Home for the Holidays 2019

Prompt: Proof (alcohol)

Pairing: Lyon & Loke (pre-slash), Lyon & Natsu

August 3rd, 2020

Most of the time Lyon Vastia loved his job as a family law attorney, but some days, it really wore him down. Today was one of those. After a long day in court where nothing had gone his way, he was tired and irritable.

On days when he felt like this, he would normally go home and have a few drinks, but he had house guests at the moment. He figured it wasn't a good idea to subject Gray and Aki to his crappy mood.

So instead, he entered Crime Sorciere, a small corner bar near the Magnolia Courthouse, frequented by most of the lawyers in the community. He sauntered over to his regular stool and took a seat, grateful it seemed to be a slow night. He called Natsu over to order a drink.

"How're you feeling, man?" Lyon asked, noting Natsu's taciturn expression, so different from how he'd been the night before.

"I'll live, what can I get you?" Natsu replied in a business-like tone, and Lyon knew enough to back off. They weren't exactly friends yet, although he thought last night might have changed that a little.

"Can you make me one of those Edolas drinks you're always going on about?" Lyon saw a little excitement enter the younger man's eyes as he rushed off to make his order, and it improved his mood a little.

Last night had been rough on all of them, for the first time they'd all understood that there was more going on with Natsu than what they'd initially thought. He always acted so cheerfully that they'd never thought to ask what his real situation was. There were no words Lyon could muster to express how deeply sorry he felt for Natsu's loss, and Natsu clearly wanted to put the whole incident behind him. About the only good thing to come of it was that Gray would hopefully lay off him a little.

Natsu had just returned with his drink when Lyon heard a sigh to his right. A body plopped down on the stool next to his, and he turned to see Loke Regulus looking disheveled, which was definitely a far cry from his usual meticulous appearance. His eyes were red-rimmed behind the tinted glasses he always wore, and he looked like he might still be dressed in the clothes from the previous night.

Loke grabbed the drink before Lyon could object and downed it in one gulp.

"Hey!" Natsu protested, "That was for Lyon!"

"Just make him another one, and one for me. Put it on my tab." Loke was positively glaring at Natsu, and both he and Lyon looked at each other in confusion as Loke slapped his credit card on the bar. "And keep them coming."

Natsu grumbled something under his breath but left to prepare the drinks.

"What died and crawled up your ass?" Lyon had no particular interest in Loke or his life, but he'd been spending enough time with the guys from the Dad's Club to feel like he kind of belonged and should make some sort of effort.

Lyon had never been one to have a lot of friends, he kept his eyes on his goals and let nothing get in his way. He'd hit it off with Gray in college, and there were Yuka and Toby, but that was about it. Although he had to admit, he kind of enjoyed the camaraderie that was starting to develop with these guys.

He knew Loke from having seen him around the courthouse and at the bar for the last couple of years, but until recently, they'd never had much cause to interact. Loke was a notorious flirt, hitting on anything with legs, and that had always irritated Lyon.

"That fucker, he ruined everything!"

"Who?" Lyon blinked at Loke, having no idea what the hell he was going on about.

"Natsu! All his fucking talk last night, it messed me up."

Natsu had returned, and by the look on his face, he'd caught the tail end of their conversation. He set the drinks down in front of them and walked away.

"Natsu!" Loke called out, but the bartender didn't stop. Loke slammed his fist on the bar, "Damn it!"

"What the hell, Loke," Lyon scolded, remembering how upset Natsu had been the night before, "What's wrong with you?"

"Lucy kicked me out last night," Loke mumbled, once again downing the drink in one gulp. "Bastard can sure make drinks," he whistled appreciatively, "Guess he had to be good at something."

Lyon decided to ignore the jab at Natsu in favor of trying to get more information out of the defense lawyer. "Alright, I'll bite. Why did she kick you out?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You're so full of shit. If you didn't want to talk about it, why say anything in the first place?"

Loke remained silent, sliding his finger along the rim of the glass, so Lyon being the jaded divorce lawyer he was, made an educated guess.

"Let me guess, she found out you cheated on her?

