Author's note (Present): Silly story: when I was looking up the chapters in my Google Drive, the next chapter didn't immediately pop up when I typed it into the search box, and I panicked thinking "Is this the end!? Is this really the end!? I've been updating this for years! It'll be so weird to have it gone!" And then I did another, actual search, and found the other chapters. xD There are 61 chapters to this, apparently!
Enjoy!
Author's Note (from when this was written): This chapter was written a bit more chipper than the last one, to lessen some of the tension in the story. :3
Walking Cliché 49
Triangles
Tuesday, March 12th, 6:30 PM
"So you're staying at Fairy Tail, huh?" Claire asked the iron mage, and he nodded. The two wizards were currently in the shitty bar down the road from their guild hall, and much like the first time they went there, it was pouring down rain outside. It was a little busier that night, with several drunken men by the bar complaining about their wives, and a couple discretely hiding in the corner with their drinks.
"Yeah, figure that it's the safest place to be nowadays. Besides, the magic council has been outsourcing jobs to wizards in guilds, so chances are that I'll end up doing my job again for more money. Go figure."
"Does that mean that Levy is coming back, too?"
"Yeah. We found a place near the guild hall that's cheap, and we're moving our shit next week. I fucking hate moving."
"I feel ya." She told him, and they clinked their bottles together.
"So when did you and Fried become best friends, by the way?" He asked after taking a swig of his drink.
"He's trying to be my best friend to hook up with Laxus."
"You think that's going to work?"
"Who knows. It's nicer than him hating my guts." She shrugged. "After what Makarov told me, it's hard to give a shit about anything nowadays."
"That happened after we left the room last week, right?" Gajeel asked, giving her a toothy grin. He'd been patiently waiting for her to bring it up all week.
"Apparently they've been flaunting me as their big weapon against the Ghoul Guild for a while now. So not only is he the reason that people have been trying to kill me, but I'm apparently their best defense against the strongest dark guild in the country right now."
"Are you really that surprised?" He asked, leaning back in his seat a bit. "I mean, you have dragon magic. If I was him I would totally show off your power whenever I could, especially against a dark guild that trying to fuck around with me. Hell, you're resistant to practically every poison in existence and can turn into a giant fireball."
"I'm not resistant to poison. I get poisoned all the time by that stupid anti-healing crap."
"Back when dark guilds were trying to assassinate you, they poisoned your food all the time. We didn't tell you because we didn't want to freak you out."
Claire glared at him, chugging down her drink, and trying to not think about all the times that she could have ingested lethal poison.
"I mean, we caught most of it before you ate it, but a few times Laxus and I smelled it on your breath. Bickslow was pretty freaked when we told him."
She continued chugging.
1.
Wednesday, March 13th, 6:30 AM
"Mooooooooom," An all too familiar ten year-old's voice whined in her ear, causing her to groan and shift under the sheets. "Uncle Laxus is here."
"Tell him to go away." She grumbled under the sheets, pulling the dark fabric over her face.
"I'll take it from here, kid." Laxus spoke from the doorway, and Claire groaned again, knowing that this wasn't going to end well. Her son jumped off of the bed and padded down the hallway, continuing his journey down the stairs and back to the kitchen for breakfast. A few seconds later, the door clicked closed, and she heard him take a few steps closer to the bed. "You've been moping for a week."
"Go away." Claire told him, wanting to stay under the covers. She hadn't seen or talked to him since the previous week, when he yelled and accused her of being an idiot over and over again.
"Are you mad at me?"
"Yeah."
"Because I told you how valuable you are to the guild?"
"No, because you yelled at me." She mumbled, clutching the sheets closer to her and folding her body into fetal position. She just wanted to sleep at this ungodly, stupid, horrific hour.
Laxus sighed, taking a seat on the foot of the bed, causing the mattress to compress beneath his weight. Claire was tempted to kick him. "I'm sorry for yelling. You just… scared me. That spell would have killed you."
He waited for her to say something, but when she didn't, he continued talking.
"I've been spending a lot of time with Bickslow and Mike lately, and I know how much it would have hurt them if you died. How much it would have hurt me if you died." He added. "The entire guild would have been devastated."
"It would have been months before we could cast it, and it was possible to find a way to target which Book of Zeref creatures were killed."
"It was a trap from the dark guild."
