Erza's taking a mission at Crime Sorciere, going after the man she thought she always wanted. Is she leaving behind the man she thought she'd always have?
Natsu has friend-zoned himself, leaving Lucy and Lisanna in the lurch. He'd rather avoid them both than risk being a two-timer like Gray.
Gray (not actually a two-timer) just can't seem to catch a break. Maybe he just wasn't meant for romantic happiness. Or maybe it's time for a new direction.
Mira's stuck in the past, unable to accept that Laxus has his sights set elsewhere. Freed's never, never giving up on her, even if that means a broken heart.
Juvia's having second thoughts about Gray, but Lyon's ready to call it quits. Can she get her feelings sorted out in time, or will she be left with nothing?
And Toby's dating Jenny Realight. The Jenny Realight. Wait, what?!
Something's gotta give.
This is the Mazeverse series, a post-Tenrou AU where we put your ships in a blender and beat 'til smooth. Lyvia, Jerza, Grayza, Nalu, Nali, Lolu, Graylu, Bixanna, Gale, ElfEver, Miraxus, Laxana, MiraFreed as well as a handful of crackships and rare-pairs as we try to pair the spares. This is the Mazeverse. No ship is safe ;)
Happy Friday!
New story this week and this is another wacky one. Readers new to Mazeverse should have no problem, as this could totally stand on its own if you can suspend disbelief on points where we've diverted from canon. In the Mazeverse timeline, this is about six weeks after the Victory Gala (and not too long after Erza's hair dryer debacle). I wanted to do another piece that serves as a good compare and contrast to Secret Valentine, which also featured a very musical Gajeel. I was curious about how those would interact.
Irina: I don't disagree about Kagura. Beyond having a backstory, there's not much there. She's just... angry. (Granted, I haven't finished the third anime yet. I believe she gets some scenes there that might flesh her out some.) Since I dreamed up Mazeverse while watching Tenrou, and then patched in characters and scenarios I found interesting while I was watching GMG, my interpretation is based on a very small amount of canon. I end up having to get creative to make her work as the romantic lead in her arc. As for Cana... if circumstances were different, and Gray wasn't flip-flopping between being petulant and venting in border-line destructive ways (the sudden pattern of always getting himself drunk and approaching his relationships for all the wrong reasons), then Gray and Cana would have the fighting chance to be something very interesting. I'm not sure if it would be romantic, and I haven't put a ton of thought into long-term compatibility and relationship red flags, but it's definitely worth investigating. Thanks again!
- K. Chandler
Gajeel frowned. So, the rumors were true.
The guild couldn't help but notice that something was up with the Ice Pervert. He had been sullen and moody lately, keeping to himself and not being terribly sociable.
At first, Gajeel assumed that it was just Salamander's absence that had Gray in a slump. After all, why else would someone come to the guild just to hang out? Gajeel only came to spend time with Shrimp or to punch Salamander's face in. Since Gray didn't have someone like Shrimp to spend time with, he was obviously here for the latter.
But soon, Gajeel started to suspect other reasons behind Gray's grouchiness. Then it hit him. Gray didn't have a Shrimp to spend time with. This was that sort of problem. But that was nothing a little musical therapy couldn't fix.
With that in mind, Gajeel came to the guild with his guitar slung over his back. After leaving Lilly with Wendy and Charle, he went to borrow the key to the back room from Mira. The back room was supposed to be reserved for teams that wanted a private place to meet to plan jobs, but nobody really ever used it. Occasionally, Mira used it would use it as a workspace when she was making decorations for the guild—foil snowflakes or paper pumpkins or glitter-dusted hearts. But other than that, the room stayed empty.
Gajeel stashed his guitar before approaching Gray. No need to get him all worked up yet.
Then it was time to put his plan into action.
The Ice Pervert was sitting alone in the darkest, moodiest, broodiest corner of the guild. And Gajeel had thought only girls threw pity parties for themselves. Apparently not.
But he didn't say that. He was trying to help Gray, not piss him off.
"Yo." Gajeel plopped down across the table opposite him.
"Whaddaya want, Gajeel?" growled Gray.
"No need to get defensive," said Gajeel, raising his hands. "I'm just here to talk."
"Well, would you get on with it? I'm busy," said Gray.
Certain people had been able to coax the Ice Pervert out of his shell for spells at a time. Juvia had taken him out on a job and Mira had forced him to run errands, but that wasn't enough.
Cana had gotten him to go drinking and Loke had taking him out clubbing. But what the Ice Pervert needed wasn't a distraction, it was an outlet.
"I got something to show you," said Gajeel.
"Later," said Gray.
"No, now," Gajeel insisted.
He and the Ice Pervert had never been the best of friends. And maybe he didn't even warrant rival status, like Salamander did, either. Despite this, Gajeel had a pretty good guess on what was wrong.
Matters of the heart were always tricky and he sorta knew what Gray was going through. After all, he had come this close to losing Shrimp to that Pegasus Freak (thanks to Bunny Girl's meddling). This could have been him.
Gajeel felt obligated to intervene.
Gray's jaw tightened. "I told you. I'm busy," he said.
