A/N: Happy 2019, ya'all!
This is the eleventh fic in my Twelve Days of Christmas jamboree. It may be read as a stand-alone, but feel free to check out part eight, which is another fun Fairy Tail fic (feat. Ace!Mira and multiple pairings including CanaLu, NatSanna, Fraxus, Gruvia, and GaJevy). If you choose to read other parts of this series, keep in mind that none of them technically need to be read in order with the exception of days 9 and 10.
Shout out to AuroraBorealia, my fabulous bestie and beta reader! She enjoyed this fic, even as someone not coming from the Fairy Tail fandom, so you can too!
What you need to know about the characters of Fairy Tail: Cana does magic with cards and LOOOOVES her alcohol, Juvia is a water mage and is obsessed/in love with an ice mage named Gray. Mirajane is the nicest person ever, unless you anger her demon side. Natsu breathes fire and punches everybody (he's great). Lucy is a sweet celestial spirit mage who loves her friends but is sometimes a crybaby. Laxus is the most powerful guild member and basically a lightning god; his three best friends form comprise his personal guard, the Raijinshu, aka the Thunder Legion. Freed is the leader of the Raijinshu and, not dissimilar to Juvia, is obsessed with Laxus.
Tags: 12 Days of Christmas, Pipers Piping, Friendship is Magic, Gruvia, CanaLu.
Enjoy, friends!
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Eleven pipers piping
Ten lords a'leaping
Nine ladies dancing
Eight maids a'milking
Seven swans a'swimming
Six geese a'laying
Five golden rings...
Four colly birds,
Three French hens
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree
Cana Alberona liked to watch people. Perched on her her usual stool at Fairy Tail's guild hall bar, had she observed the beginnings of many a friendship and many a fight. It never got boring around here, to say the least.
Today was not your average winter day. Juvia Lockser became the target of quite a few shocked stares; was a truly rare occurrence to see the lovesick water mage drinking. She walked into the bar looking dead on her feet and took a seat next to Cana.
"Alright, woohoo!" Cana whooped and slammed a pint down in front of her. "So-you've finally joined the party. What brings you to my lair on this lovely afternoon?"
"Your shared lair," Mirajane reminded her from behind the counter. She asked Juvia if she would prefer a different drink, perhaps something fruitier with less alcohol. The blue-haired mage shook her head and guzzled Cana's ale like there was no tomorrow.
"Riiiight. So it's that kind of party, huh?"
Cana whipped out her magical deck of cards-this time, her tarot collection-and twirled them elegantly in the air. Once they were shuffled and cut, she laid down the first card: the three of swords, face-up and embedded in a human heart.
It wasn't surprising, really. On more than one occasion, Cana found herself pondering the underlying reasons for Juvia's unnecessarily boy-crazy behavior. Something must have happened to make her crave romantic attention.
"This is your past. You experienced much more hurt and heartbreak than you let on. Did something happen back when you were in Phantom Lord?"
Hiding behind the mostly empty pint, Juvia sighed. "Yes and no. Growing up, my family was… cold, to say the least. My mother and my sisters are constantly praised for their beauty, but they're selfish to a fault. Part of me wanted to be like them, to feel beautiful and to be liked. But with my storms out of control, I pushed everyone away. I had no friends, and the guild members of Phantom Lord only tolerated me so they could use my magical powers to hurt others."
Cana pursed her lips and nodded sympathetically. "It's perfectly okay to reflect on the pain of your past, as long as you don't let yourself wallow in it today. You have your powers under control now. You have friends who love you, and we would never abandon you just because of a little water."
Juvia's smile was there. It was faint, but it was there.
Next, Cana's deck revealed an angel playing the horn, with a woman bent down before her in supplication.
"This is your present: the Judgement card. It's upside-down; that means you are plagued by self-doubt. Your inner critic is telling you that you can't do anything right." Cana pursed her lips and nodded sympathetically.
"Yes, that's true."
"My advice? Tell her to shut the hell up!" Juvia jumped at the sound of her guildmate's loud and fierce declaration. "No one needs that crap. Other people will put you down, but you can't let yourself be one of them."
