Title: The Calm Before The Firestorm

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Summary: AU. Oneshot. In the near future, Zeref decided to make the first move in the upcoming war and led an attack on Fairy Tail. He successfully retrieved Lumen Histoire and accomplished the first few steps of his plan in one go. While waiting for the next stage of his plan to fall in place, Zeref took the chance to breathe and talk to his dearest friend. Could be seen as implied Zervis.

General Warnings: AU. Gen. Oneshot. Spoilers for events in Fairy Tail up to chapter 445. Future fic.

Author's note: This fic was born when I received a particularly awesome guest review on Death Wish on FFN a few days after chapter 445 of Fairy Tail came out. That review honestly made my entire week! I was already pretty inspired by Zeref's appearance but that review was the final spark that spawned this entire thing. To that guest, thank you! To everyone who reviewed/commented, I really do appreciate feedback - that's what helps me figure out what I did well and what I didn't. This was meant to be canon-compliant but it's highly likely that some of the stuff I put on here will be jossed by the next few chapters. Hence, AU. Let me know what you think. :)

Finally. Silence.

Zeref's eyes fluttered shut as his shoulders relaxed. Relief subtly seeped into his expression. The Grand Hall really was a bit too loud for his liking. Earlier, his Spriggan 12 managed to convince him to appear at the celebration in the Grand Hall but there was no way Zeref was willing to tolerate the noise for long.

And yet, his people deserved to celebrate. Hence his retreat into the almost unoccupied throne room.

After all, because of their efforts, Zeref now possessed Lumen Histoire. Or rather...

He opened his eyes and cast a glance at a corner of the room. Crystal gleamed in the moonlight, what little that remained visible after Zeref made the order to cover it.

Fairy Heart. A weapon powerful enough to wipe out all of Fiore.

More importantly, a weapon powerful enough to destroy himself.

That is, if he changed his mind about not activating the crystal.

A grim yet secretive smile tugged at the corners of Zeref's lips as he headed out a nearby balcony, an implicit invitation to the other occupant of the room.

The truth was, simply obtaining Fairy Heart was the key to his demise. With Fairy Heart in his hands, Fairy Tail will undoubtedly be desperate to stop him. Zeref had no intentions of using it but Fairy Tail wouldn't be aware of that. Zeref's black eyes gained a bit of life as he looked at the stars above him. Maybe... just maybe, they would be desperate enough to forget their morals for once. But, if for some reason Fairy Tail refused to kill him, there's still Natsu. Threaten Makarov and it would probably do the trick. Or that girl.

Then he would finally be free. From this accursed life.

When that happened, Zeref knew that it would be the happiest day of his existence. But before that happens, Zeref mused as crimson slowly bled into his irises, Acnologia needs to die.

Hundreds of years he invested in preparation for this moment. For when the Dragon King's Festival occurred again. An entire Kingdom he assembled for one purpose, to fight the being now known as the Dragon King, although Zeref knew that the mere thought of crowning Acnologia as King would have been contested by the actual dragons, had they won the last Dragon King's Festival.

But they didn't. And now, only Acnologia remained.

Zeref's lip curled. He didn't know whether he should laugh at that. The only Dragon who walked Earthland now, wasn't even a true Dragon in the first place.

Well, it didn't matter. In the end, Acnologia would die by his hands.

An ever-bright presence flickered right behind him and pushed Zeref out of his thoughts. Crimson gave way to black once more.

Mavis.

Completely against his will, the memory of his initial discovery of the crystal flashed before his dark eyes. Zeref hastily suppressed it, trying to resist the sudden urge to bury his face in his hands.

Of all the forms Fairy Heart could have taken, Zeref honestly hadn't expected that particular form.

It was the war princess who discovered the crystal's location first and called him in, and while Zeref noticed the mischievous curve of her lips, he didn't think much of it until he turned around the corner and came face to face with Mavis. In the crystal.

Just thinking about it made Zeref want to move away from Mavis' sharp stare. Dimaria had watched in amusement as her Emperor's composure faltered in the face of a girl encased in crystal. The fact that he could feel Mavis' presence nearby at the time, her growing embarrassment tangible against his senses made it worse. When they heard footsteps approaching not long after, Zeref turned around in haste, cheeks red as he ordered the war princess to "find something big enough to cover her." Zeref carefully didn't acknowledge the brush of Mavis' relief and gratitude and something else he didn't want to name against him.

Perhaps Dimaria and Mavis noticed that no one else had stumbled upon the crystal until the crystal was mostly covered. If she had asked, Zeref would have said that it was just a coincidence. Truly.

The fact that his eyes were red as he addressed the rest of his troops at the time had nothing to do with it.

Zeref inhaled again, taking in the familiar view outside his throne room, shoulders loose. "It's your first time seeing this view in Albareth, right?"

He directed his words at the curious presence behind him. Watching. Waiting.

He felt a sense of foreign-but-familiar agreement, and something else about him and Albareth (You never told me you are the Emperor of Albareth! Mavis accused), and wished he could hear her voice again.

Communicating like this just wasn't the same, for all he could figure out her responses.

"Well, there wasn't much time to tell you, I suppose. About my appointment to Emperor."

Disbelieving silence. Mavis blinked slowly. We spent years on Tenrou Island together, she pointed out, much to Zeref's amusement. Years, Mavis emphasized with a wave of her hand and Zeref could imagine a little huff escaping her and pressed his lips together to stop his smile.

