#chelia continues to be a mood

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

Chelia pointing to a very high shelf: Can you get that for me?

Lyon: See? I knew you needed me, huh?

Chelia: I can and will replace you with a step stool.

[divinion1990]

Family Law

Summary: Fourteen years ago, Sherry Blendy and Lyon Vastia shared one fateful night together. Now, the conflicted fourteen-year-old Chelia discovers that her father is not the man that she believed all these years. Their journeys are destined to intertwine, but will the truth destroy their family bonds, or pave a strong future together? Collection: Fairy Tail Dad’s AU Main Characters: Chelia Blendy, Lyon Vastia, Sherry Blendy, Gray Fullbuster

----

May 12, 2020

The sounds of singing and pop music played by an overworked speaker resonated throughout the community centre. To some it was sweet, to others it was a nail through the forehead. Bouncing around the wooden floorboards and the pale teal walls, escaping through to the small reception room at the front.

“I’m sorry, the halls have ended up double booked due to the holidays,” the receptionist apologised to the two men. “The girls will be finished up in the next five minutes or so, I promise. Then the day-care centre will be free again!”

Lyon nodded, a polite smile written across his face. “That’s quite alright. We can wait.”

“Or we could not,” Gray rolled his eyes.

The older male scoffed. “Nonsense! This meeting is the best thing for you. See, they’re stopping already!” Lyon told him.

It was true. The sounds of the singing were replaced quickly with childish giggling and running around the room. Bags, coats and all other belongings were quickly gathered by the gossiping teenagers, little care for what was around them as they discussed their latest rehearsal successes.

“Did you hear that high note? And the dance routine… That last step was so hard!”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it!”

“I’m sure we’ll do much better next time.”

“We’re already getting much better!”

Gray tucked himself into the corner of the room as the small collection of young women raced out in front of him. They bounced around with an excited air, chattering and wishing each other the best of luck. It only gave Gray reason to give Lyon a long, flat stare.

“I promise you; it’ll be worth it,” Lyon reassured him, folding his arms over his chest. “I’ve recommended similar groups to many, many others in your exact position. They’re a great way to assist you in getting over your issues.”

Gray’s frown turned into a glare. “Issues?”

“See, Aki agrees with me,” Lyon offered, leaning down to the child by Gray’s side. He in no way seemed to be in an agreeing mood, too busy staring at the small crowd from behind Gray’s legs and holding onto his father’s hand tightly. Lyon didn’t seem to notice this. “We’re going to help daddy get over his issues. Aren’t we Aki?”

“Please don’t talk to my son about issues…” Gray hissed at him, grabbing onto Aki’s hand even tighter.

“The room should be free now,” the woman behind the desk called out to them both. “Second door on the right.”

“Thanks,” Gray huffed, quickly moving away and towards the door.

Lyon grinned proudly, watching his friend disappear with his son. Without a shadow of doubt, he knew that Gray would take great things from this experience. It had been an excellent idea - after all, Lyon had tried and tested this many times with other clients.

“Mom! We got through the second verse!”

“Excellent work, both of you! Oh Wendy, I love what you’ve done with your hair!”

“Th-thank you, Mrs Blendy…”

“Oh Wendy, how many times? You can call me-“

“Lyon!”

Lyon blinked suddenly, looking back to the man calling his name. “S-Sorry?”

Gray frowned back at him. “Are you coming or what?” he asked him impatiently. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just… thought I recognised someone,” Lyon explained, quickly ignoring his instincts and following Gray into the room.

 -----

 “I saw him today.”

Ren turned to his wife, pausing. It wasn’t her words that made him concerned, but the way that she held her arms over her body, the awkward glance away, the pauses between each breath. It was all enough to make him stop and listen.

“Oh?”

She hesitated. The words caught on her tongue. It held an almost ominous presence in the build up to her admission. “Her father.”

He paused again. He turned away, putting another item back into the cupboard. “I see,” he said simply.

She bit her lip. Squeezed her arms tight. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him around. I’d assumed he’d moved away again. But he was at the community centre at the same time as Chelia. If I’d been a few minutes late…” she gave a heavy, defeated sigh. “Not that I suppose that would be a bad thing…”

Ren just listened, continuing to put away the groceries in a solemn silence. Hearing that his silence was being returned, his hand stilled. “I don’t think this is my problem…” he said slowly.

She sighed again, this time more dramatically. No matter how sharp and uncaring that might have sounded to the untrained ear, Chelia understood. “No, you’re right. I need to decide what to do with this. We’ll stay a family no matter what happens. She isn’t going to stop loving you, you know,” she told him with a twinkle in her eye.

He turned away, taking an excruciatingly long time to put away just one can of peas.

She giggled. Ren was being as proud as always, but she could always see the love there, even when he didn’t like to admit it. “Thank you,” she told him, walking back to his side and placing a kiss on his cheek. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

——

“And then she started going on about love and how we are all still a family,” Chelia finished explaining before ducking her head into yet another dusty box.

“I see…” Wendy told her softly, brushing the dust from another label. ‘Chelia’s Toys, 2006’. She pushed the box aside. “I can’t imagine what it must feel like finding out your father isn’t-I mean, he is-but-“

“It wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret,” Chelia admitted, pulling out random items and inspecting them. “I always suspected. I don’t look anything like him.”

“That’s true… but even so…” Wendy whispered quietly.

“Nothing’s changed,” Chelia told her seriously. “Even though he isn’t related to me by blood, he’s still my dad. All I’m looking for now is my father.”

Wendy nodded. It really was admirable watching the way that Chelia had dealt with the news that would have shattered her own world. To the point where she was concerned that denial was burning strong inside her, no matter how well she seemed to have rationalised the information. The only thing left for Wendy now was to be a support, a close friend, and a sister to prove not all family relied on blood.

“Um… Chelia…” Wendy paused, trying to get the words right that she’d already thought through a hundred times. “If your mother had this conversation with you… why didn’t she tell you who your father was? Why are we having to look in boxes?”

Chelia paused. It was a question she’d both expected and still struggled to find an answer for. “I didn’t want to ask her...” she admitted, looking down. “I didn’t want her to feel like I was-like I was turning my back on Dad,” she said.

Wendy nodded slowly. There seemed to be a lot more emotions going on there than what Chelia was willing to say, but that at least seemed healthy. She reached over and put a hand over her friend’s.

“We’ll find him together,” she promised her.

Chelia’s smile lit up. She jumped on Wendy, grabbing her into a tight, tight hug. “Thank you, Wendy.”

Wendy gasped at the sudden affection but smiled back warmly. She held on tight, knowing that it wasn’t for her own sake that they’d share this moment. “Any time,” she promised, giving another squeeze before letting go. As she did, her eyes drifted to another box in the far corner, and a name that filled with promise. “Look,” she gestured.

It was everything Chelia had both anticipated and feared. The cardboard box with the words scribbled along the side; ‘Sherry High School/College’. She slid across the floor to the box, pushing away the thick coatings of dust. A line of Sellotape that had long since lost all adhesive properties came away easily in her hands, as she opened the flaps. Everything seemed painfully slow to reveal. An oversized school sweatshirt, with gold embroidery of a snaked creature emblem. Old schoolbooks that were filled with notes, love-hearts and scribbles that could have one day been considered ‘important’. Dusty shot glasses that had been packed and forgotten about, tainted with memories of exciting nights.

Usually, Chelia would have found it all fascinating. A different side to the loving mother she had always known, one that had her whole life ahead of her and – from the contents of this box – seemed content to spent it chasing dreams, scribbling love-hearts and enjoying life. She began to pull out pictures, so many frozen images of long nights ago. She had been a popular woman, wearing a wide smile and more often than not with her hands cupped into a heart shape.

“Your mother was beautiful,” Wendy commented, glancing at the pictures that Chelia was putting onto the ground. “She-she still is beautiful! She was very beautiful in these pictures, though…”

Chelia nodded. “She was,” she agreed, starting to see the patterns. Though it often seemed she would be with a different person every night, she finally saw the friendship groups emerging, until she confidently could pick out a picture with four young people. “I think… I think this is it…”

Wendy glanced over, a serious look on her face. “… You’re sure?”

A small pause from the young woman before another nod. “The way that mother talked about him… I’ve only heard her talk that way about me and my father. It was someone that meant a lot to her. One of her closest friends. It has to be someone from these pictures, one of these… one of these men is my real father.”

----

Sometimes it felt like Lyon was a dark mark upon the world of children.

He was the monster that forced parents to fight and separate. He was the demon that turned lives upside down. He was the villain who asked the painful questions: Who do you want to live with? Did they hurt you? Who do you feel safe with? How often would you like to spend time with these people? They were no questions that any child should have had to answer, and it was not an easy question to ask. Sometimes Lyon had to play the bad guy, for the most important reasons.