"I have never cheated on her!"

"Don't act so outraged, I've seen you in here all the time, women hanging all over you. A lot of my clients would consider that cheating. Your choice of clients leaves a lot to be desired as well."

"Don't be such a self-righteous asshole. Just because I flirt with people doesn't mean I step out. And by the way, everyone deserves a fair trial, Lyon, not just the people you think are innocent. You can say whatever you want about me, but at the end of the day, you and I aren't that different. We're both in this to help others."

Lyon thought about that for a moment and had to admit there might be some truth to Loke's words.

Loke turned to look at Lyon, his eyes uncertain, and from years of experience as a divorce lawyer, he recognized the pain hidden in their depths, and he was shocked by the honesty he hadn't been expecting.

"It was nothing like that. That whole she was my home thing Natsu was going on about last night, it tore me up, okay." Loke explained, "There was a time when that was true for Lucy and me, but it hasn't been like that, not for a long time. At least not for me. I've tried, we did the therapy, and all sorts of other crazy stuff, even joining the Dad's Club. But nothing's changed. I — I've just been going through the motions for the girls. When I told Lucy all that, she went into a screaming fit and kicked me out."

Lyon didn't know how to respond to that, but it was the most personal thing Loke had ever shared with him, and he was sure his expression reflected his astonishment.

"What?!"

"I'm just surprised, I never thought you cared about anyone but yourself."

"Fuck you! You don't know the first thing about me."

Lyon found that incredibly amusing, "That's not entirely true."

Loke raised an eyebrow, not knowing what to make of that response but soon returned to drinking as quickly as possible.

"I've checked in to the hotel across from the courthouse, for now. I guess I'll have to go home and get some of my stuff."

Lyon grunted in acknowledgment but didn't say anything in response. He was all too familiar with this stage, the slow realization at the separation, and the impending thoughts about divorce. He already knew what was coming next, and he wasn't disappointed.

"Hey, you're a divorce lawyer, aren't you? Would you be willing to take my case?"

"No, but I'd be happy to recommend you to a good one."

"Why the hell not? You're one of the best ones out there."

"I don't represent friends on divorces, only stuff like adoption or surrogacy. You know the types of things we learn about people in this profession, it can destroy even the closest friendships. And before you say anything, Gray is a special case."

"Why? Cause you're banging him?"

Lyon erupted into fits of laughter, remembering the conversation he'd had with Gray's brother some months earlier, "Why does everyone think I have something going with Gray, do I give off a gay vibe or something?"

"More of an asshole vibe," Loke muttered under his breath.

"Nice to know I'm on brand," Lyon chuckled, looking down to notice two more drinks had been delivered even though Natsu was all the way at the other end of the bar.

"You're just very protective of him, it's rather unlike what I know of you," Loke pointed out with a shrug.

"Gray's been through a lot, he deserves better, and that's all I'm going to say about it," Lyon cautioned, "If you ever have any other family-related legal issue, I'm your guy. But I can't help you with this."

"So we're friends now?" Loke grabbed his drink and sipped it thoughtfully, "Never thought I'd see the day."

And with something akin to surprise, Lyon realized he didn't actually mind the idea. Loke was a pain in the ass, but he also wasn't as bad as Lyon had initially thought.

"Friends," Lyon agreed, taking a sip from his drink and smiling in appreciation at the flavor. Natsu did, indeed, make good drinks.

He noticed Loke glancing over at where Natsu was standing, his expression conflicted. A few moments later, he got up and walked over to the bartender. They spoke for a few minutes before shaking hands, with Loke reaching over the bar to ruffle Natsu's hair roughly, laughing as Natsu scrunched his face in outrage.

Lyon snickered into his drink, relieved to see Loke acting more like his usual self but also feeling a bit glum. Even after years of seeing it happen on a regular basis, it still depressed him to see marriages fall apart. Especially when there were kids involved.

He thought of all the lawyers he went up against on a regular basis and grabbing one of his business cards he wrote down two things on the back, the name of a lawyer he thought would be a good match for Loke and on a whim his own phone number.