Title: Year of the Lion
Summary: After the defeat of Tartaros, Fairy Tail is temporarily disbanded. Lucy trains with Loke in the year-long interlude, but Loke has an ulterior motive. Will a bet between Gray and Loke endanger their relationship with Lucy? Gray isn't happy about the situation as his best friend is now after the woman he cares for most.
Beta-ed by ShiroKuro OokamiRyu.
Chapter One:
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She stared down at the piece of paper with the childish script and simple message. Natsu and Happy had simply left, 'Gone off to train. See you in about a year.'
Lucy crumpled the note, knowing that Natsu was long gone by now. She shoved the note into the shallow pocket of her short skirt. Maybe she could find Erza and Gray. Together, they could easily track Natsu and bring him back. It was hard enough having lost her oldest friend. To lose her first friend in Fairy Tail was too much. She couldn't handle the sadness.
Fighting tears with a determined set of her jaw, Lucy started for what remained of the guild hall. Whenever she wanted to cry out, she could hear the echo of Aquarius' voice in her mind scolding her for being an overly dramatic child. She knew that voice was only a figment of her imagination, but it helped soothe the ache in her heart just a bit.
The streets of Magnolia were in a state of disarray. Buildings sustained heavy damage from the fires and blasts, debris floated along the river, and polluted the banks with trash. The once beautiful city, home to Fairy Tail, was a wasteland.
A crowd of four elderly women blocked her path towards the guild hall. She overheard their conversation and intent to have a heated discussion with that Makarov troublemaker.
She would have laughed, but she was afraid a laugh would turn into a sob that she couldn't control. Lucy stared past the elderly women and focused on her singular goal of reaching the guild hall and talking to her teammates about retrieving that hot-headed Natsu.
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OoO
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"You have got to cheer up!" Loke slapped his hand briefly over Gray's shoulder while his other hand held up a mug of ale.
Gray lightly tapped his mug against Loke's. "It's been a stressful couple of days," he murmured. "It's not every battle that I learn what became of my father and gain a new and incredible power." He half-heartedly sipped from his mug and then used it to gesture towards the heavily damaged guild hall. "This place is falling down around us. I wish Master Makarov would have allowed me to use Ice Make Magic to reinforce the walls."
"You know it's too warm this time of year for it to last," Loke cautioned. He looked at a nearby table where Juvia sat staring at Gray with hearts floating in her eyes. "Your shadow is still nearby."
"She's not so bad," Gray argued. "So long as I don't encourage her, we make a good team with our powers."
Loke drained his mug and set it on the table. "I wish I could have seen Lucy when she summoned the Celestial Spirit King."
"I'm not sure anyone really saw it. Most of us were unconscious or engaged in battle elsewhere. But as we were all about to die before she pulled her trick, it must have been amazing," Gray said. "Let's talk about something else, maybe something more cheery."
"More cheery, eh?" Loke asked. He gestured towards the broken walls. "I'm guessing the state of our guild hall is out of the range of discussion."
"Decidedly so," Gray agreed. He stared at Loke for a long, thoughtful moment. "You've not mentioned any of your latest conquests. Have you any new tales to share?"
Loke shook his head. "Sadly, no. I've been too concerned about other matters." He drummed his fingers upon the tabletop and stared across the room at Cana. She was guzzling the kegs of alcohol without any real effort. It was both impressive and repulsive at the same time. No guy liked to be out drunk. How could a guy take advantage of the girl's lower standards from too much alcohol if he passed out before the girl ever became tipsy?
Gray looked over his shoulder at Juvia and turned back towards Loke with a shudder. "How does she just keep staring like that?"
"Guess she likes what she sees," Loke said with a shrug. "You remember when we used to make wagers? About what girl I could make fall in love with me?"
"Yeah," Gray said cautiously. "It's been a couple of years since then."
Loke nodded. It had been two years for them, nine for most other Fairy Tail members. Ever since Lucy joined the guild and his status of non-human origin was revealed, Loke had backed off significantly on his conquest of the Kingdom of Fiore. "Let's do another one. For old time's sake. The winner gets the same as usual — bragging rights."
"All right," Gray said. "But, I get to pick the girl you target." He peered around the guild hall. For a moment he thought he might pawn Juvia off onto Loke and maybe end her obsession with him. He shook his head, dispelling the notion. That wouldn't be right. Juvia was just lonely. She was attached to Gray because he was the first person to ever offer her hope and he couldn't allow her to be taken advantage like that. His dark navy eyes landed upon Cana and her ceaseless consumption of alcohol. She certainly wouldn't mind sleeping with Loke, but she wasn't likely to fall in love. She might be a good challenge.
The door to the guild hall opened and then fell off its hinges, crashing to the stone floor. A trio of elderly women walked in with a purpose. "Come on, Hilda! Hurry up!" one of the women shouted back impatiently.
Gray smiled and turned towards Loke eagerly.
The Lion Spirit had followed Gray's line of sight and cleared his throat nervously. "Now, Gray, be fair," Loke begged.
"The next woman that walks through that door," Gray said. "You will make her fall in love with you."
Loke was about to protest. He could do a lot of things, but fake an interest in an old woman wasn't one of them. He saw a whiff of blond hair. "Okay, you have a deal," he hurriedly agreed.
Gray reached out his hand and Loke shook it, sealing the bet.
In walked Lucy Heartfilia.
Gray's hand went slack in Loke's grip and Loke smiled broadly.