So this was something I started quite a long time ago in preparation for MidLu Week LAST YEAR, and sadly I never got around to finishing it.

Like so many things unfortunately.

But I suppose the important thing is that I finished it. Even if it is late as hell. lol

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and that you'll forgive me for my lack of updates recently. My step-mother is currently in the hospital, and she's not doing well. So I ask for your continued patience and understanding. It means a lot to me.

As always, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

MidLu Week 2015

Halloween

"Hey Midnight, what are you going as for Halloween?"

The Reflector mage lifted his head and turned to look at the blonde woman who'd just sat down beside him. "Huh?"

Lucy tipped her head and smiled. "Your costume. What are you dressing up as?"

It was strangely quiet in the guild that day, and her question had apparently been overheard by several people near them because not even a moment later someone called out, "Isn't he already in his costume?"

The joke had several people laughing, and that didn't even surprise him. He'd heard it before, more times than he could count, and for the most part, he didn't care. He knew some people found him strange, and that was alright. He'd lived this long without anyone else's approval. What was another year?

But he didn't know what to say to the woman frowning at the man who'd made the comment about his attire.

No one had ever bothered to ask him about Halloween. People usually assumed that Halloween was just another day for him because of his choice to wear makeup. And he'd gotten used to it. He'd never questioned it, and it had only taken the first time to erase the idea of dressing up from his mind. If it didn't make sense to anyone else, then why bother.

But now, with that one innocent question from the blonde, he found himself stumped as to how to answer. So he blathered a quick, "I wasn't planning on dressing up."

At once, her face folded into a pout, an incredibly cute one if he was at all honest with himself. "Aww...you have to dress up! Everyone's going to be in costume, and it's so much fun!"

Strangely enough, he found it hard to resist her, especially when she seemed so eager for him to join in the festivities. But his other guild mates had just proven what a fanciful idea him participating in the childish tradition would be. Ducking his head, he gave a slight shrug. "It's... kind of pointless, don't you think?"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed, her sudden outburst startling him and drawing his head up with jolt. "Why would it be pointless? You get to be a whole other person for the night," she carried on, her face turning dreamy. "It's like the one night a year you can make your childhood dreams a reality!"

Her passionate response pulled at him, and he found himself leaning in without even meaning to. She made him want to discard all the tough lessons he'd learned during the course of his life and be innocent with her again. She made him want to believe that such a thing was possible, that he could forget it all for a single night and pretend life hadn't ripped his heart out of his chest more times than he could count.

And before he even knew what he was doing, she had him agreeing to do just that.

A squeal spilled up from her mouth as he nodded his head, and he nearly laughed when she gave an excited hop in her seat. "YAY! So what are you going to be?"

Dumbfounded at how quickly she'd roped him into this ridiculousness, Midnight couldn't say a word for a moment, but even when he'd gained his tongue, he had no idea how to answer. What sort of costume did a grown man wear on Halloween?

He was so far out of his depth here, but some reason he'd yet to discover, he couldn't bear to disappoint her.

And what does a man do when his only option is admit he was clueless? Lie right through his teeth. "It's...a surprise."

Lucy's eyes lit right up at that, and he felt something twang somewhere in the vicinity of the center of his chest. "Fine then. I won't tell you mine either. It can be a surprise for you too!" Almost instantly afterward, she leapt to her feet and shot the dark-haired man a wide grin. "I better get busy then. I've got a lot left to do before tomorrow night!"

Cheerfully, she offered him a wave. "I can't wait to see what you come up with." Offering him a cheerful wave, she left the bar, a skip in her step as she headed toward the double doors at the front of the building.

He could do nothing but watch her in silence. There was so much about her he didn't understand, things he could never wrap his mind around, and yet Lucy seemed to have no hesitation where he was concerned. As much as he'd like the entire experience to be erased from history, he had done awful things to her in the past, and it didn't seem right that she should just forget about it.

At the very least, she should despise him...be afraid of him.

Something...

And yet, she was none of those things. In fact, she acted like they were comrades, friends almost.

It was a strange concept for him.

Strength, power, stealth. Those were things he understood, things he'd always been taught mattered, but it hadn't taken long for him to realize how unimportant those things actually were in the grand scheme of things.

Fairy Tail had taught him that.

Being there, in the guild day in and day out over the last several months, Midnight couldn't help but see the light. This guild was at the top of a very short list of Fiore's strongest guilds, and still they put the power of family and friends above all else. Trust was of the utmost importance.

And that wasn't easy for him, especially after his father.

He'd wanted so badly to gain his father's approval, he'd gone along with whatever the man had said. He'd have done anything, and he did, including hurt one of the kindest, gentlest women he'd ever known. More than once, he'd looked back on the horrific things he'd participated in, and he still couldn't quite figure out why he'd done them. He'd just been so desperate for his father's love.

And because of that, he'd let his father shape him into a person he never wanted to be.

After being captured and handed over to Fairy Tail for rehabilitation, he'd quickly come to the realization that he'd been a fool. His father had never cared for him. Brain had only used him for what he could get - power.

In the end Midnight realized, somewhat painfully, that he'd been nothing more than a tool to his father.

