Imagine a Fiore without the GMG. The Fairy Tail power-houses have just returned from Tenrou and are ready to get on with their lives. We deviate from the canon and explore a tangled what-if world, focusing on the romantic relationships between our favorite guild mages. This is presented through a series of interconnected AU short stories that can be read as stand-alone pieces, as a universe, or a single relationship at a time by referencing the tags in the description of each story.
Many pairings will be explored (not all at the same time, obviously). Throughout the series, we'll see some: Gruvia, Lyvia, Grayza, Jerza, Nalu, Nali, Lolu, Bixanna, Gale, ElfEver, Miraxus, Laxana, MiraFreed as well as a handful of crackships as we try to pair the spares. Consider this my attempt at solving the infamous love maze in a way that is grounded and realistic. Welcome to the [Mazeverse]!
Happy Friday! Today's one-shot casts our net a little bit wider and starts to bring more of our lovelies center stage. This story is as much Mirajane's and Levy's as it is Juvia's, so it's their turn to shine.
Keep in mind that this one-shot is from Mirajane's perspective. Things stated as 'fact' here (like certain ships) are purely her opinion. It's more commentary on her perception of the world, and not to be taken as any sort of foreshadowing. If you're following the Mazeverse series as a whole, start paying attention who's telling the story for each chapter. You'll start to see what different characters think they want, and how that's at odds with what others want.
The responses below are in response to guest reviews from the last chapter of Anniversary, Special Just Because
Darling spider: Always glad to hear from you! ;) It makes me happy that someone prefers that first ending... I was starting to think I was the only one.
Thanks again!
Guest: I'm glad I met your expectations with Juvia. I've only seen up through the 2nd anime season, but I don't think she gets the development that her character deserves. Canon-Lyon is pretty abrasive. I'm trying to use Mazeverse to bring a different side to several of the characters, so I'm hoping that the differences between Mazeverse's Lyon and Mashima's canon come through as I intend them to. (Maybe pretend he's the Edolas counterpart if that helps.)
Waffels: Thanks! I'm using a weird narrative trick here, so I hope this doesn't disappoint!
- K. Chandler
Mira held up a wineglass, buffing the streaking off of it. It was a typical day for the wizards of the Fairy Tail guild. Some had rushed by, stopping long enough to yank a flyer from the Job Board before dashing out the doors again. Others lounged and drank to their hearts' content. Some drank, but weren't quite content, despite having had enough liquor for a small banquet. Like always, it was one big party.
And Mirajane Strauss watched it all, a silent observer to the going-ons of the Strongest Guild in Fiore.
"Hey, Mira! Can I get another?" The young woman motioned at the large barrel next to her. Had she seriously managed to drink that much already?
"Cana!" Mira scolded. "It's not even noon yet. You need to slow down."
Cana shrugged. "Just making sure I get my share."
"You've had more than your share…" said Mira, but she brought another keg regardless.
"Thanks, girl! You're a true friend," Cana declared.
"Is that all it takes?" asked Mira, teasing.
"Are you calling me easy?" joked Cana.
Two tables over, Fairy Tail's resident Water Mage chatted animatedly with her stud-faced companion, smiling brightly.
Mira blinked, looking back again to double-check. Normally, Juvia liked to spend her time with a certain broody heartthrob of an Ice-Make Mage when he was in residence. And he was—Gray was sitting on the other side of the guild with the rest of his team. So what was Juvia talking to Gajeel about?
Curiously, Mira made her way over on the pretense of tidying up. Gajeel had his guitar in his lap, fussing with the tuning pegs.
"…and so Juvia got you new guitar strings," Juvia chirped.
"I needed new ones! Heh-heh. How did you ever know?" asked Gajeel with a toothy grin.
Juvia looked pleased. "Juvia has her ways."
Gajeel gave an experimental strum. Frowning, he made a few adjustments before testing again. Then he grinned. "Thanks, Sprinkler. This is awesome!"
"You know, the stage is free if you want to play," Mira offered as she wiped down the table.
"Shu-be-do-bah! I'm ready to roll!" said Gajeel, taking his place on the stage. "Hit the lights, Mira," he said coolly.
"With pleasure!" she responded, diming the room. She set the spotlight on Gajeel.
"Hey, what's going on here?!" hollered Natsu.
"Who turned out the lights?" asked Cana.
"I wasn't really planning on doing this today," said Gajeel. "But Mira said I could, and I was like, why not? So I wanted to warm up with a song you've all heard before. It's one I wrote myself." Gajeel paused dramatically. "It's called Best Friend."
