Beta: Satyrykal
Chapter dedicated to: CrazyZaika, they call me Bridge, Bakers28, alleycat1138, NaluAlways26, MasterGildarts, and Katnibal94!
Chapter 21: Levy's Night
"Never trust anyone who has not
brought a book with them."
– Lemony Snicket
"Did you know that at one point, certain children's books were banned in Bosco?" Levy asked.
Lyon laced his hands together, tapping both index fingers against his lips. "I know about Alice In Wonderland. It was banned almost a hundred years ago because, and I quote: 'animals shouldn't use human language. It's disastrous to put animals and humans on the same level'."
"That's right!" Levy exclaimed, pleased with his quick response. Through her carefully worded questions, Lyon had been passing her quizzes with flying colours. So far, she'd touched on languages, geography, history and literature. The man hadn't broken a sweat.
Finding someone who could keep up with her so easily was a first for Levy. Their conversation had remained casual, but with flirtatious undertones. It felt like more than the hot tea was warming her veins by this point.
"Have I made the cut yet?" Lyon asked, dropping his hands to the table and leaning back in his chair.
"What do you mean?"
"First dates usually have getting to know you questions, but all of yours seem to be an IQ test."
Levy blinked at him. Lyon had a slight smirk on his ridiculously handsome face, pale white locks falling into onyx eyes.
… And here she thought she was being subtle.
Lyon noted the slight downturn to her lips and quickly added, "Not that I'm complaining."
Levy answering sigh came out small and defeated. "Is it that obvious?"
"It's fine." Lyon gave a slight one-shouldered shrug. "It's just unexpected. You're an unusual girl, Levy McGarden."
"You're actually the first date I've ever been on. I guess I wasn't sure what to expect."
"I'm surprised you didn't read a few books on the topic," he teased.
"I did, actually." Of course she did, why leave something to chance when a bit of sound research might prove useful? She shrugged at Lyon. "There are just too many unknown factors."
"Unknown factors?" His eyebrows creased as he took a sip of tea.
"Attraction, common interest, ease of conversation, sense of humour, core values…" she reeled off.
He chuckled, the sound low and throaty. "That's quite the list. I'd like to think I have at least some of those qualities?"
She gave him a fleeting smile as Mira approached.
The only one, it seemed, brave enough to do so.
They had been in Fairy Tail's mess hall for hours and during that time, not one guild member had left. More came in, however—quietly, unobtrusively—slipping in like children to see a sleeping infant, pretending to pay them no mind when it seemed painfully obvious that word had spread of her date and they had all come to have a look.
No one settled into the adjacent tables, but instead left a ring of unoccupied chairs with her and Lyon highlighted at the centre. Her usually boisterous guildmates drank their beers while standing, speaking in quiet undertones, casting long stares in her direction.
Levy wished she had Erza's death glare, or even the woman herself there. Her friend made effective crowd control.
Too bad she's on a solo job.
Their furtive glances felt like she was being dissected, but she refused to leave – on the grounds that she shouldn't have to.
Let them watch. Let them gossip. She was having a great time.
Still, having to watch Mira wiping down their table for the fourth time since they'd finished eating seemed a tad...excessive.
Levy and Lyon politely stopped talking, waiting for the barkeep to finish. Levy supposed the grapevine must've been getting hard up for fresh news.
Possibly because she had cast a sound dampening spell around the table right after they'd placed their food order earlier that evening.
It wasn't the silence spell that she'd used on Lucy, which would've been far too obvious, but a hush and distortion spell that garbled their words so that her and Lyon could have a conversation in peace, without having to worry about eavesdroppers.
It must've worked too well, because Levy could see the frustration etched on Mira's face. The silver-haired beauty could hear them clearly within the tight spell circle, but anything more than two steps away, and she couldn't.
None of them could.
It was one of her best pieces of work.
Mira finally stopped polishing, but instead of leaving, she turned to them – sapphire eyes gleaming and crinkling in the corners.
"Can I get you some more hot water?" Mira asked.
