A/N: hey guys! If you haven't read the revised chapter 18, check it out. I think that Laxus' character makes a lot more sense that way. Anyways I've been waiting to use four stays the same in this fic for months and finally the day has come! I'm so excited! For this fic at least I totally see this as their ship song.
I'm trying to be as true to the original series as possible so if it gets a bit wordy in parts its just because I want to include every time Laxus and Cana appear in the anime at least. (though this part is more Laxus focused because the next bit is Cana focussed) I guess they both seem a little over emotional but I think this is how they'd react in this situation… at least that's what I want to happen hehe.
Anyways as always read, review and enjoy!
Disclaimer I do not own Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima. I do not own four stays the same by the ready set.
"Laxus, you have to get up." Mira said, gently shaking his shoulder. He groaned, a hand coming up to cover his eyes.
"What do you want woman?" he ground out, slowly remembering where he was. The communal room was already starting to wear on him and it was only the second day. Mira pouted, her efforts to be a good team mate had once again gone unappreciated. She had attempted to help Mystogan with his washing but he seemed to panic at the mention of handing over his clothes, who knows why.
"If you stay in bed any longer then you'll miss breakfast." She said curtly, crossing her arms across her chest. Laxus paused, this was the perfect time to try out his new idea. So, in accordance with the plan he sat up and looked directly at her, putting on the best smile he could manage at that point.
"Thanks Mira," he said and watched with pleasure as her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed slightly. "We're going to kick those other guilds arses today." He said, standing before her in proximity which was a little too close. She nodded, taken aback at his newest change in attitude. He patted her head affectionately, well as affectionately as he was capable and grabbed a change of clothes which were sitting on top of his rucksack. "How long till breakfast's over?" he called over his shoulder, hand on the bathroom door.
"About an hour," she replied, still in shell shock. The door closed behind him and Mira fought back her confusion as she made her way down to breakfast with the rest of her guild, though all thoughts of Laxus evaporated when she opened the creaking wooden door to the mess hall in which Lucy was trying to coax Natsu from the ceiling, Grey was trying to once again escape Juvia, Freed and Bixlow were locked in an arm wrestling competition, Ever Green was exchanging pleasantries with her brother, Alzack and Bisca were coddling Asuka and the rest of the guild was acting equally…. Like Fairy Tail.
A while later Laxus strode into the hall, he noticed offhandedly that Cana hadn't shown up, or maybe she'd already left. The weight of the CD and the portable player weighed against his leg. He had located the album the song Cana was talking about and hoped to listen to it while eating. The CD itself hadn't been used before, it was something Ever gave him for a birthday or Christmas or something, probably out of a discount bin in some left-wing music store. He nodded to Freed and Bixlow who repaid the action before returning all their focus back to their match, Bixlow was winning slightly but Freed was slowly making a comeback. He piled bacon and toast onto his plate, noticing Natsu hanging directly above him. It was time for phase 2 to once again work it's magic.
"Natsu, come here." He called and miraculously Natsu obeyed, dropping to the floor directly in front of him.
"What is it, Laxus?" he asked, then suddenly Grey was at his side like a side kick appearing out of the blue in a time of need. Laxus fought the need to roll his eyes at the two idiots before him but this needed to be done.
"After we win this thing," he said, his mouth going dry. He didn't want to say it, every cell in his body wanted to laugh it off and continue with his breakfast but self control won out, unfortunately for Laxus. "how about my team and your team go on that S-class monster fighting job." He said, and Natsu's face lit up like a Christmas tree although Grey was a little less impressed.
"But Lucy doesn't like monsters, Natsu!" Happy intoned, Laxus had hardly noticed the flying rat. Natsu turned on Happy, obviously dismissing his qualm.
"Yeah she does! Lucy's heaps strong!" Natsu exclaimed, turning back to Laxus, hand outstretched. "Sure! But we'll have to split the cash evenly, half each for me and Grey and Lucy and Erza and you guys can have the rest." Natsu said, beaming as if he had just come up with the most ingenious idea ever.
