvia loops her legs around his waist as an immediate reaction, giggling and melting into the strong, hungry kisses. Gray's tongue surprises her as he licks her bottom lip, needing to meet with hers. By how he was moving towards the bedroom, tugging his teeth at her lip and occasionally licking, his crotch pressed right against hers, she knew what he wanted and was aware he wanted it now. 

"Gray..." She pants, breaking the kiss. 

Gray ignores her, assuming her words are more of a moan and slips his tongue inside her mouth. She allows his tongue to take control of her mouth, being distracted by his taste and moving into a moment of bliss. Then reality slaps her in the face as her back hits a door. 

"Gray, I need to talk to you." Worried and out of breath, her usual third person switches to first. 

Gray's lips halt their work, his eyes opening and hands becoming looser, dropping her to the ground delicately. 

"Are you okay?" His fingers brush through her bangs, tracing to the side of her porcelain face. 

She nods, retaining a smile and she takes his hand, turning around and opening the door to their bedroom. She takes them to a bed, this time for conversational purposes, not making hot, sweet love. 

Holding his hand, her eyes flutter close, mouth intaking a deep breath, releasing a sigh a second after. "Remember that time, you and Juvia were out in the fields outside of town, stargazing?" 

Gray's smirk startles her, "Oh yeah, I remember that night." He recalls the sex immediately. 

"You also remember making love then?" She urges the memory, and a possible yearning sensation in Gray's boxers. 

"Yes?" He took note something was wrong rather quickly. 

"And how you had to pull out since Juvia wasn't on the pill that week, and we didn't have a condom?" 

He nods, eyes narrowing. 

"Well," She chokes on her words, unable to confess immediately, "you may have pulled out a moment too late..."

She pressures herself inside her own head "Spit it out, Juvia!". She'd had the perfect pep talk from Levy, and was convinced she'd have no trouble revealing her pregnancy. 

Luckily, words didn't have to be used. A more convenient way was also possible for her. 

Juvia lifts up her sweater, having a tighter t-shirt underneath. She holds the top of Gray's hand, and guides it to her stomach, having him feel her bump, confessing her pregnancy in a nonverbal way. 

Gray's eyes break from hers, darting to her stomach and widening, his reaction unreadable from Juvia's perspective. 

Juvia's concern over his reaction rises, as he wasn't uttering a sound. About to panic, scream of how she had the worst feeling in the world she knew he'd be against it, Gray's free hand holds the other side of her small bump. The anxiety in his eyes had faded, and gazing with awe in replacement. 

"Gray-sama?" Juvia says, after many silent moments of listening to each others breaths. 

"There's actually... a baby us in there?"

Having him say "a baby us" melted Juvia's heart. Out of all the possible ways Gray could've responded it, that she was not expecting. "Yes. What do you think?" 

He doesn't respond straight away, continuing to gaze at her bump, his hands trailing over it and lightly caressing. He catches Juvia off guard when his lips swiftly kiss hers. He places excited, soft, joyful kisses from her lips, to the corner of her mouth, cheeks and forehead. Juvia's unable to contain a smile, giggling into the final heartfelt, impassioned kiss. Her arm loops around his neck, deepening their kiss, while his hand is at the back of her neck and one staying on her bump. 

"Gray-sama is happy?" Her eyes widen with joy.

"Yes!" He exclaims while kissing her once more. 

She pulls away, out of breath with a hyper voice, "Gray-sama wants to have a baby with Juvia?" 

He pushes himself further back, regaining some control, taking her hands into his, "Well... Yeah. We've been together for two years. I know we both thought marriage would come first - I'll be honest, having a baby right now will be scary as we weren't trying for one and it's just happened. I know I don't bring up the thought of us having a child together often, as it's more of a you thing..." He pauses, nervously taking a bite at his lip, "But I knew we'd end up having one eventually. If you're happy with one now, so am I." 

Juvia's face had blushed immensely red throughout his words. There's no way in hell Gray would confess that in front of the entire guild. Having him say it to her face, while holding her hands, was just enough for her. 

_ _ _

Two days had passed. Gray and Juvia spent the weekend together, discussing their excitement over the baby, and mainly catching up on the past two months apart. 

First night back, Gray's sleep was muddled and would wake up at least three times during the night. His emotions were complicated to explain, but he could sum them up and admit his happiness. The news may have not fully kicked in, and he was shocked of how Juvia seemed to be able to relax, sit peacefully on a couch and read books. Yet again, she had just spent a month by herself well aware of what was growing inside her. 

The two agreed they'd wait a few weeks before fully announcing it to the guild, plus Gray's shyness. However, an infamous dragon slayer had other plans. 

Juvia was clothed in baggier clothes than normal, concealing her bump as her tighter dresses were incapable of that. Gray, Natsu and Lucy were sat at a table in the centre of the guild. Natsu throwing unintentional flirtatious comments at Lucy, and would receive relatively harsh slaps in the bicep in return. 

"Hi everyone." Juvia sweetly announces herself as she slides beside Gray, discretely grasping his fingers as she's sat down. 

"Hey, Juvia." Natsu grins, which soon disappears as his nose begins to twitch. 

"Something wrong?" Gray questions. 

He nods, his sniffing becoming more obvious, "Can you smell that?" 

"I can't." Gray shrugged, raising an eyebrow at Juvia. 

"We don't have the nose of a beast like you," Lucy giggles, "What is it?" 

Natsu leans forward, following his scent with his sight in attempt to locate it, which his glare ends on Juvia. "It's you!" 

She jumps at his forwardness, gripping Gray's hand firmer. "Huh?" 

"There's something different about you... new perfume?" She shakes her head in response, "It may be the dress, never seen you in something so loose." 

"Watch your mouth, pervert." Gray growls as he takes Natsu's innocent comment more crudely. 

"You're calling me a pervert!?" Natsu immediately bites back. 

Lucy slaps her hand to Natsu's shoulder, pushing him back into the seat, "It doesn't take much for you to get riled up, does it?" 

"Seriously though," He flounces out his hands towards Juvia, "Something is different! I can smell it!" Lucy sighs and hushes him as his bellowing was grabbing the rest of the guilds attention. 

Juvia and Gray eye each other in fear. Natsu may not have the IQ of a genius, however his nose is powerful enough to sense any form of change. Lucy quickly takes note of the glance they exchange, figuring out by the scent and the stares, something is certainly up. 

"Wait..." Her eyes narrow in query, "Is something actually different, Juvia?" Her choice of tone more calm than Natsu's, easing the two of them. 

Juvia's eyes slant as her leg bounces in anxiety. Announcing her pregnancy five days earlier than planned would certainly drive Gray crazy. He hasn't mentally prepared himself for the attention and congrats as he's soon to be a father. 

"Well..." 

"Juvia!" Gray objects. 

Juvia releases a frustrated breath, "Gray-sama, there's no harm-" 

"I'm not ready to tell yet!" 

"You're pregnant." 

Juvia and Gray's heated stare breaks as Natsu points a finger at them, shockingly figuring out their secret much quicker than expected. 

Lost for words, the two gape like blank minded sheep. 

"I'm right, right?" 

Gray's opinion on Natsu is still pretty low, even though over the past years it had risen. How on earth did he figure it out in the snap of his fingers!? 

In Juvia's head, it made sense. He wouldn't ask if they were engaged as her scent would remained the same. With the evidence of looser clothes, the scent, secrecy, there's no hiding her pregnancy from him! 

"Yes... Juvia is pregnant." Getting it off her chest to her closest friends, minus Gajeel who already knew, was a relief. Her confession initiated a smile to tug at her delicate lips, watching the two with stars in their eyes as they take in the information, while Gray slams his face into the palms of his hands. 

"You sneaky little fucker!" Natsu's method of congratulations are somewhat unique, "Nice!"

"Oh my god!" Lucy squeals in delight as her hands hyperly applaud, "I'm so happy for you!" 

"Thank you," Juvia caresses her bump under the table, "We weren't planning on one of course. But Juvia thinks she's ready for a baby, and so does Gray-sama." 

Gray pulls himself up from the grave of his hands, admitting a smile to Juvia, taking her hand and placing his lips on her knuckles. He may not express his love for her much in public, but that tiny gesture said it all. 

"Yeah... I am."

_ _ _

[petri808]

I1+Nalu Only one bed @thegalilea3 request

The wedding of Laxus and Mirajane Dreyar was a cozy affair attended by only close family and friends. Neither had really wanted a lavish event, so a simple morning ceremony and luncheon in a beautiful garden was perfect. The bride and groom instead funneled the majority of their budget into food, drinks, and overnight lodging for the guests at a small nearby hotel. Lucy Heartfilia was happy to see her friend finally married and settled because Mira deserved it.

Though there was one odd thing about the luncheon— assigned seating. With only 21 people including the bride and groom, it seemed unnecessary. Plus, everyone except Lucy and one other person were a couple anyways. Maybe it was to ensure everyone was accounted for, only Mira knew. As it was, it also meant Lucy was sat next to the only other single... Natsu Dragneel. It was a bit weird, but not a big deal. Natsu was her close friend after all.

The day was perfect in every regard. Clear skies, light breeze with warm sunshine, great food, and jovial company. It was a nice reprieve from Lucy’s job in the city. She missed spending time with her friends, especially Natsu and this provided a perfect couple of days to relax in the countryside. They were best friends, her unrequited high school crush until adulthood sent them onto different paths. University, then careers. The pair stayed in touch as often as possible, but both were busy in their endeavors.

“How has it been at the magazine,” Natsu questioned Lucy. “I see you’ve made it to junior editor.”

“Oh,” she laughed, “yeah, but it’s still a glorified title. I’m really just my bosses assistant.”

“It’s still a big step,” he smiled back.

“What about you?”

“They’re sending me to EMT training next month. So, I’ll be a specialized firefighter.”

“That sounds exciting.”

“I guess,” Natsu shrugged, “I prefer the action.”

Lucy chuckled, eyes crinkling in a smile, “same ‘ole Natsu.”

“Hey you two,” Mirajane waved as she walked over. “How is everything?”

“Hi Mira! Everything is perfect, you did a fantastic job planning it.”

“Aww, thanks Lucy.”

“I was surprised that Laxus finally caved.”

Lucy slapped Natsu’s chest for the comment, but if only made Mira laugh.

“I threatened to leave if he didn’t just get this over with. Anyway, the reason I came over is I just received a call from the hotel and it seems they made a mistake in my booking. Instead of 11 rooms, they only booked 10. Unfortunately... they’re also full.”

“So, what does that mean?” Natsu questioned the woman.

“Well, as singles I had booked you guys your own rooms, because the couples have theirs, which means one of you now doesn’t have one.”

“Oh. It’s okay Mira, I can try and find a room elsewhere for the night,” Lucy chimed in. “Don’t worry about it, it wasn’t your fault.”

“Why don’t we just share it?” Natsu then suggests to Lucy. “When we check in, we’ll just ask for a room with two beds.”

“Are you sure,” both Lucy and Mira questioned at the same time.

“Why not? I mean, I don’t mind.”

“Lucy would you be okay with that?” Mira questioned her friend. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

Lucy looked at Natsu, then back to Mira. “I’ll be okay. I mean, he’s not a stranger to me.” She laughed although inside she was a bit nervous about sharing a room with him.

“I won’t bite,” Natsu put his hands up in defense. “I swear.”

“Weirdo!” Lucy laughed.

Mira laughed as well. “Great! I’ll let the hotel know the room will be a double occupancy. You guys enjoy the rest of party. Check in is anytime after 4pm.”

“Thanks Mira. And congratulations again!”

Everything will be fine, Lucy assured herself. It’s just Natsu. She knows Natsu. He’s harmless. Spending one night alone together won’t kill her. Just think of it as more time to catch up. Maybe find out why he’s still single. ‘Stop that!’ Lucy chided her mind. She is not asking him that kind of question! Even though she is curious... more so now after having spent the last 4 hours being reminded of what a great guy he was. All the reason she’d crushed on him, his warmth, oof, his smile...

“Wait what?!” Lucy shrieked at the hotel receptionist. “There’s no rooms with two beds?”

“I’m very sorry ma’am, but we only have a few of those and they’re all taken already.”

“What about a roll-away?”

Again the woman shook her head. “We’re just a small country inn. We don’t have those.”

“Oh... my god...” Lucy breathed out. She’d have to share a bed with Natsu?!

Speaking of the man, at that moment, he gently coaxed Lucy away from the receptionist. “We’ll make it work, don’t worry, she’ll be fine,” he assured the woman. “Just give us the keys and we’ll be on our way.”

Once inside of the hotel room, Lucy surveyed their predicament. It was a king sized bed. Great, at least it provided a decent amount of space between them, and it was a very nice room... a bit too nice compared to a standard hotel room. Strange, but maybe it was the only option left because of the full capacity. Well, guess it wasn’t such a bad thing. She could think of it as a sleepover, like the kind they would have when they were teenagers.

The first thing Lucy did was change out of her formal party attire into something comfortable. When she exited the bathroom, Natsu was lounging on the bed, looking through the pamphlets the hotel left on the nightstand.

“What’re you reading?” She questioned him.

“It’s a pretty small hotel, no services, but they do have a restaurant open for lunch and dinner... oh and a pool.”

Lucy hadn’t brought a swim suit, so the pool was out of the question. “What time is the restaurant open till?”

“Um... 9pm.”

“Good. I’m not hungry yet, but in a couple of hours I will be.”

For the rest of the evening Natsu was weirdly quiet. He talked as needed, but it almost felt to Lucy as if he was trying to avoid something. Or maybe it was all in her head. Maybe Natsu was just as nervous as she was about arraignment and was doing his best not to make it uncomfortable. Their conversations were pleasant enough, catching up on their lives, their families, any new interests they may have developed. They’d become functional members of the community in careers they enjoyed. For all intents and purposes, their lives were normal, happy on the surface.

Around 11pm the pair agreed it was time to get some shut eye. It had been a long and contented day, but tomorrow they’d return to their own lives. They chose their respective sides, turning off the light and settled into bed facing away from each other.

As Lucy lay there, she reflected on how things had turned out and of their day. The thoughts in her mind loud against the silence of the darkened room. It felt weird, knowing Natsu lay less then two feet away. Or maybe it was simply weird sleeping in a bed with another person. It had been a couple years since her last failed relationship, so she wasn’t used to this feeling anymore. She didn’t know how many minutes had passed by when she’d heard Natsu shift in the bed and his voice, soft and hesitant cut through the inky blackness.

“Do you ever think about... us Lucy?”

What does he mean? “Us?” She parroted.

“I do sometimes,” Natsu continued. “I think about, what our lives would be like if I’d grown some balls and asked you out years ago... where would we be today?”

Lucy’s breathing slowed as she processed his words. Had she thought of it? Moisture slowly filled her eyes. Yes— yes she had, many, many times over the years. Every time a relationship failed, she thought about it. But she never blamed him because she was just as guilty for not saying something sooner. Yet here he was posing such a question.

Her eyes closed as she spoke. “What are you trying to say Natsu?” She felt him turn over and shift again, then a hand pulling, coaxing her to face him. Once she’d switched sides, Lucy could see his shadowed face, oozing with regret.

“I’m saying...” Natsu reached out and took her hand. “I wish we were an us. I’m saying I want to lay like this every night next to you, to wake up beside you, come home to you. Im saying... I don’t want this to end.”

Lucy squeezed his hand back. “Idiot!” Tears prickling the corners of her eyes. “Why didn’t you say something sooner!”

“I was afraid! Okay?! I thought you deserved better than me and I’d just hold you back!”

“Better?! It was always better together! All these years I’d been lonely and miserable cause no one could replace you!”

“I’m sorry!!”

A few seconds after the last words are screamed, laughter broke out from the two. Unrefined laughter at their own stupidity. They’d both been pining all these years and it took being stuck in a room together for it all to come crashing out.

“Natsu...” Lucy squeezed his hand again, “I’d really love to be an us too.”

He reached over and caressed her face. “I’ve always loved you Lucy, and I wanna make up for all the years we lost. But I have a confession to make.”

Oh, god what the hell now?! “What are you, actually married? No, divorced? Secret kids?! What?!” Lucy trembled as her euphoria threatened to crash down again.

Natsu scratched the back of his head nervously. “No! Nothing like that. The hotel didn’t make a mistake. Mira and I set this up so I could confess. I’d planned to do it earlier but couldn’t work up the nerve until I realized I was running out of time again...”

“Ohhh! Is that it?!” Lucy’s head lolled as she groaned. “You damn goof! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Im sorry!” He chuckled. “I just didn’t want you to find out later. And don’t blame Mira, it was my idea. I’ll make it all up, I promise. I’ll make you forget about those years of loneliness. I’m gonna make you so happy you—”

Lucy sighed. “Natsu?”

“Huh, yeah?”

“Just shut up and kiss me already.”

[ignitedbynatsu]

A Little More Faith

A/N: None of you would be able to read my works if it wasn’t for Grammarly 🤐 Anywayyy @exhaustedpotat0 I hope you like it ❤ Thank you again for the request and the support it really means a lot to me. My blog is blowing up recently and I can’t express how much everyone’s support means to me. 

Warnings: mention of injury, fighting with parents

Genre: Angst to fluff

⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍⚡🤍

"I don't like this" Laxus grumbled as he watched his daughter laughing over something Natsu had said.

"It's just a job" Mira-Jane reassured him as a feeling of pride washed over her while looking at the girl in question. She was finally going to go on her first mission.

