Prank War
Fairy Tail had erupted into a full blown war.
It had started a week ago, during one of Natsu and Gray's daily fights. Gray had decided it would be fun to pour ten buckets of ice cold water on Natsu when he walked through the guild doors. The fire dragon slayer was immediately drenched the moment he stepped into the guild as the freezing water soaked him from head to toe.
Unfortunately, due to the large amount of water that ten buckets could hold, everyone standing near Natsu got splashed with the icy water. To Gray's horror, Erza was one of those people. Thanks to Erza's magic, she was able to change out of her wet clothes in an instant, but unfortunately for Gray, she had changed into her Purgatory Armor with an angry glare on her face.
The ice mage trembled in fear when he recalled Erza saying nobody had seen the armor and lived to tell it. But before Erza could do more than just glare, Natsu had tackled Gray, sending flaming fists at his face. Erza had soon joined the brawl, swinging her spiky mace and knocking both the boys to the ground. The redhead had angrily announced that she would get her revenge for her ruined clothes but before she could pulverize the boys, the Master had walked in, much to Natsu and Gray's relief.
Master Makarov had laughed at the scene in front of him and explained to the confused faces that he had been quite the prankster back in his day and Gray's joke had reminded him how fun it used to be. Laxus had rolled his eyes at his grandfather, thinking that the old man had finally lost his marbles.
That's when some mage in the crowd had suggested on having a prank war and the guild lit up at the idea. Master Makarov had appointed himself as the judge, saying he was much too old for pranks, adding to the suspicions of the Master just trying to get an easy way out.
When the question of making teams came up, Makarov had suggested the old fashioned boys versus girls, much to Lucy's disapproval. It was decided then that whichever side gives up first will lose and would have to do whatever the winners tell them to do for a whole week. Natsu was one of the first to agree, with the rest of the guild reluctantly accepting the challenge after him.
One week had passed since the so called war had begun and everyone who bothered to show up at the guild was always on full alert. With the prank war going on, less than half of Fairy Tail's mages populated the guild during the day in fear of being pranked. Bisca and Alzack decided to depart onto a family vacation as an excuse to not participate on opposite sides. Laxus had taken a two week long job and others followed his lead to escape the oncoming pranks. The mages who didn't want to get caught in any traps chose to stay home until there was a winner. That only left few people who were brave enough to enter the guild.
The main contenders were Natsu and Gray who decided they would win first before Natsu would get his revenge for the ice water joke. The two had been careful with Erza, choosing to prank anyone but her because no prank was worth going through the wrath of Titania.
They became quite proud whenever a prank came out successful and soon enough, pranks were to be expected from the two rivals every day. One day, Gray had added an absurd amount of muscle relaxing cream to Evergreen's lip balm, causing her lips to numb and her speech coming out garbled. Natsu had plastic-wrapped Lucy's toilet and fell down laughing when he heard the surprised shriek from outside her apartment when the blonde went to use the bathroom. One unknown brave soul even teepeed the inside of Erza's apartment with toilet paper.
The girls had started off weak with Lucy attempting to prank Gray by putting a red sock in his laundry but the ice maker easily solved the problem by stripping out of his stained clothes which made Juvia literally melt then accuse Lucy of purposely trying to get Gray to strip. The girls quickly recovered from the failed prank by stealing the boys' toothbrushes to clean the toilets and watched as they unknowingly brushed their teeth the next morning. Evergreen had discovered Elfman's weakness when she filled his bedroom with fake rats and recorded the very unmanly scream that he had let out.
Days went by as the girls endured the waves of pranks the guys kept bringing, patiently waiting for the prank that took them days to prepare. Mirajane, being an excellent cook, had made several dozen delicious burritos and served it with a huge smile on her face. Because of her kind personality, no one had any suspicions about her participating in the pranks and ate the food as if they were starving.
"Oi, Mira, could I have a beer to wash these down?" Macao asked. Mira smiled as she handed out beers to her customers.
The girls sat at a table near the bar, secretly watching the boys as they finished the burritos with a somewhat devilish grin playing on their lips. Twenty minutes passed slowly until the girls finally got the result they planned for. Stomachs started to grumble uneasily and pained expressions slowly took over every burrito-eater's face.