"That doesn't make any sense, idiot!" Grey snapped but Laxus couldn't care less, he was already making his way towards his groups table. Freed had just won the contest, most likely by somehow creating runes, though proving it was impossible. Freed was grinning proudly while Bixlow clutched his hand, threatening something immensely unpleasant. Laxus sat next to Bixlow, considering how to break the news, perhaps he should wait until they were back in Magnolia. He glanced at Freed before deciding that it was definitely better to wait. He pushed three rashers of bacon into his mouth before tending to his portable CD player. He turned it on, pushing buttons until he was at the correct song. Suddenly he understood why he hadn't listened to this CD before, the pop computer generated crap was almost enough to make his ears bleed. But then suddenly something caught his attention, five lines;
'I need a little more thunder
A little more lightning
A little more you
Be my lantern
Help me shine on through'
He paused the song and flicked it back to the beginning, carefully listening to every word.
'I could've wrote down
Every thought I've been thinking to myself all this past year
I would've said in doubt
"Oh, I wanna make myself clear"
And baby- clearly
I need some balance in my ears right now
'Cause I've been freaking myself out
And I've been waking this whole town
And then I turned myself inside out
La da da da da
And it's all about
The way your hips move side to side
Left to right
Guide me home tonight
And I need a little more thunder, a little more lightning
A little more you,
Be my lantern.
Help me shine on through
So I said,
I, I gotta comb my brain for the words to say.
And if you don't feel right then it's a wasted night
The price to pay is so, so high
And the irony could be cut with a knife
'Cause it's my first chance.
But it's my last chance.
And then I turned myself inside out
La da da da da
And it's all about
The way your hips move side to side
Left to right
Guide me home tonight
And I need a little more thunder, a little more lightning
A little more you,
Be my lantern.
Help me shine on through
Baby,
Well I gotta have you loving me tonight,
And when my world has become a whirlwind
Will you be my white flag?
Speed it up like sugar
I'm a wreck and you know I can't do anything about it (about it)
Break it down
I'm on my knees
Baby another chance, oh please
I'm affordable, I'm trainable
When you're taking me out, I'm taking you in
I gotta migrate a catastrophe
Stood strong
It was the best for me
My town is irrela-relavant
My blue eyes match my green lies
Yeah!
And I need a little more thunder, a little more lightning
A little more you,
Be my lantern.
Help me shine on through
And I need a little more thunder, a little more lightning
A little more you,
(give me more of you)
Be my lantern.
(give me more of you)
Help me shine one through
Well I gotta have you loving me tonight,
And when my world has become a whirlwind
Will you be my white flag?'
"Boss, you look like you've seen a ghost" Bixlow said, breaking Laxus' trance. He glanced at his two friends who were staring at him with worried eyes. He shrugged, pressing the replay button, familiarising himself with the lyrics, whistling along with the tune until a hand tapped his shoulder. He turned to see a wide eyed Cana, staring at him with a mix of recognition and disbelief. He reluctantly pulled the earphones from his ears.
"Was that you last night?" she said, eyes darting to his CD player. Laxus put on a poker face, smirking as he usually did.
"What are you talking about?" he said, hoping he didn't give himself away. The song was already incriminating enough but her freaky sixth sense would annihilate him. Her eyes narrowed then slowly moved to his shoulder for some reason. She slammed her hand down on the table, ignoring Freed and Bixlow.
"Take off your shirt." She demanded, totally serious, mouth set.
"Cana-" but before he could continue she cut him off.
"If it was you, your back will have scratches on it," she said, sweat breaking out on Laxus' brow, " if it wasn't you have nothing to worry about." She challenged, waiting expectantly. Laxus swallowed, not sure whether to cut his losses and make a run for it.
"I'm not going to just strip because of some stupid allegation you made up just so you can see me shirtless." He snapped back, stuffing his mouth with now cooling bacon.
"You've never had a problem with being publicly shirtless before, or did you suddenly develop a sense of modesty?" she said, grinning as she took a sip from her hip flask. So this was what their first conversation in over a month (with both of them lucid) was going to be like, an argument, how disappointing. Laxus realised that he was going to have to do it, if he continued to avoid it he would look even more suspicious.
"You're just making up excuses and I have better things to listen to." He snapped, turning back to his breakfast. But Cana wasn't willing to give up that easy, maybe it was the effects of the drugs Porlyusica had given her for her hangover, or her paranoia about the events of last night but she lunged for his shirt. Laxus gasped, pivoting awkwardly on his chair to avoid exposure, ending in Cana lying atop him in a jumble on the ground, much to the amusement of Bixlow.
"Go Boss!" he cheered, ignoring Freed's unsubtly kick under the table.