There was always a secret sense of dread when he saw a child in distress. There were the background thoughts running through his head, the guilt of separating a child from comfort, the terror that if he made one wrong step someone could get seriously hurt, and then there was that look. The one that cut him right to his core. Even if he forced himself into that polite smile, tried to offer a peace offering of candy, and pray the child was not traumatised for life.

Lyon’s eyes stayed pinned to the small child, watching him even as he took continual sips from his coffee mug. Waiting for him to make a sign, some kind of indication of the trauma he’d caused. Or perhaps the salvation he’d brought.

Instead, Aki just brought him a small block. Lyon looked at him quizzically… and turned back to Gray.

Gray nodded with a small smile. “He’s giving it to you,” he said with a small smirk, relishing perhaps a little too much in how uncomfortable Lyon looked.

Lyon looked back at the ‘gift’, reaching over and taking it. “Oh… thank you very much.”

The child beamed and walked off again to search for more toys.

“For someone who works with kids all day, you sure are awkward around them,” Gray commented.

It was hard for Lyon to understand what Gray’s tone meant, even after all his years of training in other’s true motives. “I usually don’t talk to children as young as Aki…” he admitted, looking even more surprised as another wooden block was passed to him by a very proud looking Aki. “And when I do, they’re usually not social visits… Does that bother you?” he asked.

Gray paused for a few seconds, before shaking his head. “You’re a natural,” he said.

Lyon didn’t feel like a natural. He put down his mug to take yet another block, as Aki disappeared into his toybox and produced five more. He giggled as he was racing back and forth across the room now, trying to drop them into his father’s friend’s lap, a fun new game to explore.

“If you say so…” Lyon said, muttering yet another ‘thank you’ and looking more perplexed by the second. “Is he usually so, uh, generous?”

“No,” Gray smiled faintly. “It means he likes you. And trusts you.”

Lyon swallowed hard. That innocence. He was clearly far too young to understand. Either that, or he had been through too much and resorted to taking kindness in the most unlikely ways. “Well… I like him too,” he admitted, smiling back.

When Aki came running back over, instead Lyon held out one of the building blocks back in his direction. The child’s eyes widened, taking it in his hands and inspecting it intently. He smiled and made a happy little sound, running off again to repeat the game again.

“I’m surprised you don’t have a kid yourself…”

Lyon paused. There it was again, an edge of sadness he’d been expecting whenever around children. No matter how much joy or love it filled him with. “I… got distracted,” he excused himself, looking away. He didn’t want to talk about the years he’d wasted. On work, on some girl, on paths taken that left him much older and much less wise than he’d hoped to be by now. It wasn’t a choice he’d made, but many smaller choices which had left him alone.

It became clear he wasn’t going to say any more. In the spirit of distraction, Lyon quickly became caught into the new games with Aki. He poured the blocks onto the coffee table and within a few seconds had been showing the young boy how to rearrange them. Or Aki had been showing Lyon. It was hard to tell, Gray noticed, finding a very small hint of a smile on his face as he watched them both.

At least this, this small protected bubble, felt safe.

[velvarii]

April Fools / Misunderstanding

A day late for this, but I got the idea late last night and needed sleep. I also realized this kinda-sorta fit for day 2 of Gruvia week: misunderstanding.

Also posted on ff.net [story] [account]

Summary: Gray desperately tries to understand why Juvia is acting so cold to him all of the sudden

Pairing: Gray x Juvia

Rating: T

Gray walked into Fairy Tail and immediately sensed something was off, but he couldn't quite place what it was.

Cana was sitting atop one of the tables and drinking from a large barrel. Gajeel was sitting with team Shadow Gear, but acting as though he would rather be anywhere else, even though he was sitting rather close to the blunette. Natsu was stuffing his face while Lucy rolled her eyes. Elfman was yelling about manly things. Vijeeter was showing off a new dance. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Gray took a few more steps and immediately stopped.

That's what it is.

He actually managed to get a few steps into the guild hall without being tackled by a blue haired water mage. Where is Juvia, by the way? Gray looked around, and eventually found her sitting at the bar and talking to Mira, who was cleaning a few of the mugs. He wasn't sure why, but he found himself walking to the bar and standing next to where Juvia sat and ordered a drink from Mira before turning to the other woman.

"Hey, Juvia," he said, but she cast a brief, sideways glance at him before picking up her glass and taking a drink.

"Hello, Gray," she said lowly. Gray blinked. That's it? A simple hello?

"How're you today?" he tried.

"Juvia is well, thank you." What the hell? Gray thought. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted.

"Hey, Rain Woman, are ya comin'?" came the rough voice of Gajeel. Both turned to see him, arms crossed over his chest.

"Yes! Juvia's coming!" Juvia said, finishing off her drink quickly.

"Where are you going?" Gray asked.

"Juvia and Gajeel are taking a quick job," she said, then left. She left. Just like that. No 'Juvia will miss you, my love!' or 'Gray, darling, won't you please join us?' or even a kiss blown at him. Nothing. He watched with wide eyes as she and the iron dragon slayer left the guild hall, then turned back to Mira.

"Mira, what kind of job did they take?" he asked. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Just a simple security mission. It shouldn't take more than a few hours."

"Any reason why?"

"Juvia was telling me that she and Gajeel were doing it for old times sake. I think it's sweet, the two of them catching up like that," she said happily as she continued to clean glasses.

"So… nothing else?"

"Not that I know of." That didn't help him at all. If it were just for her and Gajeel to hang out, why would she be acting so cold to him? Unless…

"It's not Christmas, is it?" he asked, and Mira laughed.

"No. You've got a long ways to go," she said.

"Valentine's Day?"

"That's an even longer while away." That's right. He distinctly remembers having bought Juvia a box of chocolates a few months ago just to avoid her getting upset over getting nothing at all. He had Lucy to thank for reminding him about such a ridiculous day.

But if it wasn't a holiday, nor their 'anniversary,' then what the hell could it be?

"You're wondering why Juvia was acting strange towards you, aren't you?" Mira asked and Gray nodded with a sigh. "Well, she didn't say anything to me. Maybe ask Gajeel when they return? Or just go straight to her?"

"Yeah, I was considering that, but I don't know. You said they should be back in a few hours, right?" The white haired mage nodded, that sweet smile ever present. Gray sighed and picked up his mug, then went to join Erza, Natsu, and Lucy. He decided not to let it bother him.

But, of course, for the next eight and a half hours, it was the only thing on his mind.

Mira said a few hours. Where the hell are they?

He wasn't exactly worried about them, as he knew they were both once S-class and are very capable of handling themselves, but he just needed to know what the hell was up with Juvia. The sun was already set and Gray was getting tired of waiting. As though the world heard his wish, the doors to the guild hall opened and in stepped the two former Phantom Lord members.

"Juvia said she was sorry, Gajeel!"

"You nearly blew the whole mission, woman!" Gajeel shouted as they walked in.

"You told Juvia to flood the route, remember?"

"Yeah, but… in a better way than that!"

"Gajeel, Juvia doesn't think there are many different ways to flood something…"

"Whatever! It's over now."

"It is, so why are you still so angry?"

"Can it, woman!"

"Juvia's so sorry! Please forgive her!" Juvia cried, throwing her arms around the dragon slayer. Gajeel rolled his eyes, but placed a hand on her head.

"It's fine. Just…" he looked up and saw a few pairs of eyes on them, then quickly detached the water mage from his body. "It's fine," he said more gruffly, then walked to the bar. Juvia smiled at him, then looked around a little, as if trying to figure out where she should go. Again, she did not single him out and jump on him, telling him how much she dreaded not having him by her side.

"Hey, Juvia! Over here!" Natsu shouted with a bright grin, waving his hand in the air.

"Natsu," she said as she came to the table, smiling as she took a seat. "How are you today?"

"Not too bad," Natsu said as he took another bite of meat. Has he been eating all day?

"How was the quest, Juvia?" Gray asked. Juvia's demeanor changed suddenly and regarded him with an indifferent expression.

"It was fine," she said simply, then turned to talk to Lucy.

Seriously? Gray thought. He narrowed his eyes at her, then looked to the bar and stood. He was about to do something he really didn't want to do, but he supposed had no other choice.

"I'm going to get another drink," he murmured to no one in particular as he walked to the bar. When he took his seat next to Gajeel, he swore he could feel the dark aura surrounding the dragon slayer.

"What do you want, stripper?" he growled, lifting his mug to his mouth. Levy and the rest of team Shadow Gear had gone out on a quest of their own, so perhaps that added to his usual grumpy mood.

"I was just wondering if you knew what's wrong with Juvia," Gray said in a tone that showed he didn't want to have this conversation, either. Gajeel looked at him from the corner of his eye with a raised brow. Or… bolts.