She glanced at the card again. "Huh, the angel's playing an instrument. You and Freed have that holiday concert coming up tonight, right? You've got to focus on your strengths."
Juvia shrugged. "Yeah. I guess."
From behind the bar, Mirajane returned with a mojito for Juvia and a (secretly watered-down) ale for Cana. Her closed-eye smile was serene and warm. "You're good at lots of things, Juvia. Your magic is very powerful, you make such thoughtful Christmas gifts for everyone in the entire guild, and you even play the pan pipe! I bet there's nothing you can't do."
"Except get Gray to notice me," Juvia mumbled.
Cana threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "C'mon now, it's not like you to give up! Didn't he give you a kiss the other day after the hot chocolate contest?"
"That's only what it looked like," she admitted miserably. "I was so excited at first, but then I realized I was being stupid. Gray told me he saw some chocolate on my face and went to go wipe it off, but he tripped by accident."
How convenient, Cana mused to herself.
"Even if that were true and Gray really wasn't at all interested, it's not a reflection on you," Mira encouraged.
Just then, the Thunder Legion walked in from their most recent job. Laxus led the pack and loudly declared that he could devour the entire sky, he was so hungry.
"I'd better get their order started." Mira excused herself from the ladies' conversation and headed back into the kitchen.
Juvia looked sad to see her go, and it was pretty sobering to Cana. She hadn't seen the water mage look so down in a very long time. "She's right. If Gray's too dumb to snatch you up, then that's his problem."
This clearly wasn't helping. Juvia looked around, her dark eyes fixed on the happy couples all around them. Freed and Laxus, Natsu and Lisanna. Cana had Lucy too, though right now the blonde celestial spirit mage was away on a short job with Wendy today.
A smirk formed on Cana's lips. "Say, have you ever heard the story of how Freed and Laxus started dating?"
Juvia blinked, surprised by the sudden change in topic. "I don't think so. I assumed they were together the first time I met them; they're always so close to each other."
"You're in for a real treat! Get this; Laxus didn't even know they were on a date…"
Earlier that year...
It was a sunny Spring day in Magnolia. Several members of Fairy Tail were spread out across the town, enjoying a day of fun and much-needed rest.
Hardly anyone remained inside the guild hall, except for two peculiar wizards. Laxus Dryer, the grandson of Master Makarov and infamous Lightning Dragon Slayer, had run into a problem: there were simply no jobs left! He asked Mirajane, but she simply smiled and apologized; there was nothing to be done.
The concept of relaxing, for Laxus, well… it was just bizarre. What did one do when they had to spend the day without picking a single fight?
Trust Evergreen and Bixlow to leave him teamless for something as dumb as a slip n' slide. That whole mess was Natsu's idea, and he had roped Juvia into helping run the damn thing for the rest of those lazy brats.
Laxus didn't like it. Mixing water and lightning was an atrocious idea. But he was bored off his ass; surely there was something he could do…
Freed was still here, but he was wasting the nice weather in favor of reading indoors. Laxus banged his palm down on the table beside his teammate. "Let's go out." He snatched the offending tome out of Freed's delicate fingers, dog-earring the current page.
The greenette squeaked."You-you mean it?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Laxus countered flippantly. "C'mon, let's go."
Perking up, Freed forgot all about his plans to finish reading. "Alright… where should we go?"
Laxus' growling stomach answered for them. Together, the wandered the streets of Magnolia, searching for the perfect lunch. Freed pointed out a beautiful restaurant that served all kinds of pasta, which was dimly-lit with candles and had a cozy interior.
Too hungry to bother asking why Freed had selected such a fancy location for lunch, Laxus readily agreed and ordered an absurd amount of food. He supposed their team made enough money to splurge once in a while. They sat near the window, and their chairs were pretty close together, Laxus noticed.
He deferred to Freed when choosing wine to compliment their meal; the learned script mage knew much more on the subject than he did. The red stuff, whatever it was, tasted pretty damn good. "You really know your grapes, Freed. Guess I shouldn't be surprised."
Since Laxus had enjoyed the small glass, Freed requested the bottle. The waitress giggled and said something Laxus couldn't hear.
For whatever reason, Freed's face turned a bright shade of fuschia. "Is it getting to you already? You're normally not this much of a lightweight."