"Bixlow!" he snapped, about to turn to Ever for support, only to find an empty chair. He glanced around the room to finally locate Ever, playing with Askua, which was a surprise. The sight distracted Freed from the spectacle of Laxus' hastily pushing Cana off his chest, standing in one swift movement before leaving the room with all haste.
Cana was in hot pursuit, her foot just past the threshold of the mess hall when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She considered ignoring whoever it was and tracking down the coward when a voice stopped her.
"Cana?" Mystogan asked, and despite everything she stopped and turned to face him, her usual mischievous grin curving her lips.
"What can I do for you Mystogan?"
Thank God Laxus thought to himself, All I have to do is wait up here until the days over and I'll get Freed to heal the scratches before she tries to check again. He thought glancing around, as always checking the crowd for his father. Spectators were filling the grounds, with a fair few Fair Tail members sitting in the adjacent bunker. Without a sound Mira appeared at his shoulder, she giggled, almost making Laxus jump at her proximity.
"God Mira, don't sneak up on me." He said, his tone almost an unnatural mix of reprimand and anxiety. Her all-knowing eyes irritated him, giving him the feeling she knew something he didn't- something bad.
"Did you hear? We have a new team member starting today." Mira said, a ball of dread started building in Laxus' stomach. "Mystogan decided to sit today out." She said, glancing over her shoulder as if to check for a new arrival.
"Who is it?" he asked in his usual monotone, feigning indifference. Mira giggled once again, placing a hand over her mouth.
"It's Cana," she said, Laxus' eyes widening SHIT!, "It seems the master thought that after all that negativity last night she should see what it's like." She continued, glancing out into the crowd absentmindedly. Laxus shrunk away from her, why was she telling him this? To warn him? Did she know about last night?
"Too bad she won't compete today," he said, attempting to keep his cool under Mira's scrutinising stare. "Gajeel is set on competing against Natsu. I can't see Cana changing his mind." He said, unable to see a way to escape her goody-goody clutches. He searched for Freed in the crowd, obviously needing his services earlier than usual.
He saw Lucy at the Fairy Tail team A booth, leaning over the railing as she spoke to Natsu who seemed to be giving her another pyrotechnic display. He considered making a remark about her speedy recovery from yesterday's beating, his Grams was a life saver. Grams! There was no guarantee she'd agree to help him but it was worth a shot at least. He turned, making his way to the exit before remembering to raise an arm in farewell to Mira as he left. Speeding down hallway after hallway, until he finally burst into Fairy Tail's sick bay, his Grandmother's head snapping up at the unexpected intruder.
"Laxus?" she asked, incredulous, watching him with her hawk eyes as he quietly closed the door behind him. Her tight lips were poised for their assault, unyielding.
"Hey Grams." He said, walking towards her at her seat beside the quietly whimpering Wendy. He paused to look at her, the little sky dragon slayer proudly bore the Fairy Tail insignia, she must have gone through quite an ordeal. "How is she?" he asked casually, knowing she must have heard those words a thousand times already. Her eyes narrowed, hands clenching.
"You're not here about this poor girl," she snapped, "out with it!" she said, not in the mood for pretty lies. He could see the bags under her eyes from nursing her two nights in a row.
"You should get some sleep Grams." He said, letting warmth seep into his voice for the briefest of moments. Her lips softened slightly but her eyes remained hard, watching him, waiting for a response. Laxus sighed, it would be easier to just show her, so he reached back, withdrawing his shirt. But before he could turn to face her the door flew open.
"Porlyusica-san?" Cana's voice called, eyes widening as she took in the scene before her. She looked from Laxus, shirtless Laxus who was very pale by this point to the irritable Porlyusica. "I just wanted to say thanks for the tonic, it really helped." She said, suspiciously staring at Laxus. She walked forward, reaching over Wendy's still sleeping body to hand a small bottle to Grams.
"It's my job silly girl!" she snapped, taking the bottle, "If you keep drinking like that you'll end up with alcohol poisoning again!" she said, her stern face reprimanding enough without the harsh tone afforded. Cana had the good sense to look abashed, scratching her head as she chuckled.
"Well as they say, sixth times the charm." She said, her words slightly shocking Laxus. She'd had alcohol poisoning six times? She always seemed so invincible with a bottle in her hand. Laxus thought maybe he'd gotten off the hook but just then it looked like a light went off inside Cana's head. "Oh, I almost forgot." She said, tapping the side of her head. "Does that tonic cause hallucinations?" she asked, staring straight at Laxus, waiting for the slightest provocation to launch at his back once again.