And that made it almost impossible for him to let people in. Despite being a legitimate member of Fairy Tail for the last six months, and genuinely coming to care for some of the people he'd met there, he still couldn't bring himself to lower his walls. In the back of his mind, worry still lived. Because as much as he might want to fit in there, he wasn't entirely sure that was possible.

He was too different, too jaded. Too much of too many things to ever truly be a Fairy the way the rest of them were.

They were a family, something he'd wanted for as long as he could remember but never believed he could have. No matter how much time passed, he couldn't shake the feeling that he would always be on the outside looking in. He was well and truly alone.

The only people who had ever really accepted him were the other former members of Oracion Seis. For a while, he had known what it felt like to belong, but now that they had all been sent in different directions to other light guilds, Midnight was back to being on his own.

Even now, perched on a stool inside the Fairy Tail guild surrounded by what were his fellow Fairies, he still felt it. The loneliness.

Except when she was there.

She never failed to offer him a smile or a wave. Sometimes, she'd bounce over and sit for a while talking about silly little nothings, and then she'd walk away and act as if she hadn't just handed him the sun.

Of course, the fact that she didn't realize how much it meant to him just made it matter even more. Those small kindnesses - calling out a "bless you" when he sneezed or wishing him good luck when he left for a job or a million other things she did on a daily basis - had come to mean the world to him. Such little things that others took for granted, he held close to his heart.

Maybe it was just that she treated him like a human being. There were very few people who didn't actively avoid him and fewer still who chose to invite his company. Still, he had yet to really find a friend. Other than her, that is.

Then again, she might not consider him a friend at all. Lucy Heartfilia seemed almost incapable of holding a grudge, even when it was rightly deserved, but friendship? That was something else entirely, something he wasn't quite sure was even a possibility.

After all, he had done so much wrong to her. He'd hurt her, kidnapped her, tried to sacrifice her. There was no end to the horrors he'd brought down upon her. How could she ever look at him with anything as incredible as friendship?

Still, he couldn't erase the thought from his mind. As far as he knew, no one had forced her to speak with him, to offer him such sweet smiles. So maybe it was possible. Maybe fate had finally taken pity on him and given him this gift.

He almost desperately hoped so, because he needed this. This was his last chance. Lahar had made certain he understood that, and if there was one thing Midnight was sure of , it was that he never wanted to see the inside of that prison again.

But more than that, he wanted to be free. Not physically of course; that part was easy thanks to the Fairies. Master Makarov had appealed to the Council on his behalf, not only to release him from prison, but also to allow him to move about Magnolia on his own. It was beyond what he could have ever imagined. And yet, it was not enough.

No, what Midnight truly wanted freedom from was his past. It taunted him, zipping through his brain and stirring up memories better left forgotten. Though years had gone by since he'd lived as a criminal, he couldn't shake the guilt he felt over everything he'd done.

And maybe he deserved that - to live without peace for the rest of his life. He'd certainly earned it.

And yet, it was all he'd ever wanted.

Peace.

But there was nothing he could do, no one to save him. He'd thought by joining the Fairy Tail guild and working to right the wrongs he'd done in the past that he could somehow redeem himself, cleanse his soul or something. But every day, he woke up the same as the day before - broken, black-hearted, and alone.

It took everything he had to climb out of bed in the mornings, to shower and dress and throw on his mask. He was just so tired of everything.

And then, he would see her face, watch that smile light her eyes with a warmth he might have never known otherwise, and suddenly, one more day didn't seem so hard. Suddenly, he could find the strength to keep on.

So if she wanted him to participate in Halloween...if she wanted him pretend for one night that he really was just one of the Fairies, he would. Because without her, he would have quit a long time ago.

It didn't matter that it was pointless or that no one but her would appreciate him dressing up. All that mattered was making her happy, in the only way she might ever allow him.

But then the question became what costume he should choose.

His mind ran through the almost infinite possibilities, each one more dark and twisted than the last. He had ample supply of inspiration thanks to his Nightmare. But none seemed right. Most people would say he was already dark because of his makeup. And his history was most definitely twisted. So what good would it do to be what he already was?

What had Lucy said?

You get to be a whole other person for the night...the one night a year you can make your childhood dreams a reality!

A whole other person? His childhood dream?

Had he ever really had a dream? He couldn't remember. Everything in his past was tangled up with his father's delusions of grandeur and the horrific reality of the Tower of Heaven. He'd never really been a child.

But if he could pick today what he would have been...he knew immediately what he would choose.

Himself.

For the first time in a long while, determination swamped him and he stood to his feet with a resolute nod.

There was a lot to do and very little time in which to accomplish it all. She had offered him the chance to make his dreams a reality for one night, and though he knew what he wished for would never be possible, he could do this for her. She had made his life bearable, and he wouldn't belittle that by giving her anything less than the truth.

It was the least she deserved.

So tomorrow, it would be back to Midnight, back to the makeup and the walls that came with it. Back to the secrets he kept close to his heart. But for tonight, just this one night, he would be himself.

The man he might have been if life hadn't interfered.

Tonight, he would be Macbeth.