Spluttering, Freed set down his glass. "No, it's just-I'm a little overwhelmed. I didn't expect you to ask me out today."
Laxus' brow furrowed. "Why? Is it that big of a deal?"
"Yes! I mean, you never said anything before, so I assumed…"
"Enjoy!" Right at that moment, the waitress returned with their mouth-watering dishes, temporarily distracting both wizards from the confusing topic at hand.
Laxus engulfed his pasta in record time. He was nearly done when Freed admonished him and suggested that he should eat slower in order to savor the flavors. Okay, maybe he was right, but still. A dragon slayer had to eat!
Two familiar faces appeared in the front of the restaurant; Elfman and Evergreen were stopping by for a bite, too, it seemed. Laxus chuckled at the sight of Elfman's bulky frame in such a delicate place. He imagined he looked much the same.
Elfman and Laxus made brief small talk while Freed and Ever babbled about god-knows-what. "It's about time!" was all Laxus gleaned from her high-pitched squawking. He could have sworn she winked at him. What a weirdo.
Ever and Elfman took the table next to them. They continued to chat while Laxus waited for the change from their bill. In the middle of a conversation about their latest training tactics, Laxus noticed a bit of sauce lingering at the corner of Freed's mouth. It bothered him. He tried subtly hinting at it with gestures, but eventually he gave up and wiped it off of his teammate's face with his cloth napkin. Freed did that for him all the time, after all; it was only fair to repay the favor.
Evergreen let out a disturbing squeal of joy. Laxus took that as his cue to leave, while he still had his ear drums intact. He dragged Freed out of the restaurant and back into the sunshine.
Freed stopped him once they were outside. "She always gets carried away, doesn't she?" He squeezed Laxus' hand and smiled. "Thank you. That was really nice, Laxus."
The blonde's face heated up. Perhaps it was retroactive effects of the wine they drank. Laxus was happy that Freed was happy. He worked harder than anyone else Laxus knew; if anyone deserved deserved a nice day off, it was Freed.
"So, what next?" He asked, looking at his companion expectantly.
Laxus frowned. It's not like he had planned for the entire day. Damn, it was still so early. "I didn't get that far in my head," he admitted. "Why don't you pick something? Whatever you want, my treat."
Thinking hard, Freed adopted that look he wore whenever he needed to solve a difficult puzzle; it was adorable. "Hmm. We did talk about practicing some new training moves, but that won't do at the moment. We shouldn't be too active after such a big meal. How about… we check out that new spa on the east side of town."
A massage didn't sound half bad. Off to the spa they went.
When they examined the spa's service menu, Laxus' inner frugal nature kicked in. It was one thing to splurge, but it was entirely another to ignore a good deal. "We'll go with the couples' hot rock massage," he told the hosts. That way, they would save thirty jewel combined.
One of the ladies left to fetch robes, towels, and slippers for them both. Laxus surveyed their surroundings; the air was warm and soothing, and it smelled of tea and candles. It was a little like the bath house only much fancier.
"I have to admit, it'll be strange having someone besides you touch me."
Freed's mouth opened and closed, his face turning red again. When he looked at the remaining host, Laxus noticed that her face was red too. Maybe it was a little too hot in here?
Soon, once they had both changed into their robes, Freed and Laxus followed the first host back into a violet-tiled room with candles and a fountain of warm jasmine tea. There were a few rows of massage beds covered with soft towels, and soothing music played in the background.
Laxus never expected to see Erza and Jellal occupying two of the massage beds. Jellal was hardly ever in town, and Erza… well, he could actually imagine her enjoying this sort of thing.
"You two are here together? How wonderful; congratulations." Erza rested her chin on the mat and smiled. Jellal repeated the sentiment and Freed gushed, profusely thanking them. For what? Did I win a medal? Laxus wondered. He was starting to think that the whole town had decided to get drunk (and therefore insane) at the same time without telling him.
Once their appointment began, Laxus experienced the bliss that was a hot rock massage. If someone suggested that he get up off of this warm bed right now, he would have to punch them in the face.
"That was relaxing, don't you think? Your massage therapist said you were a little tense; do you feel any better?"
