A/N: Gotta say this is one of the most fun stories to write, I mean gender bend Cana is just so much fun. Guest reviewer- the only way I can get to the conclusion is by writing faster, and I'm trying really hard to make this story happen so hopefully it will be to your liking (I haven't even gotten to the Bacchus bit yet! (yes I'm getting excited about my own story, I know, tis lame)) anyways, hope you have as much fun reading as I do writing AznDumplings- I'm glad you like Ultear, I think she's perfect as the big sister. In the cannon series I can totally see her nudging Jellal's romantic life in all the "right" directions (well at least to her anyways). I really wanna include more characters but I haven't got the chance yet, so stay tuned! Anyways read review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own fairy tail
Cane lazily opened an eye, the muted sunlight bringing a wave of familiarity over him. His hand tensed, not sure what to expect yet was relieved to find a bottle, the cool glass soothing against his warm skin. The ceiling looked just the same as always, the hand painted brooding sky threatening lightning around the edges which was like fearsome guardian all through his childhood. He remembered one sleep over Grey commented that it was a strange thing to have painted on the ceiling, always looming over him. But Cane couldn't think of anything more mystical than lightning, the stunning brilliance a fond memory.
But unlike those childhood memories there was a new sound, one that made him slightly nervous- heavy breathing. He tentatively looked up, Laxus' hulking form splayed out on the ground, shirt pulled up in a tangled mess to reveal his chiselled abdomen. Cane's mouth opened slightly in surprise, eyes racking over him. A pang of guilt wormed it's way to the front of his mind, triggering the first conscious question as to why both of them were locked in his old room with Laxus… exposed. Cane swallowed hard, trying to remember what exactly happened last night. His brow furrowed in deep concentration, so deep in fact his didn't notice Laxus yawning as his eyes blinked to attention, quickly searching Canes face for some sign of what was going on.
"So…" Laxus began, making Cane jump in surprise at the sudden sound. Cane offered an apologetic glance before looking to the door, a nervous anticipation about him.
"I'm soo fucked…" Cane muttered under his breath, hoping Laxus didn't notice the words as he slowly shuffled over to the door, Laxus' curious stare never leaving him. He quietly slid the lock free, gently edging the door open to check for potential spies but luckily for him there was not a soul in sight.
"Cane?" Laxus asked quietly, not sure why the tense atmosphere surrounding Cane was necessary and the entire charade was starting to become less and less amusing, especially with the resurfacing memory of the fulfilling of a certain dare.
"Shut up for a sec, I need to think." Cane said, relocking the door before pacing in a quick rhythm. Laxus stared up at him, not speaking yet his unimpressed expression told volumes. He was about to break the silence when Cane froze, eyes wide he turned back to Laxus. "Oh god, my life is over." Cane said, quickly pushing past Laxus to secure a rather large volume. Flinging open the leather bindings he found a practically glowing glass bottle of a strange orange liquid.
"What the fuck is that?" Laxus asked, concerned as Cane brought the bottle to his lips, the panicked look in his eye quickly disappearing, Canes usual mellow smile returning.
"Magic." Cane replied, quickly storing the bottle back in the book and shoving it into the shelf, no one the wiser. He breathed a sigh of relief, sliding to the floor next to Laxus. "So Laxus, it seems the two of us are royally fucked." Cane said with an upbeat tone, beaming at Laxus who glared back at him.
"Is that sister of yours really that bad?" he asked, having a feeling that this rather concerning series of events somehow had something to do with her. Cane nodded, his eyes trailing from Laxus' face to the thick volume but soon found their way back to Laxus' eyes. "What's so bad about her?" he asked, tired of beating around the bush. Cane frowned but his eyes still beamed, perhaps that glowing orange liquid contained some kind or neural poison?
"See, thanks to that piece of shit Loke the lovely Ultear seems to think that you and I are having romantic troubles." He said, wincing at Laxus' shocked expression. "While for most people that could be easily cleared up but once she thinks she knows something she's ruthless. It's only a matter of time till Loke or Gray spill the beans about the dare and then there will be no escaping it." He said, raising an arm to grasp the book but then thought better of it and dropped his hand. "The phone calls, the nagging, the surprise visits… it won't end 'till she gets to the bottom of it'" he said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes.
"So it's that kind of deal…" Laxus replied, not sure how to console his friend though he knew that another sip of that orange liquid wasn't the way. Cane nodded his head lazily, sighing in defeat.
"But there's a bigger problem than our unfortunate lip lock." Cane said, raising an eyebrow as if to ask for permission to continue to which Laxus nodded. "We just spent the night alone together in my room- any idea how much 'hidden meaning' can come from something like that?" he asked, fingers flicking in irritated quotation marks. Laxus' shoulders hunched forward when he realised that at a gathering like this, if rumours started Ever and Freed would most likely hear about it, and then Cane's sister would be the least of his problems.
"We have to set her straight!" Laxus said with more determination than he felt. Cane was taken aback but supposed there was nothing else he should expect from Laxus.
"Good luck with that!" he replied, getting up, his limbs not obeying him as they should as he stumbled to the window, searching the now swelling crowd of sleepy and generally hung over people, glad not to see the familiar black head of hair.
"Look, I don't know much about her but if you tell her straight to her face that there's nothing going on, she'd have to believe it!" he insisted, getting to his feet, standing directly behind him, heat rolling off him from his still overheated skin resulting from the blanket Cane had thrown over him during the night.