"I already don't like the idea of her leaving for a mission" he repeated "but for that mission to be with Natsu of all people? I don't stand behind this"

"Is dad being grumpy again?" A chuckled vibrated from (Y/N)'s chest as she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek as a way to say goodbye.

"I don't condone this" Laxus voiced his thoughts as the girl kissed him on the cheek as well.

"Well, that sounds like a you problem" she shrugged before rushing off, knowing he'd scold her for talking back if she didn't get out there quick "Bye mom and dad, I'll be back soon! Love you!"

Team Natsu followed soon behind, Natsu and Gray laughing at the pissed of Laxus while Erza reassured the couple she'll scold her in their place.

The younger girl was beaming with excitement as she finally left for her first-ever job. Even though Laxus was still mostly against it, Mira-Jane somehow managed to persuade him to let her go on her first mission at the age of 14.

That same excitement soon vanished as her hamstrings were slashed, making her unable to walk and crumble in pain to the floor, a blood-curdling scream leaving her lips soon after.

"(Y/N)!" Natsu was quick to jump in front of the younger mage, Gray following not even a second later. They shared an understanding nod to push their differences aside and protect the girl at all costs. "Lucy! Get her out of here!"

Lucy obeyed, summing Loke to grab her whilst fighting the enemies with Taurus. "Loke! Bring her to Wendy and protect her"

The celestial being understood the graveness of the situation and decided to bite his tongue instead of making his usual flirty remark towards his owner. "Let's go little one" he carefully picked her up while his eyes darted around, desperate to catch a glimpse of the dragon slayer. The moment he saw a hint of blue hair, he didn't hesitate for a second and ran over to her, all while carrying (Y/N) in his arms that was still crying out in pain.

"Wendy!" Loke called out to the said mage. With only a mere glance she understood what was going on. She finished off the opponent she was fighting with and ran towards the wounded girl.

She exclaimed the cut, a troubled expression clearly evident upon her features "there's not much I can do right here. I can stop the bleeding and relieve some pain, but her hamstrings are torn. I need my equipment at the guild to see how grave the injury is"

A new determination filled everyone as Wendy's words rang in their ears. They needed to handle this quickly. Every second could be one too many. In record time, they managed to fend off the last enemies.

Natsu took over from Loke, as Lucy had little to no energy left to keep the celestial being in this world. They got the first train home, not even sparing the price-money a single thought. The younger girl was their top priority right now. No money in the world could top that.

Laxus's eyes fell on the lifeless girl in Natsu's arms as soon as they set foot back into the guild. Freed and Bickslow quickly got up to stand in front of him as they saw the change in his demeanour. Their friend was completely engulfed in rage that was directed towards one man in particular and that was the man that was holding his gravely injured daughter. "Natsu" electricity was crackling over his body as he got closer and closer to the said mage.

"Laxus!" Mira-Jane narrowed her eyes at him as she stepped between the two dragon slayers "this is not the time. Wendy, please, heal her"

Wendy motioned Natsu, to follow her to the medical room, leaving the enraged Laxus and a worried Mira-Jane

There was a heavy, uncomfortable silence placed across the guild. Nobody dared to make a sound, afraid to tick the couple off as they waited in anticipation for Wendy to finish the surgery.

Laxus mind was swarmed with worst-case scenarios as his eyes were fixated on the door of the medical room. He was experiencing so much stress and frustration that he felt like punching a wall, no, he wanted to punch Natsu, but Mira-Jane was right. This was not the time, not right now.

Mira-Jane was busying herself downstairs with the dishes. Even though she had complete faith in Wendy, she also knew that if she were to be left alone with her thoughts for even a minute, she wouldn't be able to break free from them.

Minutes felt like hours and hours felt like years. But after nearly two hours, Wendy came out with a content smile plastered upon her face "she'll be fine. She just needs to wake up from her anaesthesia, but after that, she'll be back to normal."

It was like everyone could breathe again once those words filled their ears. She was okay. (Y/N) would be just fine.

After a couple more hours, the anaesthesia had completely worn off and (Y/N) was sitting up straight while Mira-Jane and Laxus stood on either side of her bed.

"I'm so glad you're okay" the eldest Strauss sibling mumbled as she kissed her daughter's head, a couple of tears fell from her eyes in relief.

"That's it. No more jobs for you" (Y/N) eyes shot up as she heard the stern words from her father "What? No! You can't do that"

"I can and I will. Don't you realize that you might have never been able to walk again?" He argued, but his daughter wasn't having it, both sharing the same short temper "It was just a scratch stop making a big deal out of it"

"I'm not having it. You're not allowed on jobs anymore and that's final" Laxus crossed his arms in front of him to show that he was done with the conversation.

(Y/N)'s eyes were swimming with rage at her father's stubbornness "stop treating me like a child!" "Then stop acting like one!"

"It's because you push me in that role!" She was certain that everyone downstairs in the guild could hear her, but she didn't care. If anything, she wanted them to hear how unreasonable her father was "I am the daughter of two of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail. You've been training me from the moment I could walk. Why can't you trust me?"

"Because you're clearly not ready for it" the blonde scoffed. He knew this discussion was long overdue, but that didn't mean he was going to back down easily. Not when his daughter was nearly disabled for life.

"It was an accident! Mom, please say something" she desperately pleaded for her mother to side with her and talk some sense into her father but when she didn't budge, the younger girl scoffed "you're both being hypocrites. How many times have you been laying on death's doorstep when you were around my age? I want you to leave. Now."

It was like the temperature changed along with the cold words that left her mouth. The toxic words left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth.

Laxus wanted to say something but stopped himself when Mira-Jane placed a hand on his bicep and shook her head softly no. She knew that their daughter was right. They were being a hypocrite, but how could they not when they saw their little girl in so much pain only a couple of hours ago?

"She's right you know" Erza confronted the parents once they softly closed the door behind them "It's definitely not fun, but it's part of the job. She's 14, you can't shield her away from the world forever. Sure, this wouldn't have happened if we all had been a little more on edge, but it happened. Mistakes are bound to be made, but we learn from them, and so will she"

"But she's our little girl" Mira-Jane sighed as her eyes lingered on the door where Wendy had just walked through again to check up on their daughter.

"I know, and I can't start to imagine how you two must've felt when you saw her like that, but she's also part of Fairy Tail. If you didn't trust her skills, you wouldn't have let her join" Erza pointed out. Both parents were quite as they took in every word the mage in front of them said "you both need to put a little more faith in her. If you don't, she'll start doing stuff behind your back, and you will drift apart."

The last words struck a nerve with Laxus. He knew how painful it was to lose his family. He vowed to never let that happen, to never make the mistake his father did. And yet he unconsciously was pushing her further away from him.

The white-haired mage took notice of the realization that dawned upon her husband "I think we need to apologize"

Laxus blindly followed his wife as they re-entered the room their daughter was laying in "I thought I told you to get out"

"Actually, we're here to apologize" Mira-Jane's signature kind smile was placed upon her lips.

Laxus sighed deeply as the eyes of the two women he loved most were staring at him in anticipation "we- no, I am really sorry for smothering you. I wanted to keep you close in an attempt to not go down the same path my father did, but by doing, so I realize I'm also pushing you further away from me, from us. I am really sorry. I never meant for that to happen"

"You're not pushing me away, nor do you need to compare yourself to that man. You're the best father I could've ever wished for and yeah sure you can be suffocating sometimes, but I know it's because you care about me" (Y/N) eyes softened at the revelation of her father's insecurities.

"You're allowed to go on missions from now on. Just promise us you'll be more careful next time" Mira-Jane pleaded to which their daughter placed a hand over her heart "I promise, now come here"

The three shared a hug, mending the cracks that had slowly started to form as if they were never there.

[of-a-chaotic-mind]

Pick-Up Lines

Summary: Gajeel hits Reader with a pick-up line that’s just a little out of line causing Reader to slap him for being inappropriate. All is well in the end when Reader and Gajeel make a deal.

TW/CW: Gajeel Redfox x Reader. Dirty pick-up line. Reader slaps Gajeel. Angsty Gaj.

Requested?: No

Word Count: 1,315

A/N: I started this out with a happy, funny, path in mind but that path somehow managed to make a detour though Angstville. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Gajeel and Laxus tie for my favorite in Fairy Tail so I felt it was only fair to do an imagine for him too. This was prompted but I tweaked the prompt slightly. It’ll be in bold as usual. Anyways, requests are open and love to all!

Your POV

    As I enter the Guild Hall, I look around for a certain metal head and thankfully don’t see him. Thoughts of him invaded my brain the entire time I was gone on a job all because of his stupid pick-up lines that he constantly bombards me with. The weird thing is, if he’s not testing pick-up lines on me, then he’s picking on me and it annoys me to no end. Especially considering I have a massive crush on him. I take a seat at the bar and smile as Mira makes her way over, “Hello (Y/n)! What can I get ya?” I order a drink and soon after she hands it to me, my Thunder Legion teammates are calling me over to join them at one of the tables while they watch Natsu and Gray bicker at the one beside them.

    I sit down beside Evergreen with my back turned to the table like her as we laugh as Natsu and Gray hurl halfhearted insults at each other. Bickslow drops down onto the bench from his previous seat on the table and leans over to whisper in my ear, “Bet you’re sad he’s not here, huh?”

    I elbow him in the ribs, “Shut up, Bic. I’m not in the mood.”

    Ever giggles on my other side, “I’m sure he’ll turn up soon. He always does when (Y/n) is around.” Soon, for some reason, Natsu and Gray are challenging Droy and Jet to a pose off. Happy is flying above them to referee. At the other table, Levy and Lucy have their heads together reading a book and Juvia is drooling over Gray as per usual. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the Guild door open but don’t notice who comes in. Ever and I are talking about the job we just got back from when Panther Lily hops up on the table across from us to inquire about what the girls are reading. Butterflies swarm around my stomach as I realize who had entered the Guild moments before. I silently hope that he has other business to tend to and won’t talk to me.

    Just when I think my luck is good today, the table shifts a little bit and someone sits down behind me with one leg to either side of me and he pokes his head into view between me and Ever, “You know (Y/n), you’re so hot that my zipper is falling for you.” Ever gasps and several people around us giggle. I can feel a blush spread across my cheeks as I stand, slap Gajeel across the face, and then stomp over to the Request Board to find another job so I can get the hell out of here.  

    As my eyes roam the board, Lily steps up beside me, “I tried to tell him that pick-up line was no good but he won’t listen to me. A red handprint on the face on the other hand, now that’s a teacher you can’t ignore.”

    I sigh, “Did I overreact?”

    “Considering that line stepped across a certain line in the sand he seems to have been toeing lately, no. However, I do encourage you to give him a chance. He may be a complete idiot sometimes but he has a good heart that seems to be entirely in love with you. He simply does not know how to show it,” he responds, and I can feel him observing me, “And if I’m not mistaken you feel the same for him.” I hear Lily leave and drop my head to look at the floor. I probably shouldn’t have been so harsh on him, that line just threw me for a loop. I expected something but I didn’t expect it to be so dirty and loud, usually he just mumbles them so only I hear. I sigh and head back to the bar.

    I find that he also had the same idea as he’s seated on a stool with a bright red handprint on his cheek. Feeling guilty I lightly trace the print, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to slap you so hard.” He sets his glass back down on the bar and just as I’m about to pull my hand away he takes it in his and kisses my knuckles.  

    He returns back to his drink, letting my hand go, and stares at the wall ahead of him, “It’s okay, tiny. I crossed the line. I probably should’ve saved that one for if I actually manage to win you over one of these days.”

    I grab one of the barstools and place it closer to him so that when I hop onto it I can lay my head over on his shoulder. It’s quiet for a moment as thoughts bounce chaotically around in my head. Finally, I decide to say something, “I honestly thought you’d never feel the same way I do.”

    He glances down at me, “How could I not? Did you really think I wouldn’t fall in love with the way you always have your teammates’ backs or the way you kick ass every time you fight even if it looks like you’ll lose. You never give up or back down. There’s also the way you always act like everyone annoys the hell out of you but when it comes down to it you’re there whenever they need you as soon as they need you. Hell, I even fell in love with the way you look so adorable when you get angry. That’s why I always pick on you.”  

    He hesitates before continuing, “But I just managed to push you away. I always break things. I don’t even like myself sometimes so I don’t know why I thought you might be interested in me. You’re too good for me. You’ve always been good.” It’s now that I realize he’s beating himself up over his past. I turn my head and place my chin on his shoulder so that I can look at him. He’s staring down at the bar and I can tell he’s fighting back tears.  

    “It’s funny that the reasons you fell in love with me are the same reasons that made me love you. Gajeel you’ve always been one of my favorite people around here even if you do annoy me sometimes. I think there’s a lot that you still need to learn about me because my past isn’t as pristine as you and everyone else thinks it is,” I pause, trying to decide how to ask this, “Truth be told I’ve always admired the way you’ve redeemed yourself and I never thought I’d be good enough for you. So, if I think I’m not good enough for you and you think you’re not good enough for me, how about we say they cancel out?”

    He’s quiet for a few moments so I decide to try to ask this his way, “Gaj, I’m no photographer but I can definitely picture us together. This causes him to look over at me with a grin plastered on his face but I’m not done, “I like your shirt, it looks like it’s made out of boyfriend material.” He laughs now so I keep going, “Life without you is like a broken pencil, pointless.”

    Finally, he pops off with his own line, “We’re not socks, but I think we’d make a great pair.”

    It’s at this moment that Panther Lily hops onto the bar and makes his way over to us, “Is this your two’s way of asking to start a relationship?” Gajeel and I look at each other and then back at Lily and grin, nodding our heads.

    Lily rolls his eyes and wanders off as Gajeel turns his attention back to me, “This means your mine now, right tiny?”

    I giggle, “I’ll be yours as long as you’ll be mine.”

    He grins again, “Deal.”

Masterlist

Taglist:

[kaistarus]

The Key to Love is Timing

Pairings: Hinata X Reader

Words: 3.5K

Summary: If the first confession fails... Just bottle it up for a few years and hope for the best? Hinata messed up the first time, but he's not one for quitting.

Notes: This has lots of manga spoilies. I just love time-skip Hinata and he deserves more content 🥰 

Masterlist // Ko-Fi

Karasuno high school loomed in front of you. The place that served as a sanctuary for so many years, helping you build lasting friendships and memories in classrooms that would soon be filled with new freshmen to take your place. It was bittersweet knowing your locker would soon belong to someone else, but you could only hope it would serve them as well as it had you.

Almost everyone had left the school grounds since it was nearing sundown, but you needed a while longer to say goodbye. You trailed your hand down the granite pillar that held the small canopied entrance. You were never good with goodbyes, and it would be hard to leave your friends behind. You’d made your plans to keep in touch and although you were the realistic type you still held had hope it could work out.

There was only one person you had avoided talking to...

“(Y/N)!”

You inhaled slowly before glancing over your shoulder at the boastful voice coming from across the courtyard. Hinata. You were hoping you’d run into him, whether you’d let yourself admit it or not. You noticed his sleeves were rolled up his forearms and that the schoolbag hung casually over his shoulder contained his uniform jacket-the sleeve hanging out loosely-as he pushed his bike toward you.

“Hey, yourself,” you tightened the grip on your own bag and languidly came to meet him at the front of the entrance. He was slightly out of breath when he reached out, taking large gulps of air to gather himself before speaking.

“I was hoping you would be here. I lost track of time and was worried I missed you.” He gave a crooked grin that made your heart skip.

“Well, I figured it would take you forever to say good-bye to Kageyama.”

He tilted his head in confusion before his face lit up. “You were waiting for me?”

Your eyes widened at your mistake. “No. I mean, I didn’t not want to see you, like, if we bumped into each other that would’ve been cool, but I wasn’t purposely trying to waste time...”

Smooth.

You found yourself unable to meet Hinata’s eyes until you heard a lighthearted laugh. His genuine smile was framed with unruly autumn hair that contrasted the cherry blossoms of spring that were flying through the air. You broke your Hinata induced trance when you realized he had swiped your bag from your grip.

“Um, excuse me?”

Instead of responding he took to placing your bag on the opposite handlebar from his own bag and pushing his bike ahead of you. You blinked, confused, before catching up to the boy.

“Since when do you carry bags?” You raised an eyebrow while gesturing to the bike. “Usually you whine about how it’s abuse I’m making you push your own bike.”

“I don’t know. I just feel like it,” he shrugged and turned away from you which only raised your suspicion that he was up to something. If he tried to steal your bag or pull some last day of school prank on you… you were so not in the mood.

“Wait, where are we going?” You realized you’d just been following the familiar backroad without thought. “Are you walking me home?”

“Yes.”

“Then why aren’t we going to the halfway point? My house is completely out of the way.” You crossed your arms and narrowed your eyes at Hinata’s scrunched up face. “You’re acting really weird. Should I be concerned?”

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“Thanks. I’m thinking about doing it professionally.” You stuck your tongue out at his deadpan glare and ignored the grumbling that followed. You focused on the warmth in your chest as you teased him and not the lurking dread that dweld with every step closer to your house.

“When do you leave for University?” Hinata’s question made your stomach twist.

“April,” you shrugged. “I leave for Tokyo a few weeks before classes start.” The silence that followed was unbearable. “When… do you leave?”

“Two days.”

You nearly gave yourself whiplash with how quickly you turned to him. You had figured he would be leaving quickly, but you always envisioned a month or two at least. Your time had been wasted and you didn’t even realize.

“That’s…”

“Soon.” He finished. You nodded slowly. “I wanted to start training as soon as possible. I need to learn everything I can about beach volleyball so I can be the best player possible.”

