A/N: HEY PARTY LLAMAS! Jenny's here! So is Julie! with the next chapter of this exciting melodramatic storyyyy!~ Hope you enjoy! By the way, since this is AU which means Alternate Universe, the characters will have to be a little OOC, so please forgive us. (OOC: Out of Character) But that is because we're basing this on a k-drama, and in k-dramas, there is no telling what will happen. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: We do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters in any way. Hiro Mashima does. We also do not own the k-drama That Winter, the Wind Blows. The drama producers do.
The scene changes back to Natsu and Minerva in a luxurious room overlooking the cityscape. Minerva is now lounging on a sofa, looking forlornly at nothing in particular. Natsu approaches the window with a faraway look in his eyes.
Minerva says, hopelessly, "You will soon throw me away." Natsu turns his head indifferently to say, "If you believe it, I heard it comes true," and turn back to observe the city. I have nothing more to lose, so what's the harm in trusting in something that could be another lie? Perhaps living that way would be more interesting. A single tear -probably a fake one- flows down Minerva's cheek as she sits up, breathing shakily, "You are too cruel." Hearing this, Natsu couldn't help but smile widely. Grinning from ear to ear, he replies, "I agree with you. But you, the mistress of a gang boss, shouldn't be talking. Am I right?"
Agreeing with him, Minerva says, "I know I am, but still, you're being way too..." She breaks off her sentence, seeing no response from him. Natsu takes a sip from his wine and relishes in the sound of Minerva's quiet sobs.
The scene changes to a lavish bedroom embellished in red and gold, with soft fabrics and dim lighting. Erza puffs up the pillows and helps Lucy, dress in a simple white nightgown, into bed. Lucy closes her unseeing eyes.
"Lucy, sleep well," Erza says, trying to cheer up her mood. As Lucy remains silent, Erza straightens up, turns off the lights in her room, and exits.
When Erza leaves, Lucy opens her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling, seeing total nothingness.
The next day, Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus, dressed simply, walk down a modern bridge in the middle of Magnolia's most scenic parks. It is early morning, and the skies are gray, and the trees seem slightly bleak. Gajeel's cheeky laugh can be heard from across the entire span of the bridge.
Gajeel says, in mid-laughter, "Gihi, if you're the eldest son of the PL group's president, then I'm Steve Jobs' long lost son. Don't kid around with me, Laxus." Laxus, a blonde, buff, yet timid guy, looks at him with a shocked face. "Hey, I'm not sure about other people, but I definitely wouldn't lie to you two! My mom said that when I was eight and my sister was six, she got divorced from my dad-" Gajeel interrupts and continue Laxus's totally predictable sob story for him, "-Left your sister at your place and left the house with just you, but your mom passed away suddenly and that's why you're living like this, as a servant." As Gajeel speaks, Natsu looks on at them and Laxus sighs, saying "I'm being serious here, idiot!"
"Alright, sure, then go to your dad and ask him to give you money, moron!" Gajeel retorts, pissed off. Laxus looks positively enraged as Gajeel adds, "And don't live a desperate life like this."
Laxus breathes in deeply, calming himself down, "... When my mom was dying, she told me not to look for my dad just for money. I have to keep my word!" The two dolts ,in his opinion, next to him glance elsewhere, obviously humoring him. "Later, I will become a chef at an Italian restaurant... and confidently stand in front of my dad and sister without being embarrassed." At these last words of mine, I start to smile.
Gajeel scoffs spitefully, "Tch. Confident? Confident my ass." Laxus frowns and Gajeel notices a brown envelope in his pant pocket. He swiftly snatches it from Laxus and reads the addresses. "Ugh, Laxus, really? I TOLD you to change your name, didn't I? I told you I didn't like you having the same name as my bro, didn't I?!" Gajeel looks down at the letter and asks indignantly, "And why are you using my address?"
Laxus couldn't take any more of Gajeel's idiocy. Alright, now you're pissing me off. Trying to get ahold of his collar, Laxus blurts, "Since when did Natsu's house become yours?!" As they fight at each other pettily, Laxus says, "I did it because there is no one at my house to get the mail. What are you gonna do about it?"
As the little brawl ends, Natsu plucks the envelope from Gajeel and leans against the railing of the bridge, examining it. "Su?" Natsu asks, pointedly at Laxus.
