So, I am going to try to get this done and out by Christmas as a personal goal for myself. I don't have a predicted time-table for updates yet…
This has been inspired by the book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. All characters belong to Hiro Mashima.
It was winter time in Magnolia and the whole town was nice and settled like the freshly fallen snow… Well most of the town was nice and settled, but like usual the guild that called Magnolia home was still roaring with life, well into the night.
"WHAT?"
The question came in the form of an uproar from three mages known for being one of Fairy Tail's strongest teams. The three mages were facing their leader with shock and awe as he repeated his statement.
"We are leaving for a mission in the morning. We will meet at the train station at 7:00 am." Laxus Dreyer stated as if the statement had not just been met with strong opposition.
"But Laxus," complained the only woman in the group. Evergreen's look of disappointment could be seen through her wire rimmed glasses. Despite it being the dead of winter, she wore a tight fitting short green dress. To make up for the cold she accompanied the dress with fuzzy thigh-high stockings and matching green knit arm warmers. "Tomorrow is Christmas."
"What's your point?" The large blonde man asked as he turned back towards his pint at the bar. His leopard print furry coat hung from his shoulders as if it were a cape.
"Oh come on, Laxus, its Christmas time, it's supposed to be fun." Bixslow cackled and returned to his own drink. His lolling tongue dangled showing off his guild mark, the only facial feature that could be seen while he wore his knight helmet. His totems, affectionately referred to as his "babies", floated about tittering about all the fun aspects of Christmas.
"Christmas, Laxus!"
"Fun."
"Presents."
"Eggnog."
"Mistletoe."
Laxus rolled his eyes at the flying totems as they continued to float about listing all of the pleasant aspects that one enjoys around Christmas time. "Bixslow, if you don't shut those things up, you'll have to spend the next week carving out more vessels for your damn soul collection."
The totems visibly drooped and then floated off to chase around some of the younger members of the guild who were helping Mira decorate the guild hall. Everyone about the guild hall was taking part in the festivities in some way or another. Pantherlily and Happy had been coerced in to stringing up garlands to the upper levels of the guild. Levy and Lucy were hard at work wrapping presents destined to be delivered to the orphanage by Cana, who incidentally was drinking herself silly while critiquing the two girl's present wrapping skills. Natsu's destructive tendencies were being reined in by Lisanna who was getting his assistance in toasting marshmallows for tasty treats. Even some of the more brooding individuals were taking part in the merriment as Gajeel was helping Wendy hang stockings for every member of the guild and Gray was making icy ornaments to be hung outside the guild hall. Nearby, and slightly out of Gray's vision stood Juvia, who was spying on her love and strategizing on where to place the mistletoe for optimum effectiveness.
"You know, Laxus," reproached Freed. The green haired mage was dressed in his usual formal red attire and his expression as stoic as ever. "This is the season where one usually spends time relaxing with those that mean the most to them. Perhaps you could postpone the mission for the day in the name of the holiday spirit."
Laxus visibly stiffened. He downed what remained of his pint and slammed the glass back down on to the counter. He followed it up with the jewel for his tab and turned around to face the three that made up his entourage. "If Christmas is that damn important to you, then you can stay here. I'll go on the mission alone." Laxus growled and then he pushed past the three without another word.
As Laxus made his way to exit the guild, the front doors opened with a bang revealing Elfman. The huge man was dressed in a short sleeved Santa jacket and red Santa shorts complete with fuzzy white trim. A Santa hat, that was too small for his large head, sat on his head and he wore the accompanying coal black boots. Upon entering the guild he flexed his muscles in a herculean pose and shouted out, "This year, Santa's a real man!"
This drew the attention of the entire guild towards Elfman. Cheers were hollered in the man's general direction, and then the guild noticed Laxus as he tried to slip away.
"Hey Laxus, what's the rush?" Cana slurred as she rolled over to face the lightning dragon slayer. "The fun hasn't even started yet."