Laxus grunted. "The hot rocks did most of the work. Your hands are still better."
Letting out a contented yawn, Freed reached over and grazed Laxus' side with his hand. "You really surprised me today, Laxus. I didn't know you were like this; I guess I've never seen this side of you," he teased.
"Hey! Massages are still manly." Oh god, he was turning into Elfman. "Don't think you're getting out of your job after this. You still owe me a good back-scrubbing, ya hear?"
"Wouldn't dream of it," Freed laughed breathily. From this close, Laxus noticed his dark green lashes fluttering closed. They contrasted beautifully the pale skin of his cheeks.
When they finally left the spa, there was still so much daylight left! Freed had come up with all the good ideas so far, and so it was Laxus' turn to figure out what they would do next. It had to be something fun, but still relaxing enough for Freed.
The sound of the gurgling stream next to them gave him the answer: river boating! It looked like Cana and Lucy had the same idea, as they were both heading over to rent a rowboat as well.
Thankfully, both Lucy and Freed were so busy talking that Laxus had the opportunity to get some exercise. He and Cana both showed off, lifting their boats and racing to the dock. Man, she was stronger than she looked.
By the time they returned to retrieve their friends, Freed and Lucy were deeply-ingrained in a conversation about ancient alchemy lore.
Despite himself, Laxus began to feel pissed off for no explicable reason. All they were talking about was some book that Laxus was never going to read.
But that was his and Freed's thing. Sure, most of the conversation was one-sided and ended with Freed babbling about topics too complex for Laxus to understand. But still. It was their thing. He dragged Freed into the boat and channeled his ridiculous aggression into rowing power.
They were halfway across the lake when Freed spoke up. "I'm sorry, Laxus. Don't be mad at Cana and Lucy; they didn't mean to interrupt our date."
Laxus nearly dropped the oars into the river. "Our-what!?"
"I know it was just supposed to be the two of us, but I honestly didn't think you would mind me telling our friends about it. Explain, more like-they went ahead and guessed. This is our first date, after all; it's only natural to want to spend it together. Yet we've had so many interruptions… I understand if you want to keep this quiet for a little while," he murmured, looking away from Laxus' face into the smooth, flowing water.
"I… what?" Laxus repeated, floundering. There was no way Freed thought that this whole thing was a date. Like an honest-to-god romantic date. What the hell!? They were teammates, for crying out loud-comrades, friends, companions. How could he think that…?
Well, they had gone out to a fancy restaurant. And got a couples' massage. And held hands. And Laxus wiped the sauce off of Freed's face. And-holy crap-he had actually asked Freed to "go out with him" that morning!
But-but-but… He had mean "go out" as in "hang out," not that! They had a nice day together, spent time together, had fun. So what if they did sort-of-romantic-sounding activities. They were just friends dammit!
They were, right?
"Freed, I…" Oh no, he had cocked this up real bad. What on earth was he going to he tell Freed now?"
"Ahoy!" Cana called out, waving with a wine cooler in her hand. Their boat passed close by until they drifted to a mere few meters away. "How's it going, lovebirds?" she asked them, winking saucily.
Ah. So that's what Evergreen's deal was earlier.
"Hello, ladies," Freed greeted them cheerfully. "This is embarrassing, but I forgot to mention earlier-would you mind keeping this secret for a little while? Laxus and I were just trying to have conversation about that and, well…"
Lucy's mouth formed a small "o." "Of course!" She picked up her oar and poked Cana to start paddling.
"Hey! What's the big rush?"
"Let's give them some privacy, geez," the celestial spirit mage hissed, nagging the brunette until she finally complied.
"Have fun, boys!"
When the girls had moved some distance away, Laxus gulped and tried to gather his wits. "Freed, here's the thing… I think this is a misunderstanding."
"What do you mean?"
"You know-this morning, I-I didn't…" The longer he dragged this out, the worse it would get. "...I didn't actually ask you out," he said flatly. "As in a date. I meant that we should go hang out, you know. As friends."
Freed's face instantly crumpled. "Oh. I see." He covered his mouth and stood abruptly, apparently forgetting that they were in a boat.