Laxus glances up and realizes what Natsu was asking. He explains, "My original name is Su, but when my mom divorced and left my dad, she added 'Ra-ku-sa' to my original name, Su. 'Ra-ku-sa-su' is the pronunciation of my current name, Laxus! My old family probably still knows me as 'Su', so I just wrote my name as that. I figure I'll tell them that I changed my name sooner or later.*
Furthermore, my mom wanted me to be somebody who would protect my sister and the world. Normally, people aren't named 'Laxus', but don't you think it's cool? 'Ra-ku-sa' means 'to protect' in a well-known ancient language**! So my name is essentially, 'To Protect-su'." As Natsu glances down at the letter at the name 'Lucy', Laxus confirms, "Lucy is my sister. Does your name mean something, Natsu?"
Blinking, Natsu replies, "There isn't a deep meaning to my name. Just Nat-su. 'Nat' means 'tree' in that same ancient language, but it's just a simple word. And I used to be called 'Su' as well, by kids in the orphanage."
In slight disbelief, Laxus repeats, "Tree-su?" Gajeel looks at the both of them, slightly amused, as he has heard this story from Natsu before. Laxus is also about inquire about the orphanage he just mentioned, but he starts speaking, so he stays quiet.
Natsu's face hardens as he elaborates, "I was abandoned under a tree. Also, there were lots of trees surrounding my orphanage. Thus my name, "Tree-su." Laxus nods hesitantly. "The head of the orphanage named me."
Laxus watches Natsu walk ahead of him and Gajeel. He asks Gajeel, with slight wonder in his eyes, "Is he serious? Was he really abandoned under a tree...?"
The scene changes to a room with wooden decor and many closets chock full with mens' clothes and shoes of every kind.
An annoyed-looking girl with petite features and her blue hair in a braid says, "I asked you a question! Who did you sleep with last night?" Natsu stands in front of a mirror, holding a blue shirt to his chest, completely ignoring Levy McGarden.
Crossing her arms, Levy remarks, "Ohh, so the silence is an affirmation?" Natsu glances furtively at her and puts away the shirt in the racks. She mutters, "My gosh, he really is a gigolo." A voice from a distance says, "Let's go eat, bro!" Before Natsu can run off, she firmly pushes him against the long mirror. Natsu, I'm worried about you. Why do you always sleep with those rich snobby women when I love you! If you get into trouble, I will kick your ass. She asks, "By chance, that girl, Minerva. Do you love her?"
Natsu grins and taps her nose, saying, "I only love you, Levy!" She releases him from her grasp and Natsu leaves the room, joining up with his buddies. Hearing the loud noises from Natsu and his pals, Levy scoffs, "Those beggars!"
The dining hall is a large square room with a glossy table in the center. Many exquisite, good-smelling dishes fill the table. Abstract paintings hang on the oaken walls, and a few modern sculptures frame the entire room. Unique plants are placed in specific areas of the room, and a unique, bubbly-looking chandelier lights up the center of the room. Gajeel walks from the kitchen into the dining room and sets a bowl of rice for himself on the table.
Now in the room by herself, Levy glances at a nearly finished painting of a tree with different patterns in the background on an easel. The table next to it is messy, crammed with different kinds of art utensils and acrylics and brushes. Rolling her eyes, the vexed bluenette walks into the dining room, asking Natsu, "You're not painting?"
"Go away. Tch, nagging first thing in the morning," Gajeel tells her.
Levy disregards Gajeel and places her hands on the table, leaning towards Natsu and says condescendingly, "You don't paint, and instead you associate with desperate girls. What are you doing with your life, seriously?" There is no response from Natsu. Then, she asks randomly, "Where's your wallet?"
"Why do you need his wallet?" Gajeel asks, getting slowly irritated by Levy's straightforwardness.
"It's by the bed," Natsu says, without a slight bit of hesitation.
Levy heads toward the room and Gajeel cannot believe Natsu's stupidity. "Why do you always give her money, you dunce?" Gajeel smacks his forehead, completely dumbfounded as to why Natsu would just give his money to a crazy girl like her!
This 'crazy girl' hears Gajeel slap his forehead clearly. Levy turns around to face him and retort, "It's for the potted plants." Then, she leaves.
Gajeel grunts in criticism, "She ALWAYS brings the cheap pots and takes way more. She may work at a flower shop, but she's such a thief."