"She seems fine to me," he said.

"I mean, mostly, yeah, but she's… God, this is gonna make me sound like an asshole, but she's not jumping all over me or anything. In fact, she's barely even looking at me. When I talk to her, she gives short answers and then turns away." Gajeel let out a grunted laugh.

"Maybe she's finally grown some common sense and has gotten over your sorry, stripping ass," he said. Gray rolled his eyes. He was right in thinking Gajeel wouldn't be any help.

"I just wanted to know if she said anything about me on the mission. If I did anything wrong."

"No, she didn't say a word about you. I get that it's a bit weird, but I couldn't care less," he said, taking another drink. Gray shook his head and turned away to head back to the table.

"Where'd Juvia go?" he asked the others.

"She left a bit ago. Said she just had somewhere to be," Natsu said.

"Did you do something to her, Gray?" Lucy asked.

"Did she say I did?" Gray asked quickly, almost too eagerly.

"No… She was just acting strange towards you." Great. Still nothing. He groaned. Really, it's only been a day that she's acted like this, and they haven't even interacted very much. Though, of course, lack of interaction was also the issue. Still, he shouldn't be making such a big deal about it. Rather than explaining what was going on, he left, deciding he would make Juvia tell him firsthand.

First, he went to her apartment, knocking and even trying to impersonate Gajeel in hopes of getting her to open the door. Unfortunately, she must not have been home. He was glad nobody was around to witness his impression.

Next, he tried Fairy Hills. Even though Juvia had moved out, he knew she would still frequent the place to hang out with some of the girls, but Laki informed him that she hadn't been there for a while.

The third place he tried was all along the river that ran through Magnolia, walking almost the entire length of it before heading back in the other direction. No sign of Juvia.

Why would she be mad at me? What could I have possibly done in the time between yesterday and today that would piss her off so much? Gray thought

Maybe she's just tired of waiting for you, you dumbass.

Unlikely. Shut the fuck up.

Very likely.

Gray groaned, scrubbing at his face to try to clear his conflicted mind. When he looked up, he realized where his feet had brought him.

Lamia Scale.

No.

She wouldn't.

Lyon weirded her out.

Right?

Swallowing thickly, the ice mage lift a hand and knocked on the door, and it opened. Thankfully, not by Lyon himself. Instead, he was made to look down to see who answered.

"Oh, Gray! What are you doing here at this hour?" Chelia said, violet eyes shining brightly.

"Uh, hey, Chelia. Sorry, I know it's late, but… wait, what time is it?"

"About 11:30, why?"

"What are you still doing here, then? Shouldn't you be home?"

"I'm staying here tonight. I mean, someone has to answer the door for people who come at weird hours."

"Uh-huh… Right. Anyway, has Juvia been here at all?" he asked, looking into the guild hall, but it was dark and empty.

"Juvia…?" Chelia's eyes then narrowed. She crossed her arms and looked away, nose up. "No. She hasn't. And that's a good thing. Lyon-"

"Great, thanks, that's all I needed to know," he said before taking off. He wasn't sure where she could be, but decided to head back to Magnolia to check her apartment again. This time, when he knocked, the light beside the door turned on and he heard locks being undone. The door opened, and there Juvia stood, hair slightly a mess and wearing only a shirt that dropped mid-thigh (wait… was that his shirt?). She must have been sleeping.

"Gray? What are you doing here?" she asked, blinking in surprise.

"Juvia," Gray breathed, relief flooding his body. "Can I come in?" She eyed him for a moment before moving out of the way and Gray went in. When he heard the door close, he turned back to face her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, returning to a more cold demeanor.

"First, where have you been? I've been looking for you for hours!" Gray said. Slight shock returned to her features.

"Gray's been… looking for Juvia?" she said quietly.

"Forget that - I wanna know what your deal is. Why have you been so cold to me today?" he asked. He saw Juvia glance away and followed her eyes to the clock.

11:57

Was there some other holiday she discovered? Did he have to make it up to her in under three minutes? No, that can't be it. Right?

"Juvia, what did I do wrong? I can't make it up to you if you won't tell me!" he said. Juvia crossed her arms and cast her eyes downward.

"Juvia… Juvia does not…" her voice was soft and Gray had to strain his ears to hear her. "She…"

"What, Juvia?" Gray nearly shouted, growing impatient. The water mage swallowed thickly, tightening her arms around herself before looking up at him.

"Juvia does not like Gray anymore," she said simply. Gray's eyes widened.

What?

"Juvia-"

"She… she is over you, Gray."

"You… what? Why?" he asked, his voice coming out choked, and Juvia winced. It was hardly visible, but Gray saw it.

"Juvia was… tired of waiting. She has moved on."

"To who? Lyon?" Gray asked, voice rising as anger bloomed within him.

"N-no! She-"

"Then who?!"

"Nobody! Juvia has just moved on from Gray!" Gray shook his head, running a hand through his hair as he tried desperately to figure out what to say. It couldn't all be over. Could it?

"Look, Juvia," he said, stepping closer to her, "I'm sorry. I… I kept you waiting and never gave you a straight answer and I shouldn't have done that. I get why you'd want to move on, but… But I just can't let you! Not now," he said, grabbing her arms. Her eyes went wide, then darted to the clock and back to him again.

11:58

"Juvia… I should have told you this a long time ago, but I was stubborn. I like you. I really like you. More than I probably should, but I do. I like when you're near and talking to me and saying how much you missed me. I like when you grab my arm and hold yourself close to me. I like everything about you and I…" Gray lowered his head and his eyes were hidden under dark fringe. "And I'm too late… And that's my fault. I'm sorry, Juvia. I realize now it's not fair of me to tell you this once you've finally moved on, but I'm not exactly selfless."

"Gray…" He looked up at her again and Juvia swore her heart shattered at his broken expression.

"I know I said I couldn't let you move on, but now I realize I need to. I'm sorry. Goodbye, Juvia," he said quietly, then tore himself away and turned, opened the door, and left. Juvia glanced at the clock again, her heart racing.

11:59

Gray was cursing himself as he left her apartment. Had he not been such an ass, he would have her now. But instead he held too tightly to his selfish pride and had kept his mouth shut about his feelings toward her. And now he was paying the price.

And it hurt like a bitch.

He heard a bell tower in the distance, signaling midnight. This is the first day of what would now be his new hell in a life without Juvia by his side. After her being in it for so long, he didn't know how he was going to settle back into a life before her.

"Gray!" He stopped dead in his tracks at the voice in the distance and turned around to see who had called for him, but before he could focus in on anything, he was tackled to the ground. Looking down at what was wrapped around him, he saw a mess of blue hair.

"Juvia?" he breathed. She lift her head, smiling brightly at him with tears glistening in her eyes. "Juvia, I thought-"

"Happy April Fools!" she shouted with a jovial giggle, tightening her hold on him. Gray furrowed his brows.

"April… what?" What the hell was she on about? She was just telling him that she was over him and had no intention of looking back! Now -

Oh.

"What?!" Gray shouted as realization settled in, but Juvia only laughed happily. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Nope!" Juvia said with a breathtaking smile.

"It was a joke? All of it?"

"Yup!" Gray's head fell back against the concrete sidewalk, but he ignored the pain. She was pranking him?

"You made me believe you were over me," he said, trying hard to keep his voice level.

"That was the point." Gray couldn't believe it. He didn't know whether to yell at her for what she did, or to rejoice that it wasn't true. When he found his arms wrapping over her back to keep her to his chest, he had his answer.

"Juvia… About what I said -" Juvia raised up a little and pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him with a warm smile.

"It's all right, Gray. Juvia does not expect you to say anything about it. This was a joke she decided to play. She didn't do it to force you into making a decision."

"No, I needed you to do it," he said, sitting up with her in his lap. She blinked at him. "I meant what I said, Juvia. Every word of it. I wasn't exactly sure about what I wanted before, but now I know as though it were the clearest thing in my life. I want to be with you, Juvia. Even if I wasn't losing you, it still felt like it, and I'll be damned if I go through that again."

"Juvia didn't mean to hurt Gray," she said, looking worried. He placed a hand on her jaw and stroked her cheek with his thumb, smiling lightly at her.

"You didn't hurt me. Well… Okay, you sort of did, but - hey, don't start crying! I'm saying that you gave me a wake-up call. You made me realize my feelings and got me to stop hiding from them. I can't say it was a very conventional way, but… Well, not much is conventional around here, really." Juvia gave him a watery smile, then threw her arms around his neck, shoving his face to her chest and hugging him tightly.

"April Fools is now Juvia's favorite day! She is so happy!"

"Juvia," Gray said, voice muffled against her bosom as he struggled against her. However, he had really missed her touch and excitement all day, and let her have her moment because he was still having his own, and was also giving himself time to process all of what happened.

