September 15, x776
Today was a day that would go down in infamy as "The day best girl started hating me."
Why, you ask?
It all started when Levy asked for a spar. I decided that it would be a great opportunity to try to get her to stop using her light pen for Solid Script magic by stealing it from her as soon as the fight started.
As much as I hated to make her angry -she can ignore you for days-, she needed to learn how to use her magic without it.
So when the fight began, I opened with a Flash followed by stealing the pen before she could begin casting anything that would let her stop me. She tried to hold onto it, but I was both bigger and stronger, making the effort futile.
I smirked at her as I twirled her light pen in my hand. "You can have it back if you can take it from me, Levs." I said, sticking my tongue out for emphasis. She pouted, but charged me all the same.
I rolled my eyes and hit her with a Solar Wind that was just strong enough to knock her over.
"Oh no, you ain't getting it back from me that easy, Levy McGarden. You've got to be more creative than that, now come at me!" She scowled, which on her face was really more adorable than intimidating.
Levy was more than smart enough to grasp the point of the fight long before I would have felt the need to tell her instead. She glared at me, cheeks puffed out, but got into the spirit of it quickly enough.
I wasn't exactly trying very hard to keep the pen away from her, after all. She could get it pretty easily if she could use her magic without it.
Once she'd calmed down and started focusing, she managed to get her smaller words working in less than ten minutes. I was dodging around small patches of ice, weak streams of water, and embers that licked my hair and clothes
By fifteen, her more complex words were getting stronger, leading to me ducking under waves of fire, chains that tried to tie me down, and leaping over vines that crept through the grass.
At twenty, she finally managed to get it back by faking me out with a pair of ropes and chains that covered up the cage she dropped on top of me.
Which, as she told me after giggling at me struggling against its bars, she would not be dispelling. Then, just to prove how serious she was about leaving me there, she walked away, twirling her light pen between her fingers.
Even after the thrashing I gave them in our spar afterwards, Cana and Gray laughed at me for weeks.
October 15, x776
Fantasia was at its regular time this year, and Cana's rehearsal schedule was absolutely unforgiving. From the end of August until the day of the festival, Cana was going to Fairy Hills at the crack of dawn and dragging Levy out of bed before going to the orphanage and doing the same to Gray.
We ran through the entire routine twice before Levy went to school and at least five times after. The routine was far more involved than the year before, the addition of Levy and the flexibility of her magic adding a new level of intricacy that we'd lacked the year before.
The four of us had our own float this year, separate from Erza. She was doing a routine with Genkei, having a sword fight with all sorts of unneeded flash and showiness. Laxus was sharing his float with Gramps, who had just barely been convinced to wear something that wasn't completely embarrassing to his grandson. It wasn't the Wizard Saint outfit Laxus had been angling for, but it was certainly better than the costume he'd had picked out.
This year, Cana had blackmailed Gray into wearing a costume, which I was fairly sure had been pinned to his body to prevent him from removing it for as long as possible. I'd been pretty excited with her idea, I even helped her design them!
Of all the memories in my head, I was fairly sure the theatre geek stuff would have been worthless and yet, here we are.
Granny Hilda had been… well not happy, but certainly less crotchety to help sew them together.
The girls were wearing flowy dresses that I'd shamelessly ripped off from a few of the portraits of Master Mavis that I'd managed to convince Gramps to let us borrow under pain of that if they were returned in anything less than perfect condition.
Mine and Gray's costumes were significantly less impressive, being a simple pair of suits. Where the girls were loose and flowy and barefoot, Gray and I were proper and had our feet pinched inside a pair of wingtips.
The act involved a complicated routine that was more of a dance than anything else, which I was fairly sure Levy had blackmailed Gray into, separately from Cana. I think it was meant to be symbolic or something? I hadn't quite been paying attention to Cana's reasoning behind it, all I knew was we went from slow and soft movement to upbeat and energetic while shooting out spells at certain intervals.
Cana partnered with Gray, because she was far better at handling him than Levy, who was partnered with me.
Our routine started simply, we faced each other, Gray and I bowed and took our partner's hands, leading them into a slow performance that matched the tone of the song being played. The music slowly built, going from a classical tune into an energetic dance song that had our respective partners taking the lead while firing off the first spells of our routine. Cana's Summoned Lightning combined with Levy's Solid Script: Glass to make an interesting effect that startled the audience and began the next portion of our routine.
Unlike the beginning, where our performance was more about the dance itself, the second movement had us all firing off a variety of spells every few beats. One of us would be pulled by our partner, and at the same time, a spell would leave our hands, flying into the air or off over the audience's heads. Seeing it in action made it almost seem more like a fight than a dance, partners battling over who got to lead. The routine ended with a lift, Gray and I lifted our respective partners as they cast their last spells of the routine. Levy used one of her more annoying spells, Solid Script: Glitter, while Cana cast Wind Edge, blowing the glitter into the air. This opened it up for the final spells, Gray created an outline of ice to catch the airborne glitter, and I used a Fusion just behind it that illuminated it before exploding and creating a beautiful (in my opinion) conflagration that resembled the silhouette of Mavis Vermillion.