Back in Natsu's bedroom, Levy rifles through Natsu's bag, and upon finding the wallet, she opens it to get out the cash she needs. She also overhears Gajeel's rude remarks about her, but part of his words were true to some extent... Levy waves this dissatisfying thought away and take a bit more money than she intended, her rebellious side slowly but surely emerging. She conceals it in her pant's back pocket, hiding the bulge underneath her oversized gray sweater.
Gajeel's voice travels to the bedroom, "And you keep interrupting me in mid-sentence... One of these days, I swear I will..." Suddenly, Levy notices something in Natsu's bed that is very disturbing and pisses her off to high hell.
Before the disaster strikes, Gajeel is just continuing his thrilling story about how he dislocated someone's shoulder,"And then, I just kicked him in the-!"
Chatter becomes silent as Levy walks in the dining room with... a purple lace panties on the edge of her pinky. Her face had no emotion but anyone could tell that she was infuriated. Everyone just stares at the dangling panties on her rigid finger, and glances nervously at Natsu, who continues his breakfast calmly.
The infuriated, tiny, but terrifying girl walks slowly to Natsu's side and shockingly drops the purple panties in his soup, just as Natsu was scooping up some soup with his spoon. Gajeel just looks on in surprise and Laxus gasps, shocked, his eyes widening.
At this, Natsu raises his voice angrily, "So, why would you go rummaging through someone else's bed?"
Levy flat out ignores his tone and lifts the panty out of the soup. She also takes out the spoon, and makes it clatter noisily on the table by dropping it. I'm not sure what made me do it, but the moment I saw those ridiculous purple panties in Natsu's bed, I knew he had done it again. He slept with another woman. He is such a shameless little... In pure fury, she picks up the small bowl of soup and pours it all over Natsu's pretty little pink hair.
It seems as if time has frozen. Right as the liquid hits Natsu's head with a loud 'slap', he closes his eyes, feeling the warm fluid drenching his hair and dripping down his forehead onto his face. I am about to explode in flames, he thinks, just barely controlling his urge to flip the table.
Unsure of what to do, Gajeel and Laxus just look at the ceiling and in other places. Gajeel mutters, "She's crazy, seriously."
Levy's eyes were brimming with tears and dangerously close to overflowing, so she sets the bowl down and left grumpily. Natsu stands up with some watercress on his head and his eye twitching. He heads for the restroom, leaving the ones who just witnessed it a bit dismayed.
Laxus and Gajeel simply sigh, for a such a spectacle in their house was not really that surprising. These kinds of things just happen when broken people get together and try to fit the puzzle pieces in their life once again.
A/N: Please note that in this fanfic, Natsu is kind of a jerk and sleeps with other women. Gajeel is pretty much the same, and Laxus is incredibly soft and not so mean like he is in Fairy Tail. Also, Minerva is fake and deceiving, which is not that different from her character. Levy is sassy and aggressive. Gajeel, Laxus, and Natsu are all close and brother-like toward each other, Lucy dislikes her secretary, Erza, (to find out why, just stay tuned, please!) so yeah! c: tons of drama bombs, so if you enjoy drama bombs, then you found the right fic, buddy.
Clearing up some stuff that may be confusing here:
*So what Laxus is claiming to all you beautiful readers is that when he was young, his mother divorced his rich father of the successful, money-making PL group (a fictional company, obviously). When they separated, his younger sister stayed with their father, who is now in a coma as you read in the last chapter, and he went with his mother, who is now passed away. When Laxus's mom was not divorced, and they were still a happy family, Laxus's name was not Laxus at the time. His name was "Su." He was known as Su by everybody, but when their mother divorced their dad, they moved away from the family to live on their own. That was when his mom changed Su's name by adding "Ra-ku-sa" to the name he already had, "Su." And that is how Su got a new name, Ra-ku-sa-su, which is the pronunciation of Laxus. But Laxus's other family does not know that he changed his name. They still know him as the "Su" he used to be, and in order to not confuse them, Laxus writes his previous name, "Su" on the letter that he will soon mail to his long-lost sister, Lucy. (Spoiler, I guess? HEHE.)
**this well-known ancient language is not really any language we know. We just made it up. bwahaha. :D
Once again, as this is AU, character personalities will be different. It's all for the 'fairy tale' ending, don't worry. ;D Please R&R! We love you guys!
-Julie and Jenny