Gray quickly excused himself from the bar, saying he had to use the bathroom. Minutes later, Natsu was pounding on the bathroom door with a hand clutching his stomach as he yelled for Gray to get out and a line of complaining men started to form behind Natsu.
"My stomach…"
"Need…to use…the bathroom…"
"Gray, hurry up!"
"WHERE IS THE DAMN TOILET PAPER?"
The girls could no longer keep in their laughs when they heard Gray's yell from the bathroom.
"What did you do?" Elfman asked angrily. The girls were still laughing too hard with tears brimming their eyes to properly answer the question.
From the corner of the bar, Gajeel sighed and finally spoke up. "There were laxatives in the beer, you idiots."
"How do you know?" Natsu demanded.
"I could smell it from here, Flamebrain," Gajeel grumbled.
"I didn't-" Natsu started to object but Gajeel interrupted.
"Cause you're too dumb to bother."
"Screw this," Bixlow cursed. "I'm using the bathroom in that restaurant across the street."
An evil grin spread across Lucy's face. "Too late, we took all the toilet paper from all the bathrooms near Fairy Tail."
The men glared and swore for revenge.
And a few days later, they got it.
The girls had all decided to celebrate their success by going to the large bath area in Fairy Hills to relax in the hot water. It turned out to be a huge mistake. They were too caught up in the comforting warmth of the water to realize that they were letting down their guard too soon.
The peaceful moment only lasted for mere minutes before the door and vents burst open and flooded the whole bathing room with mud. After the waves of mud ceased, the girls stood in shoulder-high sludge, with an incredulous look on their faces. A cackle could be heard through the vent in the ceiling and a chorus of male laughs soon joined in.
"Enjoy the mud bath, ladies!" Gray shouted through the open vent.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Levy sat by herself in an empty guild, she had arrived earlier than usual but had not expected the guild to be completely empty. The silence that hung in the guild felt foreign and Levy decided to take advantage of the once in a life time opportunity and pulled out a book to read.
Fairy Tail had never known this kind of silence but since everyone was forced to clean up the bathing area in Fairy Hills, everyone was busy today. Levy chose not to participate in the little competition since she wasn't much of a prankster and the boys didn't really seem to target her. Jet and Droy chose to stay home for the duration of the prank war and invited Levy over but she had politely declined.
Several minutes passed before Levy heard the squeak of the door opening. The bookworm paused mid-sentence and looked up as Gajeel walked past her. She watched as he walked behind the bar, pulled out a mug and a bottle, poured himself a drink, and sat down in his usual corner on the bar stool.
"Stop starin'," Gajeel grunted without looking at her. "It's creepy."
Levy's cheeks warmed as she got caught and she mumbled, "S-sorry."
"What are you doing here?" Levy decided to ask in hopes of maybe coaxing the dragon slayer into a conversation.
"Wasn't a part of that prank," he explained. Levy quietly sighed to herself and gave up trying to communicate with Gajeel; he was never good at keeping a conversation going.
The solid script mage dove back into her novel and immediately entered a whole other world in her mind. Gajeel remained seated at his spot, taking small sips from his mug. The dragon slayer turned his body ever so slightly so he could glance at her from his peripheral vision. Levy was captivated by the book she held in her hands, her face was focused but she was relaxed.
Gajeel's eyes moved to stare at the wall in front of him and decided to try a little experiment. He tapped his fingers on the wooden counter, making a small beat but Levy paid no attention to it. Gajeel increased the rhythm and tapped his foot on the floor.
Still nothing.
He should've realized nothing could tear that bookworm away from her book. Gajeel considered taking a job, he did need the money, and there was nothing to do here anyways. A small part in the back of his mind prevented him. Gajeel didn't understand it, but he didn't want to leave the bluenette all by herself even though she was fully occupied. He brushed the thought aside and decided to stay.
The iron dragon slayer continued to sip from his mug and listened to the silence and occasional sound of a page turning. After he finished three mugs of ale, Gajeel found himself drifting and his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. He laid his head on his arm and let himself take a little nap to pass the time.