The cheering and applause we got seemed to agree with me, the four of us linked hands and bowed to the crowds before we had to reset to our positions and begin again.
The four of us were dead on our feet when we returned to the guild that evening, but the applause had made the exhaustion worth it.
October 28, x776
"Come on Macao, I've been hit harder by children!" I laughed as I jumped over a tendril of flame, just barely avoiding its grasp as it flicked towards me. We'd been at this for a lot longer than I'd expected. He had the stamina to keep up a longer fight, the control to make misses become hits, and the power to make those hits hurt.
It wasn't like sparring against Wakaba, where misdirection was the name of the game if he couldn't beat you in pure power. No, Macao went all out from the start.
Lashes of fire that were ducked under suddenly changed direction, streams that were leapt over would home in and give chase, and the ones you just barely dodged by leaning would suddenly become hits or grapples.
He didn't have the raw power of some of the mages in the guild, but he had enough.
"Y'know Helio, that's not quite as horrible an insult as you think." I rolled my eyes as I jumped forward, offhand glowing bright with a Fusion. Macao leaned out of the way of the attack, and took a Flare Kick to the side instead. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you and the other kids are kinda ridiculous." He huffed out, holding his side. "You're making me feel like an old man, if I'm being honest." I grinned as I leapt over his attempt at a sneak attack.
"Gonna take more than flattery to distract me, Macao!" I let loose a barrage of Flares mixed with the occasional Fusion, hoping to catch him off guard as I closed in. He threw himself to the side with the aid of his magic and grinned cockily. Instead of speaking, he replied with a wall of fire so thick it was almost solid.
Hmmm, too high to jump over, too wide to dodge, guess I'll just have to go through it!
"Photon Beam!" The attack was more efficient than ever now. It was just a little wider than I was and a little bit taller, meaning if I had done this properly…
I felt the wave of heat pass me by and grinned as I ended my attack.
Only for the rest of the flames to grab me from behind, cocooning me in a blanket of fire that was just this side of burning me.
There was a furrow of dirt in front of me, where my attack had kept going after it cut through the flame, and to the side, with a tired grin, a missing shirt and seconds away from passing out, was Macao.
"You know, if I was half as cocky as Wakaba, I'd be pretty damn smug right now." He coughed as he released me from the fire's grip. "Good fight Helio, if you had a bit more control, I would have been the one on my ass instead." He stumbled over, favoring his right, the side I hadn't given an instant tan, and held out a hand. "We'll have to do this again sometime." I smiled tiredly.
"Definitely."
November 15, x776
A lot of the jobs we took as a team were taken over the weekend, meeting Levy at the gates of her school and walking to the train station together. We'd usually reach our destination that night, set up camp or rent a room, do the job Saturday and be home in time for supper on Sunday. The train ride usually gave Levy plenty of time for schoolwork, so the only real complaint to be heard was from Granny Hilda.
Which, considering her complaints were pretty much always "Stop being a mage," were easily ignored.
This time however, we'd taken a job on a Wednesday, and were going at it with just Cana, Gray and I. The three of us had caught sight of a type of job none of us had done before, and we were eager to try our hands at something other than monsters and bandits.
MANHUNT
RANK: B
Find the dark mage Tobias Pyre, last spotted headed into the Fiore Natural Wildlife Preserve.
Once subdued, bring him to the nearest Rune Knights garrison for imprisonment.
PLACED BY: The Magic Council of Fiore
REWARD: 100,000 Jewel
He led us on a merry chase through the forest, he'd laid a few false trails and more than once climbed into the tree tops to try and shake any tails. Finally, after two long days of our little game of cat and mouse, we'd cornered him at long last.
The man had fought ferociously, his lack of scruples making it that much harder to capture him.
"Cana!" I yelled, barely avoiding a stream of blue flames. Gray cast a shield, but it was only a matter of time before the fire broke through.
"On it!" She called back, a trio of cards flashing into her hands as she crouched behind our rapidly melting defense. "Prayer's Fountain!"
She'd timed it almost perfectly.
The fountain splashed against the weakened ice, shattering it the rest of the way and pushed back the fire, shocking the dark mage that had thought us cornered just moments before. His concentration broken, the water slammed into him, and allowed Gray and I to get into the open where we worked best.
Now facing a three pronged attack consisting of me in his face, and Gray and Cana on his flanks, it was all over but the crying.
"Do you know who I am?! I will-" I shut him up with a Flare Kick to his side, opening him to Gray's ice and Cana's lightning.
"I really don't care." I leaned out of the way of a weaker stream of fire and put a Fusion Punch into his solar plexus.
In pain, and having trouble breathing, knocking him out was simple after that.
"Huh, that was easy." Gray said, crossing his arms over his bare chest. I requipped a shirt, handed it to him, and then proceeded to pull a length of magic resistant rope out of my pack.
"Uh guys…" I looked up from our newly hogtied prisoner and felt my heart sink into my stomach.
The woods we'd been fighting in were significantly thinner now. Shards of ice impaled trees, lightning scarred various trunks, and more than a few were smoldering or otherwise browned from heat.