"No, of course not!" Grams snapped, flicking her hand in a dismissive action. Laxus gulped, he stepped back, not sure whether he could try putting his shirt back on without her catching a glance, or was it better to just let it drop. Little did he know that all his attempts to hide the truth were for naught. Macao and Waccaba had already told her of Laxus' late night visit to her room, though whether he was there for their whole conversation was a little unclear.
"Porlyusica-san," Cana said, her idea fool proof. "does Laxus have eight scratches on the back of his shoulder blades?" she asked, staring down Laxus. Laxus went to turn away from her but realised that either way he turned Cana would find out about the scratches. Grams frowned, glancing at her grandson before answering.
"Yes," she replied, earning a glare from Laxus as Cana smirked victoriously.
"Thought so," she said, turning towards the door. "Thanks for getting my top back, though I was a little disappointed you didn't hit him a few times for me." She said, imitating his farewell wave. As the door slid shut Laxus let out a gasp of air, not sure what his next move would be.
"If that's all I'd prefer it if you left me in peace." She snapped when Laxus made no move to leave. He glanced at her in annoyance.
"Thanks Grams," he snapped, pulling on his shirt before storming out of the sick bay. He failed to see Porlyusica's smug smile as she watched the closed door for a few moments after he left.
Laxus stood at the forefront of the booth, trying not to overly acknowledge Cana's existence, all too aware of his father's presence. Knowing Ivan, he'd probably threaten to expose them unless he did something for him, or try to blackmail him some other way with Cana's safety if he ever found out. Only Gramps truly knew what they were after, and he wasn't particularly chatty on the topic.
As a well needed distraction he looked towards the lacrima vision screens, a little surprised to see Gajeel paralysed by motion sickness. Perhaps all dragon slayers, either first or second generation were a victim of transportation. Suddenly the screen flicked to the leaders, focussing on that Raven Tail freak. Laxus fists tightened, glancing around the stadium once again before he could stop himself. His search would have continued if one announcement hadn't caught his attention.
"Some distance behind is Bacchus from the reserve team of Quatro Cerberus." The announcers easily excitable voice proclaimed. He knew it was petty but it did give him a slight bit, or perhaps even a lot of joy knowing that prick was straggling. A smirk formed on his lips as three mages began fighting yet Bacchus was still a world behind. But before that smirk had time to take root Bacchus literally exploded into action, the chain of vehicles crashing and colliding with Bacchus running at full speed over the top of them. Laxus couldn't help but glare at the screen, hoping that maybe that Raven freak had something up his sleeve. But no, Bacchus past him in a flash, crashing through the finish line to secure first place. Laxus ground his teeth, arms folded across his chest to hide his balled fists.
"Too bad huh, I was hoping maybe Raven boy had more than his bad looks…" Cana said, nudging his elbow. Laxus shrugged her off, not wanting his father seeing their interaction, their connection would be plain as day. He saw her glare at him through the corner of his eye before she moved to chat with Mira, heavily gulping from her hip flask until it was empty. He tried to focus solely on the screen, which fortunately wasn't hard with the three dragon slayers battling for most pathetic.
"Maybe Laxus too?" Mira asked, only then did he register the appearance of Mystogan and the lack of Cana. He could sense she was still near in that way only they could- she was probably going to get some more booze for her flask now that her stint replacing Mystogan was over, thankfully.
"Don't tell anybody." He muttered, eyes glued to the screen.
"I think it's obvious by this point." Juvia said, for the first time using the appropriate pronoun in a sentence with no reference to 'Grey-sama'.
The competition progressed and the three slowly made it closer to the finishing line when the barely clad brat said something rather interesting.
"Can you answer me one thing?" he asked, standing uneasily in the wake of Natsu and Gajeel, their pure determination pushing them forward. They turned their heads slightly, the strain evident. "Why did you decide to participate in the tornament? I wouldn't believe you were the same airy Tail from back in the day. Are you worried about the strength of your guild? About your public image?" he asked, he had obviously put a lot of thought into his question. He just doesn't get it Laxus thought to himself, feeling a small sense of pity for the boy, he mustn't have any nakama, nothing he truly loves above anything else. "The Fairy Tail that I know were more like… they did everything at their own pace… They didn't give a damn about what other people thought of them."
