DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. All rights go to Hiro Mashima. Except this plot line. Which was entirely inspired by Natsu's get up during the Oracion Seis arc.
Chapter 2
If Ever There Was A Chance For Lives To Change
Fate was a cruel woman. She had no consideration for those who were beneath her and their feelings. She cared not for the way one's life could be ruined within a few seconds, or a single glance. It was as if she wanted people to be in pain, as if she relished in the mental agony and the physical torment that came with her horrible punishments. A select few fell into her good graces, were blessed, and received everything they desired.
Natsu definitely did not feel like one of those people. Hiss heart may have raced, and his face may have heated up, but in the grand scheme of things, this was not what was supposed to happen to him. He thought he was supposed to meet a pretty girl that had those deep, dark eyes, and he would sweep her off of her feet, and they would travel to the most exotic places and do the most stupid and dangerous of things.
He definitely was not supposed to melt under the icy gaze and cold grip of the man standing before him.
"Gray," Natsu repeated softly, slowly letting go of said man's hand, giving him a shaky smile and finally taking a seat at the bar. Cana, whose playful smirk told Natsu that she'd witnessed the entire scene, had refilled Natsu's glass of juice and set it in front of him with a wink. He scowled at her and took a large sip to sooth his nerves, but it didn't make him feel better. He could feel the icy chill of the man sitting next to him, and still see those haunting eyes without ever turning towards him.
"I think you know my brother," Gray said casually, taking his own seat next to Natsu instead of continuing to lean against the bar. When Natsu hadn't been paying attention, Gary had had his glass refilled as well—this time with something pink, almost the color of Natsu's unruly hair. Natsu was 98% sure that the similarity was Cana's fault. "Lyon Vastia is my brother."
Natsu didn't know whether to jump for joy or sigh dramatically and give up on everything. ON one hand, that made Gray a prince, which meant his parents were more likely to approve of this man from his dreams. On the other hand, Gray was prince, which meant there was no way he could be the man of Natsu's dreams. "Yeah, I know Lyon, in passing at least. My parents have been pushing me to become friends with him. Some spiel about needing better relations with Galuna," Natsu said rather grumpily.
Gray chuckled at Natsu's frustration. "It's cool, man. Our parents have been feeding Lyon the same thing. Last time they talked about it though, mom actually suggested arranging a marriage for you two."
Natsu made a gagging noise in the back of his throat. "No. You're brother is not my type." Gray snorted at Natsu's reaction and shrugged his shoulders. Then Natsu got curious and decided to change the subject. "I thought the Vastia's only had one son, though."
"They do," Gray answered automatically. "Mom cheated a year or two after Lyon was born. Technically I'm a Fullbuster."
Natsu snorted. "Laxus still thinks I'm not his real son, so I guess I kind of understand how that would feel."
"Well," Gray started, "they wouldn't have to wonder if they hadn't manage to lose a baby. How did they even accomplish that?
"Apparently, they went on vacation, and I was stolen from their hotel room while they were asleep." Natsu shook his head. "I wouldn't know by who,though. Surely not my dad—he's too kindhearted."
Natsu looked over at Gray and saw Gray smiling over at him. Not just a smirk or a simple curve of the lips, but a real smile that reached his eyes and crinkled the corners. Natsu scowled at him, not understanding what he had to smile about, but Gray just chuckled in response, that blasted smile still curling the corners of his mouth. "What on Earth is so funny?" Natsu wondered.
Gray licked his lips and took a swig of the pink concoction in his glass, looking rather pleased with the taste. "It's just that..." He looked over at the the pink-haired prince again, and then back to his drink, and then to Natsu again, another smile gracing his features as he seemingly realized the same thing about his drink Natsu already had. "You never wanted to be the Prince, did you?"
Natsu raised his eyebrows, both impressed and worried. Impressed because Gray had figured it out too quickly; worried because Gray had seen through him so easily. Before he could catch himself, Natsu began slowly shaking his head. "No," he said. "I never did."
A look that could only be described as incredulous crossed his features, but before Gray could get another word out, Wendy came bouncing over to them, her voice rising above the sea of chatter. "Bubba! Bubba!" She reached the two mean and placed her hands on Natsu's knees, leaning closer to him. "Bubba! Mom and Dad want us in the foyer. Something about a 'family gathering' before Sting and Rogue leave." She made air quotes around "family gathering" and began to tug on Natsu's sleeve. "Come on, Bubba!"
