A/N: Hey everyone! I deeply apologize from the long lack of story updates from me; it's the holiday season which means the first semester of high school is almost over so I have a shitload of finals to study for. Not to mention the fact that I have had no motivation whatsoever, so coming up with good fic ideas has been bothersome. However, a few days ago I was on tumblr and saw a post where someone brought up the idea of "mistlefoe", which has inspired this comedic Fairy Tail fic. I sincerely hope you enjoy this because of my lack of updates, and even if you don't, thank you for reading~!

Fanfic request are always welcome, and if I ever have the time, I will get to them asap! No promises, though, sorry.

Fairy Tail and its characters rightfully belong to Hiro Mashima. I only own this story plot, nothing more.

Have a delightful day and happy holidays~!

Mistlefoe- Chapter One: Let the Game Begin!

One lucky, snowy Saturday morning, Gray Fullbuster, the prominent ice mage in the infamous Fairy Tail guild, was strolling along the streets of Magnolia carrying a satchel at his side, filled with the prize money he had won from his previous job he was returning to town from. It was just about nine o'clock in the morning when small tufts of snow began to sprinkle from the sky, covering the city in a soft layer of frost. For any other person in Magnolia, the sight of snow meant oncoming chilly and freezing cold days. But Gray Fullbuster was a man who was all too accustomed to extremely cold temperatures. The cold never bothered him at all. As a young boy, he had trained daily with his late mentor, Ur, and her other disciple, Lyon Vastia, in the harsh cold and freezing winds. This soft drizzle of snow was nothing compared to what he had endured as a child. He could handle it with ease.

The one thing he couldn't handle was heat.

Anything hot was a no for him; even when it came to food, he mostly stuck to cool things, like popsicles and ice cream, and anything else that wasn't too spicy or hot. The only exception he made for food was his all time favorite meal, the camarade frank. Other than that, he would have to pass it up.

The raven-haired man let out a sigh as he walked past a vendor selling scarfs, mittens, and hats with long flaps on the sides. Another long and tiring mission, and he still didn't have enough money for the three months of rent that he owed. "If it wasn't for Natsu...Damn it. The slanty-eyed bastard is lucky I don't feel like fighting him today."

His guild and second home coming into view, Gray quickened his pace and hurried inside the guild, making sure as not to lose any of the jewels that were stuffed into his satchel as he ran. Once he stepped inside the guild hall, he leaned against the doorframe to pause and collect his breath, when suddenly he felt something warm pressing against his right cheek.

"Mwaah~!"

"J-Juvia!" Gray shouted, jumping to his feet and slowly slipping away from the woman. His face, especially his right cheek, began to burn dark crimson as the laughter of his guildmates erupted into the guild hall.

"Gray-sama, you've returned! Juvia was so worried!" Juvia Lockser, the guild's primary water mage and Gray's not-so-secret admirer, said to him. "Is Gray-sama hurt anywhere?"

The ice mage's chest heaved as he gulped deep in his throat and strained to look at the woman with a straight face. Juvia was crazy, yes, sort of protective over him and madly in love with him, so she always did a lot of weird things to earn his attention and hopefully to gain his affection. But never before had she actually kissed him. She had offered him to smack her ass a few times and had even clung to him longer than necessary whenever they had hugged or held hands before. But never had the bluenette ever kissed him. It felt strange. Gray couldn't tell if he liked it or not.

"Aww, how cute! Those two would make the perfect couple!" cooed Mirajane Strauss, the white-haired barmaid who was a model and was known as the "She-Devil". Beside her, Cana Alberona, card mage and daughter of Gildarts Clive, slammed a barrel of booze down on the counter, her cheeks tinted rosy pink as she giggled at Gray. She burped and a powerful booze odor hung in the air for a few seconds, before she wiped her mouth with her forearm and raised a glass of beer to the air, clashing it against the mug that her friend Macao Conbolt was holding up.