A soft snore brought Levy back into the real world and she lifted her head up to search for the noise. She immediately saw Gajeel with his head resting on his forearm, although she couldn't see his face, she knew he was fast asleep. An hour or so may have passed and Levy guessed he had gotten bored and drifted off. Levy quietly laughed to herself, she had never seen Gajeel so relaxed and she found it fascinating and maybe even a little cute.
Before Levy could talk herself out of it, her feet carried her away from the table and towards the dragon slayer. She found herself standing behind him, staring at his back. Even through the material of his usual sleeveless tunic, Levy could see the ridges of his back muscles. Most of his back was covered by the black mess he called hair and Levy couldn't help but feel the temptation to touch it.
She hesitated, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. Levy would die of embarrassment if she was caught with her hands in his hair. An idea suddenly formed in her head and she almost giggled as she thought it through. Levy had never pranked anyone before but the image of Gajeel's reaction pushed her even more.
Levy had always had short hair, she tried to grow it out but it took forever and eventually her patience would run out and she would get it cut. The bluenette always envied Erza and Cana's long locks and even Evergreen's wavy hair. Her hairstyles were limited due to her short hair and Levy always ended up pulling it out of her face with her favorite yellow headband.
Carefully, Levy reached up and stroked the spiky hair. Gajeel's hair was softer than she had expected it to be, she would have to ask him if he used conditioner later. His thick mane was tangled and messy and Levy's fingers acted as a comb as her hands ran through his hair. After she untangled the top of his hair, her hands reached under the thick layers and slowly brushed down. Levy's cheeks were painted a deeper red each time her hands touched the warm skin on the back of his neck and slid down his back.
After she was satisfied, Levy separated his hair down the middle into two even sections. She then wove each section down his back and tied it off with the bows she had made from her solid script magic. Levy took a step back and admired her work but something was still missing…
Levy frowned and pursed her lips. A brilliant idea came to her and she untied her headband from behind her head, letting her blue hair cover her forehead. Levy gently covered the top of his head with it, like the many times she has done it on her own head, and tied it firmly under his ears. She stood back again, and failed to keep a giggle from escaping her mouth.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Gajeel had woken up the moment her hands touched his hair. He had never bothered to do more than just wash his untamed mane, resulting in its spiky appearance. His skin tingled whenever her fingers ran through his tresses and his spine shivered when her hands touched his neck and made a trail down his back.
Gajeel didn't know what she was doing or why but he didn't stop her. He held back a shudder every time Levy gently pulled at his hair, feeling tiny tingles spreading in his scalp. Gajeel was disappointed when she stopped but he let her continue on with whatever she planned to do.
The cool air touched his neck as she split his hair and wove his thick strands down his back. Is she doing my hair? Gajeel made a face at the table. Levy's hands had left his hair for a moment and returned to wrap a long piece of fabric on the top of his head, securing it with a tight knot. He heard her giggle as she stepped back and he decided that it would be smart to "wake up" now, just in case she wouldn't get ideas of doing his make up or anything.
Levy watched as Gajeel shifted his body and lifted his head off the table; he took a second to look at the two long braids hanging from his head and touched her headband on top of his head.
Slowly, he turned to look at her with a dark scowl.
Levy downright laughed as Gajeel glared at her. "You look cute."
A light pink dyed his cheeks, contrasting with the frown on his face. Gajeel stared at Levy's dazzling smile, her laugh the only sound in the entire guild.
"No one hears about this, got it?" He failed at trying to sound threatening and instead proceeded to tug the bows from his hair.
Levy sighed and agreed, still giggling at the sight in front of her. Gajeel looked like a very large and very angry little girl. She stepped forward and eased his rough hands away from the bows and untied them, returning his mane back to its normal shape.
Gajeel reached behind his head and undid the yellow headband, slipping it out of his hair. Instead of handing Levy the piece of cloth, he looped it on her forehead, slowly pushing back the stray hairs that had fallen back over her head but leaving the two blue locks that always framed her face. His large hands reached the back of her neck and his fingers brushed against her skin as he tied the knot, making Levy's cheeks redden. Gajeel reluctantly pulled his hands away and smirked at her blushing face.
Maybe he should pretend to sleep more often.
The first half was kind of just for fun, not a lot of GaLe action but I hope you still enjoyed it.