Lyon pressed his lips together – in amusement or agitation, she couldn't be sure. "I think we're good."
"Alrighty then!" Mira's answering smile seemed to say: I can take the hint.
Levy snorted. Like hell you can! She made a not-so-subtle shooing gesture with her hand.
Mira didn't even try to look offended, her too-bright voice remaining as cheerful as ever as she finally backed away. "Just let me know if you need anything else!"
Levy breathed a sigh of relief when she left, double-checking to see if her spell was still holding.
It was.
She hadn't bothered to let Lyon in on her little secret, so when he remarked on their server's frequent checkups, she played along.
"I'm not sure what to say, other than the service here is phenomenal," Lyon said, canting his head towards the teapot. "She gave us a refill less than ten minutes ago."
"They're all a bunch of busybodies, that's what you can say."
"It wouldn't have been any different if you had come to Lumia Scale," he assured her, waving a careless hand at the mob corralled near the bar, openly gawking at them. "My teammate, Sherry Blendy, would've been ranting on and on about love. In fact, I'm almost certain she would've pulled up a chair and barged right in."
"She sounds like Mira."
"Worse, actually. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. Sherry can be a bit…" he paused to find the right word, surprising Levy. She knew from her quizzes that he had a vast vocabulary.
"Eccentric," He finally settled on, "but she's still a valued member of Team Lyon."
Levy had to stop herself from shrugging. That seemed par for the course with wizards. Who in Fairy Tail wasn't eccentric? Her whole guild was chock full of lovable weirdos. Besides, here was yet another alpha-male who had named a team after himself, so really, he didn't have much room to talk about anyone else's idiosyncrasies.
She had been about to ask Lyon more about his guildmates when a figure near the door caught her attention.
Gray stood at the threshold, his focus on the man across from her. He glanced toward her and put two-and-two together. The noirette's lips pursed, nose wrinkling as if her being on a date with Lyon was in bad taste. She bristled slightly, releasing the noise cancellation spell. She had a feeling she didn't need it anymore.
Gray wavered on the balls of his feet, and Levy couldn't be sure if he was going to come inside or just turn around and leave.
"Coward," Lyon growled, low and taunting.
Levy could practically hear Gray grinding his teeth from halfway across the room.
He straightened his posture, ambling with feigned indifference to their table.
"Hi Levy." Gray kept his tone polite, his eyes warm – on her at least. He barely managed a curt nod to her date. "Lyon."
"Hello." Lyon didn't bother to smile.
"Hey Gray, how are you?" Levy asked.
No response.
Gray and Lyon had locked eyes on each other, causing the atmospheric pressure in the room to plummet by the second.
Her glance darted between the two men. "I take it you two know each other?"
She asked the question, but she already knew the answer. The two men had been estranged since the death of their foster mother.
Some time ago, Levy had done a quick background check on every known guild in Ishgar – including their active and retired members, what type of magic each person used, their alliances and their rivalries...
… And their food allergies and credit scores.
Light research, really.
Levy had been so swamped lately that she'd barely managed to trace family trees back a paltry six generations for every guild member of Fairy Tail.
She planned to hand them out as Christmas cards.
Gray shifted, fiddling with the looped chain on his pants, running his fingers over the silver metal.
"We trained together," he admitted reluctantly.
"We were raised together," Lyon clarified. "Or have you forgotten, little brother?"
"No, I didn't forget, although I'd like to."
Lyon's lips thinned. "I can see you haven't changed a bit. Still the same unrefined fool as always."
Gray clenched his right fist, hoarfrost creeping from his knuckles to his wrist. "What's your deal, man? You think you're some kind of big shot? That you're better than me? Because I'll take you on right now!"
Lyon raised one elegant brow but kept his posture loose. "But where's the challenge for me, imbecile? Defeating you in combat in front of your friends seems like a colossal waste of my time and an embarrassment for you."
"I don't think now's the time to be fighting…" Levy started, but Gray cut in, talking over her.
