once upon a time

summary — whereas our story finally begins.

pairings — guild friendship, laxus/mirajane, natsu/lucy, erza/jellal, gray/juvia, gajeel/levy

tags — fluff

setting — a few days after the manga events where everyone lives a happily ever after.

note — i present to you, the beginning!

[ FAIRY TAIL ]

In the town of Magnolia, just at the edge of their territory, past the Kardia Cathedral, resided the guild that was known as Fairy Tail. More specifically, the strongest, most reckless, quite fearsome, very persistent, and the most unpredictable wizard guild to ever grace the continent of Fiore.

Don't get me wrong, that guild can also be one of the most loyal of allies one can ever hope to have.

Anyone who passed by the guild could feel the tremors of the ground from the mere clatter of their daily brawl, hear the incoherent chatter, taste the barmaid's incredible cooking, see the different mages walking through the door, and more importantly, practically smell the destruction that was about to come.

But nobody who ever set foot in the guild hall truly knew the horrors of Fairy Tail.

A typical day for the Fairy Tail wizards entailed many, many brawls that either ended as quickly as it started or ended until the Master had a thousand Jewels or more ripped right out of his pocket.

And there Makarov sat, in his usual spot in the bar counter, as he watched the chaos wrecking every corner of his guild hall. His soul practically left his body by now, leaving a ghastly pale old man in it's absence.

"We're gonna–we're gonna rebuild again, aren't we?" Makarov choked out as he watched the plethora of chairs flying from each side of the room, tables being upturned and tossed, and walls having cracks after some wizard has been roughly tossed to the side. He prayed dearly to the First Master that he'd live through this. But the thought of the amount of Jewels that would cost him today struck him painfully through the heart.

But luckily, he still had some angels left in the guild. An angel that took form of a blue-eyed demon. Truly, what an astounding guild.

"It'll be alright, Master," Mirajane came up to him, sporting a sickly large bump on her head, and smiled ever so sweetly. Her dark blue eyes glittered with happiness despite the commotion behind her.

The endearing smile never left Mirajane's face as she glanced at what was left of the guild hall. She sighed contently as she leaned on the counter, supporting her head with her palms. "It's good to be home. I wish we could stay this happy forever. We all deserve a break. Don't you think, Master?"

Makarov nodded subtly, his arms crossed and eyes closed. "I suppose so." Then he slammed his fist on the surface, leaving a large dent, he stood up straightly, "But it doesn't mean the brats should tear the guild to pieces!"

"Tch."

The brooding interjection came from Laxus who had been bobbing along to the rhythm of his music without a care to his surroundings, his fist was glowing brightly, a clear indicator that he would join the fight. He turned to Mirajane with a devilish smirk, showing off his sparking hand—not to mention the bulging muscles that tensed under the tight shirt of his.

"Want me to take care of them for you, Mira?" Laxus teased.

Mirajane immediately whacked him on the head. She put one hand on her hip as she furiously glared at him—at certain times like this, she didn't even need her Demon Soul—and jabbed an accusatory finger at his chest.

"Don't you dare, Laxus!" Mirajane exclaimed, a dark and cold aura emanating from all around her. "If you were to do that, you'd wipe out everybody in the guild!"

Laxus chuckled, lowering his fists as a sign of submission. "Are you saying I'm strong?"

"No!" Within a split second, Mirajane managed to slap the back of his head yet again. "I meant that you have no control with your impulses!"

"I'll show you how much impulse control I have tonight," Laxus's dark eyes glinted with danger. His large arm wrapped around her tiny waist, gradually drawing her closer until he dipped down in the crook of her neck. His nose trailed along her neck until the outline of her jaw. Laxus smirk grew arrogantly as he lightly bit the shell of her ear. "Mirajane."

Mira blinked a few times, laying her hands on his chest—definitely not feeling the muscles underneath—since her legs were so wobbly from the intimacy. After getting her woozy head from the clouds and realizing what had just happened, she wriggled her way out his grip, staggering a few steps back.

"Laxus!" Mirajane shrieked in shock. Her hands were balled into fists, ready to unleash an attack. She couldn't believe what actually had just happened. Stupid Laxus, she thought.

Laxus only chuckled at her frantic state. Yes, he did anticipate an attack from the She-Demon, but he was positively sure that he'd be able to take whatever she threw at him. He saw eyed her small fists, and expected a flurry of pretend punches. But as he turned his gaze away, he should have realized that doing anything half-assed was not Mirajane's favorite thing to do.