Gray managed to push her away enough to look at her, and found himself unable to stop smiling. She cupped his face with her hands, let out a sob of a laugh, and surged forward crashing her lips to his own in an eager and excited kiss. He chuckled against her lips and pressed a hand to the back of her head to return the gesture. His other hand wrapped around her waist, and he then realized that she was still only in his shirt.

"Juvia, what the hell are you doing running around dressed like this?" he said when he pulled away. Juvia pouted softly.

"Juvia needed to catch up to you at midnight. She didn't have time to change. You did wake her up, after all," she accused. Gray moved her off of him and got up, pulling her up along with him. He then took off his long coat and draped it over her shoulders to prevent anyone else out at this hour getting a look at her dressed in such a way. Juvia smiled at him and took his hand, and he squeezed hers in return.

"Let's get you home. It's late," he said, and began walking her back to her apartment.

"Will Gray stay with Juvia tonight?" Juvia asked quietly, and Gray looked down at her with a light smile.

"If you think I'm leaving after that crazy stunt you pulled, you've got another thing coming," he said, and Juvia practically squealed and ran the rest of the way, dragging Gray in tow.

[impracticaldemon]

Pride Goeth Before a Party ~ Graylu Holiday Fic Exchange

by Impracticaldemon for @condacending

Words: ~ 2100 | FFnet | AO3  @graylusecretsiblings @fic-writer-appreciation @graylu-fanfictions

Author's Note:

Unfortunately, this story was both delayed and shortened due to me being sick over the holidays and beyond. I hope to publish an epilogue shortly.  I was offered the perfect wishlist (matching my own preferences just about exactly). Here are Condacending's notes:

Characters portrayed as rational / down to earth who connect on a personal level

Witty, comfortable conversation between them and their friends

Dependable, emotionally there for each other

Moments of normalcy in their life

Canon compliant but enjoys AU spins on canon

~ Impracticaldemon

Pride Goeth Before a Party, or We All Make Mistakes A Holiday Graylu Fic for Condacending

Gray stood at the front window of Lucy's apartment watching the snow fall, arms crossed, shoulders tense, stance closer to defensive than appropriate for a comfortable night in with a much-cherished girlfriend. He managed to keep his tone reasonably even, at least.

"I thought it was just going to be the team. Natsu, Erza, Wendy, the cats… maybe one or two others."

From her seat on the couch, Lucy studied the way Gray's muscles moved under his soft navy t-shirt and concluded that things were more serious than she'd realized. They'd done pretty well in the four months since becoming a couple: disagreements had been few, tempers had been held in check with the patience granted by new romantic love, and each of them had been carefully considerate of any known bruised spots or raw places in the other. Tonight wasn't going nearly as smoothly as usual.

"Well… I thought that since it was a New Year celebration, we should try to kind of reconnect to past friendships"—and other important relationships—"and go a bit beyond the usual"—for once. Gray had always been slightly introverted, but he'd generally had fun at guild parties, and hadn't seemed to mind hanging out and having drinks with various guild members. Lucy wondered why she hadn't noticed sooner that between missions with the team, and time alone together, neither of them had been seeing their wider circle of friends much, and—

"Look, Luce, I appreciate the sentiment, but we didn't decide to invite Lyon. Or Ultear. Not that they've accepted yet or anything, but… I dunno, I just wished you'd asked for my input first. We were doing this thing together, right? And does Erza know you've invited Jellal? Seems to me they've got a complicated kind of relationship—something that isn't exactly 'kiss under the mistletoe and it's all good now'. Again—not that anyone's accepted the invitations, but if they do then what? And I have no idea where Meredy's at, but she's had a rough time of it, and we don't know what the dynamics are between her and Jellal and Ultear. Plus, aren't they all, you know, wanted criminals?"

Hearing the sarcasm edging into his tone, Gray drew a deep breath while Lucy processed his comments. Then he turned from the window, determined to do things right. That included not shutting himself away, or using words or worse to push others—Lucy—away.

Lucy did her best to stop frowning, with mixed success. Although she knew it would probably be better to keep listening right now, she felt impelled to defend herself a little.

"I'm sorry I upset you," she said carefully. "I guess I was hoping we could bring people together a little—and I kind of had the impression that you were getting along okay with Lyon these days and—"

Gray dropped onto the floor in front of Lucy, eyes fixed on hers.

"It seems like you're trying to turn our little New Year's party into something different. Are you sure you weren't just looking for a chance to get me to talk to certain people you think I should be closer to? We know each other pretty well by now, right? And I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me or for selfish reasons, unless"—he broke off, suddenly wary of saying the wrong thing. Sometimes he used jokes to keep people at a distance.

Fortunately, Lucy reached down and poked him lightly on the forehead, saying:

"Unless it involves my rent, I know, I know, sheesh!"

Since she appeared to be genuinely amused, Gray let out a puff of laughter; it was a standing joke with their team that Lucy's scruples inevitably went out the window when her rent was on the line. The mood between them lightened.

"Okay, let me ask straight out, Luce: did you invite Lyon, and Ultear and Meredy, because they're connected to me?"

Lucy chewed her lower lip and then nodded slowly. "I guess that's a big part of it. I have a much better appreciation now for how complicated it is—since Tenrou especially—and since things seem a little more settled these days, I wanted to give you an opportunity to reach out a little. Ultear and Lyon are like family to you and… I know what it's like to realize too late that you could have done something to... to make things better... and didn't."

Gray pulled Lucy's forehead against his. For some reason, touching always helped when they were talking about the hard things.

"I'm sorry about your dad, Lucy. Really, really sorry. And I can see why not getting to see him again—especially the way things were between you—made you think of me and my totally crazy sort-of-family. Ur was deceived, and Ultear was deceived, abused, and manipulated…" He trailed off, unable to continue. It had gotten a lot better since he had finally met and fought Ultear, and learned so much more of the truth. He'd begun to make his peace with her, and even with losing Ur. There was still some way to go, however. He and Ultear weren't exactly in touch.

He heard a faint sigh from Lucy, and then she pressed an apologetic kiss to his temple. She cared about him too much to ignore his pain or her own mistakes. It gave him the strength to wonder whether her basic idea was all that wrong.

"I absolutely shouldn't have invited people—especially those people—without asking you first, Gray. I'm sorry, my bad."

"You wanted to surprise me?"

Lucy looked away, cheeks turning pink.

"Yes… But seriously, given the twinge of concern that made me ruin the surprise and tell you about the invitations after all, I should have known—admitted—that there was a problem. Right?"

Gray shrugged. He wasn't one to need big apologies once something was sorted out—although it helped that he knew Lucy honestly regretted what she'd done. "You'll tell me what you're thinking next time, right? So we're good. At some point I have to stop reacting so much every time you want me to face my past and try to make something good come out of it."

"Thanks… I wish I hadn't—"

"It wasn't a totally bad idea, though."

"Such a compliment!" Lucy was smiling, despite her words.

"Yeah, I could've put that better," Gray muttered. "How about I say that upon consideration, adding some outsiders to our team party seems like a good plan?"

"We could send a quick note to Lyon asking him to invite Chelia as well? Wendy would like that."

"Okay, good thought. Besides, that way I can pretend—he and I can both pretend—that we're being polite for the sake of the girls." His mouth quirked up at the corners, as he contemplated the idea of trying to get along with Lyon in a way that wouldn't total Lucy's apartment. Mind you, Flame-brain would be there too, so there were no guarantees…

Lucy couldn't resist running her fingers through Gray's soft dark hair. Gray could get a little inwardly-focussed at times, but he was also sincere about taking his friends' feelings into account, especially hers.

"I don't know about Jellal and Ultear, though," Lucy said hesitantly. "I mean, they probably won't accept anyway—and no, I hadn't forgotten the whole 'criminal charges' thing, I just wasn't too worried about it."

"Aw, what the hell," Gray replied. Lucy could see that he was now in his "I'll take'em all on" mood, where the challenge of the situation suddenly made him want to prove to everyone (mostly himself, in this case) that he could handle it.

"But—"

"Come on, Luce, don't back down now! Besides, I don't see any graceful way out of it unless you figure I'm fast enough to silence the messenger somehow." He gave Lucy what was no doubt intended to be a murderous leer, and she had to laugh.

"Okay, then. How about: we're just trying to show how good we are at being magnanimous in victory?"

"Of course. Also, it'll play out on their side as doing something nice for Jellal and Erza—maybe. I still don't know exactly what the deal is between those two. I'm guessing that Ultear will want to give Meredy a chance to see people other than their own oh-so-fun-former-evil-doers group."

Lucy squeezed Gray's hand, and he looked up with a rueful smile.

"Yes, I do feel badly for Meredy. I think she got a raw deal. I mean, we both lost our homes and our parents the same way, but I found Ur, whereas she ended up devoted to the person who had caused all of her grief and loss in the first place. Poor kid."