“I’m so happy for you, Hinata.”

And you were. Even if the smile on your face felt a bit forced you knew that you truly meant those words. So you ignored the ache in your heart because it came from a selfish part of you that was scared to lose someone you cared too deeply for. Someone who had the courage to chase their passions to new continents. You shoved down the pain and focused on your admiration at his continuous drive for self-discovery and improvement.

There was no time to pity yourself.

“We’ve both got adventures ahead of us,” Hinata said with an ear to ear grin on his face. You could only nod in agreement because Tokyo was nothing like Brazil, but you had your own sense of self-discovery you supposed. Slowly, Hinata’s face dropped into something more weary and his eyes drifted to his feet. “But…”

“But?”

“It’ll be weird not seeing you all the time,” he started, lifting his head to the sky. You followed his gaze, but found nothing of interest beside the cloudless sky slowly fading to peach hues as the sun set. “I mean, you won’t be coming to my games or bullying me at school.”

“I don’t bully you.” You deadpanned.

He waved you off. “You won’t be able to come over and help me teach Natsu volleyball when she complains I’m not a good enough teacher either.”

“Well, not everyone understands your ‘wam’ and ‘zoom’ into a ‘fwump’!” You said while moving your arms into random receives and spikes to match the sounds.

“Nishinoya did,” he narrowed his eyes. “Whatever, the point is you’ll be gone and… I’m going to miss you.” He glanced over quickly. “More than the average person.”

“I’ll miss you too.” You nudged his shoulder. “Lighten up. You’re acting so weird today.”

“I’m not acting weird…”

“You are!” A gust of wind sent cherry blossoms floating toward you from the trees that perched along your path. You held out your hand and let a few settle into your palm before smirking at the boy beside you. “Cherry blossoms, carrying my bag, talking all mushy. If you were anyone else I’d think this was some poor attempt at a love confession.”

Hinata stumbled over his steps before pausing all together and you furrowed your brow at him before realization struck you. His face had blossomed red in a furious blush and his eyes were set on you determinedly in a way that had your heart racing.

Your mouth went dry. “Hinata-”

“I’m not good with words.” He took a shuddering breath and his fists clenched. “Going to Brazil is my dream, but when I think about you not being there I kinda feel like I’m gonna throw up or something. And when I’m not thinking about volleyball I’m usually thinking about when I get to see you next so…” He glanced up at you more confidently and you started to panic. You’d wanted this for so long but… “I don’t know a lot of things, but I know that I love volleyball. So, it would only make sense that I also lo-”

“Stop.” You put your hand up between you both. “You can’t…”

“What are you talking about?” He tilted his head confused. “I’m pretty sure I can. I mean I’ve been debating it for at least a year now so-”

“A year?” Your eyes widen before you shake it off. “Nevermind, I meant not now. Not when you’re about to leave and I’m about to start university and…” You clench the material of your pleated skirt. “It wouldn’t be fair to either of us.”

He furrowed his brow at you and his eyes scanned your face. “How wouldn’t it be fair?”

You took a few shaky breaths to calm yourself and to hold back the unshed tears that burn in the back of your eyes. “I don’t want to be a burden to your training in-”

“You would never be a-”

“But it’d feel that way.”

His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth while he was deep in thought. You always found that a cute quirk, but now you were just desperate to know what possibly was going on in his head. He scratched the back of his head and glanced toward the sky once again, but like before you saw nothing of interest there.

“Okay,” he said, meeting your eyes once more. “Next time then.”

You blinked. “Next… time?”

He gave you a crooked grin. “Yep, it’s not like I’ll be gone forever.”

It seemed like such a silly thing to cry over such a naive promise, like he would actually still have feelings for you when or if he ever decided to come back to Japan. The realistic part of you knew it was a childish fantasy, but let him believe his bold words like you knew only Hinata could. However, the hopeful part of you, the one that leaked tears the moment Hinata’s smiling face was out of view, clung to the idea of his dramatic return and your tragic love story.

But days turned to months, and months turned to years, and you were no longer a child. You had come to terms that the world wasn't made for fairy tale endings.

 ~*~*~*~

 Nearly four years had passed since that day and for the most part you had moved on from it. You take a deep breath before flashing your laminated badge to the security guard that would allow you to enter the massive gymnasium. No matter how many times you come to these venues it still gives you a thrill being around the chaotic environment. The crowd’s chants, scuffling of athletes shoes, coaches encouraging shouts and rushed commands all created a cacophony unmatched by anything you’d ever heard. It was a no brainer that you were addicted to the atmosphere, eventually building yourself a career that allowed you to become a part of it all.

You had plenty of time before the match started to conduct the interview you’d been assigned for that day. You glanced at the scoreboard and a nervous ball hit the pit of your stomach at seeing MSBY Black Jackals vs Schweiden Adlers. You attributed it to the number of people in the audience, rather than the person you’d been lucky enough to be assigned to interview.

Nope. This definitely had nothing to do with Hinata Shoyo.

As you unnecessarily prepared your notes, pen, and recorder for the fifteenth time since you’d arrived at the arena you glanced into the audience. Your eyes landed on Yamaguchi and Yachi waving wildly to you from the stands and you waved back, taking note of the empty seat Yachi was pointing to beside her. Looks like you’d be staying for the match after all.

You stretched your arms above your head and let out a sigh, adjusting your blazer before glancing over your shoulder to where MSBY had now filtered onto the sidelines. Your eyes were immediately drawn to the tufts of orange hair bouncing between the team and you hadn’t even noticed your soft smile until Bokuto was pointing in your direction. Hinata’s head whipped toward you and you felt yourself freeze. If you were back in high school you’d probably describe this moment of staring into his amber eyes as magical in some way, but you just felt embarrassed you couldn’t remain composed while on the job.

He sends you a crooked grin and with a light shove from Atsumu he’s jogging over in your direction. You take a deep breath to center yourself before he’s way too close in your personal bubble.

“Hey.” He smirked at you. It was a familiar look, but he carried it differently. He radiated a newfound confidence that he didn’t have last time you’d seen him. Had he also gotten taller?

“Hi.” You breathed out. Internally cursing yourself for allowing him to have such an effect on you after so many years.

“You, uh, look really nice” He said, amber eyes bright and genuine. They were still so open, like shameless windows to his every emotion. At least that hadn’t changed.

“You look pretty good too.” You said quickly switching your focus to your notes. “How’s being back?”

“Trying to give me a pre-interview?” He smirked, raising a teasing eyebrow. “Don’t think I agreed to that one.”

“Just trying to get a better feel for the client,” you shrugged. “Not required, I suppose.”

“Client?��� He pouted.

“This is a paid interaction.”

“Well, let’s keep it PG cause I’m really only good at volleyball for now,” he smirked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Your face dusted light pink at the suggestion. Yeah, he’d definitely matured over the last four years.

“Here’s the questions I’ll be asking,” you decided to ignore him, along with the cute pout he gave at being ignored, and get straight to business. “I’m going to be recording our conversation for my writing, so don’t worry about stumbling or speed or anything. Just relax and take your time.” Hinata’s eyes were soft when you looked back up to make sure he was paying attention. “What?”

“You’re just so cool.”

You chewed the inside of your cheek to calm your nerves. “It’s not that special. I’m just doing my job.”

“But you’re so good at it. You look badass.”

You shrugged. “I’m going to start the recording now,” you said and the moment he nodded in acknowledgement you pressed record. “Hinata Shoyo. MSBY player 21.” You said, marking the interview for yourself to which he just raised an eyebrow. “So, this is your first interview, right?”

“I had small ones in Brazil, but this is my first one as a professional player in Japan.” He smiled widely. “I made sure you were the first interview I had.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I got a few offers, but they didn’t matter to me if it wasn’t you doing them.”

You blinked at the confession, and found yourself lagging as you looked for the next question. “Um-okay, well, this is your first professional game this season on the starting line-up. What made you choose MSBY?”

“They were the best team at the time having try-outs!” Hinata crossed his arms and nodded. “I have to beat Kageyama after all.”

“It had nothing to do with Bokuto?” You tilted your head. You honestly thought he picked based on friendship.

“Nope, but that was an awesome coincidence!” He leaned closer to you and you looked around awkwardly. “So, what made you choose to be a sports journalist for volleyball? Anyone important in your life?”

Your heart began beating rapidly in your chest and you pushed Hinata’s face back with your notepad. “I’m sorry. I thought I was conducting the interview.”

“Well, as the client I feel I would be most comfortable answering my questions in a back-and-forth style.” He smiled innocently and you deadpanned. “Also, this is my first time, remember? I’m still learning.”

You rolled your eyes before deciding to just humor him. “I knew a kid in high school. Pretty obsessed with volleyball, so I spent a lot of time around it.”

“He sounds pretty awesome.”

“Yeah, it really depends on the day.” You said, making Hinata pout and grumble under his breath. “So, you went to Brazil for your career. How was it different there?”

“Beach volleyball is so different. It's an entirely new game compared to here. Less hands, more feet. There’s the wind and then the sand. It was really hard getting used to.”

“Will you be using some of that technique tonight?” You asked.

“On the court or...?” He smirked slyly with mirth dancing in his eyes. You glared at him and he sighed. “I mean, yeah. You’re staying for the game, right?”

“Um--I...yeah.” You answered awkwardly, looking between Hinata and the notes. He raised an eyebrow at your weird response.

“Are you dating someone?” He asked bluntly.

“What?” Your ears shot to your shoulders at his question, but he just looked at you calmly. “I-What does that-Why?”

“Cause you’re acting weird.”

You furrowed your brow and glared at the courts flooring beneath you. ““How do you think Brazil has impacted your playstyle?”

“You’re avoiding my question,” he said as you continued to avoid the question. He let out a groan before continuing. “You’ll definitely see it through my receives and blocking. I think it’ll really surprise people in my first match back.” Hinata answered smoothly. “So, are you single or…?”

You raised a brow. “Does it matter?”

“Duh,” he scoffed, dragging a hand down his face.

You sighed dramatically. “No, I’m not dating someone currently.”

“Currently!?”

“Oh my god, we’re like 22. Yes, I dated someone for a while just...” You pinched the bridge of your nose. “I heard you were called Ninja Shoyo in Brazil. Do you know where that came from?”

“I don’t know, probably because I’m Japanese.” He waved it off and you furrowed your brow grumpily at his lazy response.

“Hinata you have to at least try to-”

“Do you still love me?”

You choke on your breath and nearly let the recorder slide out of your hands, but Hinata manages to grab it with quick reflexes. He holds it between you, tilting his head with an inquisitive stare.

“I don’t know what you-”

“Because I still love you.” He declared, refusing to break eye-contact as he finally confessed what he’d held on to for so long. “Have for over four years. I kept waiting for the right time, and I’m finally back now for good so… I feel like this is it.”

You stood there in disbelief and tightened your grip around your notebook in an attempt to ground yourself. This was not part of your plan. You had given up on this long ago. “There’s no way you still-”

“It never faded. There were a few times I wished it would,” he looked away almost shamefully. “Only when it hurt a lot, like, when I felt really alone. But even when I tried I just couldn’t. I’d read your articles and everything would come back, ya know?”

You nodded slowly. You remember how it felt when Yachi sent you the article about ‘Ninja Shoyo’. The way your heart had leapt just from seeing his picture. You had stayed up the entire night rereading the poorly translated article and telling yourself you just missed an old friend, nothing more.

You dumping your boyfriend a week later had absolutely nothing to do with it…

“It’s complicated.” You settled on. There were too many factors now.

“Then we can figure it out,” his wide smile nearly sent a thrum through your heart you’d been unknowingly yearning for. “No need to overthink. We have plenty of time.”

Your heart swelled at the words and their implications. “I guess… there is.”

“You said you’re staying for the game?” He asked, which you confirmed with a nod. “Awesome. We can eat and catch up or something.” His eyes widened as he waved his hands between you. “Doesn’t need to be a date. We can just hang out like old times.”

“But what if... I want to call it a date?” You asked nearly above a whisper, twisting the ball of your foot into the ground.

Hinata paused before breaking out into a crooked smile. “Then I’d be fucking thrilled, but no pressure. Okay?”

A whistle sounded and you both turned to see the MSBY’s coach waving to Hinata as the rest of his team took the court for warm-ups. You frowned at the sheet in your hands. “We barely made through the questions…”

“There’s tons of material on here,” Hinata winked as he pressed your recorder into your palm. “You can interrogate me with whatever after the game too.”

You smiled affectionately at him as another warning whistle came from his coach. He apologized to you quickly before running off toward the court. Your cheeks warmed when Bokuto ruffled Hinata’s hair and Atsumu gave a few suggestive looks in your direction while whispering in Hinata’s ear. But when he gave Atsumu a shove, his face a flaming red, you knew you hadn’t been kidding anyone.

The lights dimmed in the arena and you made your way to where Yachi had been seated in the stands. You kept glancing toward the sunshine boy who managed to light up your life the second he returned. Someone with that strong of a magnitude couldn’t help but attract everyone around him.

As he bounced around the court, laughing boastfully with Bokuto, the only thought in your head was that it should have been obvious. Of course you had never stopped loving him.

How could anyone stop loving someone like him.

[moeruhoshi]

Just had a thought while working on the previous NaLu week Day 3 one-shot that I started and totally meant to finish

And then I ended up changing the entire thing pfft bc this seemed soooo much cuter

———

Natsu wasn’t an entire believer in the notion of love at first sight. Attraction, sure, but love was just so much more complicated.

It couldn’t have been captured in a phrase or an idea, as everyone loved who they loved in their own way. He didn’t even know how he would fall in love with someone.

Maybe it would be how the way they laughed, the way they smiled and smelled, or the way they were so gosh darn irresistible to pay attention to. 

But to experience that rush of excitement with just one look, well, Natsu thought that was beyond him. Or so he thought.

It wasn’t like he doubted the concept, just that he didn’t think it was the way he’d fall for someone. Character was much more important than looks in his mind, so he wasn’t scoping for the hottest piece of ass on the streets. Loke would beg to differ when concerning this subject. 

But when he saw her, just one look was enough to take his breath away. 

They had crossed paths in the park while Natsu was out walking Happy. No leash, of course, since the cat wasn’t the type to go too far away. They were walking and talking like usual, discussing what kind of fish they were going to get on their way home.

It was five seconds, maybe six. He turned a corner and their eyes locked, the scent of her soap wafting under his nose as the breeze tousled her hair. 

He felt his heart thump, his stomach squeeze with an odd feeling, and the want to look back at her pounded in his head. 

Natsu couldn’t help himself. And it only proved to make him blush even more when she turned her head to look back at him too. 

He was too embarrassed to stop and go back, leaving with the clear image of her own blush and half smile she offered him. 

That was a devastating mistake. He couldn’t understand the absolute yearn he felt to see her again; he didn’t even know her for goodness sake.

The whole way home and the lonely night afterwards, he couldn’t get a wink of sleep. He wanted to know her name, he wanted to make her smile again. And gosh, did he want to know what kind of soap she used. 

Natsu wasn’t accustomed to this desperate feeling in his heart, he actually disliked the desperation that clawed at him. He was unlike himself and felt a bit lost since he couldn’t concentrate. 

He was frustrated, restoring to the advice of his best friend, Juvia. She was the only one he knew who truly believed in love at first sight, ever since she met Gray when they were kids. 

The bluenette was ecstatic to tell Natsu not to doubt what he felt, to just go along with the influence of his heart. Some things didn’t need to make sense right away, especially when they were related to love. 

He was uncomfortable with the idea she suggested, to go back to the park tomorrow in hopes of. seeing her again. Well, he was going to go, since he and Happy always took their morning walk in that park. But to go there with the ulterior motive to potentially follow a stranger around...

The blue cat was oblivious to Natsu’s wandering eyes the next day, his gaze pointed towards the scattered flower petals that resided in small patches on the ground. 

The pink-haired boy felt his lips twist and a huff of air pushed through his nose like a puff of smoke. 

“Fuckin’...ugh...” He didn’t like how squirmy he felt, or the impatience that refused to quell within him.

 “Maybe we should go home a bit ear––” Natsu began to say as he turned to look down at his faithful companion, rolling his eyes with a light laugh as Happy was jumping around in the flower petals.

“Alright, buddy, just a bit longer then,” He sighed with a smile, not noticing the little white dog running at full speed towards him.

“Plue, Plue! Would you––Would you please stop running?!” Natsu flinched as he felt something soft and hard run into his ankle, a sharp whine expelling from the little furball that came out of nowhere.

He quirked a brow at the dog turned on its side, dizzy and whimpering as his little paws twitched.

“...You alright there?” He asked, lifting up the tiny dog to make sure it was still somewhat conscious. 

“I’m so so sorry, my puppy always manages gets out of his leash! He doesn’t even look where he’s going,” The blonde whined, gingerly taking hold of her limp dog who began to wag his tail as she pat his head. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Natsu said, shaking his head as he spoke through the lump caught in his throat. “I’m no worse for the wear, I just hope he didn’t hit his head too hard.”

“He’s got a thick skull,” She laughed and shook her head, Natsu’s chest tightening at the sound. It was like a melody of light bells, a sound he’d surely never get tired of hearing. “Well, thank you for catching him. We should be on our way,”

“Ah, wait!” His hand shot out to grab her arm before he could register his movements, Natsu feeling his nerves fall apart as she turned to look at him.

“What is it?” She asked, a light blush dusting on her cheeks. 

His face felt too hot for comfort as he worked up the courage to speak, to say something that wouldn’t make him seem like a total fucking idiot. 