Because Laxus underestimated Mirajane, he totally didn't predict that he'd be graced with the presence of the demon Mirajane Sitri.

And that was how Laxus was sent flying across the room. Everyone stared in shock with their mouth agape as the wizard shot across the room. And perhaps it was the surprise of it all that they didn't realize who was he was going to crash into.

That person, who unfortunately took the brunt of his weight, was none other than the wizard who had less luck that she claimed to have, Lucy Heartfilia.

"Kya!"

Lucy yelped out loud when Laxus slammed into her side, sending her off the barstool and flat onto the floor with Laxus beside her. Both blondes were incapacitated on the ground, though Laxus was already sitting upright after a matter of a few seconds. Lucy, on the other hand, didn't look so good. After all, no normal human could withstand Laxus's attacks, or literally himself in her case.

Laxus turned to the side and rolled his eyes at the sight that greeted him. He stood up, despite the pounding headache, and offered a hand to her. "Geez, blondie, you look horrible."

Luckily, it was an overstatement. It was only her hair that got dragged into the mess. What once was a neat, high ponytail, now became loose from her elastic band suddenly snapping, resulting into Lucy's yellow hair to fall down to her waist.

Nonetheless, Lucy accepted the hand, wincing once she tried to stand up. "Thank you. What did you do to Mira-san this time, Laxus?"

Laxus grunted, crossing his arms. "I don't know with the She-Devil. She just attacked me when I stood there silently—"

"Laxus!"

Everyone knew that somebody would smack some sense into him—after all, Mirajane wouldn't just attack someone unless heavily provoked—and they all expected it to be Mirajane. What they didn't expect was Natsu interrupting him.

Natsu Dragneel stood a few metres from them, obviously taking a break from his one-on-one. His entire body erupted in flames so hot that some of the guild members began to complain. Natsu's ebony eyes fixated on one thing.

Lucy.

"What the hell did you do?!" Natsu growled out. At times like this, he couldn't control his emotions. The determination to protect his mate—excuse me, best friend—and mixed with the adrenaline of his precious fight both clouded his way of thinking.

Laxus, eyes dull of emotion, just shrugged. "Nothing."

"Fire Dragon's Claw!"

And just as Natsu's fist collided with Laxus's face, he suddenly stopped.

He didn't forego with his attack because somebody covered their fist over his own, their hand acting as a comforting blanket. Because he'd been so accustomed to the warm and gentle touch of this person he immediately calmed down. It was Lucy. And she was very mad.

Lucy had an eyebrow raised, her brown eyes no longer filled with sweetness and innocence, but irritation. "What do you think you're doing, Natsu Dragneel?"

A split second later, Natsu swept Lucy off her feet and into his arms. He had one arm supporting the back of her legs and another arm cradling her head close to his chest. He completely forgot that Laxus was in front of him, and frankly, he didn't care. But don't fret, he'd get his well deserved fight sooner or later.

"Kyaa! Natsu! Have you gone crazy?! Put me down! Natsu! What are you doing?!" Lucy cried out in panic.

He smirked at her, thinking that he had the upper hand now. Slowly leaning towards her, he replied ever so softly, "Carrying you, Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy couldn't take everything much longer. His scent. His eyes. His voice. His warm, muscly, wide chest. His arms. Just everything about him. But she didn't want him to see how much he had affected her—damn that Salamander.

She covered her eyes dramatically, a poor tactic but she was desperate, as she whispered, "Well, my back does hurt. . ."

Natsu nodded grimly before comically turning to his side. "Happy, translate."

Happy then appeared, his majestic wings flying him up to Natsu's height. He had a paw underneath his chin, eyes squinted as if he was thinking hard about something. Then suddenly he turned to Natsu, eyes gleaming with pride.

"Natsu!" The Exceed exclaimed joyously. "I think she means she wants to go home so that we can all have a delicious fish dinner!"

Natsu turned his piercing gaze back to the woman squirming in his arms, a devilish smirk gracing his lips. "Oh? Then I guess I gotta do what she wants!"

Lucy shook her hand in a frantic pace, panicking that they were already moving to the direction of the guild's doors. "Natsu, put me down!"

Natsu paused in his steps. He clocked his head down a bit, eyebrows frowning. "What was that, Luce?"