"For…. Their nakama.." Natsu ground out causing Laxus heart to skip a beat. He looked to his guildmates who had remained for the past seven years, their eyes wide with shock before turning back to the screen, smirk on his lips. "Seven years.. all that time.. they were waitin' for us... no matter how painful it was… no matter how sad… Even if people made fun of 'em… they held on.. they held on… they protected the guild… for their nakama… And now we're going to show everyone… the proof that Fairy Tail has been walking all this time! So keep on going!" he yelled, his words more than words and as it always was with Fairy Tail, their feelings were one as. The others sobbed in joy as the Sabertooth brat merely looked shocked, something he could never understand. Laxus smiled to himself, leaning against the wall, for once glad to be right where he was and not even Ivan or Fantasia could take this moment away from him.
And that smile didn't fade when Gajeel came in second last place, or taint with pride as the crowd began to cheer for something they could never truly understand. Once again he was a Fairy Tail mage and nothing will ever change that ever again.
Never again.
Cana slugged back another mouthful of booze, the intermission starting between the contest and the individual brawls. She glanced towards Fairy Tail B team's booth, her lips curving upward subconsciously as she laid eyes on his smiling face, forgetting to look away. Just then his smile widened and he looked right at her, their eyes locked and she knew something was wrong. It wasn't guilt, or shame or embarrassment from last night, he looked afraid. She tilted her head, and walked out, assuming he'd follow her.
And she was right, moments later they were in a janitor's room, the door locked behind them, the small space confining with Laxus' overwhelming bulk. Cana suddenly felt very silly for lureing him out here, as in what if she had misread him. He had changed a lot recently to the point where sometimes when she looked at him she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Though in a lot of ways that was reassuring, it meant that he wasn't in the same pain he was in before.
"I… ahh…" he mumbled, looking away. "I'm sorry 'bout last night." He mumbled, refusing to meet her eye. Cana chuckled in response, the idea of Laxus flustered by anything was so alien it seemed absurd. She smiled, her fragmented memories from the night before rising to the surface.
"Just don't trick me like that again and I think we could work something out." She said, lightly pressing her body against his. Laxus audibly swallowed.
"Umm…" he began but was cut off by her soft lips pressing against his. He stepped back in shock, a tin can clanged to the ground, the sound loud and abrasive. "We shouldn't…" he said, his hands holding back her shoulders. Cana sighed, lips curling in an amused smirk.
"I know, I know." She said, booze lacing her breath. "Anyway, what did you want to tell me?" she asked. His brows creased in confusion, confident her lips no longer posed a threat he released her shoulders.
"What?" he asked, glancing quickly at the door in case of an intruder, though it was highly unlikely.
"You didn't follow me unless you had something to say, right big guy?" she said, licking her lips flirtatiously. Laxus swallowed again, taking another step back which in turn caused her to giggle. "Calm down, I promise I won't try anything." She said, stepping towards him. He paused for a moment, taking her in before leaning in to whisper into her ear, the noise barely audible.
"I need you to make sure that there's no one listening to us." He breathed, before pulling back to give her a serious look. She cocked her head to the side but conceded all the same. She pulled out a card and it glowed slightly.
"Grab hold of this and no one will know we're here." She said, offering the card. He grasped it, feeling a snap of magic energy engulf him. He considered the cards effectiveness but decided to trust her judgement.
"Listen, I don't want you to draw attention to yourself. My dad has a way of finding things out and if he even suspects anything's going on between us then who knows what he'd do." He said seriously, all jokes aside. Cana gritted her teeth and shook her head.
"I can't do that." She said, resolute in that determined tone she used when she'd already made up her mind but this time that wasn't good enough.
"Wendy, Grey, Lucy… how many people need to get hurt?" he snapped, almost letting go of the card.
"That's exactly why I can't!" she said, her tense shoulders a mirror of his.
"That doesn't make any sense! You'd just be making more people worry about you for nothing." He snapped, clutching her arm. She shook her head, head whipping back and forth.
"It does matter! If I hide instead of fight like every one else, what sort of guild mate would that make me?" she said, staring right at him. "You think I'm not worried about him coming after you?!" she said, breaking free of his grasp. He looked at her, exasperated. She wasn't going to listen to him and in the heat of the moment he let go of the card and unlocked the door. As he violently flung open the door, the handle cracking the wall plaster, he looked back over his shoulder.
"Just stay away," he snapped, heading into the crowd which gladly parted for him as he stormed away. Cana sighed to herself.
"Oh boy…"