"It's not entirely my fault, Mavis," Zeref tried to convince Mavis as her presence moved towards his right. "When I'm with you, I tend to forget matters related to work more often than not." Mavis' movements almost stuttered at that, before she quickly recovered. Did he say something wrong? Zeref furrowed his brows. "Besides, how was I supposed to bring it up?"

I'm sure you could have came up with something, Mavis retorted as she stared at the smattering of lights in Albareth, in houses and on streets and dotted across the night sky, and tried not to pout. Didn't he know her by now? Honestly, Zeref could've told thirteen-year-old her anything and she would've believed in him. Mavis smiled a little dryly. If he wanted to have her believe him, all he really had to do was tell her.

Mavis contemplated the view and thought of the plans that were products of hundreds of years of planning. Products of Zeref's time and effort. Sadness surged through her, a heavy weight upon her heart. She really... didn't approve of Zeref's plans. Didn't approve of the ending he designed for himself. Sometimes, Mavis couldn't bear to look at him, knowing how badly he wanted to die. The worst part was the blonde understood why, even as they now stand on the opposite sides of the battlefield. After the horrors Zeref had been through, the ones of his own making and not, she understood enough.

(But sometimes, in her heart of hearts, Mavis wished that he would want to live. There was so much wonderful things that exist in this world and Mavis wanted Zeref to experience them all. Surely, at least one of these would convince Zeref that life was worth living? It was not a completely selfless sentiment, she admitted to herself but what was wrong with wanting Zeref to live? With wanting her oldest friend to stay here, in this world?)

Mavis held back a sigh as she laid her hands on the railing, not meeting Zeref's eyes. So, is everything still going according to your plans?

Satisfaction flashed across Zeref's face. Fleeting but telling. As he opened his mouth to answer in great length, Mavis' sadness inadvertently brushed against him and with a twinge of guilt, Zeref changed his mind. "Yes, for the most part."

I... see. Mavis' sadness grew, despite his wishes. Even though she had a smile on her face, when they were side by side like this, he could tell. How upset she was at the prospect of his plans succeeding. How frustrated she was at his plans in general.

But Mavis never pulled away from him, not even when he half-expected her to.

(It meant a lot to Zeref. Perhaps more than both of them realized.)

The air almost stirred as Mavis heaved a sigh. Without looking, she reached for his sleeve and tugged wordlessly, as if to say Zeref should turn towards her.

So he did.

And froze as an inexplicable warmth hovered near him within the blink of an eye, an imprint of a hand pressed against his heart. An almost-threat and almost-promise wrapped in one spontaneous, reckless gesture.

Fairy Tail will stop you. Mavis' flat palm trembled slightly, lips downturned as the blonde echoed the words she spoke last time, when the battle lines were drawn in the sand and she found herself staring at Zeref from the other side. We'll annihilate you, Mavis said grimly as her fingers slowly curled into the fabric of Zeref's robe and if her words rang a bit hollow, no one could hear her anyway.

Zeref returned her serious look as his hand slowly came up to the outline of her hand and paused. Just for a moment, Zeref thought he could almost feel Mavis' fist resting between his palm and his heart, and that was when he felt like he was hit over the head with a wave of unfathomable longing. Zeref tilted his head and closed his eyes wistfully and for one second, let his guard down and yearned. Allowed himself to wish for the press of Mavis' hands against his, to dream of opening his eyes to see a shade of blonde hair he would never forget, to want her silvery voice to wash over him as she talked about things that didn't matter but did.

Mavis shifted closer to him. The silence between them was heavy with all the things they didn't say. The words they never said. Sometimes Zeref wondered how matters would have ended up if they weren't who they were. If they weren't Zeref Dragneel and Mavis Vermillion. If the two of them had been born in a different time or a different world together, would he still have met Mavis? Would matters for their alternate selves end up better than the state both Mavis and him were in? Deep down, Zeref wondered and hoped his alternate selves had better luck in life.

But for now, this was the closest they were going to get. Zeref opened his eyes. To Zeref's surprise, he could momentarily sense the way Mavis' emotions reflected his and that managed to pull a smile out of him.

Annihilation, huh?

"...I hope you will," he admitted quietly just before a loud explosion came from the palace entrance and startled both of them.

The warmth against his heart fell to her side as Mavis turned towards the noise. Unbeknownst to her, Zeref held back a flinch as he mentally berated himself. At this point of his plan, he really shouldn't let his guard down. The soft look that had slowly crept into his eyes was quickly tucked away behind his neutral countenance.

Did you send anyone invitations? Mavis asked him, slightly puzzled, but she had an inkling of suspicion about who was behind that explosion. Not even a minute later, a familiar roar and the momentary appearance of a pillar of flames confirmed her thoughts and Mavis let out an exasperated but fond sigh. That must be Natsu. And speaking of Natsu... Mavis eyed Zeref critically and twitched when she saw the gleam in his eyes. Of course you're elated, Mavis groaned to herself.

Zeref ignored her complaint with the ease of someone who had done it a hundred times over. "There was no need for invitations. Your guild is rather predictable, Mavis." Zeref smiled blandly as he left the balcony, the only hint to his thoughts was the red tinge on the edges of his irises.

Natsu... have you grown strong enough?

That smile Zeref wore rubbed her the wrong way. Mavis scanned the skies for one last time for the flash of blue-and-black and frowned when she turned to him. I hate it when you do that. Mavis narrowed her eyes at him as she went to follow him out of the throne room. Both of them shared the same thought.

It's time.

A dark smile flickered across Zeref's expression.

Fairy Tail. Let's see if they finally have what it takes to make him breathe his last.

End