"So it's actually a good thing to invite Meredy, right?"

"Right." Gray hesitated for a moment, then let go of his last desire to add "although you still should have told me first."

Lucy slid off the couch to sit beside him, silently acknowledging his forbearance, but he drew her into his lap instead. He hugged her close, and she laid her head against his shoulder.

"Thanks for not being mad, Gray. At least, not anymore."

"Thank you for giving me a chance to exercise my talent for almost-convincing excuses."

Lucy lifted her head and smiled at him. He smiled back, happy that they were in synch again. A few moments passed in enjoying each other's warmth and a few heartfelt kisses.

"So we're inviting Lyon and Chelia—mostly for Wendy's sake, as well as to avoid some of the more common Team Natsu dynamics—"

"I'll be so torn between thumping Natsu and thumping Lyon I'll be on my best behaviour," murmured Gray.

"—And we're inviting Jellal because I think he and Erza might enjoy having some time together when the world isn't being threatened with disaster—"

"Right, the happy matchmaker approach—how on earth will you keep Mirajane away?"

"—And we're inviting Ultear and Meredy because I think Meredy would appreciate a chance to get to know you better and we both think she deserves to have some fun and meet people who haven't engaged in, um, terrible acts—"

"Have you seen the way Natsu eats?"

"Yes, and you aren't all that different." Lucy tried to look contrite when Gray glared at her and the temperature suddenly dropped a few degrees, but it came out as more of a smirk. "Sorry, sorry, I concede that your manners are generally better than his!"

"Hmph." Gray drew a little icicle heart in the frosty air, although he then had no idea what to do with it.

"C-c-cold, Gray!"

The air warmed up again and Gray's little creation vanished.

"There's a metaphor in there somewhere," he grumbled, as the icicle heart disappeared. "Or do I mean a simile? I'm not sure that Ur was any clearer on that stuff than I was."

Lucy ignored his rambling.

"So we're inviting Ultear in part because we're inviting Jellal and Meredy, and in part because I think she could stand to see that a lot of us don't hate her."

"And because you think it will help me deal with things better too."

Lucy's expression became serious again. "I think she's like family to you, and vice versa. And since you are important to me, I want to do whatever I can for both of you."

"Alright, Lucy, fair enough. Just remember—"

"I will. This isn't a book, and I can't make people just do what I want, or make things turn out the way I want." The solemn expression left her face as she added: "Although, to be honest, it's much harder to make my characters do what I want than you'd think! I mean, I know it's a little ridiculous, but they can be completely stubborn about things..."

[END]

A/Note: Epilogue is intended to follow. I didn't want my Graylu sibling to have to wait any longer for this, however!

All comments and reviews are appreciated. If you see typos or other little glitches, please send me a PM through your platform of choice. \(^u^)/

Tags:  @shell-senji @eliz1369  @hakuyamazakisensei @hidetheremote @miss-zei  @lockandk3yfiction @sassyhazelowl @gsut

[fairyprance]

The Letter - Part 1

Hello! Thanks for the overwhelming support on my last post. Here is part one of the fic, and I promise to update regularly. There isn’t much interaction between Natsu and Lucy in this first chapter as I wanted to set the mood, but it will soon change! Any feedback is welcome and appreciated. 

Lucy sat looking into the far horizon, she had just finished a large mission with the rest of the crew and to Erza's request, they were having a picnic. It was the best time of the evening, the sun was setting, and bellies were full. Most of her friends were lying on the grass, but Lucy decided to stay seated. She sensed Natsu and Happy’s presence before she saw them, and then felt them lower beside her.

Lucy liked the things she was feeling, the satisfaction of finishing a job well done, the happiness of a filling meal with friends, and the company of Natsu and Happy. No matter where they were she always felt at home with her friends around. There was some chitter chatter amongst the others, but just silence between Lucy, Happy and Natsu. They had excitedly tired themselves out by talking, and now we're enjoying this moment of simple silence. It was seldom that they were this quiet, but it was comfortable, and the silence was calming.  

-------------------------------------

When morning came, they left their Inn, and said goodbye to the friends they had met on the way.

The difficulty in waking Gray and Natsu resulted in them rushing and with luck they were able to catch the train back to Magnolia. They were finally on their way back to the guild, back to their friends. Natsu, as always on trains, lay halfway out the window in case he needed to bring back the breakfast he scarfed down. Gray was boasting loudly to Erza about how he was the one to take out the most enemies during the mission. They would hear Natsu’s faint protests, and Lucy laughed at the situation altogether. She carried a conversation about the new sorcerer weekly edition with Wendy, and soon Erza joined in when Gray fell so bored that he fell asleep.

When they had got to the guild, they were greeted by their guildmates. They drank, ate some more and fought, while the girls sat by a table and gossiped. A typical fairy tail reunion evening.

Levy with joy, had let them know she was pregnant before they had left for the mission and the girls were all gleefully questioning her about her babies. Though they had come a long way, Lucy was shocked that they were at the age where having babies seemed like the normal thing to do. Ultimately her conversations with Levy always left her wondering about when she she would have one of her own, how she would deal with the maturity of having children, and often who she would share the responsibility with.

Levy continued to chat until she felt a bit sick, and had to leave with Gajeel who was midway into a fight with the boys. Soon after Gray had walked over to the group and whispered something into Juvia’s ear. Juvia nodded and stood, making an excuse to leave. They left together and all the girls in the group started giggling. That was also something that had surprised Lucy, Gray and Juvia’s relationship progression. They had moved in together not too long ago, which did not surprise Lucy as much, as they have done so before. The thing that had really surprised Lucy, was how obedient they had been to each other. She wouldn’t have gone so far as to say Gray had matured, but it was nice to see they were romantically evolving and the respect and admiration for both had been mutual.

Even Wendy had left to hang out with her best friend Chelia, and Erza had no doubt left for a late night rendezvous with Jellal, which made Lucy blush just thinking about it. Mira was busy bar-tending, and she was one of the few girls left. The other one’s had kept to themselves and were busied by other tasks. She looked at Cana’s passed out figure and to her own empty drink glass and decided it might be the right time to go home. She was tired from the long journey, and she would definitely benefit with a long hot bubble bath. She left the guildhall, leaving Natsu and Happy to their own fights and stepped out into the cold chilly air. She wrapped her arms over herself and took the familiar road home, walking along the scenic routes. She even stopped in front of the river she usually passed by to gaze at the beautiful moonlight. She was feeling relieved, calm and happy now that the war was finally behind them and everyone could now focus on healing.

She felt warm and tingly now too, but maybe that was because of the alcohol Cana poured down her throat. She giggled at herself and the somewhat familiar feeling of being tipsy, as she lazily walked over to her apartment building. She finally got home and was ready to collapse, when she saw a letter on the floor of her foyer.

The letter lay on the middle of the floor, obviously pushed through the mail slot of her door. The letter was beautifully intricate, and it reminded her of those invitations her father received when there was a party thrown by one of his business partners. Very fancy script, and it smelled great too.

She picked it up, brought it over to her desk and was about to open the letter when the sound of thunder crackled outside. She stood up quickly, remembering that she had put her tops outside to dry. She rushed outside and was able to take her clothes down in time. When she shivered at the cold that had come through her apartment, she shut the door of her balcony firmly. She walked over to her bathroom, hung her clothes up, and changed into her pj’s before getting into the warmth of her bed.

The sound of rain, soon lulled lucy to sleep, and she fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

-----------------------------------------

Lucy had awoken to the sunlight streaming into her room, and she winced a bit. Apparently she had drank a little bit too much last night. She willed herself to stand up though, as she needed to take the bath she deserved, and to get changed. When all her niceties were taken care of, she remembered the letter she had laid on her desk the night before.   

She went over to her desk, where she sat, picked up the letter, sliced through the top and started reading. When she had finally reached the bottom, her mouth hung open and her hands shook. She sat aimlessly looking at the parchment paper for a long time, before she was startled by the familiar sound of her opening window.

Read Part 2: http://fairyprance.tumblr.com/post/166607935154/the-letter-part-2

[ycmiis-blog]

wingman romeo

Romeo isn't an expert when it comes to girl problems, but he thinks he can help Wendy with hers. ( ff.net // ao3 )

because i love chendy and it needs more love, and i also love rowen being a supportive brotp, so a combination of the two?? yeS. this is set a few years after canon!!

Romeo doesn't consider himself the most attentive person in the universe, or even in the guild, but he can definitely sense when people are acting out of the ordinary, especially when the behaviour continues for so long. It helps that he and his current target are close in age (even though they're not actually supposed to be, and he's technically even older than her now, but he just can't stop adding nee to the end of her name because it's what he's always done).

A few hours pass and he decides that enough is enough. He's going to see what's wrong with Wendy Marvell.