"Three cheers for Gray and Juvia, the newest couple of Fairy Tail!" she cried, and the whole guild began chanting "Gruvia! Gruvia! Gruvia!" repeatedly.

"N-New couple?! Baka, what are you saying, Cana?" Gray shouted, but he was unheard over the noise of his guildmates.

Juvia fidgeted around nervously beside him, her eyes cast upwards at a certain decoration hanging above the doorframe of the guild's entrance. "G-Gray-sama...Juvia apologizes for the sudden kiss...but Gray-sama was under the mistletoe, and according to the story, if Gray-sama is under the mistletoe than Juvia has to give him a kiss."

"Mistletoe?" Confused, Gray turned around and glanced up at the doorframe to find that a green plant tied together with a bright red ribbon and two jingle bells was hanging above the door. He gasped in horror as sweat began to trickle down his face. "J-Juvia...you don't actually believe that silly story, do you?"

"Gray-sama, the tradition has been going on for years! Why shouldn't Juvia believe it?" the water mage retorted, a bit upset that he hadn't enjoyed her kiss. "Master-sama said it would be a great way to spend this holiday season. He said he put up tons of mistletoe around the guild just for moments like these! Juvia will not allow Master-sama's wishes to go to waste!"

"G-Gramps, what the hell! Mistletoe?" Gray roared, making his way to the bar counter where the tiny master of Fairy Tail, Master Makarov Dreyar, was currently downing a glass of beer.

Makarov set down his glass with gusto, asking Mirajane to pour him another. "Hihihi, what seems to be the problem, boy?" he asked, incredibly drunk.

"What's this mistletoe thing that Juvia mentioned? She said you put some up around the guild? Why?"

"Hihihi, why not?" Makarov giggled, reaching for the new glass that Mira handed him, and downing it in one breath. "This year's Christmas out to be fun!" -hic- "I've set up a whole buncha those mistletoes 'round the guild." -hic- "I think it's a dandy idea to be able to see each and every one of you children" -hic- "kissing under the mistletoes. The tradition is quite fun, I used to do it when I was younger with 'ole Rob and Porlyusica, hihihi." The drunk old man asked for another beer, beaming drunkenly at Gray.

"But...but...Master! That's insane! What if...you know...two guys end up under the mistletoe together?"

Master Makarov chuckled heartily, slapping his thighs and drooling on himself upon hearing the question. "My boy, hihihi, two girls and two guys under the mistletoe doesn't mean a thing. Hihihi, if you're under it, you're under it." -hic- "There's nothing you can do about it. Besides," -hic- "are you saying you're homophobic?"

A slight blush crept upon Gray's face, but he shook it off. "No, old man, I'm saying that if I'm stuck under that thing with Natsu, there's no way in hell I'm kissing him! I'd rather face Deliora again than kiss his slanty-eyed ass!"

The master stopped drinking for a moment to give Gray a serious look, and even in his drunken state he managed to look solemn. But something about his stare sparked a great fear in Gray... "My boy, you best be sure not to put yourself in a situation like that, then..." The way his voice trailed off was eerie.

The ice mage walked to a seat a few chairs away from his master and plopped down with a sigh. "Water with ice, please," he requested.

Mirajane nodded. "Coming right up."

A few seconds into preparing his water, Natsu Dragneel, Gray's friendly rival and one of the guild's Dragon Slayers, hurried over to sit down next to the raven-haired man with his signature grin brightening his face. Mira was handing Gray his glass of water and the latter was taking a long sip when Natsu asked him nonchalantly, "Did you enjoy Juvia's kiss?"

Spit and water flew across the table and onto the top half of Mira's dress as Gray choked on his drink and performed a spit-take. He accidentally drenched Mira in his spitty water, who simply smiled and went to grab a towel. "Baka! What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I can't ask a question? Just wanted to know how it was."

"Why? That was one of the weirdest things that's happened to me since I finished my job!"

"So you definitely didn't like it?"