"We don't know that." She defended, staring into the darkness of the fabric and slightly annoyed by the soft red glow from her soul.
"How about a compromise. I shouldn't have overreacted, but you should have told me about it. Deal?"
2.
Wednesday, March 13th, 6:45 AM
"Dude, make your girlfriend more reasonable." Laxus ordered as he entered the kitchen, grabbing a piece of toast on his route to the breakfast table.
"I'll gladly take some tips from the single guy mooching on our food." Bickslow told him, eyeing the lightning mage that bit into the toast he had hoped to eat in five minutes. Seeing Laxus at this early hour had become the usual the past few weeks, and although he'd enjoyed having his best friend around so much, it was beginning to get old. Not that he was going to admit that anytime soon- he loved watching how flustered Fried got when he brought it up in conversation.
"I don't know. Take her out to dinner and tell her to be less bitchy."
"What does 'bitchy' mean?" Mike asked, looking up at his 'uncle' as he ate his fruit loops.
"It's a bad word that we don't use to describe people." Bickslow explained. "And I'm a social pariah right now, so going out isn't an option."
"Do what that other seith mage does and wear make up. It's not like anyone in town outside of Fairy Tail know what you look like without the visor; and, hell, I don't even know what you look like without that thing on your face."
"… I don't either, actually." He pondered, now considering the recommendation. I would look so weird without it….
"You said another bad word." Mike told the blond, and he simply grunted, going back to his toast.
"What are you and Claire arguing about?" Bickslow asked curiously. It was pretty common for the two mages to have their squabbles; however, nowadays it rarely went on for longer than a week. Laxus was remarkably good at doing things to make her forgive him for whatever obnoxious thing he did.
"She did something stupid so I called her out on it."
"She made a decision that you disagreed with, so you yelled at her."
"Did she tell you what happened?"
"Not the specifics."
"If you knew what she'd been planning to do, you would have been just as pissed."
"Did she go through with it?"
"No, but she would have."
"Is that why you went ballistic and destroyed the project thing?" Bickslow asked, refraining from smiling at his team leader. It was pretty rare to see Laxus lose his temper, especially as badly as he apparently did the previous week, and Bickslow had enjoyed piecing together what happened that day. Ever since the Battle of Fairy Tail he and his team kept a close eye on Laxus in case he lost it again, and according to Fried, he was pretty close last week.
Bickslow Yoshino wasn't stupid. He was the confidant to both Claire and Laxus, and he knew that whatever they were hiding was eating them up. He also knew that both of them were stressed as hell, and even though he was pretty sure about how to deal with Claire, Laxus was a different story. After days of drinking and bonding he'd thought that his friend had calmed down enough to deal with Gajeel, but whatever the hell set him off made him dangerous.
"So, I was thinking about going camping with Claire. Maybe you should get out of town for a little while, too. Maybe go hiking with Ever and Fried?"
The blond grunted, now staring out the sliding back door. It was still raining outside. "I'm not going to snap again, if that's what you're worried about."
"Since Gajeel is staying in town, maybe it's better to make sure?"
"Where are you guys going camping?"
"I'm not telling you." The seith mage snorted.
"Why not?"
"You know why. Besides, we're going to be spending the time switching over souls and training together."
"Is that what you kids call it these days?"
"What do kids what call what?" Mike asked, and the men looked over at him, having forgotten that he was there.
3.
Friday, March 15th, 9:30 AM
"Sorry that camping didn't work out." Bickslow apologized as they piled into the hotel room, closing the door quickly and shedding off their soaking wet clothes. "Kana said it would be clear skies this weekend."
"It's alright." Claire told him, making her way to the bathroom to hang up their wet clothing. Upon catching a glimpse of her naked butt before it disappeared into the small room, a perverted smirk graced his lips as he followed close behind.
4.
Friday, March 15th, 9:30 AM
Laxus hated himself for taking the stupid doll guy's advice.
Now he was stuck 10 miles from town, hiking through the forest with tweedle-dumb ahead of him, and the rain was pouring down in heavy thickets. They were soaked, through and through, and he didn't bother hiding the glare on his features.
Fried had gotten them lost.
Which, if Laxus wasn't soaked and tired from their terrible sleeping arrangements- they woke up in a creek with half their supplies gone- he might find the green-haired mage's actions suspicious. Fried had numerous magic spells to keep him from losing his way in the woods, and yet, here they were trampling through the forest aimlessly.
