This is the story of Lyon, who's head-over-heels for Juvia, who's pining after Gray, who's had a secret crush on Erza (basically since forever), but she's completely oblivious because she's totally in love with Jellal. Of Freed, who feels conflicted over his feelings for Mirajane who's ignoring him because she's not over Laxus who still misses what they used to have (even though he's mostly, completely over it). Of Loke who won't give up even though he knows that he has zero chance with Lucy, even though she's sick and tired of clueless, bone-headed Natsu who doesn't understand why there's a problem.

This is the Mazeverse series, a post-Tenrou AU with pairings galore. Gruvia, Lyvia, Grayza, Jerza, Nalu, Nali, Lolu, Graylu, Bixanna, Gale, ElfEver, Miraxus, Laxana, MiraFreed as well as a handful of crackships and rare-pairs as we try to pair the spares. This is the Mazeverse. No ship is safe ;)

Happy Friday!

I'm really excited to share this piece... it's one of my favorites. I love Lyon and the Lamia team, and I wanted to shed some light on what their dynamic is like. Lyon becomes a more central character in Mazeverse Season 2, so I wanted to start pushing the spotlight towards him. (I was totally floored when my beta (Edgar) was like "Since when is Lyon a main character?" and I was like "Since always...?" So this.)

This one takes place between chapters 3 and 4 of Much Ado About Nothing. For those who haven't read Much Ado, you'll be able to enjoy this fic without. The only thing you really need to know is that Toby has this fanboy crush on Jenny Realight of Blue Pegasus. And Lyon has been backed into helping him score a date. (But that was in the description, so you probably already figured that one out! XD)

For those who did read Much Ado, you're going to have a bit of a different experience, as you already know how this story will end. But you might be wondering how we got from Lyon promising to help Toby to that thing that thing we revealed at the end of chapter 4 (the Blue Pegasus chapter of Much Ado). Here's the backstory.

Guest: Oh, you know me. I've been trouble since the day I was born! XD I love Lyon as a matchmaker. The idea that he can make it work for others, but not himself is horribly ironic. The runner-up to that is notion that someone so abrasive could be so good with matters of the heart. Thanks again!

- K. Chandler

Lyon heard the whir of a grinder. He fidgeted in the coffee shop booth, his expression neutral.

"Will. You. Go. To the dance. With me?" he said, ignoring the strange looks the other customers were giving him.

"Um… so…" his companion faltered, with what looked like a shrug.

Lyon groaned, bringing a hand up to his throbbing temples. "Toby, this isn't that hard! 'Will you go to the dance with me?' It's just one sentence."

Toby nodded, swallowing hard. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Will you—" he choked. "I-I can't. I just can't!" said Toby, shaking his head.

"Eight words, Toby. Eight. Words," sighed Lyon, pushing aside the disposable cup, which had long been empty. "Or is even that beyond you?"

"Easy for you to say," mumbled Toby. "You're one of the popular guys."

"You're making this harder than this has to be," said Lyon. He didn't mean to sound harsh, but his patience was wearing thin.

When Toby had asked him for some tips on how to ask a girl to the dance, he had been happy to share. But they'd been sitting at this coffee shop for two hours and they hadn't even gotten beyond the asking bit, never mind the rest of the stuff that his friend would doubtless need.

"What if she says no?" said Toby. "What then? My stupid life would be over!" whined Toby, running his hands through his thick hair in agitation.

"At this rate, you won't have to worry about that."

"I won't?" asked Toby, his voice rising hopefully.

Lyon shook his head, eyes narrowing. "No… She'll never say no if you don't ask her," he snapped. The Gala was only days away, and if Toby couldn't resolve his anxiety soon, they'd both be going stag.

"And if I do ask her, she might say no!" Toby turned away with a sigh. "Haven't you ever wanted to be with someone so bad that you though your heart was going to burst?" he asked softly.

Oh, Lyon knew the feeling all too well.

Lyon's mind conjured a pair of wide, blue eyes framed by long lashes. A teasing giggle. Nervous hands working at dark curls. Late night lacrima calls that made his chest ache.

"Lyon, are you busy? I sort of need your help…"

Suddenly Toby's comments seemed much more reasonable.

Biting back a sigh, Lyon turned to his friend. "Then you have a choice to make," he said gently. "Is it worth the risk to ask? Or would you rather go the rest of your life not knowing what would have happened?"

"You sound like you've done this before…" said Toby.

"Possibly."

"So, what'd you do?"

"Asked her, of course." That was the first thing he'd done when he'd laid eyes on Juvia Lockser.