Natsu looked over at Gray with pleasing eyes, not wanting to leave this chilly man for what he was sure would be an unpleasant goodbye. Gray simply beamed at him, waving him away with a thumb up for encouragement. Natsu stuck his tongue out at the ravenette childishly as Wendy—a strong little thing when she was determined—began to drag him through the crowded room.
The nearly empty foyer felt much too big after coming out of the swamped throne room. Laxus, Mira, Sting, Rogue, and even Gajeel were gathered at the bottom of the hellish staircase. Sting and Rogue were attached at the hip, Sting's arm slung protectively around the other, uncomfortable with whatever situation this was supposed to be. Gajeel was sitting three stairs up, his head in one hand, a bottle cap being flipped with the other. Mira looked absolutely exasperated and Laxus looked just plain angry. At Natsu's side, Wendy slowed down when she saw the expressions their parents wore.
Natsu took hold of his little sister's hand to comfort her as they came to stand in front of Mira and Laxus. Mira's eyes lit up and Laxus' face softened at seeing them, and Natsu was certain that there had been some exceedingly terse conversation between their illegitimate sons and each other. Gajeel's bored face had turned into something of a smirk at their approach. Natsu scowled at his brother and held Wendy's hand tighter.
"Well," Laxus began, standing straighter, trying his damnedest to look intimidating. Natsu rolled his eyes at the act. "We have a few things to address as a family before Sting and Rogue head back to Sabertooth and Gajeel is kicked out."
"Hey now, Pops," Gajeel's rough voice matched the smirk on his face. "That hurts, ya know."
Laxus sneered at his eldest son. "You're not funny, Gajeel."
Mira stepped in before an argument could be started. "The point is, we have quite a few things that are going to be happening soon. In the coming month, Sting and Rogue are going to be wed, and the entire family," she looked pointedly at Gajeel, "is going to attend." Laxus scowled at the prospect, but Natsu gave a bright smile to the awkward couple. "Next off, after a lot of fighting and careful consideration, Gajeel will be moving back into the palace next week, though he will not regain his standing as a Prince." The whole family collectively groaned, and Gajeel glared at each of them in turn. "Lastly, Rogue and Sting have decided to have their honeymoon in Galuna. "She looked to Natsu then. "You'll be going with them as Magnolia's royal representative, seeing as their honeymoon falls on the days we wanted to go to Galuna to talk about relations anyway. It'll make it easier for us to do that if we send you, since we won't have to leave the kingdom unattended this way."
Natsu's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped. "Why am I in charge of strengthening our relationship with Galuna? Why can't you go yourselves and work out a treaty? I know we're on the brink of war."
Rogue and Sting looked as if they were getting even more uncomfortable as time passed. "Natsu," Laxus cut in, "it's time for your brothers to leave. See them off. We'll talk more about this later." Natsu snarled in response and led Sting and Rogue to the door.
It turns out that when Laxus had said "later", he had meant ignoring anything Natsu said about it until the day of the wedding. The Fire Prince had been perfectly content watching Lucy fuss over his choice of tunic when his self-proclaimed father burst into the room and asked for her to leave. "Family business," he had said.
"I figured I should probably give you the rundown before the weeing, Laxus began, sitting on the vanity that Natsu had been using to fix his hair. "As you know, the Galuna royals have been invited to the wedding—relations, as usual. I've taken this opportunity to speak with the King and Queen about a, uh... union, of sorts. It's the perfect time, too, especially since you'll be headed off to Galuna with your brothers to rekindle our alliance, anyway.
"So, it's been decided. Lyon Vastia, the Ice Prince, will accompany you to the wedding, from which you both will head back to Galuna, where you'll spend time to get to know each other better and talk politics with his parents while wedding plans are made. Of course, you'll make sure my son and Rogue are having a nice honeymoon in your spare time. How's that sound?"