"Baka!" roared Gray again. He took a slow, calming breath and sipped some more of his water. "It's Juvia, I can't just say yes, and I can't just say no. If I liked the kiss, she'll be even crazier than ever and maybe might try to kiss me again, this time it might even be on the lips! But if I say no, it might really break her heart and I don't wanna hurt her!"

"Can't be that bad, you've hurt her lots of times before," Natsu said.

"I-"

"Oh Gray, Natsu!" Mirajane called out of nowhere, returning to the bar counter with a small towel draped over her shoulders, the top half of her dress still damp. "I forgot to mention earlier, I have a few boxes of Christmas decorations up on the second floor. I would really love to start decorating the guild sometime soon, so could you two please go up and bring them all down for me? I would ask Elfman but he and Lisanna are currently on a job with Evergreen, and I can't do it myself because they're so heavy."

"Of course, Mira," Gray responded before Natsu could object. "If it means paying you back for spitting all over you. Let's go, Flame-brain."

"Oh, it's not a problem, Gray," the barmaid assured him. She watched intently as Gray and Natsu headed over to the staircase leading to the second floor of the guild, and waited for them to start walking up before a devilish, dark smile began to mark its way along her face. "Not a problem at all."

"Mira, you okay? You look scary," Happy the Exceed, Natsu's very best friend, piped up as he flew over to the counter and sat down in Natsu's previous seat.

Mirajane's normal demeanor returned, and she flashed Happy a perfect, unwavering model smile that showed off her perfectly white teeth. "I'm alright Happy, but I do have a plan set in motion. Do you want to help me with this plan?"

"Aye sir! You know how much I love sneaky plans..." Happy began to bounce with excitement.

"Good! Round up everyone in the guild and tell them to..."

Natsu and Gray quickly reached the second floor of the guild, slamming open a door to a room that they knew contained all the extra items and props Mira and Makarov sometimes used to decorate the guild for certain holidays. The two found the Christmas boxes that Mira had requested they bring down so they both grabbed three, since there were six. Oddly enough, they weren't at all heavy like Mira had described them to be.

"That's weird," Gray mumbled. "These boxes are so light, Happy could carry them with ease."

"I thought Mira said they were too heavy for her to carry?" Nastu asked. "Or are we just too strong..."

"Beats me, Flame-brain," Gray shrugged. "Anyway, let's hurry and bring these down to her."

Heading for the door, Natsu and Gray adjusted their hold on the boxes in their arms and moved to step out of them room. That's when they realized they were stuck.

"Hey, move it, Flame-brain!" Gray barked, trying to push past Natsu with the boxes in his arms.

Natsu grimaced. "I was here first so you move it!" he retorted, effortlessly trying to squeeze in between Gray and the door frame so he could get downstairs. The boys where idiots -both of them were trying to walk through the door at the same time, unknowing that the width of the door frame was only suitable to fit one person at a time, but they continued to try to walk through it at the same time anyway.

"Move it, you bastard!" shouted Gray furiously. He almost dropped one of the boxes containing ornaments because of a sudden push from Natsu.

"If you don't move-"

"Boys, did you find the decorations up there yet?" It was Mirajane's melodic voice that resounded in their ears as Gray ad Natsu both still tried to push out of the room at the same time. They soon heard her footsteps as her heels clicked on the hardwood floor with each step she took, but when they strained their ears they could eventually hear more footsteps besides her own. "Sorry if it's such a mess in there. We never really clean it..." Something about the way she had let her voice trail off frightened Gray and Natsu.

"We're bringing the stuff down now, Mira..." Gray tried to say, but by then Mira had bounded up the stairs and was looking both of them in the eye. A devious gleam shined clear in her sapphire orbs as she planted her hands on her hips and said, "I knew this would happen. Happy, do you have the camera?"

"Aye sir!" The cerulean Exceed flew up the stairs holding a lacrima camera, his face adorned with an excited smile. Mira beamed and scoot to the side of the staircase for Happy to fly by, and that was when Gray and Natsu noticed a bunch of their other guildmates crowded behind the Takeover mage on the staircase.

