Hi everyone :) Sorry about the delay - I was having a major brain fail!
Thanks to CColondam and ImpracticalDemon for you reviews! Mwah!
More to come soon (I hope. I've written tons of crap down and kinda lost it. Same with my summary notes. So oops if there are plot/timeline inconsistencies - I'll deal with them later).
So without further ado, here's the update. I've taken inspiration from RaivynGrimm with random tagline/summary chapter names :) Her story "Sparky and Blondie" is hilarious (and a bit naughty so if you're not into smutty comedy, then you're definitely missing out!).
As always, I take zero credit for Hiro Mashima's brain child (and holy shit... How epic has the manga story line gotten?!).
Peace out :)
Chapter 36 (or "Silver finally comes clean at an inappropriate moment, and Erik isn't always a total asshole.")
"When were you planning on telling me?" Gray's voice was soft and coloured by the betrayal he felt. He watched his father slumber in the seat across from them but his question was directed at Amalie.
Ugh… I feel too shit for this, she grumbled to herself as she fought off the nausea induced by the motion of the train. Now I know why Slayers hate these fucking hell boxes.
"It wasn't for me to tell," the girl finally snapped back when she was certain it was only going to be words that would come out of her mouth. She shifted irritably in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position for her wounded shoulder. She finally found one and leant her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes.
They were on their way back from a job hunting a guild that had been causing a problem for the local townspeople.
It would have all gone well if Silver, in all his eternal wisdom, hadn't deemed it appropriate to tell his son he had mere weeks to live while they were under the first waves of attack. In his defence, he probably hadn't anticipated that the Ice Make mage would freeze dead in place as he processed the information.
Amalie had had to act quickly when she'd heard the all too familiar sound of a bow string tightening, and had pushed Gray from the path of the archer.
Unfortunately for her, it also meant catching the arrow meant for the Ice Make mage's heart in her shoulder.
The force of the off centre hit had sent her spinning, and she'd only just managed to liquefy the arrow before she hit the ground.
The fight had been far from pretty after that, but they'd ultimately succeeded with only a few deaths.
And they took the 'burial' fees out of our reward... Seriously, they should have just burnt them and been done with it. I would have even lit the bonfire for free.
"That arrow was poisoned," Silver noted in a bored tone, not bothering to open his eyes.
"No shit," Amalie grumbled. She'd known as soon as the half arsed piece of timber hit her and practically splintered on impact.
A good arrow with a proper steel point would have put a hole in her shoulder blade.
"Poison?" That caught Gray's attention and he finally looked over at her. Despite his obvious annoyance, he reached out to rest the back of his blissful cold hand on her forehead. She sighed and leaned into his touch.
"I wasn't going to tell you," Silver finally admitted, still a picture of arrogant peace as he spread out on the seat across from them. "I actually had no intention of even coming back to Fairy Tail with you."
Ouch.
"Then why don't you just leave now?" Gray's question was as brutally honest as Silver's previous answer.
The elder Fullbuster finally opened his eyes and looked over at his son. "Because you're going to learn Ice Devil Slayer magic before I die. It'll be my final gift to you."
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A few hours later...
"How dare you!" Amalie shrieked.
Erik watched in amusement as the woman leapt from the infirmary bed before his blonde mate could stop her, and shoved Laxus hard in the chest. She'd been brought in unconscious by the stripper and had only recently woken up.
Her current ire was all thanks to Laxus growling at the Poison Slayer for sniffing her wound and tasting a drop of blood while he tried to ascertain what she'd been inflicted with.
What the fuck?! Confusion swirled through Laxus' soul at her strike. What is her issue? Must be that time of the month...
Baka really doesn't get it, does he? Erik wondered absently. He pushed his magic to get a reading on Amalie, but her soul just swirled with a heavy red haze of anger that blocked out everything else.
Neither of them noticed that the Ice Make mage had returned and was standing in his boxers in the doorway, observing their altercation with a carefully guarded gaze.
"We had a deal! But then you… You marked me and fucked off, you asshole!" The Lighting Slayer moved back barely a step on the first hit but she persisted, shoving him with all she was worth to punctuate each sentence. "Do you even know what that's like?! I was trying to escape Sera just to get trapped by you! Then you fucked that whore as loudly as possible... When I came back to confront you! So stop with the fucking growling! I am not yours! You made that decision! It was all on you! And I've made mine! I love Gray!"
None of this was news to Erik, but judging by the Ice Make mage's furious, and then forcefully empty, expression she hadn't had the 'previous partners' discussion with him yet.
The Change mage was gasping for breath and finally noticed her mate's scent. She turned slowly from the blonde behemoth, face ashen at the realisation he'd probably heard everything.
"Gray… I can explain..."
"It's been a long day," his tone was as icy as his magic. "I need some space to process everything that's happened."
Amalie nodded slightly, soundless tears sliding down her cheeks, before he shook his head and walked back down the hallway.
She doubled over, dry reaching as the poison again made itself known. A slight dribble of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
"I'll go and talk to him," Lucy finally murmured as she recovered from the shock, giving Erik's hand a quick squeeze before slipping out after her friend.
Her soul shone with compassion and worry… and hope.
Always so much fucking hope.
Erik found himself wondering again just why she'd chosen an arrogant asshole like himself.
The sex, he decided. It had to be that. He fell short at all the other parts that really mattered. The image of Lucy in one of her many scant lingerie sets rose to the forefront of his mind and he felt the inevitable stirring in his pants.
"Kitten…" the mollified lightning slayer's whisper brought Erik back to the situation at hand.
He watched as the smaller mage blindly swatted Laxus' hands away as he reached for her, his face creased with concern.
Ah shit. Better get onto that before she actually dies. I'll eye fuck Jugs later when I'm done.
"Back up, asshole. Let the doctor through," Erik ordered calmly as he reached the Change mage's side.
Pure, unadulterated fury flooded his fellow Slayer's soul as the Poison Slayer scooped Amalie up with the intention of depositing her back on the infirmary bed and finally removing the poison that was contaminating her body. She, however, had other ideas when Laxus let out a very audible snarl of displeasure and fought fruitlessly to attack him again.
"Queenie." Erik used his serious voice, the one he knew Amalie would actually listen to. It embodied authority and obedience; all the things that she, as a soldier of sorts, had grown up to respect. "Calm down. That poison needs to come out before it kills you and then you can go back to bodily harming the Electric Neanderthal until your little heart is content."
She settled quickly, purposefully ignoring the displeased noise Laxus let out before he stomped from the room, and turned tearful emerald eyes up to stare at him.
The anger in her soul was replaced with a drowning black despair.
"But Gray…"
"Leave Jugs to deal with him, alright?" Erik tried to soothe. He knew his bedside manners were shit, but his shakily pathetic attempt at reassurance seemed to work.
She nodded slightly and her soul sung out with the the tiniest splinter of hope that paled in comparison to what his blonde beauty always seemed filled to the brim with.
Maybe I should take her out to go kill shit after this. She likes hunting, so that'd work right? Fuck women are hard… So many fucking emotions and shit…
Erik focused on the poison removal. It was less of a headache than trying to actually work out how people's minds worked.
.:*:..:*:..:*:..:*:..:*:..:*:.