"Hey, Wendy-nee," he says, sliding into the seat in front of her. He half expects Carla to give him one of those looks, but all of her focus is on Happy, and not for the first time, Romeo finds himself thanking the exceed. "You look kinda down. What's up?"

Wendy sits up straight, eyes wide. Her fingers remain on her drink's straw. "Oh, no, I'm fine! I didn't mean to worry you."

Romeo channels his inner Carla and sends her a look. Wendy has never been much of a liar, and when she does lie, it's only because she doesn't want anyone to worry about her. He doesn't know whether it's a strength or a weakness. "You're a horrible liar, you know that?"

For a moment, he thinks she's about to protest, but instead she sighs so harshly that she actually deflates. She slumps in her seat. "It's not really a problem. I'm just overthinking things, that's all. It's hard to explain."

"Try me," is his immediate response, because that sounds like a challenge, even though the logical side of him knows that Wendy is likely the last person to issue him one. "I've got time."

Wendy looks around as though she's worried someone might overhear. Carla has been dragged away by Happy and is now lecturing Natsu about something, Lucy standing there with a thinly-veiled smile. The Strauss siblings are all by the bar, as are Erza, Macao, and Wakaba. Gray and Juvia are talking in hushed voices by the doors, and Romeo is sure the Raijinshuu are off on a mission. Even if they were all sitting nearby, they wouldn't be able to hear a thing over Gajeel's basic guitar playing and horrible shooby doo bop vocals. Levy has her work cut out for her.

Another sigh leaves Wendy, this one sounding even more defeated than the last. "I didn't want to go to any of the others about this since they'll all start asking questions, and Carla only knows because she guessed." She pauses. "You know how I go and visit Lamia Scale?"

"To see Chelia-san, right?" Romeo says, because it's common knowledge that the two girls are best friends.

Rather than simply agreeing, Wendy seems surprised that he knows what she's talking about. Her face burns red and suddenly everything makes sense.

"Oh." Romeo's surprise turns into smugness. "Oh."

Wendy starts stuttering, holding her blushing face in her hands. "P-Please don't say anything! Please! Like I said, I'm - I'm probably overthinking things. It's nothing to worry about!"

"I guess it depends on what you're overthinking, doesn't it?" Romeo says, the smug smile starting to fade now that he knows just how much grief this is causing her. "She could feel the same way."

He says this to encourage her, make her feel better, but all she does is lean against the table with a dejected expression. "I don't think so. She likes Lyon-san, and I'm nothing like him."

Romeo wants to joke that he hopes she isn't like Lyon, because Gray doesn't need another person to fight with. Instead, he says, "She's probably moved on by now, you know? The last I remember seeing anything like that was during the Grand Magic Games the year you guys returned, and that was years ago now."

Wendy's frown flattens out just a little, but Romeo will take what he can get. "I suppose you're right. And - And Lyon-san is getting married this year."

"See? There you go," he says, just as the familiar tune of a compact lacrima phone starts ringing. Wendy fumbles around with her lacrima, eyes widening when she sees the name on the small screen. "Is it Chelia? Answer it!"

She doesn't need to be told twice. Romeo waits patiently as she greets her friend, watching her fiddle with the collar of her dress. A nervous tick of hers, he guesses, but he has no more time to dwell on it as she says, "Hold on, let me see if I have anything else going on today."

Romeo raises an eyebrow at that, because Wendy usually agrees immediately whenever spending time with Chelia is involved. Rather than looking for Mirajane or Erza to ask, however, she turns to him. "Chelia's babysitting Sherry and Ren's new baby and asked if I want to go over and help - which I do - but did you want to come with me? So you - you can see what I mean. You don't have to, though! If you're busy, I don't want to interrupt you -"

"Sure," he says with a shrug. "Let's do it."

Wendy visibly breathes a sigh of relief and continues her conversation with Chelia, confirming that she will, indeed, be there.

It takes longer than it should for him and Wendy to convince Carla that they'll be fine on their own, but Carla knows better than anyone that Wendy can take care of herself, and Romeo hasn't done anything to land himself in Carla's bad books yet, so she has no reason not to trust him. As soon as Wendy mentions that they're going to be helping Chelia, Romeo grins from behind her and Carla seems to get the message that he's here to help the cause, not to hinder it. They have to promise to be back before it gets too dark or they have to stay at Chelia's. That's fine with Romeo, though Wendy blushes and mutters to herself.

When they arrive at Chelia's, they can hear the baby's screams from behind the door, so Romeo can only assume that Sherry has already left her son in Chelia's hands. Wendy knocks lightly and it takes a few seconds, but they're soon greeted to Chelia's smiling face.

"Wendy! Thank goodness you're here!" She spots Romeo and blinks, surprised. Her smile fades the slightest bit, and while Romeo would usually be a little insulted by this, he takes this as a good sign for Wendy. "Um, hi, you're Romeo-kun, right?"

"That's me," he says. "I didn't have much to do, so Wendy-nee invited me to come along."

"Is that okay?" Wendy asks quickly. "I know I didn't mention it, and I should have, but Romeo's not a bad guy, I promise!"

Chelia recovers quickly. She opens the door wider and smiles. "Of course. Any friend of Wendy's is a friend of mine. Make yourself at home, I'll calm Vesper down."

Romeo and Wendy head to the couch while Chelia disappears down the hall, into one of the bedrooms, Romeo suspects. The crying stops fairly quickly and he can't help but wonder if Chelia needed help at all. Perhaps this is just an excuse to see Wendy. He hopes so, for Wendy's sake.

When Chelia returns, she seems to hesitate before opting to sit on the floor in front of them, crossing her legs. "He's a cute kid, but he can be a bit of a handful. I think he's been hanging out with the Trimens too much. Maybe that's why Sherry wanted me to babysit tonight."

Wendy giggles into her hand. Chelia may be the cause of her troubles, but she's definitely in a better mood than before. "Don't say that, I'm sure the Trimens are just enthusiastic. You know they love Vesper."

The conversation continues, though Romeo doesn't contribute much. He doesn't mind, considering the whole reason he came was to see if Wendy was right about Chelia, and right now, he thinks he's on the right track to proving her wrong. Chelia isn't intentionally ignoring him, by any means. She always makes sure to include him. Yet her eyes are always drawn to Wendy, especially when she smiles or laughs, and sometimes she'll zone out of the conversation completely when she's staring. It's not so major that just anyone would pick up on it, but Romeo's looking for hints like these. He can't help but feel satisfied.

As the two girls are talking about the preparations for Lyon's wedding, a harsh cry is heard from the hallway and they all stop talking at once. It's Wendy that springs to action first.

"I'll take care of it this time!" she says, and she quickly rushes down the hallway. Romeo notes that she knows exactly where she's going and smiles to himself.

Chelia doesn't say anything at first, fidgeting with the ends of her hair, then her ribbons. Once she's convinced that they're tied properly, she says, "So, um, can I ask, why do you call Wendy 'Wendy-nee'? You just look a little older, so I was curious."

It's not the first time he's been asked this, and he's sure it won't be the last. He just grins and shrugs. "I met Wendy before she went to Tenrou Island, and at the time I was just six while she was twelve. I called her Wendy-nee back then, and for the entire time she and the others were gone, I referred to her like an older sister. It feels weird calling her anything else now. She is like a sister to me."

He makes sure to emphasise that point, and whether Chelia realises that or not, she visibly relaxes by the information. Her tone even sounds more vibrant when she says, "Oh, that makes sense. I just didn't know how close you were, so I was wondering." She pauses, eyes widening as she realises what she's saying. Romeo assumes that's the case, anyway. He never has been good at reading girls' thoughts.

Taking a chance (and hoping this doesn't embarrass Wendy too much, but at the same time, she wanted him here to find out answers, so), he leans forward with a smile that's probably a little too cheeky and says, "Were you worried that the two of us had a different relationship?"

Chelia blushes. Bingo.

"It's not that, I mean, it's not my business who Wendy's dating, though I guess it would be weird for her not to tell me since we're best friends and everything --" She cuts herself off and holds her head in her hands.

Romeo leans back into the couch. "Just ask her out. Trust me."

Chelia looks up at him, ready to question him, but Wendy chooses that moment to walk back into the room. Judging by her eased expression, she hasn't heard a single word they've said. Romeo thinks that's probably for the best. The seed has been planted in Chelia's head, and now he just has to hope that she lets it grow.

An hour and a half later, and they've moved on from casual conversation, now playing a card game that Cana taught everyone else in the guild a long time ago. Wendy must have taught Chelia, because she's a natural. Romeo can't seem to win, and so when Vesper's cries once again ring out throughout the room, he takes the opportunity and tells the girls he'll take care of it this time.