"Doin' what?" demanded Gajeel.
"Take a hint," said Gray.
"What? Are you watchin' ice melt? Heh-heh!" Gajeel chuckled at his own cleverness.
Gray rolled his eyes.
"You can't tell me, 'cause you ain't doin' nothing, so don't try to tell me y'are. Now, come on."
"I'd rather have my teeth removed," grumbled Gray.
"You asking me to help with that?" snapped Gajeel. "No? Then get moving."
The Ice Pervert sighed, but he followed. "Where are we going?" asked Gray.
"You'll see," said Gajeel.
"Okay, but this better be good."
"Oh, it will be," promised Gajeel as he shut the door behind him.
Gray took a wary step back. "Um, Gajeel, what is this?"
"What?" Gajeel blinked. "It's my guitar! What does it look like?"
"And why is it here?"
"Listen, Ice Pervert. Gray. I think… I don't know where to start with this. I ain't no good with words."
"Oh, geez," said Gray. He was on the defensive with his shoulders raised.
"Would you let me finish?" sighed Gajeel.
Gray put his hands up as if to ward Gajeel off. "Not too sure I want you to finish," said Gray.
"Oh, shut up," snapped Gajeel. "I ain't asking you out. Don't know anyone who would."
Gray glowered.
Aw, crap.
"See, that wasn't what I meant. Told ya I wasn't no good with words."
"Really? Couldn't tell," said Gray sarcastically.
"What I meant was that I ain't no good with words, but I've always been good pretty good at expressing myself with music."
"Okay, cool…" said Gray, sounding anything but interested. "What does that have to do with me?"
"I wanted to get your opinion on a piece I've been practicing, that's all," said Gajeel.
"Oh. That's all?" asked Gray. "All right, whatever." He sat down at the table in the center of the room.
Gajeel bit back the retort on his tongue. This was music therapy, not a debate. But now he had Gray's attention. How was he going to get through to him?
Gajeel slung his guitar over his shoulder and began to strum slowly. He needed to draw Gray in and get him to loosen up, maybe get him to vent his problems. Something mellow and soothing would be good. Maybe some old-school soft rock?
"I could hardly believe it, when I heard the news today, I had to come and get it straight from you," Gajeel sang. "They said you were leavin', someone's swept your heart away, from the look upon your face, I see it's true."
Gajeel let his eyes slip shut, pouring his heart into his music, belting out the refrain with all his might. Music always took his troubles away. It helped him when Metalicana first up and left (not that he cared at all). It kept him sane when he was part of Phantom Lord. It was even one of the things that brought him and Shrimp closer.
Gajeel snuck a glance at Gray, breaking off with a soft curse. The song didn't have the effect he had hoped for. In fact, it did the exact opposite. Looked like he hit a nerve.
Gray's hands had tightened into white-knuckled fists. "You makin' fun of me?" he hissed, his eyes bright with emotion.
Gajeel winced. Clearly relationships were a touchy subject. He should have guessed that.
"Too soon?" Gajeel asked.
"Way too soon," spat Gray.
Okay, change of plans. Gray wasn't a direct person, so they'd have to do this the hard way. Gajeel would need to distract him first, and then get him to open up. A goofy song about having fun should be safe. Who knows? It might even help the Ice Pervert relax a little.
"All right, all right. We don't have to do that one. Here. Here's a good one," said Gajeel quickly, changing to an upbeat melody. "It's been a really, really messed up week. Seven days of torture, seven days of bitter," Gajeel chanted.
He didn't know all the words to this song, but that didn't matter. Half the lyrics made no sense anyways. All he had to do was work his way around the break-up line in there and he would be golden.
It worked.
The Ice Pervert nodded along, tapping his foot to the beat as Gajeel sang. All he needed was a little encouragement. Gajeel changed the lyrics around some more, inviting Gray to let loose and sing along.
"La, la, la. That's the way! La, la, la. Sing it with me now! La, la, la. C'mon, Gray! La, la, la. We're going at it tonight, tonight…"
Gajeel waited and waited, but Gray didn't join in. And Gajeel had made a complete idiot of himself giving Gray a lead-in and everything!
By the time Gajeel finished the song, Gray was looking a lot less grumpy. But less grumpy wasn't good enough. No, music was the answer and Gajeel would see to it that the Ice Pervert's musical therapy was a success.
"That wasn't half bad!" complemented Gajeel. Not good, seeing as he wasn't actually participating, but not terrible either. "You got some real rhythm," he said, nodding at Gray's tapping toes.
"You think so?" asked Gray skeptically.
"Oh, yeah. Definitely." Gajeel nodded. "All you gotta do is let loose."
"I am loose," said Gray huffily.
"I mean really let loose," said Gajeel. "Lose yourself to the music."
"Why do you love this stuff so much?" asked Gray.
"Music?" asked Gajeel. "It's a little piece of my soul, y'know? It's sort of how I express myself."
"Really?" asked Gray. "I thought you did that with your fists."
"Sometimes," said Gajeel. "But sometimes I do it like this. Just don't tell Salamander. Else he'll call me a pansy and I'll never hear the end of it."