Natsu stood with his jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists. When he replies his voice was tight, and his throat felt strained. "I thought our kingdom no longer took part in arranged marriages." It was all he could bear to say. He felt angry and sad. In the back of his mind there was a fleeting glimpse of midnight-blue eyes, but the rational part of his mind told him that Gray was not the person he thought he'd wanted, that the blue eyes were supposed to remain in his dreams. This is best for the kingdom, he reminded himself.
But the mischievous part of his mind reminded him that Gray is in Galuna, too.
Laxus sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "Officially, we don't, but right now Galuna is threatening war, and this is the best way to keep the peace." Natsu nodded to his father and let his hands go slack, feeling a faint sting from where his nails had dug into his palms. With a small "okay", the Prince turned away from the King and put on the blue and gold tunic Lucy had kept fussing about before leaving the room to find said blonde waiting outside with a sad smile.
"I wish he would've told you sooner," she stated quietly. When Natsu's response was a terse nod, she let the matter drop and took his arm to lead him down to where the wedding was going to be held, or in Natsu's mind, to his doomed future.
"What about our kingdoms?" Natsu spoke up. "The public is going to freak out when they find out their only eligible prince is marrying a man. In both kingdoms." Natsu's voice was quiet when he spoke, filled with concern rather than anger like Lucy thought it would be. They were almost to the ballroom of the Sabertooth palace, where the wedding was to take place. Lucy stopped and held Natsu back to avoid being overheard.
"Your parents are doing this to avoid war. A little public outrage is much easier to handle than a large, outraged kingdom," she tried to explain to him, but his eyes looked far away, as if he could pretend he wasn't there. Lucy gave him a sad smile. "Come on," she urged him. "Rogue wanted you and Lyon in the front row." Natsu gave her a little rod and let her lead him away.
As soon as Natsu sat down next to the snow-haired man, he could tell Lyon felt just as uncomfortable with the situation as he did. Natsu did not want to make the other feel even more awkward, so he said nothing to him, merely offering a polite smile as the wedding began. After the first part of the procession, Lyon visibly relaxed, obviously becoming more comfortable with the person next to him, and he'd have to, if he wanted to be content with the next wedding to come. Even Natsu relaxed some as the wedding went on, subconsciously letting his knee bump against the other man's.
It was easy to pretend that he wasn't stuck in such an unwanted situation when he could—and was supposed—pay attention to the wedding. It was a simple ceremony, over quick, but Natsu couldn't help but to be disappointed when it ended, seeing as that meant he'd have to act the part and go to the reception. With Lyon. And dance. Natsu sighed as he watched the newlyweds march down the aisle, looking dapper in their suits, a large grin across Sting's face, a blush and a smile gracing Rogue's.
Lyon—obviously raised with manners befitting of a prince, unlike Natsu—stood from his chair and offered his hand to the Fire Prince, a half-smile on his face that said he wasn't excited about this situation, but that he'd do what he had to do for his family and his kingdom. For a second, Natsu tensed up and held his breath, as if waiting for the Ice Prince to completely lose it and lash out at him. After regaining his sensing and letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Natsu gave a half-smile of his own and took Lyon's hand.
A/N: So, I've been really excited for this story. So excited, in fact, that I completely forgot the disclaimer and author's note I wanted to put in the first chapter because I wanted to get it out THAT BAD. I'm really ecstatic over all the reviews and feedback I've gotten for this so far, so a big fat THANK YOU to EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED. I also want to say thank you to one of my best friends, Foxanna (I really hope you're reading this, darling :D), and my beta reader, TraitorousFreshman15. She's not beta reading this one, but we've been good friends for over a year now, and she's supported me in everything I've done so far SO THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU'RE READING THIS, JAPAN! I feel like the end of this chapter was a little rushed, but at the same time I think it needed to be that way. I'm going to do my best to make this an every Sunday update, around this time, so keep an eye out! You can also find me on Tumblr as .com, and I'll be doing my best to keep you all up-to-date on their as well. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS CHAPTER.
ALSO, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO GOT LIKE THREE EMAILS SAYING THIS WAS UPDATED, WAS GIVING ME HUGE ISSUES IN WHICH THE FORMATTING WASN'T SHOWING UP CORRECTLY AFTER I HAD POSTED THE CHAPTER. I APOLOGIZE.
Love, peace, and bacon grease,
Andi