"She'd never listen to me…" Cane said, unaware of the insinuation in his words till Laxus' response came, his hot breath close to his ear.
"Then I'll tell her!" he snapped, walking out of the door. Cane turned to stop him, his reaction lagged from the dangerously alcoholic spirits. But by the time he faced the empty door stopping Laxus seemed of little import, so he turned as he usually did to his hip flask, sipping from the calming liquid.
"Good luck with that." He said bitterly, leaving the room, his unnatural swagger unnoticed till the crowded front door, worried faces rushing towards him- rushing towards him just in time to catch him before he fell.
OOO
Ultear sat facing her mother, steaming cup o tea burning her hand slightly but she preferred it to the biting cold. Her mother took a sip from her own cup, eyes searching her daughters face, her troubled eyes mirroring her own.
"What's wrong Ultear? You've been sulking since last night." She asked causing Ultear to look up at her from her now cooling cup with surprise, but her eyes continued to grow wider as she noticed the subject of her thoughts come storming towards them, a determined expression on his face. Ultears response, or more so her lack of response, caused Ul to turn just in time to see Laxus approach them.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked urgently, his stare piercing. Ultear was shocked, pausing before reluctantly nodding. He stood, waiting impatiently until she realised that he meant in private. She awkwardly got to her feet, giving her mother a weary look which she returned before walking away from the crowd, but not far enough that she couldn't escape if necessary.
"Sorry about last night, I was quite rude to you." she began tentatively, not sure what exactly what he wanted from her. "My name is Ultear Mikovich." She said, offering a hand which he took, though it was hard to discern anything through his disinterested expression which she guessed was his typical approach.
"Look, I just wanted to say that there's nothing going on between me and Cane that you should worry about." He said, his brows coming together in a serious stare as he spoke, his words leaving no alternatives. Ultear quirked an eyebrow, surprised it was him saying this and not Cane.
"Does that mean the two of you are together and you have no intention of hurting him, or that you're still deluding yourself that he's not interested in you?" she asked, her bluntness cutting through his attempted polite conversation. He continued to surprise her, his fists clenching in frustration.
"I don't know what you've convinced yourself of but there's nothing like that going on between me and Cane, we're just mates, neither of us would ever cross over that line." He said, resolve like stone.
"Does that mean you want to cross over that line?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest.
"I'm straight, sweetheart." He stated, matching her pose. His words made her realise the reason behind Cane's determination to keep this from her, that whatever they had going was one sided, or at least he thought it was, which just made her even more angry.
"Don't call me sweetheart." She snapped, taking a threatening step forward.
"Don't put words in my mouth." He snapped back, just as determined, standing his ground against her glare. They continued to glare at each other, the heated moment slowly cooling until finally Ultear broke the silence.
"Why isn't Cane telling me this?" she asked, curious as to what explanation he could possibly have.
"He said you wouldn't believe him even if he tried." He responded, his reasoning just as pathetic as she expected.
"Ever think that's because coming from him it would be a lie?" she asked, watching closely with disappointment as instead of considering her words he became more infuriated.
"Look, I don't get how or why you think that there's something going on but I'm telling you there isn't, and you saying there is will just cause a whole bunch of problems that nobody needs." He said, his tone becoming more aggressive by the second, although he didn't seem like the kind of man to take out his frustration on other people so Ultear once again stood her ground.
"Ulteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeear!" Cane bellowed from the top of the small incline the pair was located at the bottom of, waving an arm in the air wildly.
"Cane-ni, you really shouldn't be walking around like this!" Romeo chastised from beside him, holding tightly to his other arm. But Cane was determined; staring at the two until his vision abruptly went black again. Romeo tried to hold Cane up but his efforts were in vain as his knees completely gave out, forcing him to awkwardly lay Cane on the ground, limbs curled at odd angles.
"Jeeze Cane-ni…" Romeo muttered with worry, trying to straighten out his legs out from under him. within moments both Ultear and the man standing beside her were hovering over the drunk.
"Romeo, what's wrong with him?" Ultear said hurriedly, pushing his now shaggy hair out of his face. Romeo froze as Ultears panicked state began to rub off on both of them.
"He collapsed earlier, Wendy thought that he had alcohol poisoning but that's impossible so she's not sure what it is and Cane-ni just ignored us when we asked. He just said he had to find you and started walking, we couldn't stop him." he explained, waiting for Cane's consciousness to return.
"Why is it impossible for him to have alcohol poisoning?" Laxus asked, thinking of Cane's strange behaviour after drinking the orange liquid he called magic. Both looked up at him, then at the other before Ultear finally replied.
"It'd take something a lot stronger than what we have here to knock him out." She said, once again brushing his hair back despite the lack of need. It occurred to Laxus that they probably wouldn't know about Cane's secret stash, maybe that was because of this reason.
"This morning he drank this weird orange stuff and he seemed pretty out of it after that." He said, noticing the look of fear in Ultears eyes as she turned to him.
"What was it called?" she asked frantically, leaning in slightly too close.
"He called it magic…"Laxus replied but as soon as the words were out of his mouth she turned back to Romeo, grabbing Cane's shoulder in an attempt to hoist him up.
"We need to get him back to the house NOW!"