Once he's in the hallway, he simply follows the sound of crying until he finds the right door, then lets himself inside. Vesper lies inside a mobile cot, screaming his little lungs out. Romeo hasn't heard crying this bad since Asuka was a newborn.

"C'mon, little guy," Romeo says, hesitantly picking the little boy up. "Let's calm you down so I can hear what the girls are talking about, yeah?"

As though he can actually understand what Romeo is saying, Vesper doesn't take long to calm down. All he needs is a few pats on the back and he's fine. He still seems a bit restless, so Romeo uses that as an excuse to stay in the room and loiter by the door, poking his head out to try and hear what's going on. He can only just hear the girls' voices, but it's enough.

"Hey, Wendy, you know how I talk about love and stuff all the time, right?"

"Of course, I think it's wonderful. Why do you ask?"

A pause. "Well, I was wondering if -- if you've ever been in love. There have been times where I've thought I've been, but…"

"But…?" Romeo notes that Wendy hasn't answered the question, but he can't exactly blame her. He'd probably do the same.

"Well… I think I might be in love. W-Well, I think that maybe I could be, maybe I'm being a bit hasty, because I do love this person, but I don't know if I'm in love with them yet, you know what I mean? But I'm on my way there. Maybe. I just wanted your input."

Romeo can almost see Wendy's blush. "I… I think I do love someone," she says quietly, almost too low for him to hear. "But I'm the same! I -- I don't think I'm in love with her yet, either, but…"

"Her?"

Wendy attempts to string a sentence together, but all her words come out jumbled at first. In the end, she just mutters, "Yes, her," in a meek voice.

'Come on, Wendy,' Romeo thinks to himself. 'You defeated Acnologia, for Mavis' sake, you can tell the girl you like her!'

Someone takes a deep breath, but he doesn't know it's Wendy until he hears her voice. "I really like you, Chelia. I really like you."

Her voice is squeaky from embarrassment, but Chelia doesn't seem to mind, as she laughs and says in a loud voice, "Oh, thank the skies, 'cause I was talking about you, too."

There's more laughter, then the sound of someone falling to the floor. One person hugging another, perhaps? Romeo can't be sure, but he considers this a success, even if he doesn't think he did much to push the two together. He's sure they would have gotten there eventually without his help. They're both smart girls.

He turns to Vesper, whose eyes are slowly closing, and says, "They've got it under control. Let's put you back to bed, shall we?"

In compliance to the promise they made Carla, Wendy and Romeo leave before it gets too dark. They offer to stay the night, but Chelia insists that she'll be fine on her own, that she's done this before and that she doesn't want to keep them away from the guild for too long. She gives Romeo a high-five and Wendy a hug that goes on for a little too long to be considered platonic before saying goodbye.

"Thanks for everything, you two," she says. "I'll call you later, Wendy! And thanks for everything, Romeo-kun!"

Romeo and Wendy leave after that, heading towards the train station. They've only walked a few metres before Wendy speaks up with, "Um, Romeo-kun, did you say anything to Chelia? About what I told you earlier today, I mean."

He actually has to consider his response. "Well, not in so many words. It just sorta came up. I didn't tell her anything you told me. I just said she should ask you out, since it was pretty obvious that she likes you. And it looks like she took my advice, huh?"

Wendy's face is so red that she could double for Erza's hair. "Y-Yes… Thank you for doing that, Romeo-kun."

"Don't mention it. We're friends, aren't we?" he says. "I'm your wingman. Wingman Romeo, I should start up a business."

Wendy laughs, previous embarrassment forgotten. "Wingman Romeo. I think it has a nice ring to it."

[kurokoros]

Wednesdays

For @papalogia <3 Enjoy!

Romeo Conbolt is not having a good day.

Of all the days in the week, Romeo’s least favorite has to be Wednesday, for several very specific reasons. First of all, he’s never liked the letter “W.” It’s just an upside down “M” and that frustrates him. Second of all, he hates the concept of “hump day,” and thinks it’s obnoxious. Though, that could very well be attributed to Chelia, considering the other girl found the phrase to be hilarious back in high school and would continuously crack jokes about it. Third, Wednesday is also the day he goes home to visit his parents, which is, as always, delightful. Now, he loves his parents, he really does, but he could do without the invasive questions and the yelling, which make up about eighty-six percent of conversations with his mother. “When are you going to get a girlfriend, Romeo? I want grandchildren!” she says. “Did you settle on a career choice, Romeo?” she asks. “Have you thought about taking Totomaru’s offer yet?” she asks. “Did you put on clean underwear this morning?” she asks, his father laughing in the background. He doesn’t know. No. Also, no. And yes, yes he did! He’s not completely incompetent, despite what they may think. Fourth, he hates everyone’s tired, half-assed optimism about how the week is half over and there’s only two more days of classes, as if the weekend won’t be filled with studying and existential crisis’s over a two A.M. paper and five cups of coffee while you’re one source away from going batshit crazy and throwing a chair out the window.

Granted, he’s only been witness to that last one once in his life, à la Sting Eucliffe, in what they affectionately refer to as the “Battle of the B-,” in which Sting valiantly fought to keep his grade in Biology from slipping to a C, which would result in his mother and boyfriend finding out and killing him. That had been an interesting weekend, though, all things considered. He could have done without the property damage, but oh well. That, and Sting may or may not have been on a mushroom induced high at the time, which, quite frankly, explains a lot.

Romeo makes a face, nose wrinkling as he thinks about what a disaster that Saturday night was. He could have lived his entire life without knowing about the filtration process of the kidney, but he digresses. Now, Sting owes him a favor and that’s all that really matters.

It’s bittersweet, he thinks, how the week is half over, yet there’s still two more days of exams and essays to worry about, followed by a weekend of filing paperwork and studying for more exams and more essays the next week. It’s an unending cycle with no reprieve, and Wednesday just serves as a reminder of that. Wednesday is also the day of the week where he finally manages to peel his face away from his computer and realize he’s accomplished absolutely nothing all week. Delightful.

Apparently, he’s a glass half-full kind of guy; at least, that’s what Wendy tells him. Frankly, he doesn’t care if he’s being negative abut it. Wednesday is a terrible day, and there’s absolutely nothing that could make him like it.

However, this Wednesday in particular is especially horrible, for three reasons.

Reason number one: Romeo was awake until the A.M. studying for a Biochemisty test worth thirty percent of his grade, which he absolutely needed to pass in fear of his mother strangling him in his sleep. Furthermore, he’s tired, cranky, and hasn’t had the opportunity to fully enjoy his coffee yet because it’s too hot and burned his tongue. As such, he’s in a pretty bad mood already.

Reason number two: it, apparently, snowed last night, which the weatherman neglected to mention earlier in the week. So now there’s snow up to his knees, it’s freezing outside, he missed the bus that would have dropped him off on campus, and in his rush to get out the door, he forgot to grab gloves and a warmer jacket. As such, he barely managed to shove on a pair of jeans and a mildly clean sweatshirt from that time in high school he accidentally joined the debate team.

Which leads to reason number three: his alarm didn’t go off this morning and he was instead awoken twenty minutes before his exam by a frantic barrage of text messages courtesy of Chelia, who, luckily, happens to have the same class as him. So, fifteen minutes before his test from hell he scrambles out of bed and runs out the door in a panic because—not only is this test worth thirty percent of his final grade—Porlyusica is a total hardass that won’t tolerate him being late. As soon as the clock hits eight, that door is going to be locked and Porlyusica is going to be cackling in his face.

In hindsight, and eight A.M. class was an incredibly stupid idea, but it was the only timeslot available for this specific class with this specific professor. Yeah, well, next semester, Porlyusica can piss off, because Romeo is never again taking a class which requires him to be awake before ten o’clock in the morning. Despite the relatively quiet campus, the lack of sleep just isn’t worth it.

His only solace is that he managed to grab coffee before he left, because he figures stopping to buy shitty, watered down Starbucks and having to run to class is better than not buying coffee, falling asleep in the middle of an exam, and getting an earful from his mom later tonight.

So, yeah. Romeo had been having a spectacular morning. The day has been an absolute blur, and perhaps that’s how Romeo finds himself sitting in a tiny, hole in the wall coffee shop at ten-thirty at night, frantically working on an essay he completely forgot about. He kind of wants to cry, like, a lot, but the pretty blonde barista has given him two refills “on the house!” and he doesn’t want to make trouble for her.

She’s providing him with his caffeine fix for the night and letting him loiter, after all.

Though, he thinks she might be getting more out of this than he is, judging by the way he’s unintentionally allowing her to avoid her distressed coworker, the punk in his History class. And he means that entirely unironically. The dude has more piercings than Romeo has fingers, spiky pink hair, an absurd amount of ink on the visible parts of his skin, and looks like he could break a chair over Romeo’s head.