“Do you...well, um...I think you’re––you’re really cute, so I was w-wonderin’––”

“I’m Lucy,” She giggled, lifting her phone out of her back pocket. “I’d love to give you my number if that’s what you were asking me for?”

“Y-Yeah...thanks...” He chuckled, trying to shake away the excess nervousness that sat in his bones. “Sorry, I don’t really do this kind of thing,”

“I don’t mind,” She smiled softly. “It was really sweet of you to work up the courage like that. And if you’re too nervous, I can make the first call?”

“I’ll call ya, for sure,” He grinned, swallowing the thick lump in his throat as she bat her eyes up at him. 

“I’ll be waiting then,”

[jemmahazelnut]

Two broken hearts with matching sides -Chapter 6

Link: AO3

Here you can find Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five.

Notes: This chapter is longer than I expected, but I really didn't want to break anything in the middle so… well, I hope you enjoy it.

The party

He didn't even know how many glasses he had drunk. He only knew that the people around him were starting to rotate, and that the bitterness was starting to rise again. For a couple of days he hadn't thought about Laxus, he had been doing pretty well actually. After asking Lucy to host him for a few days, he had almost found a bit of a good mood. In fact, he had focused on university lectures so as not to have to think about it. And it had worked.

Until Lucy and Natsu decided to drag him to a college party. Freed was terrified of seeing Laxus at any moment. He knew he was there because he had crossed paths with Bickslow and Evergreen. If he had apologized to the two friends and talked a bit, he had not yet done so with Laxus. He hadn't even seen him. And he had refused to talk about him to anyone, partly because he desperately wanted to stop thinking about it, partly because if he started, he didn't know what would come out of his mouth.

“Cana, you made him drink too much,” Lucy snorted. “He was supposed to take us home, now how do we get back?” she asked.

“I can drive,” Freed said, feeling the keys Lucy had given him in his pocket. In reality he wasn't so sure he could do it, he would see at the end of the evening and if he didn't feel able to do it, they would walk back. It wasn't really a problem. Furthermore, he was convinced that Natsu would offer to accompany Lucy to her bed. Indeed, Freed felt a bit like the third wheel at the blonde's house, but he hadn't mentioned it.

“No, you can't,” Lucy said, laying her head on the table.

“You two are completely gone!” Cana exclaimed laughing.

“You made us drink too much,” Freed justified looking around. He was looking for Evergreen and Bickslow, but the two seemed to have disappeared from circulation. The first was probably making out with Elfman somewhere, while the second… well, the second could be anywhere with anyone.

Freed stood up, deciding that a walk would do him good. Usually, it helped him to get rid of the hangover, rather than sitting down to eat. Lucy stood beside him and grabbed hold of his arm.

“Are you going home already?” she asked plaintively.

“No, I'm just going to take two steps,” Freed replied.

“I'll take you,” Lucy said and Freed was forced to drag her behind him. He’d have preferred to avoid, Lucy was more drunk than him and she had started talking about Natsu and really, Freed didn't want to know what they were doing in bed. Fortunately, shortly after they crossed his boyfriend and Lucy jumped on him making him almost fall to the ground.

Freed let the two have fun and moved away from the party. He shoved past all the dancing boys and exited the Blue Pegasus. Finally outside he took a breath of air and sat on a bench, ignoring the group of boys who were smoking. He ran a hand through his hair, hoping that the cold evening air would be enough to make him regain some clarity.

He had been an idiot to drink so much, he wasn’t used to alcohol and Cana had brought him too many drinks. He should have simply refused, but he hadn't thought the brunette was still able to drink that much. He closed his eyes for a moment, resting his head on the wall and thinking back to the last few days.

He really needed an apartment, or a ticket to Germany. He honestly didn't know what to do, he felt a bit lost. Although he had recovered the relationship with many of his old friends, he could not recover the one with the most important person, and he felt terribly bad. Other than being ridiculous, he couldn't allow a single person to influence him that much.

He heard someone sitting next to him but didn't give it much importance, at least until the person spoke. He just greeted him, but at the all too familiar voice Freed snapped his eyes open and turned to see that he was Laxus. He stiffened suddenly and started to get up and go back inside the room, but the blond put his hand on his wrist.

“Wait,” he said harshly. “We need to talk”.

“We’ve nothing to say to each other,” Freed retorted. He moved his hand away and stood up. Laxus was immediately beside him.

“Are you running away again?” he asked irritably. Freed gave him a dirty look.

“I just go wherever the fuck I want,” he retorted and tried to pass Laxus to get back into the club, but the blonde moved blocking his way.

“Good heavens, we can't go on like this,” he growled.

“Why not? That was what you wanted, wasn't it? Let me get away from the apartment,” Freed grunted in response.

“I never wanted it and you know it well,” Laxus snapped.

“Hey, you're in the way,” one boy said, shoving them both. Freed and Laxus moved sideways to make room in front of the door. Freed turned his gaze back to the blonde, not understanding what he meant by that phrase. He didn't really want to think about it, he just wanted to go home and throw himself on the bed, drain a bottle of water, hoping not to have a hangover the next day and sleep. He’d had enough of fighting and Laxus. He’d had enough of everything.

He just wanted to have a normal fucking life, without being forced to sleep in a different place every night. He wanted to stop feeling so pathetic to still think of his best friend for whom he’d had a crush and for which he couldn’t stop feeling his feelings.

“I just know I don't want to see you anymore,” Freed hissed and turned to leave. He didn't even want to go back into the club anymore. Lucy would’ve Natsu take her home, she didn't need him. He went into the street to get away from the bar but Laxus followed him.

“Can you stop for once? Or will you continue to run away all your life?” he asked aloud a few steps behind him. Freed stopped in the middle of the road and turned to the boy. His irritation was palpable.

“Maybe I'm leaving because I don’t want to see you anymore,” he growled.

“You're running away,” Laxus insisted.

“What the hell do you want to talk about, huh? We haven't heard from each other for three years and suddenly you remember me?” Freed snapped starting to get irritated. Maybe it was the alcohol, but he wanted to pour it all out on him.

“What?” Laxus said in surprise and grinned. “You’re joking. It's your fault we haven't heard from each other again. You left, without even warning me, without even saying goodbye, without even sending me a fucking message. And you haven't even answered a single call from me, or a message from me. You have ended our friendship” he accused, raising his voice.

Freed laughed bitterly.

“Sure,” he mocked, “Because you were a great friend instead, always if what we did was as friends. Oh right, we didn't do anything. It was just drunken bullshit, and alcohol made you forget all about the next day” he said ironically but became serious soon after. He narrowed his gaze and stared at Laxus. “It was enough for me to come out and you didn't want to touch me or go out with me anymore. Every time I tried to talk to you, to get close to you, you walked away, you found an excuse, you went out with Jenny, with anyone just not to be with me anymore. And I’d have ruined our friendship? You did it long before I left,” he growled.

“If you had answered my calls, you would’ve understood that...” Laxus tried to say.

“I don't give a fuck!” Freed snapped. “I already know what you will tell me, that you were afraid and that you didn't want anyone to know, but I told you that day. I would never have forced you to tell anyone else!” he blurted out.

“It's not just that”.

“I don’t care!” Freed exclaimed.

“Holy shit, you won't even let me explain!” Laxus snapped. Freed started to argue but headlights illuminated the road and the two turned to the side seeing that a car was approaching. Laxus quickly grabbed Freed by the arm and pulled him towards him to move onto the sidewalk. Just in time not to be run over.

That gesture, however, had led the two boys to be terribly close. Laxus's hand was still wrapped around Freed's bicep, Freed's hands resting on his chest. Freed looked up and found himself within a whisker of Laxus's face. He could clearly smell the blond's last cigarette.

The desire to push forward, to join their lips to remember their taste and their texture was great. The desire to go back to stupid high school students who kissed without caring about anything other than momentary pleasure was too much. But at the same time Freed was terrified and realized that those few inches were driving him crazy.

He didn't want to start over. He didn't want to hurt himself again, and the old friend's breath on his face was already hurting him. Because Laxus wasn't walking away. Because Laxus had leaned even further towards him. Their lips touched and for Freed it was like getting a shock.

He drew back badly, pushing Laxus away from him with his heart pounding. He turned and decided to get away from him for good, took Lucy's keys and ran towards the parking lot.

***

Lucy was making out with Natsu. Between a laugh and the other she didn't know whether to give in to his advances and risk doing something in a parking lot where anyone could have arrived, or whether to wait to go home. The roar of an engine roused her from her thoughts and the two boys stopped abruptly, anxious to be discovered.

They turned to understand how far the car was, but when they saw the 500 leave quickly, they stood for a moment staring at the vehicle. Lucy for alcohol was still trying to figure out if she was right, and Natsu got there before her.

“It was Freed! He left us on foot!” the boy exclaimed. Lucy turned to his boyfriend.

“What?” she whispered. The reality of what had happened hit her in an instant. “No. He was drunk, he can't drive in those states,” she said worriedly. “Oh fuck. It wasn't him, was it? It wasn't him!” she exclaimed. She looked at Natsu hoping he would tell her what she wanted to hear, but the boy was sure of what he had seen.

“Shit,” Natsu said and ran to the club. “We’ve to reach him and stop him,” he said.

Lucy followed him and ran towards the entrance of the club, while a thousand scenarios came to mind. Freed had always been a careful guy, with his head on his shoulders. That was why she had left him her car keys. Because she knew that even if he got drunk, he wouldn't risk driving. Apparently, she was wrong.

They reached the entrance and luckily they immediately saw their friends there. Bickslow, Cana and Mirajane were talking and Lucy and Natsu approached the three boys. Natsu quickly explained to them what they had seen and asked them if anyone was sober enough to look for the boy.

“I haven't drunk anything, but how do we look for it? He's gone now,” Mirajane said worried.

“Why the hell did he do that?” Cana snapped. “It's not like Freed to leave like this!” she exclaimed.

“We don't know, we just saw him in the car,” Lucy said. At that moment Laxus came out of the room and Bickslow immediately stood in front of him.

“What the hell happened? Did you fight again?” he blurted out.

“What the fuck do you want,” the blonde grunted.

“What the fuck do I want? Good heavens, you’re two idiots!” Bickslow exclaimed “You know Freed left by car?”.

“What's the news, he's always leaving,” Laxus muttered.

“He's dead drunk! He'll kill himself.” Bickslow yelled and pulled out the phone, dialed a number but Lucy put her hand on his wrist.

“If you call him, he risks answering you while he drives. It would be even worse” she pointed out.

“What the hell do we do then?” Bickslow asked.

“Let's try to find him. He’ll have gone to my house,” Lucy reasoned. “Let's make the way and hope he's arrived safe and sound,” she said trying to stay calm. Mirajane nodded and pulled out the keys.

“Let's go then,” she said.

“Yes, you go. I'll call Ever and maybe we'll look around for him,” Bickslow said. Lucy nodded and walked away with Mirajane, Natsu and Cana.

***

Laxus had been sitting on the bench for at least half an hour now. He kept thinking back to the argument he’d had with Freed, and feeling anguished not knowing what had happened to the boy and fearing it was his fault. Freed left the party because of him. If only Laxus hadn't come close, if only he hadn't forced him to speak, it wouldn't have happened. And now Freed was in danger of having an accident. Even though Bickslow hadn't said it explicitly, Laxus knew he did too. It was all his fault.

His friend's phone vibrated and Laxus turned hopefully to Bickslow. The two had stayed there hoping to hear from friends.

“Did they find him?” Laxus asked. Bickslow read the message and shook his head.

“Mira has gone around the block, and Ever’s on her way to the hotel where Freed last went. But she doesn't see Lucy's 500 anywhere,” he replied. Laxus sighed feeling worse and stared at the ground, putting his hands to his forehead. What if he had been in an accident? But they would still have seen the car, right? They would hear the sirens, or the news. Someone would have noticed.

What if Freed had left Magnolia instead? If he had entered the freeway in his condition to get away from there? Nausea hit him instantly, fearing the worst. He suddenly had a mad desire to jump into the street and make sure nothing of the sort had happened. Freed wasn't like that. He wouldn't risk that much just to get away from him, just to run back to the airport.

Suddenly a thought struck him and he jerked his head up. How the hell had he not thought about it? He stood up.

“Where are you going?” Bickslow asked.

“For a ride”.

“Laxus, I know you’ve a thousand thoughts but I'm already worried about Freed. I don't want to worry about you too,” his friend said wearily.

“I just have to take a walk. If you find him send me a message” the blond replied and then turned and walked towards his car.

He got in and started the car, exiting the Blue Pegasus parking lot and heading for the fields near the stream where he and Freed always went as kids when they wanted to be alone and talk freely. It was a little way out of Magnolia, and it was the only place Laxus refused to go without Freed.

After a few minutes he arrived, and as soon as he was there, he noticed with relief Lucy's 500 parked intact near the entrance of the path that led to the stream. Laxus parked the car and got out, starting along the path and turning on the phone flashlight. He walked all over it, came up to a large tree and passed it, and then looked for the little path he and Freed once walked to bathe in the creek.

He didn’t find it, probably it had been covered by grass, but he continued anyway until he reached the bank of the stream. He looked around and after a few seconds he managed to spot the shadow of Freed, who was sitting about twenty meters from him on the bank of the stream.

Laxus decided to write to Bickslow in order to reassure him, telling him that Freed was fine. Then he made his way with the flashlight until he reached the boy. When he was close enough, he peered at him, but Freed was patently ignoring him. It was impossible that he hadn’t noticed his arrival, but he persisted in keeping his gaze fixed on the water that flowed in front of him.

Laxus followed his gaze for a moment and watched the stream, remembering the afternoons spent there. The afternoons spent talking about their problems, letting off steam with each other, playing, diving into the water and hiding from their parents. Why the hell had they screwed it up? They had always had a fantastic friendship, a friendship that anyone would pay gold for.

Laxus turned off the phone's flashlight and put it in his pocket, ignoring Bickslow's call and silencing the phone. He sat down next to Freed and turned to him.

“Everyone's worried about you. You should answer Bickslow,” he told him calmly. Freed surprisingly turned to him and for once his expression wasn’t that cold and impassive that Laxus hated. It was an open and wounded expression, which reminded him of the old days.

“You want to know why I left three years ago, right?” he asked calmly. Laxus didn't answer. He just looked into his eyes, hoping he would understand for himself that yes, he wanted to know. He wanted to know why the hell he had avoided his calls, why he hadn't wanted to let him explain.

“Because I was in love with you”.

Laxus froze, wondering if he had been hallucinating or if he had heard right. Freed smiled bitterly and turned back to the stream, took a stone and threw it into the water. The blond continued to stare at him in astonishment. Had Freed been in love with him in the past?

“I couldn't stand close to you as a friend anymore,” Freed revealed. “Actually, I couldn't stand seeing you with Jenny. So I decided that a little different air would do me good” he explained. Laxus felt his throat go dry not knowing what to think. Knowing that Freed was in love with him at the time was… shocking. If only Laxus had known he would have acted differently.

“I didn't know,” he only managed to say.

“Of course you didn't know,” Freed said. “I kept it well hidden. Well, at least when I wasn't getting drunk,” he commented throwing another pebble into the stream. He continued speaking with a surreal calm. “For a while I thought you reciprocated. You know... for what we did. Then when we talked I realized that this wasn’t the case. I don't blame you for it, you made it clear from the first evening that there was nothing more than friendship between us. I just didn't want to understand it”.

Laxus swallowed nervously. It wasn't true. He'd only spent those nights with Freed because he was a coward who couldn't even admit his true feelings to his best friend. If he had done it, things would have been different. They could have dated, even in secret, going out for a while without ruining their friendship.

“And when I chose to come out, I finally realized that there was nothing between us. I was a little pissed off, and I left,” he said. “Oh, and I blocked you on all social networks. It was silly and childish, and I knew you were trying to contact me. Bickslow told me. But I didn't want to have anything to do with you anymore. You know… I just wanted to forget you,” he revealed.

Maybe it was the alcohol that made him talk so much. Laxus didn't know. He just knew he felt bad knowing. He had thought that Freed hated him, that he didn't care about him anymore. He had called him so many times, he had left him many messages on his answering machine in which he apologized and asked him to speak. There had even been one in which he had written to him that he was in love with him, but he had never received an answer. And when after a month he had given up, he had begun to hate Freed rather than himself. To blame him for everything.

“Have you ever read or listened to one of the messages I sent you?” Laxus asked. Freed shook his head. “If I had known, I wouldn't have acted like that,” the blond said. “I would never have dated Jenny. I thought you didn't care. After the day we talked, I thought that for you it was just... a thing without feelings. Yes, maybe you were attracted to me, but I thought you weren't very interested in me”.

Freed turned his gaze to him and frowned.

“However, you didn't have the same feelings.”

“I did,” Laxus said. I still do, he thought.

“What?” Freed whispered widening his eyes.

“I was in love, but I was an idiot. I don’t even know what I was afraid of, I didn't want anyone else to know and... I know you told me we shouldn't tell anyone but... I hated the idea that someone even suspected something like this. I loved spending my time with you but I felt… wrong. I went out with Jenny to convince myself that I was attracted to women” he threw out.

Freed remained silent and Laxus glanced at him, not knowing what to expect.

“I'm sorry. I should never have distance you,” Laxus said. “I only realized everything I had done when you left for Germany. I tried to contact you anyway but you didn't answer and… I ended up pissed off,” he revealed.