"This again?" Gray groaned.
"Hey, quiet! Some of us want to hear it," roared Elfman.
"Speak for yourself, man," said Natsu.
"Go, Gajee!" cheered Juvia, clapping politely.
Gajeel, clearly used to being a performer, carried on, ignoring both the cheers and the catcalls. He just grinned coolly. He looked like he was enjoying himself.
After a few minutes Best Friend drew to a close. Then Gajeel cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I've got another song I want to play. Heh-heh. Sweetheart, this one's for you. You said…you said it was your favorite…. So… I, uh, I hope you like it."
Gajeel started to strum the opening chords. A familiar melody drifted across the guild hall.
Lucy's eyes widened in recognition. "Is that…?"
Mira had recognized the song right away. It had been popular a few years back. Mira could remember dancing to it whenever it came on, thought the very thought of it embarrassed her now.
"He didn't…" Levy buried her face in his hands with a mortified squeak.
Mira couldn't help but giggle. Levy was too cute! She was always such a sweetheart, and quiet too. Although, Mira hadn't expected Gajeel to be so forward. Normally, the Iron Dragon Slayer put on a gruff front, but this was a nice change of pace. It couldn't have happened to a better pair.
Gajeel started to sing. "You know I love you, you know I care. So shout whenever and I'll be there…"
"He doesn't have a bad voice," observed Lucy.
Silently, Mira agreed. The gravel in Gajeel's voice gave his performance a certain something. It added a maturity that the original desperately lacked.
"I don't think it improves the song any," grumbled Gray. Absently, he snatched a French fry from Erza's plate, which she had abandoned, along with a half-eaten sandwich, in favor of a slice of strawberry cake.
"Nonsense, Gray! Where is your sense of gallantry?" she asked with a grand wave of her fork. "I think it's a valiant effort and Gajeel deserves to be commended for his courage!"
Gray snorted. "That's one way to put it…" he said, helping himself to more of Erza's fries.
Erza slid her plate toward him silently.
"He's got guts. I'll give him that," said Natsu. The Fire Dragon-Slayer crossed his arms sullenly. "But that does not make him a musician."
"What, are you jealous?" asked Lucy.
"Nah, I'm not jealous of that freak!" protested Natsu.
"At least he has the guts to express what he's feeling," said Lucy. "Which is more than I can say for some of you."
Gray and Natsu exchanged glances.
Mira couldn't see who Lucy had directed her glare at, but she had long suspected that Team Natsu was a hotbed of romantic tension. She wasn't sure which of her teammates Lucy liked, but her money was on Natsu. It was a shame, really. The two would have been adorable together. And at one point, she would have encouraged it, if not for the fact that Natsu had already promised himself to her sister, Lisanna.
"A real man expresses his feelings!" roared Elfman, pumping his fist in the air.
"I can't say much for his choice of music," sniffed Evergreen disdainfully. "Though, I do have to admit you're right."
Casually, Mira swept past Levy's table, partly to leave the poor girl a glass of water, but mostly to get a glimpse of her embarrassed face. The Solid-Script Mage had turned redder than Erza's hair.
After a few more minutes, Gajeel reached the end of his serenade, letting the final chords of the song die away.
"Heh-heh. Love ya, Shrimp," he mumbled.
"Gajeel…!" Levy squeaked.
"Levy!" Lucy hissed, waving at her friend from across the room. She was clasping her hands together excitedly, mouthing something at her friend. Mira couldn't see what.
Levy shook her head furiously, but a smile pulled at her lips.
"Glad that's over with," said Gray. "Not sure how much more the windows could take."
"Gray!" Erza hissed.
He fell silent, looking apologetic. Erza always did have that boy wrapped around her finger, from the day she joined the guild.
Erza leapt to her feet. "Bravo, bravo! Encore!" she shouted as if she were at the orchestra.
Gray gave her a wry glance. "Erza? I think you've got the wrong venue," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching in fond amusement.
Mira smiled to herself. Those two were too cute.
Mira had always been a firm believer in love conquering all. There was very little that couldn't be solved with some simple human kindness or a helping hand. And what was love but kindness in its purest form?
Mira stopped in front of the two men at the end of the bar. The first was a burly blonde with a strong jaw and a scar over his right eye. His companion, lean and lanky, wore a long red coat that made him look taller than he really was.