"You've always been an arrogant prick! Get ready to put your money where your mouth is!" Gray let his magic swirl as he extended his arms. "Ice Make: Hamm–"
"Gray darling! There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Juvia tackled him from the rear, wrapping her arms around his neck, causing Gray's magic to wink out in a cold puff of air.
Levy startled, leaning back at her friend's sudden appearance.
"Oomph! Get off me, Juvia!" He twisted around to dislodge her, but she had latched on like a barnacle to his now-bare back. "Can't you see I'm busy trying to kick someone's ass?"
"Like you could defeat me…" Lyon sneered, but his words dried up as he drank in Juvia's tall form.
She didn't notice, far too busy trying to find footholds to scale the chiseled backside of the ice-make mage.
"Juvia has been training to become stronger," she promised, digging her fingers into Gray's shoulder blades. "This way we'll become equals. Your ice magic and my water magic make us the perfect pair."
"Juvia, I really don't need this–"
"I use ice-make magic," Lyon volunteered, standing up so fast he knocked his chair clear to the floor.
What? Levy blinked at empty space Lyon had vacated. Her lips parted and her eyes went wide and motionless. "Lyon?"
Why is Lyon going over to Juvia?
Something uncomfortable began to pull inside her chest as she watched Lyon saunter over to her friend, oozing charm.
"I'm Lyon Vastia. I believe my brother called you Juvia?" He extended a hand, his voice rough – tinged with excitement.
What?
Levy couldn't be sure if she even said the word out loud. She felt the tightness in her chest migrate to her throat. She exchanged a look with Gray. He shrugged back, but narrowed his eyes at Lyon.
Juvia slid off Gray with some reluctance, letting Lyon shake her snow-white hand.
"Yes, you heard correctly. But Juvia didn't mean to disrupt Levy-san's date." Juvia flashed an apologetic grimace in the other girl's direction.
"Nonsense. You came into the guild to get refreshments, right?" Lyon placed his hand on her spine, trying to guide her to their table.
Juvia balked at being led, casting a suspicious glare at him. She shook her head, cerulean locks rippling like the ocean's waves.
"Juvia doesn't require refreshments. Her body is made entirely of water."
"But you still eat?" he coaxed. He resisted touching her again, but pulled out a chair for her, gallant as a prince.
Levy rubbed her eyes, hoping against hope that she might be imagining things.
"Y-yes…Juvia does eat," Juvia stammered, looking completely lost. Levy sympathized.
That made two of them.
"You are utterly beguiling," Lyon murmured under his breath as Juvia went to sit down, so low that Levy almost didn't catch it.
Gray yanked Juvia back, baring his teeth. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Why are you bothering her?"
Lyon didn't seem to hear him. He was staring into Juvia's eyes like they were pools of blue water and he was dying of thirst.
"Who said I was bothering her?"
"You bother everyone, so it wasn't much of a stretch," Gray retorted. "Besides, aren't you here on a date with Levy? Seems pretty shitty to me that you're mooning over Juvia when your real date is sitting right here."
Lyon didn't even attempt to deny it, which confirmed all of Levy's suspicions. He shook his head as if trying to pull himself out of a trance, sparing a guilty glance at her.
Levy swallowed thickly, forcing herself to maintain eye contact. She really didn't want to look at him anymore...didn't even want to be in the same room as him, but she refused to blink.
Refused.
She'd confronted Gajeel Redfox successfully. Someone like Lyon was nothing compared to a dragon-slayer.
"Lyon, as much as I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt, it's hard to do when you just tried inviting another girl to sit with us in the middle of our date."
Lyon winced, mouth twisting in regret. "I'm sorry, Levy. My actions...they've been inexcusable. I've been enjoying our date very much."
"You could've fooled me." To her horror, the words came out in a whisper. She'd been aiming for scathing, but the sound seemed to come from too far in the back of her throat.
Levy felt furious. At Lyon, at herself. She also may have been on the verge of tears, which would be absolutely ludicrous. Her hands balled into tight fists. Levy could deal with this. She could.