Freed felt it all hit him at once. He was still a bit confused by alcohol, but the fresh air and the walk had cleared his mind. Now the confusion was mainly due to Laxus and his words. If only he had replied to a message, they wouldn't have been there talking about the past right now. If only he had answered a goddamn call. He had been a coward and an idiot, he had put it all behind him for nothing. He hadn't even given him a chance.

“I should never have left,” he whispered more to himself than to Laxus. Three years thrown down the toilet. To tell the truth, a friendship and a possible relationship thrown down the toilet. Now Laxus wasn't interested in him anymore, right? He had spoken in the past tense, and then, he was dating Rufus. Freed was still the same idiot in love, even after so long. Forgetting a person must have been easy, but forgetting the best friend with whom he had spent more than eight years together was impossible for him.

He had to tell him, he had to at least try. Know and clearly hear the blonde's answer. Make it clear, but he couldn't do it. Because he already knew the answer. Laxus had moved on with Rufus, he was only there because he lacked his friendship with him. And if Freed revealed his feelings, they would never be friends again. Not that there was any hope of returning as it once was.

Freed looked down at his hands. He should have answered Laxus years ago. If only he had done it, he would have taken the plane and returned to Magnolia, in the arms of his friend. They would spend an entire summer together and then, maybe, they would start dating seriously. Maybe in secret, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be with Laxus.

It was useless to think about the past. He had to think about the present, tell him that he was still in love and that was why he was so pissed off when he saw him with Rufus.

“It's too late?” Laxus asked in a whisper, rousing him from his thoughts. Freed turned and met his gaze. He didn't answer and the blond walked over to him.

Freed felt his throat go dry as the boy's breath hit his face. He didn't understand what was happening but that didn't stop him from pushing forward slightly, without having the courage to close the distance between them.

Their breaths mixed but neither of them dared to take the last step. They stared at each other for a few seconds in silence, trying to understand what the other wanted, without speaking. But it was impossible, they hadn't made it years before when they were good friends, they would never have made it at that moment.

“I don't want to repeat the mistake of years ago,” Freed murmured.

“Me neither,” Laxus replied in a low voice.

“What do you want?” Freed asked in a whisper.

“You”.

Freed's eyes widened slightly. “You mean…?”

“I want to go out with you, if it's not too late.”

“It isn't,” Freed replied and his lips curled into a tiny smile. Laxus did the same and they continued to stare at each other for a while, before starting to speak in a low voice again.

“I don't want to screw it up again,” Laxus admitted.

“Me neither”.

Freed wanted to push himself and kiss him. It took so little. But the terror of ruining everything again tore him apart, even though this time he knew that Laxus really wanted to go out with him.

He turned his head to the side and rested his chin on the boy's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around his torso holding him in a hug. A little later he felt Laxus' arms do the same. It was such an intense sensation that he couldn't find the words to describe it. Being in Laxus's arms was the best he could want at the moment. Finally back next to his friend. It was all so surreal that he didn't want to move.

“I missed you,” Laxus whispered in his ear, holding him tight.

“I missed you too”.

Ignoring the cold evening air, the two boys remained embraced on the bank of the stream, forgetting the time that passed.

[eunsoyi]

congrats on 100! #3 + hinata if you don’t mind

prompt list here and requests are still very much open!

#3 from prompt list with hinata shoyo (trigger warning: depression, mental illness, mentions of suicide)

think

hinata shoyo doesn’t think.

no, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t use his brain. he’s bad at studying, sure, but that’s another conversation for another time. shoyo doesn’t think about the things around him. some might call him a simpleton or an airhead, but he knows he wasn’t like that. he’d rather call it a defense mechanism.

he doesn’t think about losing, especially in his school life wherein he devoted all his hours in volleyball training. he doesn’t think about his family getting mad at him for not taking care of his health because he knows pushing himself to the limit is going to benefit him one day. he doesn’t think about his friends leaving his side because he is well-aware that they all have their own paths to walk on.

he tried not to think. he tried to alleviate the pain from thinking too much. he could try and try until his life ended, but his gears simply started to turn whenever it came to you.

no, he wasn’t in love with you. that mere thought of being in a romantic relationship with you felt uncomfortable. after all, you were a sister figure to him, just like natsu. but he hated seeing you like this. so broken, so fragile, it was as if you were on the brink of your limit.

you and shoyo had been best friends since god knows when. he just knew that from the moment the two of you were born, you’d be inseparable. you were like two peas in a pod: bright, ambitious, optimistic.

where did it all go wrong?

it had been seven weeks since you last showed up to school. seven weeks since he last saw your face. seven weeks since he last heard your voice. he attempted to know what was happening with you, but your mother insisted that he should not bother.

“it’s too much.” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. “please, just go home and pray for her.” shoyo didn’t listen. he visited your house everyday after practice, desperately trying to get a glimpse of you. he’d bring over your favorite snacks, asking your mother to at least bring it to you for you to enjoy. then, finally, your mother gave in.

she led him upstairs to your room, and he felt a strange aura as he walked towards it. everything felt dark, grim, and heavy. her mother took a deep breath before opening your bedroom door. “i just want to say, shoyo, i’m very very sorry.”

“wha-what do you mean?” he stuttered. your mother didn’t answer and proceeded to finally open the door. what he saw next made his heart drop to the depths of the earth.

your room was dark, lights weren’t opened, the blinds were closed. clothes were sprawled everywhere on the floor. the food he was bringing you everyday was still inside the classic opaque plastic bags, untouched and rotting. you were curled up in a fetus position, blanket over your whole body.

“what.. what’s going on?” he managed to speak out.

“y/n, sweetie, shoyo’s here.” your mother didn’t answer shoyo and instead called your attention. you shuffled slightly, but gave no response. your mother sighed and closed the door.

“let’s talk downstairs.”

she led him to the dining area, gave him a cup of tea and sat down adjacent from him. “you see, y/n’s sick.”

“sick how?” he asked.

“she..” your mother sighed once more, pausing to think. “she feels there’s no hope for her in this world.” her voice cracked, tears started to fall down on her face.

“what do you mean?” shoyo asked, getting impatient.

“it started last year. it’s like she’s a different person. she doesn’t eat, she doesn’t sleep, her grades were dropping.” she sniffed, sipping on her tea. “i asked her what’s wrong, she didn’t answer. instead, y/n told me that she doesn’t want to live anymore.”

your mother then continued to explain that she brought you to a psychiatrist in order to at least cure you from whatever you were feeling. she then told shoyo you were diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety disorder, and that information alone caused you to spiral. you didn’t want to believe you were sick.

shoyo went back home with a lot more on his mind than he wanted. he understood why your mother acted the way she did. shoyo wasn’t educated enough about the concepts of mental health and mental illnesses, but he knew things. at least, that’s what he believed in. he remembered the day your father died. tons of people from your neighborhood had visited to pay their respects and to say their condolences to the family he left behind. he saw you sitting at the front row, gazing at the casket that was lying there in front of you. he angled his neck to see if you were crying, and to his shock, you weren’t.

“i don’t know who to blame.” you said, sipping on your orange juice. shoyo had offered to walk with you outside of the memorial for fresh air to which you happily obliged.

“you don’t need someone to blame.” he responded, cracking open a can of soda.

“perhaps.” you smiled sadly. “but it makes it easier if i had one.”

shoyo stayed silent while you continued talking.

“i was the first one to see dad’s body.” your voice quaked slightly. “we just got home from school, i walked into his room, and he’s just there. not moving.”

you stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “you know what, i do have something to blame.”

shoyo snapped his head towards your direction. “who?”

“i blame dad’s brain. if he stopped thinking, he’d be alive.”

shoyo tried to muster out a reply, but ultimately failed. you giggled and brushed the topic off and offered to play some volleyball with him back home and he said yes.

you didn’t cry during the funeral. you didn’t cry after the funeral. life went on normally.

shoyo had forced you to enroll in karasuno high school with him, much to your dismay. you really wanted to get out of miyagi and go somewhere far away, but he wouldn’t let you. not in a million years, no. “you promised we’d be together, forever.” he whined, causing you to say yes reluctantly.

shoyo adjusted just fine in his new high school. he gained friends at a terrifying speed. he became popular and was known as the new little giant by his friends and his teammates. you, on the other hand, stayed alone. when shoyo noticed this, he tried to talk to you about it.

“go out and meet new people, y/n! karasuno students are very nice!” he exclaimed.

“yeah, no.” you responded nonchalantly.

despite his busy schedule (mostly volleyball, eating, and socializing), he always swung by your house to hang out. you did attempt to throw him out multiple times because he was disrupting your study session, but he stayed nonetheless, enjoying your annoyed reaction. everything seemed normal, seemed happy, seemed bright. shoyo continued to flow naturally, accepting everything that came his way. from game losses to injuries to failed exams, he lived life.

he liked living life because you were mostly there to help him out, even if it was against your will. you helped him study for his make-up exams, you lent an ear whenever he was rambling on and on about how annoying and stuck-up kageyama and tsukishima were, you went to his games, you were there when they lost to aoba johsai. he liked living life with you by his side.

shoyo whipped out his phone when he got home and called your number. it rang a few times before it stopped, meaning you had cancelled his call. he wasn’t going to give up then and there, since he has attempted to call you for seven weeks now. during his fifth try, you finally answered.

“what?” you said in a hoarse voice. shoyo felt a lump form in his throat.

“i.. i..” he struggled to find the words to say.

“i heard you come in earlier.” you said, the hoarse voice gradually going away.

“i did. sorry.”

you let out a soft yet sad chuckle. “it’s fine.” the two of you stayed silent for a couple of seconds. shoyo felt his eyes sting. he hated seeing, hearing, feeling you like this. he felt guilty. where was he when you were going through such a hard time? was he even worthy to be called your friend? how come he didn’t notice? why didn’t he try and notice? millions of questions rushed through shoyo’s head.

“shoyo, stop thinking.” you suddenly said. shoyo’s train of thoughts halted, tears falling down his face. “w-what?”

“i can hear you thinking right now.” you replied in a quiet voice. “don’t do it.”

“yeah.” he laughed, which sounded more like a sob. “yeah, i’m sorry. i’m really, really sorry.”

you sighed. “it’s not your fault.”

“but i should’ve known! i should’ve tried and become a good friend and ask you what’s wrong. i should’ve tried harder-“

“everything’s fine, shoyo.” you hushed him. “sometimes, it hits you like a truck. i was shocked as well, you know.”

shoyo choked back a sob.

“i’ll be fine. i’m going to try.” you said. he felt your smile against the phone as he tried to hold back his cries once more. “thank you for being by my side, shoyo.”

[doginshoe]

Uncovered

When Natsu had told Lucy he needed to show her something, she had been expecting a brand new scheme to prank Gray or Erza. Though her best friend was unpredictable, he left a trail of repetitive behaviours that she had clutched onto that kept her head from rolling in his spontaneous bursts that had once left them chased by the police. She had expected fireworks, an atrocity that he had made in the kitchen, or even a second stray cat that would keep Happy company.

Lucy hadn’t anticipated that this… this is what he would reveal to her.

They had stopped outside the East Forest just outside of town. He had left his pickup truck on the side of the road with the nose of the car beginning to bury itself in the brown and green foliage. A curious gaze had measured up the tall trees that grew thicker further in, until there was only a myriad of trunks that the eye could see. Her hands came up, rubbing across her upper arms in order to bring some heat to her cold skin - she definitely hadn’t dressed for the occasion.

“Where are you taking me, Natsu?” Her voice called, flicking her attention towards the male that was double checking the lock on the truck. Natsu twisted the key in the door, pulling the handle twice on the old vehicle before he turned to her.

His lips were set into a line, expression unnaturally stony before he released a sigh. “You’ll see.”

Lucy followed closely behind him. Well, tried to. His pace was quick, treading a path that she could only assume that he had walked many times before whilst she tripped and stumbled. Her eyes flittered from the scenery around her to his broad shoulders and then her feet - never any time to stay fixed on one as they went deeper and deeper into the forest.

The vegetation was by no means an easy feat in her short strappy heels. Her breathing became more laboured and Lucy grimaced when she sunk down into something soft beneath the leaves, feeling it slip and slide under the flat of her shoe. When they finally came to a halt she had collided straight into his back, her hands welcoming the body warmth but her face detesting the solid frame it had hit.

“We’ve been walking for ages.” She rubbed at her nose, a pointed glare being sent to her friend as she grumbled, “You could have warned me just where we were going. It’s so cold!”

Natsu stayed silent, not facing her whilst she continued to ramble.

“I mean seriously. These heels are probably ruined now,” She whined, taking in her surroundings slowly and filling the odd silence that had settled between them. “You never think ahead. It still would’ve been a surprise even if you had told me to wear something for hiking.”

“Lucy.” Natsu called, bringing her to stop and gaining her attention. “Please.. Just stop talking for once. I need you to listen to me.”

“Hey! You don’t have to be so-”

Without another warning he stripped off his jacket, throwing it to the forest floor. Lucy raised a brow, feeling an uneasiness begin to build in the pit of her stomach. Natsu was always weird, but this wasn’t normal by any standards. He breathed in a deep breath, taking in the smell of the Earth around them before finally moving to face her. His actions were hesitant, fingers working the buttons of his flannel as he looked her dead in the eye.

“Natsu…What’s going on,” She asked, voice just above a whisper as his gaze glinted in the shadow of the overhanging trees.

He rolled his shoulders, baring himself completely in front of her as the button up dropped to his feet. “There’s something I never told you about this town, Luce… Something I never told you about myself.” His eyebrows drew together, lips twisting as the first sign of emotion finally crossed his face. “I’m not what you think I am.”

Though, Lucy was barely listening to him anymore. Her hand came up to catch the breath that left her lips and her eyes widened in shock, feet shuffling back as she stared at his chest. There sat a deep angry scar etched into his skin. Thick white lines ran in curves over his bicep and just below his rib cage as it formed a symbol that she didn’t recognise. Though the skin showed signs of the injury being healed from time, it still held a pink tinge that lined the edge of the bumps. It made Lucy feel sick, her gut twisting as she desperately tore her face back to look at him instead of the disfigurement on his chest.

She shook, eyes glassy as she tried to speak. “W-what.. Is that? Natsu, who did this to you?”

[movedyoakkemae]

my thoughts on the en.deavour redemption arc (chs 164 - 302). DO NOT REBLOG.

DO NOT REBLOG !!

the endeavour redemption arc is a rather controversial arc in the manga, and, tl;dr: i think it started eh, continued badly, turned better, then ended like shit.

note: if you are anime only, this will contain spoilers ! trigger warnings: child abuse, domestic abuse, suicide, and murder.

here are the things we know: endeavour physically abused shōto, tōya, and rei. he ignored natsuo and fuyumi, and he discarded tōya once he realised that tōya got burnt through using his quirk. he also mentally and emotionally abused all of them. separated shōto from the rest of his siblings. not to mention the fact that he married rei on purpose in order to create the perfect tool that would become the number one hero in his stead. he thinks of his children as objects, as extensions of himself.

however, endeavour, not out of his own power but because of all might's lack of strength, ends up reaching the number one spot as a hero by himself. this kickstarts endeavour's "redemption" arc, particularly in chapter 164 when endeavour asks all might:

endeavour: you hear about this? how the crime rate this past month... is up 3% compared to past years? i... i'm the guy who resolved more incidents than anyone, now more than ever... but i can hear it. the thing you've built that cannot be seen... is crumbling down. so, #1 hero... what's it mean to be the symbol of peace? (ch 164)

in a lot of ways, this question is surprising to hear. as we can tell even in the question itself, endeavour's main area of focus has been about the amount of incidents that he has stopped, the amount of villains that he has defeated, but recognising that there was something missing, something that all might had built up, certainly shows an awareness that endeavour seemed to lack earlier.

in the next chapter, the conversation continues:

endeavour: i gave shōto everything. by age 20, i'd already climbed to the #2 position. it was because i made that climb that i understood... unless i reached the summit, it was all for nothing. if all i cared about were titles, i could've worn a smile like you... and played the part of the lovable fool. but i wanted to be the strongest! [...] all might: endeavor. the position you've been put in... i know what people are saying. a lot of people compare us. but you and i are different. the symbol i strove to be... that isn't the path for you to follow. take your time to figure out... ...the way you ought to do things. (ch 165)

again, we still see that hint of same sort of "all he cares about strength". being number one was all about being stronger than all might, which is why when he found it impossible for him, he went on to try to create something that could end up being stronger than both him and all might. that would be, after he beat it into shape.

also, the fact that he says "i gave shōto everything". (yeah, you gave the poor kid trauma if that's what you mean by "everything".) that's something some abusers routinely say about their children -- that they gave them everything, that they should be grateful.

at the end of the chapter, we see shōto warmly giving a little girl a small fire to put her hands next to when she was chilly, a smile on his face, and endeavour has a weird look as all might says:

all might: what purpose does our strength serve? endeavour... the answer is a simple one. (ch 165)

this is what sets the tone for endeavour's part of his conversation with shōto in the next chapter.

endeavour: i'm proud of you, son. on that note... i'm hoping to become a hero you can be proud of. as your father and the #1 hero... i want to be deserving of those titles. shōto: [clearly aggravated and tense] good luck with that... (ch 165)

inasa sees endeavour talking to shōto and notices how his eyes have changed from being cold and not looking at anyone around him to actually focusing on shōto. as such, the readers are basically hinted to see that endeavour has changed, even just a little, already. he's no longer just looking at all might as the summit he needs to climb; he's actually seeing the people around him.

now, this kickstarts endeavour's arc of thoughts that being a better #1 hero would mean that he would be a better father. this we especially see in the endeavour v. nomu arc.