"Gihihi," Gajeel Redfox chuckled from the middle of the crowd.

"This is going to be disgusting..." Lucy Heartfilia sighed in exasperation.

"Wait, what the hell is going on?" Natsu and Gray inquired in unison.

Mira's devilish smile returned in the blink of an eye. "Look up," she said, directing everyone's eyes to the top of the door frame. Taped to the wall above the door frame was a peculiar red plant tied together with a green ribbon and two jingle bells. A horrified gasp ripped from Gray's mouth, but Natsu's facial expression was blank.

"Is...that...a..."

"A mistletoe? Yes, in fact it is, Gray," Mira finished for him. "For spitting all over me, you now have to kiss Natsu since you are both under the mistletoe."

"WHAT?!" all of the guildmates cried out in synch.

Cana laughed her ass off. "It's about time you two kissed. Been waiting for this moment for years. You're both so close you might as well be a couple."

"Happy, are there any extra lacrima cameras? I want to capture this on footage myself," Patherlily asked.

"J-Juvia has a new...love rival?!" the water mage exclaimed.

"Oh my god," Lucy gasped.

"No!" Natsu roared, dropping the boxes of decorations. "I'm not putting my lips to Gray's! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Yeah, there's no no way I'm kissing this idiot," Gray agreed, also dropping the boxes he was carrying. "I'd rather lick a toilet seat!"

"Well, traditions are traditions so if you don't follow up with them..." An immensely powerful and dark, blood-curdling aura began to overwhelm Mira's body as a warning to the ice mage and Dragon Slayer.

Gray didn't back down. "Bullshit! I am not kissing Natsu! And what kind of mistletoe is this anyway? It's red, for crying out loud!"

"The color means nothing, Gray. Hurry up and kiss him!" Cana ordered, adjusting the zoom settings on the lacrima camera that had been passed out to her and everyone else.

"Never!" rejected Natsu. "I'd rather kiss Happy again than kiss Gray!"

Happy shuddered. "Natsu's lips were so chapped that day..."

"Baka! Shut up!"

"Now, now, what's with all the commotion?" Master Makarov brushed past the occupants of the staircase and hurried to the front of the crowd where Mira was. Natsu and Gray were still crammed in the door frame. "Mirajane? Natsu, Gray? What's going on?"

"Just a friendly game of mistletoe, Master," explained Mira in her signature sunshine voice. "Natsu and Gray just happened to get stuck under the mistletoe together so according to tradition, they must kiss."

Makarov cast his gaze to the red plant hanging above the door frame and chuckled lightly. "That's not a mistletoe, Mira. Sorry if it confused you with the green ones, but that is a mistlefoe."

"A what?"

"Mistlefoe?"

"Come on, Master, stop playing around. Let the boys kiss!" Cana shouted over the crowd.

"My children...have any of you ever heard of the Mistlefoe and Mistletoe Legend? A great many years ago, around the holiday season, a family was camping out in the mountains. The father and mother of the family had been wandering around the mountain top alone, you know for some lone time. The legend says that they both fell over one of the mountain's cliffs and ended up tangled together in a shrub of vines. However, where they landed, a mistletoe happened to be hanging over their heads. The sight of that mistletoe apparently struck something in them -some people say a deep love- and so the couple had shared a wonderful, romantic kiss even though they had been trapped in the vine shrub.

"After some hours, the couple's son and daughter found them in the shrub of vines, but by then the vines had stabbed through their bodies and choked them to death. So that was how the mistletoe tradition started, with the couple having shared their kiss under the mistletoe that fateful day. But, when the son had seen that his parents had been killed, his fury had unleashed a curse throughout the continents. His curse, the Fury's Curse, was directed towards every branch of mistletoe in the world. The color of hate is supposedly red, so his fury transformed many branches of mistletoe throughout the world into red ones, making them mistlefoes. The legend states that because of that curse, any two people who happened to get stuck under a mistlefoe were forced to fight each other, and only the person left standing after the brawl was able to leave," Makarov finished explaining. "But that's just the legend."