Normally Laxus loved thunderstorms like this, being a lightning mage at all, but he had lost any affinity for this situation when he lost one of his shoes one hour earlier.
"I see a cabin up ahead. Perhaps they'll be willing to let us stay for the night?" Fried suggested, and without hesitation, Laxus grabbed the man's shoulder and used his teleportation magic to get them there faster.
Appearing just in front of the doorstep, Laxus led their trampling up the steps and into the house, not even bothering to knock. The word mage followed close behind, shivering, and closed the door behind him.
"Anyone here?" The lightning mage bellowed into the small cabin.
"I-it d-d-doesn't a-appear s-so." Fried shivered, looking around the room. It was a typical log cabin with electricity, a fireplace set with convenient firewood, and there was even a fur rug strewn in front of the blackened space. A couch was across the room, along with other minimal furniture, and it looked like a small kitchen was across the small building.
Laxus wasted no time tossing a few of the logs into the fire place and using his lightning magic to light it. After doing so he dumped his pack by the wall and coat on the hanger, then disappeared through one of the two doors. A few seconds later, Fried heard the sound of water running, and surmised that he'd located the bathroom.
Butterflies swirled in his belly at the sight of that rug; it was entirely too cheesy, and he knew that it was premature to imagine it, but he couldn't help the mental image of a very sexy Laxus laying on it with him. His tan skin on that dark bear fur, both of them so soft, and Fried's nimble hands running across them.
5.
Friday, March 15th, 8:30 AM
Evergreen sulked at the train station.
She'd been waiting there for a half hour, backpacking pack on her back, and waiting patiently for Fried and Laxus to arrive. It had been raining that morning so she made sure to bring extra rain gear for her comrades, since they had a habit of ill-preparing for foul weather. Ever guessed that Bickslow and Claire would be similarly ill-prepared, since Kana had predicted good weather that weekend, but knowing them they'd make the best of it like they always did. Going at it like bunny rabbits.
Two minutes earlier, Lucy had happened to walk by with a young man on her arm, and informed her that she heard Fried and Laxus left for their camping trip yesterday morning.
Yesterday.
Fried had tried a few times in the past to one up her and Bickslow by getting Laxus alone, by either telling them the wrong time to meet or 'accidentally' guiding Laxus to the wrong location, but this was by far the worst thing he had ever done. Usually she at least had Bickslow to hang out with when this crap happened, or Fried would make it up to her by 'accidentally' sending them to a resort or something. One way or another the stupid word mage would ask for her forgiveness, but at that moment, all she wanted to do was cry.
Two of her best friends had ditched her.
She'd been stupidly waiting, alone, for the past half hour at a busy train station. Evergreen had been stood up.
For the past three days she had been planning a food schedule for them. She planned to do yoga with them in the morning, a calming diet and regime for their leader, and ultimately had been really looking forward to it. They hadn't done something like this together in a long time, especially without training or working, and it was the highlight of her week. Hell, her month if she was being honest. Maybe year.
It was going to be a weekend for her, Fried, and Laxus. No annoying Bickslow to make stupid jokes, no blond Claire to be… blond, and no kids.
And now here she was, alone, with a stupid ugly backpack and trailmix bag on her lap.
They ditched her.
6.
Friday, March 15th, 10:30 AM
"Who the hell goes camping in March, anyway?" Claire asked as she walked across the room to the table, purposely swaying her hips as she moved and smiling all the while. Her fiancé stayed on the bed, grinning, and glad at their change in revenue. It definitely would have been too cold to walk around in their underwear outdoors.
"Losers who like to wear layers." He told her, entranced by the perfectly round cheeks barely covered by the thin black fabric.
"Good thing we're not losers." She told him, looking back to smirk at him, but jumping slightly when she realized that two of his souls were floating behind him.
7.
Friday, March 15th, 10:30 AM
"Pretty lucky that we found this cabin, huh?" Fried asked, sitting on the couch with a glass of wine in his hand. He felt immensely awkward, shifting every few seconds, and trying to stop the mental images flashing through his mind.
Laxus was sitting in the worst possible place imaginable. The rug. The bear rug that molded and caressed his exposed skin so perfectly, and snuck up beneath his bathrobe on his thigh.
His short bathrobe.