i think the first interesting conversation we have about the endeavour's redemption arc is in chapter 187 with natsuo and fuyumi visiting rei in the hospital. natsuo says,

natsuo: about him... they made him number one yesterday. it's official. the world still doesn't know the truth about you [rei]. about our siblings... about how he's always treated his family. for one, he doesn't do the talk show circuit. i can barely remember most of it, really. thinking back, he was like a perfect stranger. but... what he did to you, to shōto, and to... [tōya/dabi] well, i can't let anyone pretend it all never happened. it's been almost ten years, and he still hasn't come to apologise to you. his past, his family... it's like he wants to leave it all behind. [...] rei: apparently he's [endeavour] come many times. though... we haven't met. i'm a bit scared though... and my doctor says it's not a good idea. of course, i can't say what he's thinking. it might be external pressures. but... he's not leaving anything behind. not his past. not his family. i know he's trying to make sense of it all. (ch 187)

he's also apparently been leaving rei flowers, flowers that she told him that were her favourite once when they met for the first time.

i actually think in this aspect, it's good that he hasn't actually seen rei or pushed himself onto seeing her. he's letting her take control of her own recovery (although, i will say it's pretty fucking telling that even after a decade, she's still scared of him). i'd argue that the flowers might be crossing the line, but it seems that rei thinks of them as a nice gesture, so i'm not going to argue about how that could be perceived negatively.

the battle between endeavour and the nomu gets serious, and endeavour nearly dies (which is broadcasted on TV for shōto to see, ofc).

in chapter 189, we see three different characters' thoughts on endeavour never giving up (some of it in particular directed towards his fight towards surpassing all might and being number one via strength alone).

natsuo: he knows better than anyone... that he'll never be the next all might! that's why he gave up so quickly... and basically went insane... abandoning the kids he didn't care for... and driving mom to the breaking point... [...] fuyumi: he never gave up. in fact, giving up is what he's worst at. [...] hawks: i was watching you this whole time. i get it. there was nobody else out there... really trying to surpass him [all might]. only you! you were the one working to surpass him. [manga showing endeavour building a small bridge over the chasm that metaphorically separates all might from the rest of the heroes] (ch 189).

i actually agree with fuyumi here more than anyone. endeavour marrying rei and creating his children wasn't because he was giving up (for one, he thinks of his children as extensions of himself...) but part of his way of trying to surpass all might. he also continued to work and get stronger himself, which he wouldn't have been doing if he had just given up.

that being said, i do agree with natsuo's description of their childhood, just not about it being because endeavour gave up.

also, from a narrative perspective, the shift of endeavour's obsession with surpassing all might being thought of as negative (from shōto's statements of it in the sports festival arc) to positive (you're the only one who actually tried!) through hawks point of view is... interesting. horikoshi is re-contextualising endeavour's obsession as a good thing, and that, in point, is done to soften endeavour's actions overall.

after all, if it's a good thing that endeavour was trying to surpass all might, then doesn't his actions against his family make a little bit more sense? doesn't that mean that he had good intentions, even if he did something bad?

(nope. not in my book.)

so, the next part of this arc happens in 192, where endeavour comes home from the hospital and after defeating the nomu with a huge scar on his face (the exact same side as shōto's!), and we get that beautifully passive aggressive "nasty scar you got there" from shōto while he's slurping up soba noodles.

and then natsuo tries to leave and this conversation starts:

endeavour: natsuo... if you got something to say, then say it. natsuo: say it...? that's rich, coming from a guy who's never even looked me in the eye. listen to this... i didn't know shōto loved soba until today. why? because you never let him play with us failed experiments. i get the feeling that mom and sis here want to forgive you, but all i see is the same maniac who, all of a sudden, is getting rave reviews. you might look like a changed man, but you're not. you abandoned us as failures, left us to hear mom's screams, shōto's cries. and big bro tōya too... you being the top hero and beating some big baddie can't erase any of that. did you decide to have a change of heart?! think we can just hug things out and make up?! it's sickening! don't you freaking get that?! endeavour: i'm trying to make amends, going forward. natsuo: is that so?! [leaves] (ch 192)

for one, god fucking bless natsuo. i think he fully encapsulates my issue with this part of the endeavour redemption arc, which is solidified by shōto's own speech:

shōto: as a hero, this endeavour guy... is pretty darn amazing. but it's like natsu said. i'm not ready to forgive you... for abusing mom. so, heroics aside, what sort of dad are you going to be? that's what i want to find out. sure, the perfect turning point can actually change someone. i know it's possible. (ch 192)

endeavour doesn't need to be a perfect hero to earn redemption from his family. hell, even when shōto hated endeavour the most, he could admit that endeavour was a great hero. maybe his reasons for being a hero was off, but he saved people, he stopped the bad guys. i think it's even canon that he's technically saved more people than all might.

the problem was never with "endeavour", it was with "todoroki enji". todoroki enji was a shit father who didn't give a shit about his kids aside from what he could use them for. he was too obsessed with defeating all might that he lost sight of his family -- which endeavour finally seems to realise after this little speech.

endeavour's thoughts: [having a flashback to all might saying "what purpose does our strength serve?"] power... a reason to dominate... when he told me that, it came to me in a flash. an ordinary, simple thought. "i have to safeguard the future for them." that's the job for whoever's on top! and yet... what about the futures i cut short? [image of rei in the midst of a mental breakdown] just demanding forgiveness isn't enough. it's too late for that. at this point, i need to atone... there's no other route. endeavour out loud: fuyumi, i'm sorry for everything. that was the wrong thing to say to natsuo. (ch 192)

we see actual growth in his character, him actually starting to learn what he should be focusing on rather than what he was focusing on. he still slips up, like with him trying to demand shōto's attention through texting with contact information that he only got because FUYUMI gave to him (ch 203), which i have my own issues with. as in, fuyumi better have asked shōto permission before giving endeavour his contact information because, if not, then holy fucking shit, that's so gross.

in the next part of the endeavour redemption arc, we have shōto in chapter 242 invite izuku and katsuki to join him with training at endeavour's hero agency.

we still see hints of endeavour only really thinking of shōto as an extension of his will and his beliefs when he asks izuku and katsuki in chapter 247 what they're working on and what they want to achieve. he starts to move in without even asking shōto, which shōto objects to in his own way.

endeavour: let's get to it -- shōto: [clears throat] and me? endeavour: you're here to master flashfire, shōto! shōto: all the quirk training you beat into me as a kid... i've put it into practise with my right side. thinking back, it's no wonder i couldn't escape my own hatred of you. then i got into u.a. competing alongside these two [izuku and katsuki]... and everyone else... really opened my eyes. endeavour... in the end... i'm going to do exactly what you always wanted. but please understand... the man i admire... is the one mom and i watched on the tv back then. [all might]. as a fledgling hero... in order to become a man worthy of the title... i came here of my own free will! you're a rotten number one*. you were just in the right place at the right time -- that's all. sorry this isn't going the way you want it to, number one. so let's stop that father-son crap in front of my friends. endeavour's thoughts: since he was willing to come here, i thought the boy's heart was open and ready to accept me... what a fool i was! i had it all wrong! endeavour out loud: right. i'll be evaluating you three as heroes. (ch 247) *the translation isn't quite accurate, but i don't have access to the original japanese right now to translate myself. i just remember that this translation isn't the best.

once again, we do see that endeavour is learning. shōto expresses his feelings and endeavour tries to move on from there in the way that shōto wants him to -- and he does ! he stops acting like he's close to shōto as a dad in front of the others and acts only like a hero training an apprentice (without the abuse that happened all throughout shōto's childhood).

i think this and what happens in the next part of this internship arc, is probably the best written bits of the endeavour redemption arc.

by that, in chapter 249, we open with this inner dialogue from endeavour:

endeavour: i'm trying to make amends... going forward. it might be too late... but i fall asleep every night thinking about... what i can do for my family. lately, it's been the same dream. the wife and kids, looking happy... at the dinner table. but i'm... never there with them. (ch 249)

this kickstarts his decision that he gives to natsuo later, but before we get there, we get this awkward todoroki family dinner with izuku and katsuki. izuku finally finds out that katsuki overheard them during the sports festival, and fuyumi and shōto talk when they think they're alone.

fuyumi: it's not like i don't share some of natsu's feelings... but... it feels like we've been given another chance now... how do you feel about dad? shōto: this burn... i think of it as something our old man gave me. [cue horrific flashback of the aftermath of rei pouring boiling water on shōto's face and immediately apologising] mom endured and endured... until she couldn't anymore. so, i can't just decide to forgive the guy who wore her down... but... mom is trying to get past all that now. honestly... i don't know... how i should feel about him. i still... haven't seen anything. [...] izuku: todoroki, i think... you're getting yourself ready to be able to forgive him. just say "i'll never forgive him" if you really hate the guy. because you're so caring yourself... it's like you're waiting... or at least that's how it seems. (ch 249)

i think each of the siblings (including tōya / dabi!) really showcases a lot of the different reactions children can have towards abuse. fuyumi is the type who fully embraces the abuser back because they want to become a family again. shōto is the type who isn't quite sure but doesn't want to just kick the abuser down if he's actually trying to change. natsuo is the type who just does not want to be around the abuser at all and doesn't think the abuser can change. tōya / dabi is the vengeful one who literally wants the abuser dead or feeling how he caused them to feel.

i also have an issue with how izuku words this to shōto -- does that mean that natsuo is not caring? should he not be upset with endeavour for all of the abuse, and, in natsuo's thoughts, for causing tōya to die? he cares too much, and that's really it, and i think endeavour (funnily enough) encapsulates my thoughts on that completely.

for context, natsuo gets kidnapped and held hostage by a villain who wants endeavour to kill him. the villain is threatening to kill natsuo if endeavour doesn't kill him. endeavour chokes on the save aside from catching katsuki and natsuo after the boys implement their plans to rescue natsuo, stop the villain, and save the civilians. then, endeavour has this to say:

endeavour: i'm sorry! in that moment... i couldn't help but think... about how if i saved you... then going forward... you might feel... like you couldn't stand up to me... natsuo, believe it or not... i was never trying... to neglect any of you. but... all i could do was blame others and dodge responsibility. with tōya too... i might as well have killed him myself. natsuo: didn't neglect us? so what...? tōya has always told me everything. it'll be a cold day in hell... before i forgive you. 'cause i'm not as caring as shōto. endeavour: even so... even so... you keep showing up for fuyumi, right? and for your mom's sake? your sister loves the idea of being a big happy family... because... that's exactly what i ruined. she wants that back... she's so eager to fix everything. and that's why you're trying. because you care about how she feels, right..? because you are caring. so... you don't have to forgive me. i'm not looking for forgiveness. just atonement. natsuo: [starts crying] wow. you got a real way with words all of a sudden! i know how happy it makes sis, having us all together! but... when i see your face... those memories come rushing back. why do i gotta be the one to come around? atonement? how're you gonna make that happen? endeavour: i have an idea, actually. (ch 252).

endeavour saying "i wasn't trying to neglect any of you" is such a fucking backslide, but he somewhat saves it with explaining why. at the same time, the explanation doesn't really matter -- he did neglect natsuo and fuyumi. however, the next bit of it, when he says that natsuo does care, and that it's okay for natsuo to never forgive him -- that was real fucking character growth, and we see it come to a beautiful place at the end of the chapter where endeavour talks with fuyumi and natsuo.

endeavour: fuyumi. i've already talked about this with shōto and natsuo. you've been doing your best to create a safe and sound household for your mother to come home to. i've let you shoulder all of that... and i stood by while you worked hard... but it's all okay now. [thoughts: it's always the same dream. my whole family's there, but not me.] because i'm building a new house for you all. one that makes sense for your commutes. and one where you can give your mother a warm welcome back. fuyumi: what about you, dad...? endeavour: [thoughts: if i really care about how they feel...] i'll remain here. (ch 252)

this is where i fucking cheered. this is where i really thought horikoshi was going to save this arc. abusers forcing their presence on the family is absolutely the wrong way to do it. endeavour trying to be the "best hero" is absolutely the wrong way to do it. endeavour stepping back, making sure that they're all comfortable, but (most likely) being there when they want to reach out on their terms in the way that they want to -- that's beautiful. that's actual growth. that's literally the best decision any abuser can make ever; leaving it in the hands of the people he abused.

in this part, in this moment, i could have accepted the endeavour redemption arc. i might not have agreed when shōto decided that he could see endeavour as a father (depending on when it would happen in canon and what would cause it), but in this regard, i could actually see redemption.

and then we get the fucking shitshow that is dabi reveal arc and the dabi backstory arc, and then i just want to throw away the whole fucking redemption arc.

in chapter 290, we get the dabi is todoroki tōya reveal (surprise, surprise /j). tōya, being the dramatic bitch that he is, washes off the probably water-soluble black dye off of his white hair and tells endeavour and shōto that he's tōya and that he's been waiting for years to take endeavour down and that he's sending out a broadcast to every TV station live detailing about endeavour's abuse of his family.

dabi: when, at long last, you could stare your kids in the eye... didja finally start to feel the warm and fuzzy bonds of family?! you must've thought, "as long as i can face the future, i can be better!" i can tell you're at a loss for words, so here's the answer! the past never dies! get it, yet?! you reap what you sow! so let's tango, you and me -- todoroki enji! a dance with your son, here in hell!! (ch 290).

in chapter 291, we continue the dabi reveal (including a 99.9% match between his DNA and endeavour's DNA as proof of their relation! hint: that's not actually fucking possible, but i'm pretty sure that's either a translation error or a wording issue) in the public eye. we get this fun little monologue from endeavour in the beginning of the chapter:

endeavour's thoughts: i thought it could be you [tōya]. you could have been the one... to reach my eternal goal. my frustration... my envy... the ugliness in my heart... you could have been the one... to smash it all to dust.

again, we get that whole "using child as an object/extension of endeavour" thing that has characterised endeavour for a long time. tōya shouldn't have been created to fix his frustration about not becoming number one himself.

regardless, endeavour stays in shock for the rest of the battle, unable to even move despite the fact that shōto managed to pull himself together in order to try to save everyone on the battlefield despite dabi trying to kill him.

we then go to chapter 300, where endeavour wakes up in his hospital room and ruminates on everything that he had done. he cries and expresses guilt, especially on how things played out with tōya when he was a child, and he declares that "i might get to live on... but endeavour died back there. my son's a mass murderer, yet... i can't fight him." (ch 300).

then, shōto, natsuo, and fuyumi enter the room while endeavour continues to cry.

endeavour: sorry... i'm... so sorry. i'm sorry... i didn't realise until now... these regrets... this guilt... it's too late to matter! my heart... it's... rei: [walking into the room] yes? what about your heart? those regrets and guilt... the rest of us have borne that burden... much more than you have. endeavour: rei?! why are you here?! rei: i'm here to talk about our family. and about our son, tōya. (ch 300).

this jumpstarts into a flashback of what caused tōya's "death", and i think in some truly horrific scenes that i think horikoshi writes in a way that we're supposed to feel some level of sympathy for endeavour. reading all of that makes me feel even -infinity sympathy for endeavour.

in chapter 301, we start the flashback into the past, where tōya wants to continue quirk training but endeavour begins to discard him, saying that it was for tōya's own good (because he burns himself when he uses too much fire). unfortunately, tōya doesn't care about his own burns, he just wants his dad's approval and wants to surpass all might himself.

endeavour, meanwhile, is still focused mostly on creating a child that would surpass all might, as we see in this conversation between endeavour and rei:

rei: no... that would be too much! it's too cruel! especially now that tōya knows what you're hoping to achieve through the children! endeavour: no matter what i say... he comes home with fresh burns every day. he inherited that pigheaded stubbornness from me! that's the only way to make him give up! since he'll never be the one to surpass... [all might] (ch 301)

(sure, that's your motivation. you say that while you literally have the same eyes as when you think about all might being better than you).

endeavour's eyes when thinking about all might being better.

endeavour's eyes when thinking of "stopping tōya" through the birth of more children.

we see that shōto is born, and that tōya doesn't stop training on his own, which causes endeavour to snap at tōya:

endeavour: no! why won't you stop?! you're covered in burns... and you still don't get it?! why?! tōya! you have to... look beyond all this. play with natsuo and fuyumi! make some friends at school! there's a whole other world besides the hero stuff... i know you understand that! take my advice, and this'll all be a distant memory soon. tōya: the kids at school all say they wanna be heroes. i can't understand that. because i've got you as a father. you lit this fire in me, dad, and it's not going out! i can't just pretend it's not there! [uses his fire] look at me, endeavour! look... at me!! [goes to attack baby!shōto] (ch 301)

all tōya wanted was not to be discarded, and he could see just as well as anyone that endeavour didn't seem to care about the others as much -- that's why tōya went for shōto, not for any of the other siblings.

endeavour had no real idea how to talk to tōya, or even knew how to reach out and get some help, and that was probably (mainly) because what he was doing with rei and creating his children was illegal, as we hear from a doctor earlier.

and before anyone blames tōya, he's young ass kid who knows he's being discarded by his father, and he wants attention. just any sort of attention. yes, he's going to lash out. yes, he's going to keep on doing what originally got him his father's attention (aka training). yes, he's going to try to attack endeavour's "perfect child" for "taking his place". i don't blame tōya for that -- i blame endeavour.

rei: [in the present] you don't get to claim you're hurting more than anyone. and you're not the only one who didn't really see him. (ch 301)

this next chapter, the next part of the flashback, chapter 302, is particularly rough, and it's in part with what's hinted in rei's last part of this comment. (i agree with the first part! endeavour doesn't get to claim that he's hurting more than anyone else. it's the second in context with chapter 302).