"That was cute, wasn't it, Lax?" Mira asked softly. She set another drink in front of him.
"Sure." The Lightning Dragon-Slayer looked away as he shrugged.
"I suppose this really isn't your type of music," she said.
His green eyes flicked to her face before darting away.
Mira wondered why Laxus was being so defensive. Their breakup had been a long time ago, and they were both still kids then. So much had happened since then. She had long since forgiven him. Surely, he had to know that.
"I think it's nice that he decided to let her know how he feels." Mira couldn't keep the longing from her voice as her lips pulled into a wistful smile.
Laxus crossed his arms, muscles rippling as he did so. He still hadn't said anything.
Freed was frowning. The long-haired swordsman was Laxus' deputy in all things. Mira had never seen him question his commander. However, Freed didn't voice his concerns. Instead he gave Mira a polite smile.
"I agree with you, Mira," Freed said.
She gave Freed a grateful look. He really was kind.
Laxus' chest rose as he drew a steady breath, letting it out in a sigh. He stood up abruptly.
"Laxus?" Freed gave his commander a questioning look, though he stood as well.
Laxus ripped a flyer from the Job Board. "Ready to head out? Where are Ever and Bicks?"
"Right here, boss," said Bickslow, putting his helmet back on.
"But we just got back," Evergreen whined. She leaned into Elfman, as if reluctant to leave him. Despite appearing high-strung, she really could be affectionate.
"Stay behind then," said Laxus easily. "You don't have to go." Laxus was always so indifferent, even to his own team. The observation made Mira feel better.
So it wasn't just her.
"You're not leaving me behind," Evergreen said hotly. Giving Elfman a peck on the cheek, Evergreen detached herself from her lover and marched towards her team. Her high heels clicked on the hardwood floor.
Laxus handed Mira the flyer. "We're taking this one," he said, all business. Part of her liked how serious he always was.
"Okay," she said, recording the info in the guild's record book. "Good luck, guys!"
"Yeah, thanks." Laxus turned without a backwards glance, leaving the guild with steady strides. Mira had always admired his sense of conviction.
Evergreen followed behind, waving at Elfman as she departed. He returned the gesture, giving her a thumbs-up. "That's the way to be a man!" he whooped.
Evergreen ducked her head, embarrassed by his exuberance.
"Keep up, Ever," jeered Bickslow, giving her a playful shove.
Evergreen huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I'll have you know that I can keep up just fine, thank you very much."
Freed paused on his way out the door. "Don't worry, Mira. I'll keep him safe," he said. "We all will."
"Thank you, Freed," she said, grateful for his dedication to Laxus.
He offered her a brief smile. "We'll be back soon."
For Mira, soon couldn't come soon enough.
All right, Nalu fans...sit tight. We'll get some actual Nalu goodness next week! ;) If I were Mira, I'd root for my sister too... just sayin'.
And if you're wondering, why Baby instead of some other song? Because it was... a joke? Basically, I picked the last song that Gajeel would ever play. The only thing less likely than a Bieber song is the Spice Girls' Wanna Be. XD. And now you'll have that mental image forever. ;)
So... Laxus and Mirajane... and Freed? I blame Edgar (the other half of R011ingThunder) for setting me down this path. I was plotting this while I was watching the Tenrou arc, so I didn't have much to work with from a Miraxus perspective. Laxus had just made a reappearance and I wasn't even sure he was going to be allowed to rejoin the guild... Then Edgar says to me, "They look like exes." I re-watched the Phantom and Battle of Fairy Tail arcs to humor him. If you really read into the way they react to each other up until the point that Laxus is expelled, they do look like exes! I noticed some other interesting things that will drive this part of the maze. We'll get some backstory on that one later.
You'll notice that our beta couples in this universe (GaLe, ElfEver, etc.) are (and will continue to be) a lot more firmly established in their relationships than their canon counterparts. Just because I'm using them as a beta-couple doesn't mean I can't break them up. ;) I've got drama and conflict planned for both pairings. It's not over until we declare End-Game. (End-Game is where I declare the growth journey done for a pair, removing both of them from the maze. They'll still be part of the story, I just won't mess with them anymore). We're still a long ways away.
If you're looking for more GaLe, you're in luck. Next week, it's Levy's turn! We're also cracking open another relationship: Lisanna-Natsu-Lucy-Loke. I'm being ambitious and going straight for the square this time! XD Drama all around.
Check out my profile next Friday for [Mazeverse] Secret Valentine, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.