"So what you're saying is...Natsu and Gray have to fight each other now?" Mirajane clarified.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Makarov smiled triumphantly. "The other day after I had come back from that council meeting, I happened to pass by a store that sold both mistletoes and mistlefoes. I thought it would be a great idea to buy some and scatter them acround the guild. Since Natsu and Gray just happened to get stuck under the mistlefoe, according to the legend they must fight."

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" screamed the guild members.

"I'll set up a booth for making bets!" Macao announced.

"I'll go get the wine!" Cana added.

"Wait," said Makrov, holding up a hand for them to stop, and for everyone to be quiet. "The legend says that anyone stuck under a mistletoe has to kiss, and any two people trapped under a mistlefoe have to fight. Since the day I purchased these, I had already devised a plan for putting them to good use."

An uneasy silence fell upon the guild, and every guild member could feel heavy nausea in the pit of their stomachs. Master Makarov had devised a plan involving plants that forced you to kiss or fight someone? This would not be good.

"Let's make this interesting, shall we? For my plan involving the mistletoe, whoever gets kissed the most times will have to walk around all of Crocus and then go to visit the King of Fiore naked, but the person who gives the most kisses will be able to make anyone they want do whatever they say for a day. For my plan that includes the mistlefoe, whoever loses in any fight under the mistlefoe will have to..." Makarov's nose started to bleed profusely. "Well, the women who lose in the fights under the mistlefoe will have to serve as maids around the guild for a week, wearing uniforms that I specifically will pick out. The men that lose in the mistlefoe fights will have to perform a song and dance routine on the stage every night for a week."

"Master!"

"Rules are: no trying to quarantine yourself in the guild so you won't risk getting caught under a mistletoe or foe. I don't just have them hanging over door frames, so beware of where you're sitting and standing. Also, you absolutely have to follow up with the tradition. Even if you have to swallow your pride to kiss someone of the same gender as you...a tradition is a tradition! More importantly, if you are caught under the mistletoe, even if no one is looking I expect you to follow the rules and fight or kiss whoever is there with you. If not, you'll automatically lose and have to either visit the King naked and possibly get sentenced to jail for a few weeks for public nudity, or you'll serve as my maid or perform a show on the stage. And when kissing...only lip kisses are allowed. No cheek kissing."

"This is bullshit!" Gajeel barked. "What if we don't wanna play this game?"

"Oh, you don't have a choice. Everyone has to play this game. It'll be the first thing we did together as a guild in a long time, so everyone is required to participate. Even you, Laxus," Makarov said, directing his attention to his grandson, Laxus Dreyar, who stood at the very back of the crowd of mages on the staircase. The lightning Dragon Slayer rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Now then, if everyone is ready, why don't we get this game started? It'll go on for three days. After that, the winners and losers will be announced and the losers will pay the price accordingly. The first battle of the Mistle-Toe-and-Foe Games will start with Natsu and Gray, since they are already under one."

"W-What?"

Mira nodded. "I understand, Master. Everyone is ready, and even if they're not, we can still start."

"Alright then! Let the Mistle-Toe-and-Foe Games...BEGIN!"

That's the first chapter!

Again, sorry for the really long update. It's finally winter break so I'll have two weeks without school, meaning I can dedicate more time to this fic owo. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and even if you didn't please leave me a review letting me know how you thought of it!

The Mistletoe and Mistlefoe Legend is made up, by the way. And if anyone would like a certain pairing to kiss or fight under the mistlefoe or toes, please let me know in the reviews!

What happens next? Will Natsu and Gray follow through with the game rules and fight each other? Or will they put their brotherly bond as first priority and accept the punishment? Find out next chapter in "Cruel Game"!