Oh god, not that face. Anything but that. Something coiled in the pit of Laxus' stomach, maybe guilt, maybe hurt. It couldn't be worse than Freed was feeling. He wished he could take it back, pretend like it never happened.
Then, all of a sudden Freed lost his footing and fell over the side into Magnolia River.
"FREED!"
Juvia pressed a fist to her mouth. "That's so awful. What happened after that?"
Nodding in agreement, Cana took another gulp from her pint. "Well, Lucy and I were there. Freed hit his head on a rock and was knocked out for a few hours. We took him to Porlyusica's house and she put in the stitches. Laxus was beside himself, going on and on about how it was all his fault and how stupid he was. Even though he realized he wanted to be with Freed, he wouldn't hear of it for a while after that."
"Why!?" Juvia had been nearly moved to tears upon hearing the boys' angst-filled love story.
"He felt really guilty. It was more than just not catching on about the date. Laxus has had issues with self-worth for a long time. Take it from someone who knows," she said wryly. "He felt like he didn't deserve Freed after some of the things he did in the past. Natsu and I laid it into him for being such an idiot."
It seemed like Cana's exemplary tale had given Juvia some food for thought, not to mention something interesting to focus on that didn't revolve around her fears or self-doubt or relationship troubles.
"But you and Lucy were sailing together. Didn't you only start dating after the contest?"
Cana's eyes softened. I spoke too soon. "Juvia, there's more to life than just romance; you've got a whole future ahead of you."
To emphasize her point, Cana pulled out Juvia's last tarot card. "Your future. Nine of Cups, huh? Looks like you're in for satisfaction, gratitude, and inner contentment."
Juvia frowned and pushed a long, blue curl out of her face. "You're making this up."
"Hey!" Cana shouted indignantly, but her smile wouldn't quit. "The cards never lie. They show you what you need to see, even if you don't like it or don't want to believe them."
With a light sigh, Juvia turned her empty mojito glass upside down on the bar.
"It'll happen for you. It will," Cana promised softly. "But true happiness won't just swing your way if you run away. Believe me, I've tried. You have to grab hold of it and take it for yourself."
Even though Juvia didn't say anything, Cana knew she had made at least a tiny bit of headway.
"You're the reason Lucy and I are together, you know. If it weren't for you, I may never have given her my boozy hot chocolate. And if she never drank it, she might have had too much sense enough to give someone like me a chance."
"Who's focusing on their own flaws now?" Juvia pointed out.
Cana grinned. "C'mon, get out of here. You have to get all dolled up for your concert, don't you?"
Getting off her chair, Juvia gave Cana a hug and thanked her for her advice. She invited Cana to the concert, but Cana pretended she had some other plans for the night.
The instant she left, Cana flagged Mirajane down. "I've got an idea, and I'm gonna need your help..."
That night, hundreds of Magnolia's citizens gathered in their town concert hall for the annual winter orchestra concert. The hall was dim and abuzz with soft chatter as the audience waited for the performers to settle in their positions on stage.
Juvia's instrument was classed somewhere between woodwind and percussion, so she sat next to the drummers, the first and only chair for pan pipes. As it said in the program, she had a big solo coming up in the third number. Her nervousness was noticeable, even from pretty far away.
The otherwise quiet music hall erupted with noise as eleven members of Fairy Tail burst through the audience doors. They walked in a line, holding a large, hand-painted banner that said "YOU ROCK, JUVIA!" One of the corners had been suspiciously burnt off by accident.
Gray, Laxus, Lucy, Natsu, Mirajane, Lisanna, Wendy, Elfman, Evergreen, and Bixlow filtered into a single row, all lead by Cana Alberona. They cheered for their friend until the ushers forced them to quiet down so that the show could start.
Juvia would perform her solo with all the heart and soul of eleven pipers that night.
If there was one thing Cana knew, it was how easy it was to get wrapped up in all the mistakes you made. The important part was letting go and opening your heart to love from every source. And learning how to really live.
Fraxus, CanaLu, and Ace!Mira are canon. Period.
Feel free to spread some holiday cheer in the comments if you like. Any and all flames will fuel the fire by which my characters snuggle with their significant others (and friends!).
Happy New Year!