Well, he could be in one other place that would be worse… or would that be better? Fried shook his head, suddenly wondering if wine was the best thing to be drinking at that moment.
"It's a nice place." Laxus told him, not really answering his question. Not that Fried remembered it anyway, with his imagination running wild.
"Are you sure that you don't want any wine?" He asked, and the large man shook his head. Laxus was facing away from him, sitting cross-legged on the fur rug with his robe very loosely covering his bare essentials, and staring into the roaring fire. It was pelting down rain outside, wind whipping dangerously against the windows, and there was no chance of them leaving that cabin any time soon.
"What do you think I should do about Gajeel?" Laxus suddenly asked, and Fried felt his throat go dry.
Now is my opportunity! He's finally asked me- me- what I think about that brute. I can tell him how I really feel, tell him that I-
"I'm sorry, you probably don't want to talk about my love life. Never mind." His deep, sensual voice rumbled, and it too the word mage a moment to realize just what he said.
Shit.
8.
Friday, March 15th, 8:35 AM
Elfman had no idea what to do.
He was a man. A real man. A manly man. A man that did manly things all the time because he's a man.
And as a man, he had one weakness.
"Lisanna, what do we do?!" The large beast asked after pulling his sister to the side, hiding discretely behind a pillar. The pair had arrived late to meet up with Lucy and a client, and on their way, saw the distraught Fairy Tail mage on the bench.
Evergreen was crying on a terminal bench, hunched over with a backpack sitting next to her, and a half empty bag of trailmix on her lap.
"She is your girlfriend, bro. It's your job to cheer her up." The younger sibling told him, smiling up at the terrified man cowering behind her.
"W-what?! Since when!?"
"It's in the rules. When you're dating someone, you have to cheer them up when their sad, otherwise you're a bad partner. If you don't cheer her up, you're a bad boyfriend."
"What about manfriend?" He asked seriously, and she blinked up at him, trying to figure out what he meant. Finally it clicked in her head, and she gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
"A real man would go cheer her up. Take her out to a movie or something."
"What about our job?"
"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it. You go take care of Evergreen." She encouraged, roughly shoving the giant man towards the lonely Thunder Legion mage. At his loud yell in surprise, the brunette in question looked up, looking absolutely mortified by the sight of him.
"H-hey Ever." He greeted awkwardly. "You, uh… want to catch a movie? I'll pay."
Wiping away her tears, she nodded, trying to keep him from seeing the stupid grin tugging at her lips.
9.
Friday, March 15th, 11:00 AM
"Guys, cool it! Only two of you are going with Claire, and we need to figure out who!" Bickslow yelled over the excited sounds of their wandering souls, who had all been gathered in the hotel room. Their excited babble and chatter were beginning to give the couple headaches.
"This might be easier if you bound them." Claire suggested, feeling similarly frustrated over the situation. Both mages were clad in pajamas, sitting on their queen-sized bed, and trying to settle the chaotic mass of souls in the room. They had hoped to do this later in the day, but for whatever reason, their babies insisted on doing it now.
"I guess." He grunted, glaring at his souls. They were excited about what was going to happen, and he'd made the mistake of getting them riled up about it. It was simple enough to bind them to their usual dolls, but the magic it required was taxing. As of late he didn't keep his souls bound around him as often, so it was particularly draining to do this to 7 souls at the same time.
"Mom!" Poppo squealed, and zoomed towards her, slamming its body into her chest. Several others followed suit, four of them in fact, and only two of them stayed loyally by Bickslow.
10.
Friday, March 15th, 5:00 PM
Fried regretted his plan.
It was a terrible, stupid, ill-concocted plan and he had no idea what he was doing. Carol was so much better at romancing him than the other way around, and even though he'd picked up a few tricks, he couldn't remember any of them that day.
He was nervous, hands shaking constantly, and the only thing that soothed his rampaging nerves was cooking. The roaring storm outside kept them both indoors, and between meals found themselves staring at the fire for hours at a time. It was dreadfully boring, and Fried was so terrified and nervous that he couldn't bring himself to do any of the things he had planned.
"You should give me a massage." Laxus spoke for the first time in hours, breaking the uncomfortable silence. The younger mage's face heated up, turning bright red, and for a moment he stopped breathing. Thankfully the lightning mage didn't turn to look at him, and after a few seconds, Fried coughed into his hand.