But then why was she the only one still sitting at the table?
It made her feel stupid somehow, like a child put in a corner. She stood and made her way to Gray and Juvia, keeping a wide berth between herself and Lyon as she did so.
Levy felt the blood surge to her face, her windpipe taut as a tightrope. She could feel dozens of pairs of eyes on her, assessing the situation. She knew her guildmates would jump in to help if needed, but she was determined not to need it.
Not for a slimy slug like Lyon Vastia.
Levy hadn't known what to expect when she came here tonight, but she'd been up for almost anything. Besides, she knew word of her date would spread like wildfire and Gajeel would hear of it. That had been good enough for her.
It wasn't now. Not anymore.
"What kind of man tries to hit on a woman's friend right in front of her? You're either a pathological liar or a womanizer. I find your conduct deplorable. You act like a decent person but you're not. It's clear to me now why Gray wants nothing to do with you."
Gray grunted in agreement while Juvia gave an emphatic nod.
"Juvia does not appreciate your attitude towards Levy-san."
A flush swept over Lyon's cheeks and he gave a stiff bow. "I've acted with dishonour and for that I must apologize. Levy, you must think that I'm a terrible person. I never meant to mislead you. It's just...I have never been so taken with a woman before I met Juvia."
"You met her all of forty-seven seconds ago," Levy snapped. "And earlier tonight, you were bowing over my hand. You do fast work."
"Your emotions are irrelevant and your actions have been thoughtless," Juvia added, sidling closer to Levy, taking her hand.
"Thank you," Levy whispered to Juvia, entwining their fingers together.
Juvia tipped her head down in acknowledgment, but kept most of her attention on Lyon. Levy didn't know if Juvia could summon water slicer using only her eyeballs, but damn if it didn't look like she was trying.
"Juvia does not share Lyon's feelings. Gray is the only man she desires."
Was it Levy's imagination or did Gray's chest puff up slightly at that?
Lyon didn't look dissuaded as he stared at Juvia, his eyes bright and feverish. He looked like a man obsessed. "I have dreamed of a blue-haired woman with quiet strength ever since I was a child."
Levy rolled her eyes but Juvia spoke first.
"Then you were dreaming of Levy-san. Or perhaps some other woman, but it was not Juvia."
"I think it was you, Juvia. I have never seen a woman so perfect," Lyon implored. His voice scarcely hitched above a whisper, but positively dripped with hushed sincerity.
It took Levy superior poise to stop herself from punching him in the throat.
"No," Juvia said, deriding Levy's mutinous urges for a moment. "If it's 'quiet strength' Lyon is looking for, it cannot be Juvia. She's moody and withdrawn, sometimes even a little lost and sad, even at Fairy Tail."
Levy's eyes flew up, an uncomfortable feeling lodging deep in her chest. Guilt and shame and something like remorse burning through her stomach. She knew she'd been preoccupied with getting these dates set up for both her and Lucy. She hadn't bothered to stop and think about how it might have affected those around her. Her fingers curled tighter around Juvia's.
"Juvy, I didn't know."
"It's not your fault," Juvia assured her, giving a quick smile that transformed her normally pretty face into something far more interesting and rather beautiful. "This is how it goes. Juvia's happier at Fairy Tail than she's ever been anywhere else, but she lacks the hard intellect of Levy-san or the oak centre of Lucy-chan. Juvia will always be the tempest. Strong but untethered."
"The perfect storm. The ideal woman." Lyon declared, something fanatical in his eyes, not seeming to notice the entire room hanging off his every word.
"You're a jerk, man. An absolute low life bastard," Gray hissed.
Lyon dragged his lovestruck gaze away from Juvia and focused on his foster brother.
"You're right."
"I know I'm—wait. Did you just agree with me?"
Lyon gave a helpless shrug. "Levy, you deserved a far better man than me for your first date."
She wasn't feeling charitable in the least. "Damn straight I did."
Lyon went pale as he finally noticed her guildmates behind her. He swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing up and down, and took an unconscious step back.