we return back to the flashback where endeavour is talking to rei about separating shōto from the rest of his siblings.

endeavour: i'm too busy with work to look after him [shōto] 24-y... which is why i've hired help. but you -- don't you take your eyes off of tōya. rei: he just wants you to look at him. to notice him. that's all. endeavour: all i can show anyone... is the world of heroes. rei: heroes? aren't you just running away? (ch 302)

interestingly enough, endeavour's face in this conversation is covered by shadows. all we really see are the whites of his eyes and the side of his face where sweatdrops of stress are running down. rei's face, too, is practically covered aside from a close-up on her stressed eye. a lot of rei's downward spiral focuses on rei's eyes over anything, so i think this is where we kind of see -- well, not the start of that (we do see that focus in ch 301), but the continuation of her stress that leads eventually to her mental breakdown.

then, we continue on (with an interesting conversation between tōya and rei, but we're focusing on endeavour unfortunately, so alas) with tōya talking to endeavour.

tōya: listen, dad. next time you get a day off... you gotta come up to sekoto peak with me. endeavour: [grabs tōya's shirt violently and lifts it up. his thoughts: new burns! where he can keep them hidden! he's been training that way on purpose!] damn it! again?! tōya: no, wait! what i can do now is really cool! you gotta come see! i might be as awesome as shōto sooner or later! maybe i'll be even better than all might someday! then you've gotta give me some respect, dad! you'll be glad you created me! i just know it! (ch 302)

the next scene is a very clear domestic abuse scene (even if it cuts away from the actual hitting).

endeavour: why didn't you stop him?! huh, rei?! damn it, that's all i asked you to do!! shōto: [crying and stepping in front of rei, trying to defend her] don't bully mommy! stop it! don't be mean to her! endeavour: get out, shōto! it's none of your business! natsuo & fuyumi: [cowering, crying, and covering their ears] rei: i... can't stop him. (ch 302).

skip the next scan if the narrative hint of domestic abuse happening might upset you. 

now, i'm putting in the scan to showcase that we essentially get to explicitly see this all go down. endeavour is a shadowy figure in the bedroom, we see nothing of rei's face except for her eye (crying, and again, that same focus where we see her slow descent into her mental break), and we see all of the children cry except for tōya because he's out training on his own again.

the fact that endeavour decides to berate, and most likely hit, rei instead of going after his son -- well, he'd come to regret it later when tōya supposedly dies because "all he [endeavour] taught me... was how to turn up the heat." (ch 302). tōya burns himself to death because endeavour decided that because his quirk wasn't good enough to beat all might that he rather not train him at all anymore. that -- ugh.

and then we get out of the flashback and back into the hospital room in some of the most abhorrent lines of the present moments of this arc.

endeavour: if only i'd given it all up that day... but having killed tōya... i felt there was no turning back, so i poured all my energy into shōto... at the expense of everything else. rei: once tōya was gone, you grew worse and worse, until i couldn't stand the sight of you. it got so bad, i even started seeing hints of you in the children's faces. fuyumi: i knew our family was broken, but i was too scared to interfere. all i could do was try to fix things just to keep up appearances. natsuo: it was you who started all of this. you're the root cause, but... maybe, if i'd just slugged you in the face and made you have a few serious talks with him... "dabi" never would've come about, and i would've been enjoying some good soba with shōto all these years. rei: you're not the only one who's responsible, and now we all have to take responsibility for what comes next. (ch 302).

ignoring the next part for now, holy fucking shit. horikoshi makes the decision to spread the blame of tōya's death to the rest of the todoroki family, never mind that rei was also abused by endeavour and that fuyumi and natsuo were twelve and eight respectively.

endeavour showed no signs of listening to ANYONE. rei told him flat out that he just needed to give tōya attention, and he didn't listen. the fact that fuyumi felt burdened on trying to keep up appearances and felt like she didn't try to fix things at the age of twelve -- horrific. the fact that natsuo blames himself for not trying to talk some sense into endeavour at the age of eight -- horrific.

this is the moment where i threw the endeavour redemption arc into the garbage -- the rest of the family taking blame onto themselves that they shouldn't blame just so that endeavour can just right back up and be a hero.

endeavour was not going to change, not for anyone. hell, even with tōya's death, and endeavour admits it himself, it made him even more stubborn in his ways because one of his extensions of his will sacrificed himself, so he best make sure that shōto becomes the best extension of his will he can be.

this is genuinely so disgusting that i can't even put into words just how terrible this is. the fact that horikoshi made this decision -- i lost all respect for horikoshi as an author and in the endeavour redemption arc.

this chapter ends with shōto being proclaimed as the family hero and that endeavour needs to come back as a hero and fight dabi and by this point, i already hate everything, so throw the bitch out.

i think if the endeavour redemption arc had stopped in chapter 252, i think it would have been great. i think if they had played off the dabi reveal in any other way, without the family blaming themselves to partially absolve endeavour of his guilt, i think it could have been fine. but the way that this played out, the way that the victims are blaming themselves in part to make the abuser feel better -- no. just, fucking no.

is that a thing that happens in real life? do abuse victims internalise the abuse and then think that the abuser was just trying to do their best? oh yeah. however, with how the rest of the arc seems to be going with endeavour (endeavour showing up in the newest chapter still going around as a hero -- the number one hero, even), horikoshi is condoning that instead of writing it as unhealthy as it should be written.

thus, nope. throw the whole fucking thing away. no thank you.

[gruviafan-forever]

HIS QUEEN

PART:- I

A/N: Main pairing Gruvia and Nalu. Minor pairing Jerza and Gale.

In a far away land, there was a kingdom of Ice ruled by the Fullbusters for generations, currently being ruled by King Silver Fullbuster and his queen Mika Fullbuster.

Kingdom of Ice were neighbours to the Kingdom of Celestial which was ruled by the Heartfilias for generations, currently ruled by King Jude and his queen Layla Heartfilia.

Another neighbour was the Kingdom of Scarlet Blossom which was ruled by the Belserions for generations, ruled by their widowed Queen Irene Belserion.

These three kingdoms were allies and the rulers shared a great bond amongst themselves, both with respect to their business and political endeavors and personally, all three of them were good friends whom they have known from childhood.

These three kingdoms are forces to be reckoned with as they were prosperous and had an army of strong men and strategists who would predict the outcome of war which was always positive to them.

And that's why, other kingdoms feared this ally and would usually avoid war against them.

It had been 20 years since the current rulers ascended the throne. But now time has come to make way for future rulers to take charge.

"So Lucy, Was uncle finally convinced?" Erza Fernandez, daughter of Queen Irene Belserion who is to married the commander general of her mother's army, Jellal Fernandez with the blessing of her mother, asked the Heartfilia princess.

"Papa is almost convinced that Natsu would make a good husband and future king. I'm really grateful to Gray and Juvia if it weren't for them this wouldn't have been possible."

Lucy smiled genuinely and fondly remembered Juvia's words from two years ago.

"Lucy-san, I will wait till yours and Natsu-San's love issues get sorted out until then let Gray-sama continue being your fiance."

"Yeah! I'm sure both of them would be happy to hear this good news. Come let's go to Kingdom of Ice to share this news to your Natsu and Gray." Erza exclaimed happily.

"What? You are coming with us?" Levy Redfox, Lucy's personal maid and her best friend asked the Belserion princess. 

"Yes!! It's been a while since I saw them especially…" Erza stopped as soon as her mother entered the guest room.

"Good Afternoon, your highness" Levy bowed down in respect. 

"Hello Aunty" Lucy stood up and bowed down.

"Hello mother, is something the matter?" Erza asked.

"Good afternoon girls, did I interrupt your talks. Oh anyways!! Lucy dear, congratulations finally your dad has agreed for your marriage with that pinky boy.

And you know what, just now, I received his call and he informed me of this happy news. So as soon as your return to your kingdom, wedding preparations will commence. Congratulations dear."

Irene hugged Lucy and patted her back.

"I can't believe papa agreed wholeheartedly. When I left our palace two days back, he said he would think about it but he didn't give consent yet but I knew he would eventually. But I never thought this would happen this soon." Lucy said with a smile which she couldn't contain.

"He and Layla wanted to surprise you, that's why they didn't tell you when you left. Okay girls, enjoy your stay and once again, congratulations Lucy dear." Irene added and left the guest room.

The girls squealed in delight and had their group hug.

"Finally, ten years of a struggling love life has come to a happy end. Now, Lucy will become Lucy Dragneel." Levy exclaimed and congratulated her friends.

Lucy, Erza and Gray were childhood friends who did their schooling together in Kingdom of Celestial  in their prestigious academy "Fairy Tail" which was run by a wise old man, Makarov Dreyar who taught them every lesson pertaining to changing life and kingdom. 

He mainly taught them about family and it doesn't require blood to form bonds with someone. And everyone should be treated equally.

Even though, Jude and Irene dismissed that kind of knowledge and thoughts and were ready to stop the schooling.

It was Silver and Mika who convinced their friends and said that the old man was doing a perfect job of raising the future rulers in the correct path which the others reluctantly agreed to at the end.

Fairy Tail academy is the place where everyone students were seen in the same light. That academy is the place where Lucy met Levy McGarden, Gajeel Redfox and Jellal Fernandez and also Natsu for the first time.

Jellal, Levy, Gajeel and Natsu Dragneel, were the orphan residents of Celestial Kingdom. Natsu's personality was something Lucy hadn't ever come across.

He was always hyper, excited, funny and a very friendly person. He quickly gelled up with her group except Gray, as their personality was totally opposite. 

But with the course of time, even they became best of friends. Natsu shared a sisterly bond with Erza which even she felt the same.

But the bond he shared with Lucy was totally different, from best friends they became lovers.

At age of 17, Natsu confessed his feelings which he had bottled up since he first met Lucy and to his surprise, even Lucy felt the same and accepted his love wholeheartedly.

Since then, they have remained together and were ready to face any struggle in their path until they had King Jude and Queen Layla's approval.

But what came as a struggle in their path was a wedding proposal sent to Lucy's dad from Kingdom of Ice from Gray's father which the former agreed and wanted it to happen as soon as their children graduated from the academy.

When Lucy confronted Gray along with Natsu and other friends, all Gray said was he wasn't aware of this arrangement nor was he informed about this prior.

"See Lucy, I'm not heartless to snatch you away from Natsu. I know how much you guys love each other. Natsu, don't you remember how I encouraged you to confess your feelings to Lucy and don't feel that damn inferiority complex. Now you both are accusing me?"

Lucy still remembered how their accusations had hurt Gray which led him to not talk to any of them for a week.

But after a week, when Lucy and Natsu  apologised to him which he accepted and finally revealed a thing which he had been hiding for a long time,

"I'm in love with someone which I can't disclose now. But don't worry Lucy, I will call off this wedding. We still have a year left before we graduate. So be cool and I support you both."

"Lucy…..Lucy…." Levy was shaking her best friend. That's when Lucy regained her composure and smiled sheepishly at them.

"Don't go drifting away in your dreams. Now you have a huge responsibility of apologising to Gray's parents officially. I'm sure uncle must have informed them already about the wedding getting called off. But I think you should personally go and meet them. What do you say?" Erza asked as she poured the tea into her cup.

"Even I feel the same. Tomorrow morning let's leave to the Kingdom of Ice." Lucy added.

MEANWHILE 

"So these six years of engagement comes to an unsatisfactory ditch, huh!! That's what you are trying to say Jude." Silver sounded harshly.

"Honey, please cool down. Don't sound this harsh to our friend." Mika tried to console her husband.

"Okay! Fine, now at least you tried to inform me that's cool. Don't worry, I'm not angry at Lucy-chan for not marrying my son.

I see her as my daughter and at the end of the day, it's her decision as she's the one who's going to lead that life.   

    Fine!! Don't worry we will surely come for the ceremony and if you know any alliance for my son, do inform me. He's soon going to 24 and still unmarried by this age, I already had him. Okay bye." Silver kept the lacrima away and sighed.

"Honey!! I don't think we need to search for another alliance. I feel Gray is already seeing someone but I don't know who it is." Mika said as she sat next to her husband.

"Who could be that? I should have listened to him when he said at first that he was not interested in marrying Lucy-chan. 

     But I believed that he was okay with it as he agreed to marry her afterwards.

But should have known that wasn't the thing when he made trivial excuses to postpone the wedding.

Now look, he's the one now who is in the losing end. Whoever that girl is, I'm ready to get him married off if he wholeheartedly loves her." Silver said as he hugged his wife to make himself feel at ease.

"What if she's an ordinary person, someone without any background as such?" Mika questioned him.

"I don't believe in this high status crap. I'm not telling this because of Lucy-chan. The reason I felt she would be a good bride for Gray is because we have known her since her birth.

But Gray nor Lucy-chan felt that for one another. Now that's why, she chose Natsu who makes her happy and smiles in the way she wants. 

    If even our Gray has someone like that I will also choose the same path which Jude and Layla has chosen for their daughter. Dear, go speak to him and know the answer. And before that send those letters to the mail guard." Silver pointed at the table.

After breaking from the hug, Mika went near the table and took the letters. She checked them and took one out of it.

"We wrote letters to her every month for the past one and half years but she didn't even bother to write us back. Is she alright? Did we make a mistake by sending her to Bosco on her accord?" Mika asked out of concern.

Silver could clearly see worries wash over her face. "I'm sure Juvia-chan's alright. Because my heart says so. Don't worry, I have a hunch that we might meet her soon."

Gray, who was passing by his parent's bedroom, had heard all the things the couple had spoken about.

Once he reached his room where he saw Natsu Dragneel, his main bodyguard laying around eating a packet of chips. Gray groaned and scolded him, "Idiot, what are you doing littering my bed?"

"Ice-princess!! Why are you shouting? Geez, I was just eating chips."

Natsu yelled back and now both had their head smacked against each other and began to brawl by pulling each other's hairs.

Even if Gray was practically Natsu's boss, both were being friendly because they considered each other as their best friend.

It was Gray's idea to appoint Natsu as his main bodyguard after graduation so that Natsu could learn the life of royalty and prepare for his future life.

"Flame-brain, you could have told me that your wedding got fixed." Gray said and gave him another punch.

"Wow!! Wait who told you that? Luce told me yesterday that her dad has almost agreed but not yet still. But now you are saying something different. Is it true?" Natsu asked out of surprise which eyes sparkling and a big goofy smile on his face.

Seeing him Gray smiled and nodded in agreement, "Yes, your soon-to-be father-in -law has agreed. Looks like Lucy will inform you soon now." He smirked.

Natsu looked at Gray and hugged him which startled the former, "Thank you Gray. If it weren't for yours and Juvia's help, it wouldn't have been possible. Thanks man. Me and Luce are really grateful for your help. And sorry because of us you couldn't be with your…."

Before Natsu could finish, he stopped seeing the Queen mother and King. He soon broke the hug and bowed down to greet them..

"Good Afternoon, your highness."

"Mom, Dad... what do you want?" Gray asked as he folded his arms.

"So dear, it was your doing that now Jude has accepted your friend to wed his daughter, huh?" Mika asked as she raised her eyebrow.

"What are you talking about? I don't know anything?" Gray laughed sheepishly and tried to change the topic.

"Oh we heard your friend's speech, my son. What did you do to convince Jude?" Silver asked as he sat down on the couch opposite to the bed with his wife.

Natsu, who was about to leave the room, was stopped by Silver and told him to stay.

"Firstly, I made Natsu as my bodyguard which you agreed after seeing his talents and skill.

Secondly, I taught him some manners regarding the royal life which he's still learning.

Thirdly, I sent him to Lucy's dad for a year when someone sent a threatening letter to uncle Jude stating that Lucy would be kidnapped which was sent by Erza by the way.

Finally, I didn't call off this wedding for these six years since if we called off then Lucy's dad would have brought another alliance for her. 

  So that's why, every now and then, I made excuses to get married without breaking down the engagement while Lucy tried from her side to convince her dad about Natsu and their love for one another which she succeeded at the end."

Gray at last revealed the whole plan to his parents and looked at them expecting a bunch of scolding but was shocked to see his parents smiling and especially his mom tearing up.

Gray soon went near her and hugged her, "Mom, I'm sorry if I made a mistake. I thought I was helping my friends this way. I know I shouldn't have led you guys on this matter. I'm extremely sorry for making you guys disappointed."

Mika patted her son's back, "Dear, you are truly a gentleman. I'm proud that we have raised a son who is helpful and selfless. Don't apologise."

"So Gray, are you seeing someone? If yes, then share it with us. We will get you married to your dream girl." Silver asked for which Gray remained silent.

"And what was that you guys were talking about Juvia's help?" Mika questioned the boys whose faces became pale as the name was uttered by the queen.

[juviaafullbuster]

Gruvia week - Day 5: Possession

SEARCHING FOR HIS LOVE

Warnings: None

Relationship: Gruvia

Summary: Juvia gets possessed by a ghost searching for his one true love. Not wanting to leave his girl on her own, Gray decided to join her on the search.

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

All Juvia wanted was to spend some time with her Graysama. It's the only reason she decided to join the mission in the first place. So why did she end up being partnered with her rival out of all people? It annoyed her and it didn't help that the blonde wasn't exactly being useful. If she heard her complain one more time Juvia was going to lose it. And on top of that they were being chased by some weird freak. This whole day was a mess.