"S-sure." He mumbled, setting his near empty glass of wine on the nightstand and precariously moving to his unsteady feet. Of course, Fried had given his leader massages many times before in even less clothing, but those times had never sent his stomach into a frenzy. There was always a little nervousness when it came to this, but now, his stomach was churning like no tomorrow. It felt like the storm had entered his belly and was trying to rip him apart from the inside out.
The room blurred as he took the first few steps to the bathroom, and his walk turned into a run as that storm flew to the toilet.
11.
Friday, March 15th, 5:00 PM
Elfman was beginning to panic.
Well, he'd been panicking all day, but now it was worse than before.
He had taken the woman to the movies, lunch, a walk through the park, bought her a new purse, bought her flowers, and no matter what he did, his not-so-secret-secret-girlfriend wouldn't stay happy for more than a few minutes. She would smile for a while but then frown, looking at some random object with a forlorn expression, and give a heavy sigh.
Then he would buy her something, despite his limited budget, and get her to smile for just a few more minutes.
"Damn it!" The large man yelled out in frustration, pumping his fists into the air and growling, causing the random passerby to pause and stare. "I'm a failure as a man!"
The young fairy woman by his side glanced up, confused by his sudden announcement, and blinked in surprise. He was holding the majority of the bags, her slender arm was linked with his, and her frail form stilled as she contemplated her upset boyfriend. Elfman was always weird and yelling about being a man, and even though he'd been acting weird all day, she hadn't thought much of it. "Why do you say that?"
Her thumb gently caressed the soft skin on his arm, and the simple gesture caused the mountain of a man to blush ever so slightly. Seeing a drop of rain land on her glasses, she reached for her umbrella hanging on her arm and opened it, covering them both.
"As the man, I'm supposed to cheer you up when you're sad. Since you're still sad, that means that I failed." He explained, lowering his voice and arms. Within seconds the light rain transitioned to downpour, and the pair was left on the river front alone. Soft pitter-patter of heavy rain calmed them both, their features softened, and neither of them noticed their feet getting soaked.
Stepping closer to him, so that they could fit under the umbrella, she smiled up at the stupid man. She practically melted into him, loving his warmth in this cool weather, and felt the sudden urge to kiss him. "You didn't fail. Now kiss me." She ordered, and he quickly complied, leaning down and gently pressing their lips together.
Evergreen had always wanted cheesy romance in her life. She wanted the candles, the roses, and expensive wine. She'd always wanted the perfect guy to say the perfect things at the perfect time, to be perfectly handsome and perfectly smart and amazing. This was what she fantasized about, what she imagined her future to be, and she never doubted that it would eventually happen for her.
Elfman wasn't perfect in the slightest, and he said stupid things because he wasn't the brightest, but she was now kissing him in the rain. He tried his hardest to make her day better, he was there for her when she had no one else, and right now he was her world. No one else mattered right then- just those soft lips shyly pressed against her own, the large calloused hand cupping her cheek, and the wonderful man that she held close.
This was the romance that she lived for.
12.
Friday, March 15th, 5:00 PM
Bickslow lay on their bed, exhausted, while Claire continued playing with their babies. He had used a considerable amount of magic to deal with 7 of his souls, and after hours of talking and goofing off, they finally came to a decision on how to divide up the souls.
Claire now had three souls to work with, and needed to figure out names for the two new additions.
Upon hearing the giggling of Poppo for the millionth time that day, Bickslow reached for one of the pillows and propped it up so that he could watch his fiancé interact with her new souls. It always amazed him how much seith mages changed when they were alone with their souls and thought no one else was around. He'd walked in on them before or 'accidentally' spied on his comrades once or twice, just out of curiosity, and the contrast of how they act with the living and dead was night and day. Wandering souls were so innocent and pure that it was hard to not love them.
A sparkle in her eye always appeared when she could interact and play with their babies. He'd seen the same look in her eye when she played with Mike as well, and hadn't seen it when she was around Wendy, but didn't doubt that it would get there eventually.
Her smile got extra wide when she interacted with kids. Despite her claims that she 'wasn't that into kids', her affinity for them had grown considerably over the past year.
One of her biggest complaints about having the gift was that she had to ignore them when they were around people that couldn't see souls, and even though she understood why, it was frustrating for her. Bickslow had always wondered what it would be like for someone to suddenly have the ability to see souls, and even though Claire had adapted quickly, he knew that it was difficult for her.