"Laxus, you can't leave yet." Natsu called out and made a run towards the blonde and shouted out, "Fight me Laxus!" Just as Natsu got within reach, Laxus turned and knocked the pink haired dragon slayer face first into the ground with a single move. Laxus continued to make his way out of the guild.
At that moment, Erza marched into the guild dressed in her own Santa themed dress and Santa hat. "Merry Christmas Eve everyone!" The scarlet haired mage shouted and spun around in excitement.
"Whoo, Erza's ready to party!" Cana shouted and ran up to Erza to embrace her in a drunken hug and then turned towards the bar. "Mira break out the holiday brew." Mira giggled and motioned for Kinana to get something from the back.
"Who wants to play 'Who's the Guild Master'?" Erza shouted which was suddenly met with huge opposition and a resounding "NO!" from the dragon slayers and Gray as well as Levy, Lucy, and Juvia.
Laxus just grumbled and pushed on the doors, finally reaching the wintery air outside. It wasn't that late, but the change of season meant that it was already dark outside and the wind was starting to pick up. Laxus continued to grumble down the street as he pulled his arms into his coat to keep warm.
Magnolia, much like the Fairy Tail guild hall, had been decked out for the season. Shops were decorated in holiday colors and twinkling lights adorned the homes and buildings throughout the town. In the distance, anyone could hear the sounds of carolers singing songs and of cheery greetings being shared between friends and family. For someone with the hearing of a dragon slayer, those joyous sounds could be heard as clearly as if he were right there. The whole scene just made the man scowl. 'I just don't understand why everyone's got to be so damn loud about the whole thing,' Laxus thought as he trudged along.
"Mommy, Daddy, look! It's Laxus." The cries of a little girl reached the lightning dragon slayer's ears causing him to look up. Right in front of him was Alzack and Bisca presumably walking towards Fairy Tail. Alzack was covered in a heavy wool pancho and Bisca had a wool lined leather jacket that completely covered her torso to protect from the cold. A light amount of snow dusted her cowboy style hat. In Alzack's arms was little Asuka. Her cheeks were a little more rose colored due to the cold, but she still wore a bright smile and eyes that were bright with joy and wonder. Just like her mother, Asuka's hat had collected a small amount of snow and she wore a pink dyed wool pancho, which was likely a gift from her father.
"So it is," Alzack said and tapped the nose of his daughter playfully. "Those are some good eyes little missy."
"Hey there, Laxus. Are you going to stop by the guild tonight? I heard that Mira has a lot of activities planned for the holidays." Bisca said with a smile.
"No," Laxus said and continued walking by the cheerful trio. Laxus could still hear their conversation as he walked away.
"What's wrong with Laxus, Mommy?" The little girl asked as they continued on her way towards the guild hall.
"Nothing, hun, he's just a little grouchy, that's all." Bisca answered.
"He could have been just a little polite. It is Christmas Eve." Alzack muttered.
"That's enough, Al. Just leave it alone." Bisca scolded her husband and then turned her attention back to her daughter. "Don't worry too much on it, darlin'. He's just gonna miss out on all the fun."
"Don't you think he will be lonely?" Asuka asked. At this Laxus growled and moved more quickly to get out of hearing range of the small happy family and get back to his apartment sooner.
Laxus had finally reached his building and worked his way up the stairs to his apartment. Once the door was closed he released his breath with a relieved sigh. "Finally," he said out loud to himself, "quiet."
The apartment itself was rather simple. Laxus didn't need much. There was a small kitchen that was open to the living area. The living area held a single black leather recliner and with a side table. Up against the wall was fireplace, of course it wasn't a real fireplace. This one was lacrima powered, something that was some stupid requirement of the lease, something about being safer than a real fireplace. It kept the place warm either way. Just to the side of the fireplace was a small staircase leading to the loft area. It was there that Laxus had his large bed and a set of drawers for his clothes. He didn't require much more than that. A place to sleep, warmth, and Laxus's favorite feature of the loft apartment: silence.