"Oh!" Natsu lifted his head, beaming like a little child. "You want me to carry you all the way home? Alright, you naughty girl!"

"Natsu!"

Before the blooming couple—excuse me again, best friends—left the guild, a certain someone caught the attention of Natsu.

"Natsu, come and finish the fight, you bastard!"

Gray had both of his hands prepared to throw an attack. He gritted his teeth, still having lots of energy to spare. And he had no doubt that he would throw Lucy on the floor and come spar with him.

Unfortunately for him, he was met with a surprise.

For Natsu, there was no rivaling spending time with Lucy. He had plenty of time to beat Gray's ass but now he just wanted to snuggle with Lucy in the most comfortable bed of all, her breas—bed.

"Goodbye, Ice Queen!" Natsu waved at him enthusiastically.

Out of impulse, Gray replied with a spell. "Ice Make: Lance!"

Now the good news is that Natsu dodged the attack and was now headed down towards Lucy's apartment.

The bad news was that Erza happened to pass by and took all of the impact.

Erza didn't flinch when his attacks met her flesh. She just stood there, bored eyes and stiff posture. And when the spell finally ended, she turned to Gray with the darkest of glares.

"Gray Fullbuster," Erza said menacingly. Her body was rigid, tremoring slightly from the fury welling up within her. "Better say your last words."

The aforementioned Ice Mage trembled slightly. His eyes widened, fearing his best friend's wrath. And before Gray could escape her fury successfully, he heard the most terrifying words known to mankind.

"Kanso!"

There she was, Titania, clad in the glory of her Heaven's Wheel Armor, with the number of swords at her back, awaiting her first command. Erza did not waver, clearly about to join the brawl in a second. With one step forward, Erza raised her sword, "Prepare to fall beneath my sword!"

Gray paled, already feeling lightheaded from his soul leaving him. Despite knowing that Erza would at least pull her attacks a little bit, Gray still wasn't quite sure if she was being serious—but knowing her, he knew that he was about to get concussed.

Erza let out a battle cry. She was about to run into Gray, preparing for a swordfight when she was interrupted quite rudely.

"Kyaa!"

Titania let out one of her rare shrieks of surprise. She felt herself being hoisted onto something high. Her hands landed on hard, thick muscle. It took her seconds before she fully realized.

"Jellal?!"

The cloaked wizard nodded gently, patting her bum softly, not really caring if she'd decapitate him later. "Yo."

Erza's armor began to fade, as well as the armor around her heart. She kept hitting Jellal's—muscled—back whilst attempting to cover her face from her nosey guild mates. Damn it. Why was her heart beating so fast?

"Jellal, put me down this instant!" Erza commanded. Though the blush on her cheeks and the cracks in her voice made it harder to take her seriously.

Jellal only shook his head. He waved everyone inside the guild hall a respectful goodbye, as if he didn't have the great Iron Maiden on his shoulder.

"C'mon, Scarlet. I'm treating you to strawberry cake down at the bakery."

And with that the two lovers—excuse me, my bad, I meant childhood friends—set off into the distance.

"Gray-sama!"

Juvia's concerned cry filled the guild hall as she ran to Gray, who promptly fainted and fell to the ground. She tenderly laid his head on her lap as she brushed the tendrils of pitch black away from his eyes.

"Gray-sama, are you okay?" Juvia poked at the pale cheek. She briefly wondered if he was out for the count.

Gray, eyes halflidded, nodded sadly. He gently caught the hand that was cradling his cheek. "Juvia. . . come closer."

The Water Mage's eyes practically balled out of her sockets. Her heart pounded erratically as it it would bounce right through her heart. Slowly and softly, she leaned her head down until her nose met his lips.

"Yes, Gray-sama?" Juvia asked, her voice as soft as a whisper. She couldn't believe she was this close to him. Was she finally going to get her first kiss? Her first marriage proposal? Her first child? Her first wedding? Her first boyfriend?

"I need to pee," Was Gray's simple answer.

Juvia froze. Her heart stopped beating so frantically. All of her weird fantasies went down the drain. She quickly muttered a myriad of apologies before setting his head on the floor.

"Juvia is sorry, Gray-sama." She squeaked one last apology before leaving to find Wendy, who currently was lounging about with Carla and Romeo.

"Wait!"

Gray still didn't move from his position. He laid on the floor lifelessly. But tugging at his lips, was the most devious grin ever. He stared at Juvia, eyes clouded with something undetermined.