"Think they'll care that we wrecked part of a forest?" I asked weakly. Cana snorted.
"This is a nature preserve, not any old woods, ya know?" I sighed and let my head fall.
"Let me hope, please Cana."
I really wanted that reward…
We didn't get it, by the way.
December 31, x776
10:00 PM.
Two hours until another year's over.
Two hours until one of the most important years for the guild begins.
Two hours until it's x777 and I've got to prepare myself for the arrival of the people that laugh at the laws of magic as we know them.
10:01 PM.
One hour and fifty nine minutes now.
One hour and fifty nine minutes until the year that I poke what remains of canon with a stick made of FOOF.
One hour and fifty nine minutes until the new year, and I'm sitting here brooding like Gray instead of partying with the rest of the guild.
Screw that!
I forced the thoughts from my mind and went to join the festivities. I might be too young to drink, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the party.
Not to mention all the blackmail I can get on the older members of the guild while they were shitfaced.
The party was absolutely wild, as expected of Fairy Tail. There were drinking contests, brawls, and card games going on all over the guid hall, with people almost seamlessly shifting between all three at once.
I could see Laxus being goaded into drink after drink by Macao and Master, he would probably regret that in the morning.
Cana was snickering as her Dad made a drunken fool of himself, Gray was frantically searching for his boxers while Erza chased him with a sword, and Levy was… passed out at a corner table, drooling on her arm.
That was adorable.
I let myself get lost in the atmosphere, Fairy Tail's good cheer was very infectious, and before I knew it, almost two hours had flown by.
Suddenly it was 11:59 PM, and at the sudden shout from Master Makarov announcing it, the festivities stopped, as though everyone had been frozen in place.
We all ran outside, some pulling their fellow drunks, or in my case, a half asleep Levy. We looked out over Magnolia and enthusiastically counted down the final seconds of the year along with the rest of the town.
"TEN!"
This was going to be a big year.
"NINE!"
In more ways than one, really.
"EIGHT!"
Mystogan, the Dragon Slayers…
"SEVEN!"
I couldn't let myself freak out over it.
"SIX!"
The timeline was already in pieces, what's a few more changes?
"FIVE!"
I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, destroying stuff is what I do!
"FOUR!"
Whether that be physical property or a more metaphysical entity like fate, destiny, or whatever you would call a world's "canon."
"THREE!"
Brooding over the future and what ifs would be foolish.
"TWO!"
We were Fairy Tail, we could handle anything!
"ONE!"
For every change I made, for every new enemy we might face, the guild would only be stronger.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
So ring in one of the most important years in the guild's history! I'd meet it with a smile.
I toasted alongside the rest of the guild, even if my glass was full of sparkling juice rather than champagne.
x777 had begun.
Our return to the party or stumbling off to bed was stopped by a sudden gout of purple flames from the front of the crowd. Macao, oddly sober considering how hard he'd been partying with everyone earlier, called out for our attention.
He broke into an oddly eloquent speech about his and Enno's relationship, how he'd been a nervous wreck around her until last year, when he'd been hyped up by Gildarts and Wakaba, and asked her out. To his surprise, instead of the playful rejection such declarations usually got from her, she'd happily accepted.
Enno, who had long since been pushed to the front of the crowd had covered her mouth with both her hands, it was abundantly clear where this was going.
Macao waxed lyrical about their time together, about how he'd just met her eyes one day, months after he'd asked her on a date, and had the revelation that he loved her more than he'd ever loved any woman before.
"Considering your usual time with a woman is a single night, I would hope so!" Wakaba called out, breaking Macao's stride and causing laughter to break out among the crowd.
"No heckling during my emotional speech, damnit!" Macao called back with little heat, a smile on his face. "Since I've lost my place in my speech, I suppose I'll just skip to the end then." Enno was almost bouncing in place at this point.
Macao got down on one knee, pulling a small box from his pocket and presented its contents to his girlfriend. "Will you marry me?" Enno grabbed him by his shirt collar and kissed him for far longer than what most would consider acceptable for public affection. When they finally came up for air, Macao's smile was dopey and Enno was crying.
"Yes, you idiot."
The guild cheered louder than they had when the clock struck midnight, I grinned as I joined in.
That's one way to start off the new year.
A/N: This chapter fought me pretty hard, to be honest. I wanted to round out x776 but I wanted to do it in a single chapter. So you got some snippets of what life is usually like for Helio and Fairy Tail at this point of the year. A moment of teaching, Fantasia, showing that Helio isn't quite as powerful as he'd hoped at this point (Canonically, Macao gets nominated for S-Class in x778, so who better for him to lose against?), a more normal job for Helio and his team, and finally New Year's.
The engagement thing snuck its way in on its own. Especially after I'd noticed that I'd been hinting towards Enno and Macao's relationship since January of x776.
Still, I hope you enjoyed it, because in the next chapter, it's x777, and you all know what that means!
As always, thanks to FFN user obliviousss for his help, without which this story would have stalled out long ago.
See y'all next time!