When Laxus had realized he needed his own place, he asked Freed to come along. With his ears being so sensitive to noise in general, there was no way he would be able to live in an apartment building and not be privy to the personal lives of the entire building. When he found the right place for him, he had Freed place runes on the apartment to keep out any outside noise. It was such a simple thing that provided the man with so much comfort; he often couldn't wait to be back in the sanctuary of his own place.
Laxus tossed his keys on kitchen counter and shrugged his coat off just tossing it to the floor. He reached up to the top of his refrigerator and grabbed a rather large bottle of bourbon. Satisfied with his choice, he made his way to the fireplace and activated the lacrima before shucking off his shoes and collapsing in his recliner. Laxus took the top off the bottle and took a swig before lying back in the chair and running his hand through his hair.
"Happy fucking Christmas." Laxus said and raised his bottle up as if to toast some unknown presence before bringing it back to his lips and taking a couple gulps. It was there that he stayed with only the light of the fire lacrima to be alone with his bourbon and his thoughts.
Mira watched from the bar as Laxus stormed his way out of the guild. Laxus had told her earlier that he would be going on a mission first thing in the morning and to inform the client that he would be arriving. Mira had asked him to come in for Christmas with the guild. She hadn't seen him around for the last few Christmas's. She always thought it was just coincidence that he wasn't around that day. It was only today that she realized that he was purposefully avoiding the holiday.
"What's with the frown, sweet-cheeks?" Mira turned to find Cana, who was now at the bar. Well, to be more accurate she was on the bar. Cana was lying on her side with her elbow on the counter of the bar to support her head. She had a wicked smile on her lips and a bottle of wine in her other hand.
"Oh, it's nothing Cana. What did you manage to get your hands on now?" Mira replied with a sweet smile.
"It sure didn't look like nothing. In fact, it kinda looked like a think headed, stubborn, bastard lightning dragon slayer." Cana smirked and took another drink from the bottle of wine before adding on. "Oh, and by the way, nice deflection."
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Mira said as she crossed her arms and took a seat at the bar next to Cana. Cana just laughed.
"Your words say no, but your eyes are saying something different." Cana teased as she sat up. She was wobbling slightly, but steadied herself quickly and held out the bottle to offer a drink to Mira. Mira took a look at the bottle and let out a sigh before grabbing it and taking a couple of gulps.
"Woah there sugar-tits, slow down. What's got your panties in a twist?" Cana said and took back the bottle from Mira.
"I'm worried about Laxus. He seems to be avoiding everyone around Christmas." Mira explained in a soft voice.
"You mean more than usual?" Cana asked as she surveyed the rest of the guild while Mira nodded and looked down at her hands. "He snapped at his team about going on a mission tomorrow morning. I've never seen him snap at them like that before…"
"Worried about Laxus, huh?" Makarov asked as he sat down on the counter of the bar between Cana and Mira.
"Master?" Mira asked as she looked up at the short man.
"There's no need to worry your pretty self about my grandson, Mira." The short man said his own bottle of alcohol in hand. "He's always like this around the holidays."
"So what's the scoop on Thunderhead?" Cana asked, kicking her feet like an excited child.
"Oh, some bad memories, I think. Really it isn't my story to tell." Makarov said and took a drink from his bottle.
"Will he be okay, Master?" Mira asked concerned.
"Oh, yes dear. This is just something he has to work out… on his own." The old man responded. Mira let out a heavy sigh.
"You heard the Master, Mira." Cana said as she jumped up from her perch. "It's time to get over the lightning douche and time to enjoy the party!" Cana turned Mira's chair around and pulled the silver haired woman up out of her chair. Mira started giggling and Cana pulled her onto one of the tables and began dancing to an upbeat Christmas song. It wasn't long before Lucy, Levy, Erza and Lisanna were also dragged into dancing on the table in the guild. It was about an hour later that Cana slipped into the back of the guild with a mischievous grin on her face without a single soul noticing.