"I have no wish to cause you further discomfort," Lyon flicked a nervous glance at her friends, "but please believe me, no matter what else transpired here today, my initial motives in meeting you were pure."
Gray snorted, moving so that he had his body firmly planted in front of the women. "I think it's time for you to leave."
"Goodbye, Lyon. Let's not do this again, okay?" Levy said, letting the anger show in her voice while trying to hide the hurt. It seemed to mostly work, judging by the way Lyon blanched as he edged back a few more steps.
"I...yes. Sorry, Levy," Lyon muttered in a weak voice, before wisely turning and finding the exit.
Silence flooded the room, thick and acrid as cigar smoke as it followed Lyon all the way out the door. It held and held and held – a strained inhale – until Makarov gave a sharp nod, indicating that Lyon was truly gone.
Then the entire guildhall erupted.
"What a creep!" Wakaba shouted into her eardrum, somehow being the first one to reach her, pulling her into a solid hug.
"You got that right," Macao agreed, awkwardly patting her on the back. "We can go after him, if you want."
She didn't know if she did.
Levy looked over to Juvia, who was being embraced by Mira and...Evergreen? Okay, that was weird. Lisanna and Elfman stood close by, their reassuring voices melding together so that Levy couldn't make out individual words. She pulled away from Wakaba and Macao to find Gray standing in front of her.
"Hey, sorry about Lyon," Gray offered.
"Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who cast the spell."
Gray gave her a perplexed look, scratching at his sculpted abdominal muscles, leaving trailing pink lines where his blunt nails had been. "Yeah, about that. Why do you think you matched up with Lyon of all people?"
"I have no idea," Levy answered honestly.
She would have to take her request down for now. Go over the parchment and see what went wrong. She frowned deeply. Her magic had never failed her before. Spells could be broken—that could happen to any wizard, no matter how good—but for her to miscalculate her magic so spectacularly?
Unheard of – such things didn't happen to Levy McGarden.
"I...well, ya know…" Gray fumbled, his gaze shifting to his feet.
"Yes?"
"I'm just thinking…" He petered out again and ran a hand through his hair. "Lyon...he really…isn't...a bad guy."
The words came out reluctant and sludge-slow, but Levy had no doubt she heard him correctly.
"Are you serious?"
Gray raised both palms as if she'd drawn a gun. "Hey Levy, don't get mad. You saw that Lyon and I do not get along. He's always been insufferable, treating me like I'm second best, even when we were kids…" He cut himself off, waving an irritated hand as if he didn't want to get sidetracked.
"It's not important, but I know Lyon. I don't think he came here to mislead you. For one thing, Ur would poltergeist the shit out of him if he tried to pull a stunt like that. He came all the way from Lamia Scale for what? A prank?" Gray shook his head, "Not Lyon. He wouldn't waste his time or yours with something so petty. When he said he'd been enjoying your date..."
"You believed him?" She filled in for him.
Gray gave a slow nod, even though he looked as if he'd rather swallow poison than defend his foster brother. "Lyon is many things – a liar isn't one of them."
Okay then, just a womanizer.
The thought brought cold comfort. Even more embarrassing was having most of their friends witness the entire debacle.
"Liar or not, I'm absolutely mortified," she confessed.
To her surprise, Gray made a noise somewhere between a snort and a huff of laughter.
"I lose my shirt five times a day. And that woman over there," he nodded sideways towards Juvia, "publicly declares her love for me at every opportunity. Loudly. What's a little humiliation among friends?"
Levy felt her lips tug up in a reluctant smile.
"Yeah...maybe," she loosed a huge breath as she considered. "Thanks, Gray. I feel a bit better now."
Other guild members gathered close to her again. Makarov stood on top of the bar, hands on his hips. He bellowed to the room, "Drinks are on me, children!"
A loud cheer went up and her guildmates pushed her forward in their haste. Levy found herself pinned between Juvia and Gray, reaching Mira first. The barmaid automatically handed Gray a beer, then passed her and Juvia a fluffy orangey-pink concoction.