Juvia was so focused on her thoughts, she didnt see the enemy in front of them. The last thing she remembers was being engulfed in some weird light before everything turned black.

When she woke up again, Juvia was back in Magnolia. Wendy was standing above her appearing to be healing her. Juvia wanted to know what happened, how she got back here and how Lucy was doing but she couldn't. Her mind was focusing on something else.

"Juvia you finally woke up. How are you feeling?"

Juvia didnt answer. Somehow she had this determination to go. The next thing she knew she was getting up, ignoring Wendy and walking out.

Something was off. No matter how many times Wendy called out for Juvia, the water mage didn't stop walking. It wasn't until Gray appeared that Wendy let out a relieved sigh.

"Gray, thank god. You need to help me. Juvia just keeps going, she wont listen to me. She just woke up and left."

Gray looked to where the little dragon slayer was pointing and saw his girl walking away, out of Magnolia.

"Its okay, dont worry. I'll take care of it."

He jogged up to Juvia, blocking her path and making her stop.

"Juvia what's going on? Where are you going?"

Grays voice made Juvia snap out of it for a little.

"I - I don't know. I just need to go there."

"Where?"

"I don't know. It's like my mind and actions are being controlled by someone. It's - I dont know how to explain it."

Juvia seemed so confused and lost, it hurt Gray to see her that way. But it confirmed his suspicions. Makarov had told them about the ghost who attacked Juvia and Lucy. He had haunted th rebuilding for years and was looking for someone with enough love in their heart to be able to reunite him with his one true love he had lost. After Lucy woke up and acted like her normal self, they had figured it must have been Juvia who the ghost has been after and possessed.

It made sense. Gray couldn't think of anyone else who carries so much love in their heart. He experienced Juvias' first hand. The girl had shown him on several occasions how deep her feelings were, not just the romantic kind of love she showed him, but also the love she had for her friends. Noone was like Juvia.

Gray explained everything to Juvia. But the more he talked the worse she looked. When the words ghost and possession fell, Juvia just lost it. Nothing could hold back the tears. Not knowing how to handle the situation, Gray just hugged Juvia and held her tight to him.

"It's okay. It'll be fine. Don't cry Juvia. From what I know you'll be free from this ghost once we arrived at the destination he is leading you to. So let's go."

"You're coming with Juvia?"

"Of course, I'm not letting you do this by yourself."

Juvia gave him a smile and wiped her tears away before the two continued her journey.

Later that day

It felt like they were traveling forever at this point. They had already two train drives behind them and walked for hours too. The sky was already turning darker and Gray was afraid they wouldn't be there anytime soon. That's until Juvia suddenly stopped. The couple found themselves standing in front of an old, abandoned cemetery. It didnt look like anyone has been here for years.

They both felt a shiver run down their spines. Gray gave Juvia a reassuring nod before they walked in hand in hand.

They stopped in front of a grave with a small headstone. It was blank, not a name nor a date written on the stones.

The next thing he knew, Juvia was unconscious in his arms and a ghost was standing in front of them.

"Thank you. You've finally reunited me with my one true love. Now I can finally rest in peace. For that I will forever be grateful. Your friend shall be free from my possession."

When Gray looked at the grave stone again, two names appeared, the sentence "Separted while alive, reunited after death" written below them.

When Juvia woke up again she found herself being carried bridal style by Gray.

"Graysama, what happened? Where are we going?"

"You freed the ghost. It's over. But since its already late I decided it's best to stay at a hotel today and continue our journey back tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes of course. But can I ask you one thing?"

"Of course."

"Can we share a room? I really don't want to stay alone tonight. This whole ghost thing and being possessed, it's making me freak out a little."

Gray chuckled before nodding. To be honest, he didnt feel like being alone tonight either. Not only did the whole ghost and possession thing freak him out a little too, the sentence separated while alive wasn't leaving his mind. He couldn't imagine what the dead couple must have gone through. And the thought of something like that happening to him and his Juvia freaked him out even more. He couldn't imagine not having the water mage by his side.

That night Juvia fell asleep with a huge smile on her face. Not only was she sleeping in the same room as her love, Gray had decided to share a bed too. Some time while he was asleep he shifted and put an arm around her, pulling Juvia near him and holding her close. At least Juvia assumed that he was asleep. She couldnt see the smile that appeared on the boys face.

The next morning they both woke up, cuddled up and content. Gray, being the tsundere that he is though, made Juvia promise not to tell anyone at the guild. If Natsu or Erza were to find out, he would never hear the end of it. He could already hear Natsu calling him a perverted popsicle. Everyone would get the wrong idea. He couldnt let that happen. What mattered after all, was that the both of them had the memory of it and by what he could tell that was good enough for Juvia too.

At least for now. Soon he would talk to her and tell her exactly how he felt. That's a promise.

@gruviaweek

[petri808]

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 22 | 23 | 24

‘Come on, come on, come on, Lucy please pick up!’

“Sorry I’m not available to take your call. Please leave a message at the beep.”

“Fuck!” Natsu clicks off before the beep and chucks his phone at his bed. He’d already left numerous voice mails and text messages over the last week, the desperation growing with each one, but they’d all gone unanswered or unread. If he left anymore Lucy just might block him and he didn’t want that to happen.

All he needed was a chance, one chance. Even though their interactions were few between meeting on the train, the phone, and the cafe, it still should have provided him with some credibility. So how after just one encounter could she believe Touka over him? He didn’t understand. Of course, Gray’s take on it all was well, women tend to be more emotional. Maybe Lucy’s decision to react wasn’t because she necessarily believed Touka’s story. Perhaps she’s been cheated on before or slighted by a guy. Natsu shouldn’t try to rationalize it based on only his own experiences. His friend might be right, but he still wanted to hear it from Lucy’s own mouth. Didn’t he deserve at least that much?

Why hasn’t she blocked him yet? Did it mean she was still thinking about everything, processing it, or simply hadn’t had a chance to? Okay, that last one doesn’t make any sense considering how easy it easy to block a number on a cellphone. It gave him hope things weren’t over yet, but that unknown made it worse, like being left standing in the cold waiting for the rain to stop falling. Ugh! When will this storm pass? He needed answers or this’ll slowly drive him insane!

So, two days later he makes a crazy decision. “Yes,” he tells Gray, “so don’t stay up waiting for me.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that, right?” Gray crosses his arms, “that’s basically stalking, as in you could go to jail if she complains.”

“I know the consequences, but I don’t see it like that. I just want to talk to her and if she tells me to fuck off, I’ll leave, but at least I got my answer.”

The man shakes his head and starts to walk away. “Never thought I’d see you go so nuts over a girl man. But good luck.”

Night after night, Natsu rides the train at the same time as their first meeting, hoping to run into Lucy. He knew it was a long shot, that their meeting may have been completely at random and she rarely caught the train so late at night. Which made sense considering the dangers of a single woman out alone. But it was his only lead to follow. Her campus was simply too large to wander aimlessly on and he had no idea where she lives. He was determined to see this through no matter how long it took.

Such resolution began to falter by the end of the second week when no sight or sound of the blonde crossed his path. He would sit there growing more and more despondent, getting onto the train and off to start the cycle again in the same route. Even other daily commuters started to notice this odd man sitting on a bench with his head kept low, only to look up at the sound of the doors opening. Natsu must have looked pathetic, and sad, a poor miserable creature lost in a sea of train riders with a story no one knew but could guess based on his appearance.

“Dude, it’s been a month! Just give up already!”

“No way! Tonight, could be the night!”

And it was.

It’d become such a routine, like one of Pavlov’s conditioning experiments. At the sound of the trains door, Natsu’s head pops up ready to scan all the incoming riders. It was nearing 10:30 pm with only one more route for the evening before he’d have to give up and try again tomorrow... but there she was.

Lucy walks into the door at the other end of the car and doesn’t see him immediately. By that hour there’s only a small number of riders so most of the seats were open and she quickly sits down on one. Natsu jumps up and rushes over in his excitement, like a puppy whose master had just come home.

He drops down in a crouch before Lucy and grabs her hand before she can resist or stop him. “Please, don’t scream or anything, I just wanna talk.”

“Oh my god Natsu, you scared the hell out of me!” She tries to pull her hand away, but he simply holds on tighter. “Natsu, there’s a reason I haven’t answered your calls, so take a hint.”

“Oh, come on Lucy, you never even gave me a chance to prove I’m innocent! How could you believe a woman who you just met over me, I thought we at least had a small connection between us.”

Lucy sees a few other riders staring in their direction. In embarrassment, she lowers her voice and grits out a response. “Let go of my hand, get off the floor and sit on the bench before I scream for help.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am,” he scrambles to his feet and takes a seat beside her.

The woman lets out an exasperated sigh. “I really don’t know how you can prove anything to me Natsu. I don’t know either of you, so to protect myself, it’s safer to just walk away.”

“Then get to know me, Luce. That’s all I’m asking for and you’ll see it was all a lie.”

“How would I know you’re not still seeing Touka? It’s not like we’d be together 24/7, so there’s plenty of opportunities for you to juggle the both of us.”

Ugh! He runs his hand down his face in frustration. “Touka is not my girlfriend, has never been my girlfriend, and will never be my girlfriend. She’s been stalking me for a couple years now and you’re not the first girl she’s chased away because she thought they were a rival.”

“Pfft.” Lucy takes out her phone, pulling up Instagram, and tapping away furiously. “Then explain this,” she shows him Touka’s profile. “Pictures of you two that looks like you’re a couple,” she scrolls a few posts down, “and again here, a comment by a N_dragneel with heart shapes. And then!” She changes to that persons profile, shoving her phone in his face, “are you telling me this isn’t you?”

Natsu stares at the profile which appeared to be filled with pictures of him and his life, along with the description stating Natsu loves Touka. “It’s not me,” he states calmly and takes out his own phone, pulling up his Instagram account. “This is me,” he shows her.

“How do I know this isn’t a side account?”

Again, he sighs and clicks on the account information. “See, I have one side blog to post dragon art, and that’s it. She created that fake blog with my name.”

“And the photo’s?!”

“Photoshop or some other free app anyone can download. Lucy I’m telling you the truth, and this isn’t the first time I’m hearing this.” He groans, “this’ll be the third blog I’ll have to report for stealing my identify.”

The tell-tale ding of the trains information board signals they’d arrived at Lucy’s stop. “Look Natsu, I-I just don’t know what to make of all this.” She stands to leave, but he corners her.

“Just one shot, Lucy please! I’ll introduce you my friends, hell I can introduce you to another woman Touka’s harassed and you’ll have to see I’m telling you the truth!”

“Natsu, move.” She clenches her fists in frustration and her adrenaline is making her body shake. “I-I have to go!”

“But Lucy...”

“Please,” moisture builds in her eyes. “Natsu get out of the way.”

Heartbroken and dejected, his shoulders slump and arms drop to his sides as he steps away to let her pass. Lucy adjusts her backpack and starts to walks away but pauses just outside of the door. Without turning around, “Even if you’re telling me the truth Natsu, I have to think long and hard if I’d want to deal with all this drama. I’m sorry.”

The doors close and with it the last pieces still hanging on in Natsu’s heart shatter. She was right. How fair is it to Lucy to be caught in the middle of this stalking war with Touka? He shambles back to his seat and drops as the train moves on to his stop. All he could do was wait and see what she decided. Is he worth the investment?    

[be-dazzled]

Hi! :) I'm not sure if this is okay but I would love to request “I know you said you didn’t want to be late, but you look amazing, and I’m trying not to kiss you senseless right now,” or “Apparently all our friends have a bet going that we end up together." or “I’m in love with you.” “Are you finally confessing to me? Because I feel the same way.” for Fraxus for some love for the amazing men >w< I thought I throw out the suggestion uwu

I already started writing the drabble when I reread the request and realized I got the prompts wrong. Lol. Anyways, I tweaked it a little to fit what I already had in mind.

...

"Apparently all our friends have a bet going that we end up together." and “Are you finally confessing to me? Because I feel the same way.”

He didn’t even need to see him to know that Laxus Dreyar was coming in the Fairy Tail Building. The Lightning Dragon Slayer was a quiet fellow but he had that effect on Freed. It was like Juvia’s Graydar. He just knew, in a bout a second or two, Laxus was about to grace his eyes with his palpable presence. Like magnet, Freed’s blue eyes landed on the figure brushing through the scaffold started by two idiots.

Laxus made a bee line to the counter, not really feeling like joining in the ruckus. He sat at the counter and asked Mirajane, the barmaid, for a drink – any drink. He wasn’t really that choosy. But if he was being honest, he was just trying to collect himself.

Because no one told Laxus that the job request he was handed three days ago involved boat, train and a lot of moving. He was thankful he got off that crazy old lady’s carriage. She definitely did not drive like a grandma. And he didn’t have the guts to tell her he had motion sickness. Laxus felt his breakfast about to make a reappearance. He gagged.

“Make it strong, Mira.”

The bar-maid nodded before she turned around to get the strongest beer the guild had. He was busy trying to push his breakfast down where it belonged, he didn’t notice the slight nod the barmaid threw beside him.

On cue, Freed was already beside him, mumbling some ‘welcome back’ words at the Lightning Dragon Slayer. But Laxus’ spinning brain couldn’t wrap itself around what the Thunder God Tribe’s leader was sputtering about. Laxus turned to Freed, seeing three or five figures of the latter.

“Laxus, are you alright?”

He didn’t manage to answer. He didn’t even hear the question right. But what he did was hit his head against a hard surface. He didn’t know which hard surface – maybe, it was just the bar counter – but there was drumming. Then, his lips brushed against a warm and soft plane. It was comforting. The world stopped spinning. Then, an aroma tickled his nostrils. He easily recognized that smell.

“Freed?”

Laxus struggled but he managed to look up to confirm his guess. There he was, the leader of the Thunder God Tribe stiff as a plank and white as a paper.

Laxus didn’t have time to process what was happening to Freed. The bitter taste of his breakfast was threatening to make a reappearance. He went back to the comfortable position that helped with his nausea.

“Feeling better.” Laxus said, humming along with that frantic beating he was hearing from the hard surface. He then buried his nose against that soft, warm skin with the comforting aroma.

…

“Pay up, droopy eyes!”

“I already did slanty eyes!”

“Sorry, Juvia. But you’re not safe.”

“Yes, Natsu-san. Juvia is aware.”

“You too, Lucy!”

Laxus walked in on the usual guild ruckus. However, there wasn’t any brawl or any of that sort. Natsu was just on top of the table demanding jewels from everyone.

“Man, I just saved up enough for that dress I was eyeing.”

Laxus heard the Celestial Mage whined as she handed a small pouch toward the boy.

Laxus ignored them and continued on his path towards the bar counter. He was much feeling better today. All thanks to that concoction Mira made him yesterday. He was at a bad shape but mysteriously there was this had surface and aromatic scent that helped him. He assumed he just slumped on the counter to help with his nausea.

Then, he heard the loud fire dragon slayer yell behind him.

“Mira-chan! It’s all in here.” announced Natsu.

Laxus saw him hand her a bigger pouch, which was sagging from his clutch.

“Oh, oh, right. Thank you, Natsu.”

Mirajane snatched the pouch from Natsu, which was perplexing. It seemed as if she was trying to avoid for Laxus to see it. How could he not see it when they did the exchange right in front of him.

Then a familiar smell pulled his attention towards somewhere else.

“Freed! Over here.” called Laxus and waved the Dark Eye mage towards his direction.

He swore Freed made a little squeal before appearing next to Laxus.

Laxus took a sip of his drink. His eyes drifted over the barmaid who was counting jewels from the pouch Natsu handed her.

“Do you have any idea what that is?”

“Oh, apparently the guild has some kind of a pool. They have a bet going that we, somehow… I don’t exactly know what.”

One brow quirked up.

“And she is?” asked Laxus as she pointed at Mirajane who wasn’t done counting.

“Winning, yes.” answered Freed.

“So, she bet on us…”

Laxus didn’t really have any idea what was happening around him. He was just processing everything by letting Freed supply the missing pieces.

“She bet that you’ll be the one to make the first move.” finished Freed, lowering his gaze as he felt the coming heat rise up his cheeks.

“If she’s counting that much jewel, then that means I did the first move?”

He was oddly calm about everything when Freed could almost feel his heart and soul leaving his body by just talking about it.

“When?”

“Yesterday.”

“Huh.”

Yesterday. Laxus remembered just trying to make the world stop spinning and not to throw up. As he rummaged his brain for any memory, it hit him.

“That explains it.” said Laxus. “I guess that’s that then.”

Freed jumped at him, accusing Laxus of taking the events that transpired too casually. He was mad.

“You don’t take me seriously, Laxus. Do you even have any idea how crazy you made me feel yesterday.”

Freed’s loud voice and confessionals attracted the attention of the whole guild. Even Gray and Natsu stopped beating each other to listen.

“You charged at me! Kissing my neck. Snuggling up, saying how comfortable it is. Then–”

But it seemed that the air in Freed’s lungs when Laxus asked him.

“Are you finally confessing to me?”

“What?”

Laxus turned to the stunned Dark Eye Mage. One brow raised, waiting for an answer as he locked eyes with Freed.

“Because I feel the same way.”

After a moment of stunned silence, Natsu went back up to he table and demanded everyone to pay up.

“Now, I’m never gonna buy that dress. Not even food.” Lucy wistfully handed the last jewels she had.

But one bar-maid was on cloud nine. Her quirk on betting on the longshot finally paid off.

...

Hope you liked it, Anon. I'm not really confident with my writing when it came to the other pairs but I hope this puts a smile on you face. Much love!