It terrified Bickslow that she liked his magic so much, and he suspected that she would want to be a 'true' seith mage soon. She was getting a good handle on being able to see souls and had a pretty decent grasp on what his magic entailed, and realistically getting the mark wouldn't be that big of a transition skill wise. It would give her better control over her souls, the ability to control living souls, and all over make her better at seith magic. The only true downside would be the mark.
Laxus and Makarov had opened their big mouths about how essential she was to protecting Fairy Tail. Now she would either get a big head about it, freak out, or go into research mode to get stronger faster.
Bickslow was just as valuable as Claire and had been targeted a few times by dark wizards, but he didn't want to worry her about it. He'd been working with Laxus and Makarov behind the scenes regarding the Ghoul Guild, and even though his fiancé knew most of the things that went down with them, Bickslow was much more familiar with the nuances of it. He'd advised his guild master on more than one occasion on how to deal with them, and his wanting to replace Claire as a messenger was more than just worrying about her safety.
It was a complicated mess.
He sighed, not wanting to think about so many serious things.
"Dad time!" The three wandering souls squealed, and flew at him. They all snuggled into his arms and neck, causing him to smile and chuckle at their energy. All of them had fire lightly licking at their wooden vessels.
"What are you thinking about?" Claire asked, her blonde strands of hair escaping her ponytail and framing her tan face.
"Just how I want to repeat this morning." He told her with an eyebrow wiggle.
"Oh?" She asked, tilting her head cutely to the side and moving on the bed. Her legs ended up on either side of his hips, straddling his waist, and her hands dove beneath his shirt.
"What are you doing?" He asked curiously, smiling as her small hands caressed his abdomen.
"I'm giving your stomach a massage." She told him, acting innocent as she continued massaged the taut muscles.
"Babies, can you give us some space?" Bickslow requested the small souls, keeping his eyes locked on the temptress on him.
"But you guys hang out all the time." They whined.
13.
Friday, March 15th, 5:30 PM
Fried didn't know that he had eaten so much that day.
Groaning in misery, he closed his eyes, wanting the room to stop spinning. He wasn't sure when the lightning mage had joined him in the bathroom, but if his mouth hadn't preoccupied, he would have insisted he not be there. Laxus rubbed smooth circles on the man's back, keeping the green strands of hair from his face, and waited patiently for him to finish.
14.
Friday, March 15th, 6:00 PM
Since Elfman's house was so close, the couple ducked into his house to wait out the storm. It was a small home out the edge of town, near Natsu's house, and consisted of two stories. The exterior was painted white with light blue trimmings, while the interior was decorated with frilly and feminine furniture.
Evergreen approved.
She had to use a flashlight from her purse to navigate the house, which she'd only had because she thought that she'd be camping for the weekend. After a few minutes of Elfman rummaging through the house for candles and a lighter, he finally returned, and started setting them up on the small table in the living room.
The fairy woman set her bags on the other side of the room and took a seat on the couch, waiting patiently for him to get their candles lit. Their selection was dismal, as he could only locate three candles, but once their eyes adjusted it would do just fine.
Clicking her flashlight off, the dark room became bathed in candle light.
"Where are your sisters?" She asked him.
"Lis is out on a job and won't be back for two days. Mira is spending the night with Carol." He informed her, and stood next to the table awkwardly. "I, uh… do you want water or something?"
"No thanks, I'm good."
With a nod he sat down in the love seat, letting a comfortable silence envelope the room. Powerful winds whipped against the door and windows, rain pelting against glass and wood, and for a moment they simply listened to the sounds.
"Thank you, Elfman. For cheering me up today."
"Why were you upset in the first place?" He asked, and the brunette frowned slightly, her gaze moving to the candles in front of her.
"I was supposed to go camping with Fried and Laxus this weekend, but they left without me."
"They what!?" He yelled, startling her. "Those guys just left you!?"
"Well, Fried did. I doubt that Laxus had anything to do with it."
"Fried isn't a real man! Real men don't abandon their friends!" He declared, and she glanced at his hands, which were balled up into fists and shaking next to his thighs.
"You're right." She chuckled, feeling too tired and content to be angry at her friends.
"Next time I see that loser, I'm punching him in the face!"