Levy took a grateful sip. Sugar and novacaine. For the first time ever, she felt grateful that the guild's solution to most problems was mild inebriation. The drink had a sweet numbing effect that eased some of the lingering bitterness she still nursed.
Levy busied herself with getting decidedly drunk, so she was somewhere deep in her third glass when she first noticed those around her going quiet, with only one voice speaking instead of the multiple side conversations that were the norm at Fairy Tail. She pinpointed the source, realizing all eyes were on Laki.
Laki made a low groaning sound, pantomiming...pain? Pleasure?
Was she telling a story?
As it turned out, Laki had been giving a detailed account of what her room looked like at Fairy Hills.
Levy didn't know Laki very well, but by the time she'd caught up with what was going on, she could say with absolute certainty that she knew Laki Olietta a whole lot better.
Intimately, even; one might say.
How much bondage gear does one woman need?
Levy wasn't brave enough to ask.
She saw Freed taking notes, though.
By the time Laki finished explaining how each intricate device worked (with Freed doing a few rough charcoal sketches), her guildmates were anxious to talk about something else.
Anything else.
The evening melted away and Levy's drink total soared into...she tried to count the exact number on her fingers but ran out of fingers.
She showed her upraised hands to Juvia and the water woman laughed and said she would help her count, but then Max distracted them by using a broom as a stripper pole (although he must've been too shy to look at his audience, his total concentration on the ebony wood in his hands), and that was that.
They never could figure it out, but both her and Juvia agreed it had been a lot of drinks. Zillions. At least. Impossible to compute. Scientists would lament at the brain cells lost this night for years to come. Probably.
Then Levy drank some more.
And more.
And didn't even notice when Mira switched her back to water.
Or when Wendy gave her a headache potion.
Or when Laxus carried her safely home.
She was just suddenly there—poof!—stretched out fully clothed on her bed. Like magic. Alcohol was the best magic.
Levy giggled. Her cheeks were sore from laughing and her head kept spinning like dandelion fluff caught in the wind.
She drowsily pulled the comforter over herself and it seemed to heat her from the inside out – a warm, quiet feeling sinking through her bones and nesting in her heart.
She closed her eyes, sparing one final thought that Gray was right.
What's a little humiliation among friends?
Erza secured the last of her luggage to the cart with a final knot of rope. She glanced around the bustling platform, pleased she'd caught the last train to Hargeon without a hitch. The sun had long set, but she didn't have to meet with her clients until the afternoon of the following day.
She had nothing but time on her hands.
A/N – It's Request Board Romance's 2nd anniversary tomorrow! I'm sorry I don't write particularly fast. I have a lot of anxiety before I publish, always wanting to tweak things and make them better. Thank you for reading!
I participated in Nalu Week 2019! It's a series of one-shots, if you care to check them out.
Side Note: Alice in Wonderland really was banned in China in 1931.
Laki's room in Fairy Hills is canon, but I couldn't resist having her talk about it here (with Freed taking notes and making charcoal sketches. My head canon demands that Freed is a freak in the sheets.) :)
The next chapter is Jellal and Erza with lemons. OMG, I can't wait! I hope you'll stick around!
Thank you to my fabulous friend and beta Satyrykal for her unwavering support! Not only does she make everything so much better, but also she has mentored me a lot. I would not be the writer I am now without her, she's taught me so much. Satyrykal also creates amazing Nalu stories on here so please go check her out!
Thank you to wordsaremyspells1331 for reading through this and giving me feedback and encouragement! X
Hugs, love and tons of gratitude to those who reviewed last chapter! valerioux, MasterGildarts, alleycat1138, ShanaHollows, stranger1999, Avalanche65, FireShifter, Katnibal94, NaLuAlways26, CrazyZaika, Professor of Gallifrey, JAKEDSNAKE, they call me Bridge, artistofthemind, heyitsmeduhnat, Guest, ABT4Life, noseinabook145, Slash2104, and ligersrcool! xoxo