"No worries," said Gray. "So, how do you 'let loose'?" he asked, his lip curling in revulsion.
"You gotta feel the music. Feel the beat. Let the melody course through your bones and straight into your heart."
Gray frowned. "Sorry, man. I don't think I got any bones in my heart."
"You know what I mean," said Gajeel. He sat down on top of the table, balancing his guitar on his left leg. "Come on. Try this. See if you can keep beat for me."
Gajeel played the intro, plucking the opening chords instead of strumming it.
"What am I supposed to do?" asked Gray.
"Drum along on the table," said Gajeel.
Gray turned around, patting the tabletop awkwardly. "Like this?"
"Exactly. Don't be afraid to give your instrument a good whack."
"My instrument?" asked Gray.
"The drums you're playing," said Gajeel, repeating the intro for a third time.
"This feels weird," complained Gray. "Are you sure this is right?"
"There ain't no wrong way to do it. Just feel the music," said Gajeel, switching back to strumming as he started to sing. "I don't wanna be left behind. Distance was a friend of mine. Catching breath in a web of lies. I've spent most of my life…"
As Gajeel predicted, once Gray started to participate, he started to relax, jamming along with Gajeel's singing. He was surprisingly rhythmic, alternating between drumming and clapping. He even threw in some toe-taps too. The guy was a natural!
Playing a harmonic to compliment the final chord, Gajeel brought the song to a close.
"Not bad!" said Gajeel.
"You're not too bad yourself," said Gray. "I'm a little surprised, though," he said.
"Why's that?"
"I didn't think this was your kind of music," shrugged Gray.
"It's a good song," said Gajeel.
"You're not just pulling my leg, are you?" asked Gray.
"No!" said Gajeel. "Nothing wrong with getting in touch with your emotional side and letting loose."
"You keep saying that," said Gray. "But I'm really not feelin' it."
"That's 'cause you aren't doing it," said Gajeel. "You're not letting loose."
"Yeah, I am."
Gajeel shook his head. "See, just now. I could tell you really wanted to sing along."
"I did?" asked Gray. "I don't think I did."
"Trust me, you did," said Gajeel. "How about we do another song and you actually sing along this time?"
"You know I don't sing, right?" said Gray, frowning.
"You'll feel better if you do," said Gajeel, trying to sound winsome and soothing. Not that he was particularly successful. Gajeel was a tough guy and Levy was way better at winsome than he was.
"I don't know…" said Gray. He gave Gajeel a suspicious look. "You're not just messing with me?"
"I swear I'm not," promised Gajeel.
"All right," said Gray, relenting. "Just one."
Gajeel had one shot. Just one. He had to pick the perfect song. Something that Gray could relate to. Something that he could put his feelings into. Something that screamed: 'Get back on your feet and start over! Seize the day! No more mopey Ice Pervert!'
"I know just the song!" said Gajeel, beginning to play. "Do you know this one?"
Gray frowned. "I don't recognize it… One more time?"
Gajeel repeated the opening chords, adding part of the refrain into the fingerpicking pattern.
Recognition lit Gray's eyes. "Seriously?" he asked.
"Lose yourself to the music," Gajeel reminded him.
Gray sighed, beginning to sing the first verse.
Gajeel fought to keep a straight face. Gray's voice wasn't bad, not by any means. If anything, it was… mediocre, and maybe just a little bit flat. But being both a musician and a Dragon Slayer had gifted Gajeel with delicate ears. Honestly, Gray's voice made him want to grimace. Still, Gajeel wouldn't give anything away. This was music therapy. This was an important part of the healing process.
And it looked like it was working.
By the end of the first verse, Gray was entirely focused, his expression not unlike when he was practicing with his ice magic. Not when he was molding shields or canons or any of the normal things—he claimed he could do those from muscle memory. But when Gray was creating something new, designing as an artist would, he would frown slightly, and his eyes would be sharp as he poured his soul into his work. This was how he looked now, pounding the beat against the table and howling at the top of his lungs as he hit the refrain.
"This is my fight song! Take back my life song! Prove I'm all right song!" Gray bellowed.
Gajeel winced at the missed note. Maybe adding some harmonies would help things? Gajeel added his voice as an accompaniment. It seemed to help a little.
The two finished the number together in (almost) perfect harmony.
"Wow…" said Gray, blinking. He gave himself a shake, as if he were coming out of a trance.
"How d'ya feel?" asked Gajeel.
"…Pretty good. Really good, actually," chuckled Gray. "Music is powerful stuff."
Gajeel grinned. "You bet it is," he said.
"Can we do another one?"
"Sure. You can pick this time and I'll see if I know the chords."
Gray singing 'Fight Song' badly? Total wish fulfillment for me. Speaking of, my inner Gray fangirl wants him to be musical because I appreciate the mental image, but I don't think it's realistic.
Originally, I was going to end the story here, but then I realized that there was one more thing that we need to address.
Next time, in [Mazeverse] Musical Therapy, what if Gray and Gajeel's private concert isn't so private?: "Are they… singing?" asked Lucy.
Stop back next Friday for the second half, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.