"I'll cheer you on."
"Aw man, I'm so angry! I can't believe they did that!" He yelled out in frustration.
"Thank you, Elfman." She said softly, and the large man paused, his eyes widening when he realized that she was crying. "I love you."
"Wh-what!?" He stammered, nearly falling out of his seat.
"I love you." She repeated, her watery brown eyes locking with his wide and surprised ones. "I love you, Elfman."
"I-I-I-I-" He stuttered, unsure about what to do or say, and feeling the blood rush to his face.
"If you love me too, then you should say it. If you don't… well, that's that."
"I-I-I-" He continued stuttering.
15.
Friday, March 15th, 5:30 PM
Bickslow and Claire collapsed on the bed, naked and sweaty, and the seith mage leaned in to kiss her one more time.
"I love you so much." He whispered against her lips, warm breath washing over her face as he tried to regulate his breathing. Before turning to lay on his back, she leaned up to peck his lips again, and he groaned as his body bounced on the mattress. The blond shifted to get closer to him, and he automatically lifted his arm, letting her cuddle up to his side.
"We should do that more often." She whispered against his chest, and placed a small kiss just above his nipple.
"We're going to have even less time when Wendy and Carla move in."
"Actually, they'll be able to babysit Mike, so we might have more time."
"… let's see how it goes." He muttered, smiling at the small giggle that escaped her lips. As they talked, he entangled his fingers in her soft hair, brushing the curly locks. "Have your new souls been giving you any trouble yet?"
"Not yet. They're both excited and wish that they could be with us right now, but they're pretty happy exploring the town and causing mischief. You never mentioned what a troublemaker Poppo is."
He snickered, a guilty grin tugging at his lips. "She's a little brat. You'll probably have better luck working with her than me."
"So, speaking of souls…" She spoke, shifting in her spot. By the tone in her voice he guessed that whatever she was bringing up was going to be bad. "I've been thinking about becoming a seith mage."
"It's hard enough hiding the fact that you see souls. Putting a giant tattoo on your face telling the world isn't going to make our lives easier."
"I can wear make up like Mara."
"That's not a permanent solution."
"No, it's just a temporary one." She told him, and shifted away from his side, propping her head up with her arm.
"Did you purposely wait to bring this up until after we had sex?"
"Would you be mad if I said yes?"
He sighed, feeling his muscles continue melting into the bed.
"I want every advantage in a fight that I can get. Having better control of my souls and being able to subdue my opponent without actually fighting…."
"You want to do it because of what gramps told you. You're plenty powerful enough as you are, honey."
"What if I'm not? I have to be strong enough to protect our entire guild if the Ghoul Guild attacks."
"Your fire magic can take those mother fuckers out, and you're not the only fighter in the guild. If they do attack we would have Laxus, Erza, Mirajane, maybe Guildarts, and a ton of other powerful wizards on our side. If you try to learn too much magic too quickly you're going to slip up and get hurt."
"If I sit around and do nothing more people could get hurt. The only reason we haven't done the ritual is because of the visible mark, not because it would magically be too much for me."
"Having the ability to control souls is a big responsibility."
"So is having the ability to destroy them."
He grunted, staring up at the cream colored ceiling and trying to think of a good excuse to derail the conversation. He'd hoped that she would at least wait a few more weeks before bringing this up to him, and as a result, he didn't really have a good speech prepared on why she shouldn't do it. She's been using seith magic for over a year now, and even though he disliked the idea of her becoming one, had known in the back of his mind that it was inevitable. Ever since last Halloween this conversation was just a matter of time.
"Sooner or later people are going to find out that I can see souls. Wearing make up for a while will be annoying, but being able to use seith magic better and figure eyes… that'll be extremely valuable."
"Let's… think about it, all right?"
16.
Friday, March 15th, 9:00 PM
"Hey! Where the hell is weird fire girl?! Are you hiding her, metal head?!" Natsu yelled as he gripped the front of Gajeel's shirt, almost causing him to spill the water in his hand.
"You haven't even bothered to learn her name, numskull?" He countered, deadpan.
"It is pretty weird to not see any of the Thunder Legion all day…" Happy commented at their table, turning in his spot as he searched the room for them.