"And then what happened?" asked Toby.

"She turned me down," said Lyon bluntly. And that was the very first thing she'd done.

"Ohhh! That wasn't what I wanted to hear!" moaned Toby.

"You wanted me to lie to you?" asked Lyon. "Fine. We're happily married with seven children, as you can clearly see," he said, flinging his left hand up in a dramatic gesture.

Toby's expression pulled into something that was a cross between a chuckle and a sob. "It really is hopeless, isn't it?" he asked.

"What? No… I didn't—I didn't mean it that way," said Lyon. "I was being sarcastic."

"No, you're right. Maybe I should just quit now…" said Toby.

"That's not fair," said Lyon. "I knew she probably… wouldn't return my feelings," he said, shrugging. "I chose to ask her anyways."

Toby was silent for a beat, before he frowned. "You're still in love with her, aren't you?" he asked, watching Lyon's reaction carefully.

Lyon recoiled, his denial immediate. "No… we're just friends."

"Lyon. I'll believe that as soon as Yuka remembers to trim his eyebrows."

Toby might have been brighter than Lyon had given him credit for.

"Maybe… just a little still," admitted Lyon. He liked Juvia a whole lot more than 'just a little,' but Toby was the last person he'd tell.

"But if you got rejected, then what chance do I have?"

Rejected. That was a pleasant word for it. But now wasn't the time to be nursing his injured pride.

Lyon didn't have a chance with Juvia, but Toby and Jenny weren't beyond the realm of possibility. He'd have to help Toby make this work, if only to keep him from experiencing this—more unfortunate—side of relationships.

But how…?

"Lyon?" asked Toby, threading his hands through his hair awkwardly.

"Thinking," Lyon said. "If I can get her to come to the Gala, do you think you can handle talking to her?"

Eyes wide, Toby looked terribly self-conscious. "You mean you aren't going to help anymore?"

"I want to help, Toby. As much as I can. But there's only so much I can do. This is something you'll have to face on your own."

Toby nodded stiffly. "Yep. I can do that. What… What are you planning on doing?" asked Toby.

Lyon couldn't keep the grin from his face. He couldn't guarantee Toby's success, but he could at least score him a first date.

"We're going to cheat," said Lyon gleefully.

"Cheat?" asked Toby.

"Yeah. Cheat. I'm going to ask Jenny to the dance with me."

"Y-you what?" asked Toby. He frowned, hurt flashing in his eyes.

"No, not like that," said Lyon quickly. "I'll ask her to the dance, but then once we actually get there, I'll set it up so that you guys can talk. Will that be sufficient?"

"That's fine but…"

"But what?"

"But what about you? If Jenny's your date, and you leave her with me… wouldn't that leave you all al—"

"Don't worry about that," said Lyon, waving his hand dismissively. "You just figure out what you're going to say to her once I introduce you. You'll have your work cut out for you there."

He was well aware that he'd be dateless if he managed to pull this off. Actually, he'd be dateless if he screwed it up too. It was lose-lose for him.

But Lyon didn't care. It was a necessary sacrifice. And Toby's happiness was far more important. And besides, the girl he really wanted to go with wasn't interested, so it wasn't like going stag was a huge loss.

"Do you think it'll work?" asked Toby.

Lyon tapped on the plastic lid of his empty cup. "I think my odds of getting her to say yes are pretty good," he mused. "I should be able to pull it off."

"No, I mean… What about getting her to say yes to… me?" faltered Toby. "Jenny is such an amazing person. She's so positive and kind and... well, I'm just… me."

Lyon sighed, choosing not to point out that Toby hadn't even met Jenny in person yet. "You're really into this girl, aren't you?" he asked instead.

Toby nodded. "More than anything."

"And you want her to like you back?"

"Of course."

"You might want to start by liking yourself," said Lyon wryly. "If you don't even like you, why would she? A little confidence might be helpful."

"Yeah, well you seem to have plenty of it. Can I borrow some?"

Lyon laughed, stretching as he stood up.

"I'd better get going. I'll let you know how it goes this afternoon," he said, clapping Toby on the shoulder as he passed. If they were going to pull this off, he had work to do.

He tossed out his empty cup, turning to leave.

"Hey… thanks!" called Toby.

"Don't thank me until it's over," said Lyon.

Next time, in [Mazeverse] Matchmaker, Heartbreaker, Total Sucker, Juvia asks for fashion advice. Sherry is not pleased: "Hair up or down?" asked Juvia. /"Does she not have girlfriends to ask these questions to?" muttered Sherry.

Stop back next Friday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.