"I need you to carry me there."

Once those words left his mouth, nobody thought that they'd ever seen Juvia move so damn fast.

Everyone else either stifled a chuckle or went outright stiff. Of course it was only their guild that would have the pleasure of seeing weird events in the span of about ten minutes. The silence continued for about a few minutes before Cana's burst of laughter filled the guild hall.

"Man oh man, I said it once a day I'll say it again!" Cana exclaimed from her table, raising a bottle high, her cheeks flushed and eyes half closed. "I love this guild!"

"Aye, sir!" The rest of the members cheered ecstatically.

From the Raiijinshuu table, Freed leaned back on the wall, carefully watching his guild mates, one leg crossed over the other. "It's good to be home."

"Do you really mean that?" Evergreen said that with a blank tone, dull eyes and arms wrapped around her chest. But behind that fan of hers, was her cheeks tinted pink. Not that she'd say but she was incredibly happy to be with her guild mates as well.

"You're just cross because Elfman won't pay any attention to you," Bickslow commented a bit too freely.

For the next few minutes, only the sound of Evergreen's fan clashing against Bickslow's head—plus his wails of surrender but don't tell anybody that—could be heard in the Raiijinshuu's table.

Lisanna stretched from her spot, exhausted from serving all of the members' hungry stomachs. She laid her head on Elfman's side, smiling happily.

"I'm going to treasure today forever, Elf-nii-chan," Lisanna said. She saw a lot of smiles today, and she knew instantly that this was something that she'd keep in her heart a long time.

Elfman peered at his sister fondly. He ruffled her shoulder-length hair, smiling warmly at her high-pitched protests. "You're manly, Lisanna."

"Nii-chan!" Lisanna pouted. She huffed and turned her head to the side. "I'm a woman, you know. I'm bound to get married soon."

"That's not manly!"

And from there, the two siblings bickered about marriage and boys. Unbeknownst to them that there was a couple—silly me, I meant friends— also bickering beside them.

"Gajeel!"

"Shrimp!"

Levy McGarden stomped her tiny little foot on the floor. For the past minute she was trying to tell the stubborn man in front of her that she was cross with him, but he didn't pay any attention to her ramblings.

"Gajeel!" Levy shouted. She pushed headband back into it's proper place before jabbing a finger at his chest. "I said leave me alone!"

Levy already turned around with every intention to leave. But before she could continue on with her dramatic entrance, somebody had put a tight grip on her wrist. She spun around to meet the intense crimson eyes of the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Gajeel," Levy whined. Her attempts at freeing herself failed miserably. "Let me go."

"Never."

Levy raised an eyebrow. She started to become slightly annoyed with his antics. She was practically drooling at the thought of his ches—she meant her books. "Stop this right now, Gajeel. You're being a dummy."

Gajeel only shrugged. But he did relent and let go of her wrist. But mark his words, the next time he wouldn't be so easy to manipulate. Damn the Shrimp for having an effect on him. Damn her!

Grumpy and slightly angry, Gajeel crossed his arms, sporting a tiny pout. "I don't know why you're so mad, Shrimp."

Levy's eye twitched.

She pulled a book out her of backpack. It was soaking wet and some of the pages were missing as she skimmed through it. Levy slammed the book into his chest—his big and hard chest—with comical tears streaming down her eyes.

"This! You bastard! When you ran into me, you spilled a glass of water on my book! This was a rare copy, Gajeel!" Levy cried out like a little child. She felt her heart break just by reliving the death of her baby. No magic could revive her child now.

Gajeel chuckled, running a palm down his face. "So that's what this was about?"

Levy wiped another year from her eye as she spun around again, this time with the utmost determination to leave him. "Goodbye!"

"Oh, no you don't."

Before Levy could even take another step, Gajeel grabbed her waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder. All the while his heightened hearing became filled with her piercing screams.

"Honestly, Shrimp, if that's what you wanted, you could have just asked. C'mon, how much does that cost? Twenty books? Fifty? A hundred?"

And so, the new couple—I've been making a lot of mistakes lately, I meant the guild mates with a platonic friendship—headed to the nearest bookstore.

Master Makarov, formerly the third and sixth master, watched as another two of his brats left the building. He took in the disappearance of their silhouette before taking another sip of his beverage. And then he smiled.

"It's really good to be home."

[ END ]