"They're camping for the weekend. Kana predicted that it would be clear skies, so they all split up and took off." Gajeel told the group, shoving the fire mage off of him in the process. The mess hall was nearly empty that time of day, and the rain echoed through the large building as it hit the outside.
"Not my fault. Someone is purposely making the weather turn to shit." Kana defended nearby, and took another drink from her barrel of booze.
"Why would someone do that?" Gray asked, and she shrugged.
"It's pretty good cuddle weather, if you catch my drift." Gajeel suggested.
"Cuddle weather!" Juvia screamed as she latched onto Gray's arm, and the man was too tired to retaliate.
"It's a weird time of year to go camping." Happy commented, giving the iron mage a suspicious look.
"Laxus destroyed an entire section of the guild hall and Claire scratched off her sister's face. Bicks, Fried, and Evergreen are probably taking them out for the weekend to cool them off."
"We destroy stuff at the guild hall all the time. What's the big deal?" Natsu asked, picking at his ear as he made his way back to his original seat.
"Well, they probably don't want a repeat of the last time Laxus lost his shit and caused the Battle of Fairy Tail. Burning hordes of zombies is Claire's idea of a good time, so no telling what she'd do if she actually snapped."
"Z-z-z-z-zomb-b-b-bies?" Happy stammered with wide eyes, now cowering at just the thought of them.
"Zombies?" Wendy squeaked.
17.
Friday, March 15th, 9:00 PM
Fried was humiliated.
He finally got the love of his life to a romantic cabin in the middle of the woods, alone, wearing nothing but a skimpy robe, and he threw up.
His Adonis of leader had asked him to give him a massage on a sex rug, and instead, Fried puked his guts out while the man held his hair back.
For about three hours they sat in the living room, quietly sipping their water and staring at the fire, lost in their own thoughts. The word mage was strewn across the couch wearing a skimpy bathrobe of his own, while Laxus remained on the rug. Quietly.
Fried contemplated various ways to kill himself as he lay there, his gaze straying to the amazingly well-toned back of him.
"It's too bad Ever couldn't make it. It's pretty boring here, and she probably would have loved this place." Laxus spoke after their incredibly long and awkward silence. His voice was deep, gruff, and Fried could listen to it all day.
"Yeah, it's too bad." Hopefully she gets the apology letter I told Natsu to give her…. "I don't think you should get back together with Gajeel." He spoke, figuring that his chances of a romantic evening were ruined anyway.
"… why is that?"
"You deserve better. He left you to raise a child with his ex-girlfriend, and you deserve to have a partner that will stay by you no matter what. You're… you're an amazing person. Strong, intelligent, resourceful… caring, kind, thoughtful… you deserve better." Fried told him, feeling like an idiot for doing so. The soft, flickering light made the room feel so much warmer.
"… thank you." He spoke after a moment, and the word mage's heart soared. "You deserve better too, you know. Someone better than me or Carol. We can't give you what you need."
"You can."
"I'm sorry, Fried."
… and that was that.
Fried wanted to argue the older man, tell him how he felt, tell him how they deserved each other. How they were meant to be, and if he'd just open his eyes to the idea, maybe they could be. Together.
He knew Laxus long enough to know that when he decided something serious, he would stick with it.
So… that was that.
They weren't meant to be.
18.
Friday, March 15th, 6:00 AM
Fried replayed last night's conversation over and over again in his mind.
He couldn't accept it.
We can't just… not be. We have to end up together. We're meant to be together. He repeated over and over again in his mind. Taking another sip of his coffee, he ignored the pounding pellets of rain outside bouncing against the walls.
At exactly 6:02 AM, Laxus Dreyar walked into the kitchen and sat down across the table from him.
"Morning."
Fuck you. We're meant to be together. Fried thought angrily in his mind, and without thinking, dropped his mug on the floor mid jump. He locked his lips with Laxus's and instantly entangled his hands in the course blond hair, barely refraining from licking those delicious lips.
He was about to pull away, to gauge the older man's reaction, but his eyes widened when he was instead forced to stay in place. Somehow his back became pressed against the peeling wallpaper of the kitchen, and the beyond sexy growls of his partner filled the room. Laxus was gentle yet firm, caressing and tugging in the oh-so-perfect places.
"Laxus." Fried moaned, and the man's lips found their way back to his, silencing him.
He gasped when he felt Laxus's erection press into his hip, and for a brief moment, their eyes locked.
We're meant to be together.