Looking at the two of them, Romeo would laugh if anyone suggested they were friends. The girl is all big eyes and pouty lips and too big sweater and too long scarf. She is, hands down, the most attractive woman he’s ever seen, and Romeo’s two best friends are subjectively attractive young ladies. And dye-job? Well, he looks intimidating and Romeo thinks he would probably piss himself if the dude glared at him.

But then Dye-job looks at her like he’s seeing the moon and stars for the first time. He looks at her like she’s something wonderful, and Romeo is thrown for a loop by the soft look in his eyes.

After blatantly staring at them for roughly ten minutes, Romeo comes to the conclusion that they’re some king of star-crossed, Romeo and Juliet type couple. You know, sans the murder and suicide.

Dye-job sighs suddenly, and Romeo glances up from his laptop to see him lean into the girl, his cheek brushing against hers, chest flush to her back. Romeo blinks, surprised at the sudden intimacy, but even more surprised when the girl leans into Dye-job’s chest. He thought she was avoiding him, or something? She hasn’t even looked at her co-worker once since he walked in, and that was over six hours ago.

“Lucy,” Dye-job murmurs, just loud enough for Romeo to hear if he concentrates, “would you just tell me what I did wrong, please?” Dye-job sounds desperate, almost-heartbroken when the girl, Lucy, shakes him off.

She returns his sigh, shoulders slumping in something like defeat, and pretends to fix a cup full of straws, fiddling with the tubes. “You didn’t do anything, Natsu,” she replies, though she doesn’t look at him. “I’m fine.” She flashes him a quick, awkward smile, then goes back to the perfect straws.

Romeo thinks he probably shouldn’t stare like he is, but people-watching is a lot more entertaining than whatever the hell he’s supposed to be writing about. He’s just going to bullshit the essay anyway, so it’s not like it matters. Besides, he deserves a break after writing—

He glances down at his screen.

—two pages and a footnote that says “wherever the fuck this came from.”

Yeah, he’s doing great.

Natsu breaks him out of his thoughts, a distressed growl coming from the older boy. “Clearly I did something,” he argues, running a frustrated hand through his hair. His green eyes look almost pained when Lucy continues to ignore him. “Please, Lucy, just look at me.” His voice cracks as he says it, and Romeo’s pretty sure he’s never seen someone look quite so heartbroken.

She does look at him, and her expression softens when she sees the stricken look on her friends face. Romeo watches in fascination as she tries to smile, leaning forward slightly to hear them better.

“Natsu, just drop it,” she tells him, but her voice is weak, wobbly, as if she’s halfway to crying her eyes out in the middle of a coffee shop on a Wednesday night (which doesn’t sound like a bad plan to Romeo, but he digresses).

Natsu ducks his head to meet her gaze, hands coming up to cup her face. He looks down at her like she’s something precious, something he needs to protect, and Romeo almost has to look away, feeling like he’s intruding on something private—he is, but it’s not his fault that they’re doing this while he’s still here.

“Talk to me,” Natsu whispers, thumbs stroking her cheeks gently. “Please.” Lucy starts to shake her head, eyes glossy, but Natsu coos at her, leaning his forehead against hers. “You’ve been upset since this morning,” he murmurs, leaving Romeo to wonder how he knows that, “what’s wrong?”

Lucy winces, but lets him cradle her jaw. “Nothing’s wrong,” she whispers back.

Romeo doesn’t believe it, and he knows Natsu doesn’t believe it, judging by the frustrated sound that pulls from the man’s throat.

Natsu’s throat bob’s with a hard swallow. “Did I say something? Do something?” It’s a loaded question, one that hangs heavy in the air and makes Romeo’s coffee taste just a little more bitter.

For a moment, he wonders if he’s read the situation wrong. Maybe he’s about to witness a break-up. Romeo cringes at the thought, hoping that’s not the case. He doesn’t know these people, but he can see that they care about each other a lot, even if things are tense at the moment. Romeo has never been through a break-up, but he can imagine how it must feel, because Dye-job is looking at the barista like she’s his entire world.

“No!” Lucy shouts suddenly, frantic gaze meeting Natsu’s. He startles at her loudness, but doesn’t release her. “No,” she says again, softer this time. One of her hands comes up to cover his, her fingertips trembling as they brush against his skin. “It was Gray,” she tells him after a long moment, gaze slipping away from Natsu’s.

Romeo doesn’t know who the hell Gray is, but he kind of wants to punch the dude in the face, and that’s saying something, considering Romeo’s something of a pacifist. However, Romeo’s offense is nothing compared to Natsu’s.

The man goes rigid, his entire body tensing and his gaze sharpening with pure rage. There’s a tick to his jaw, the muscle jumping as he clenches his teeth, and Romeo will swear up and down that the man just growled. “Gray did something?” he snarls, positively seething. “What the fuck did he do, Lucy?” Natsu asks, voice softening as she winces.

Romeo hears the unasked question: Do you want me to kill him?

“Nothing bad,” Lucy responds, placating him. Her hands slip down to his chest, fingers twisting through the dark fabric slowly. She sends him a brief, unconvincing smile. “I just—” She cuts off suddenly, gaze dropping to the floor.

Natsu leans in so that his nose bumps against Lucy’s, their breath mingling as he tilts Lucy’s chin, gaze locking with hers. “Hey,” he coos, gaze softer than his smile, “hey, you can tell me anything.”

Romeo blushes, feeling like he’s looking at something her shouldn’t, kind of like the first time he watched porn on his dad’s computer, only less arousing.

Lucy looks up at Natsu and smiles, but it’s shaky, watery, like she’s about to cry. Her voice makes an audible crack as her lips part. “I’m in love with you,” she says suddenly, wetting her lips and shifting awkwardly, but no looking away from Natsu.

Romeo nearly spits out his coffee.

Natsu inhales sharply, hands slipping away from her. He stumbles back a step, eyes impossibly wide. Lucy flinches, looking like her heart’s just been ripped out. Natsu stares back, lower lip trembling just the slightest. “H-how long?” he asks her, stumbling over his words.

Lucy looks three seconds away from crying, but manages a smile for him. “Since high school,” she says simply. “The night of the Winter Formal.”

Now, Romeo has no idea what happened at the Winter Formal, but judging by Natsu’s reaction, something big happened. Something big and very, very important.

Natsu stumbles backwards another step, backing right into the counter. “I… I have to—” He doesn’t finish his sentence, bolting into the backroom without another word.

Romeo can only watch as Lucy’s face crumples, expression absolutely shattered and heartbroken. For a moment, he considers standing up and helping her, but another, larger part of him wants to run away and pretend he didn’t see anything. This is awkward and he feels terrible for watching this, but technically they probably shouldn’t have been discussing this on the job in the first place.

But before he can tuck tail and run away like a coward, Natsu comes storming back through the doors. Lucy’s head snaps up at the bang, the doors crashing against the wall. Natsu stares at her, expression serious and positively fierce.

“You know what?” he snarls, wetting his lips. “Fuck it.” It takes two seconds for Natsu to walk over to Lucy, and Romeo chokes on his drink when the man grabs her by the waist and drags her in for a rough, messy kiss.

Romeo is pretty sure he’s blushing.

Lucy squeaks in surprise, but melts into the kiss quickly, her hands flying up to fist in Natsu’s hair. He sighs against her, kissing her harder, and Lucy’s back arches into him, removing any sense of space between them. It’s a sloppy kiss, noses bumping and hands groping, but neither appear to mind.

Suddenly, Lucy is lifted clear off the ground, Natsu’s hands grasping at her thighs as he lifts her. Her legs wind around him and then he’s placing her on the counter, his back to Romeo, who can only stare in vague horror at what’s happening.

He hears Lucy gasp and then Natsu’s hands are tugging at the hem of her shirt, fingers teasing her skin. His mouth rips away from hers with a wet sound and then his face disappears against her neck. Lucy inhales sharply, a breathy moan leaving her lips as Natsu kisses down her neck, nipping and sucking at the pale skin left bare to him.

Yeah, Romeo definitely shouldn’t be watching this. Not even a little bit. But he can’t look away, it’s like watching a strange, kind of sexy train wreck.

He takes it back, this is exactly like the time he used his dad’s computer to watch porn.

Suddenly, there’s a strange, leather on metal scrapping sound, and Romeo sees Lucy’s hands slide down Natsu’s chest, moving lower and lower until—oh God, is she taking off his belt?

Romeo must make a sound, because Lucy’s eyes snap open, her entire body going tense as Natsu continues to peruse her neck. Her eyes lock with Romeo’s, a deep blush immediately coating her cheeks and spreading down her neck.

“Natsu,” she gasps, suddenly whacking at his shoulder. “Natsu, stop!” He pulls away from her immediately, a horrible, wet sucking sound filling the air. Romeo can’t see his face, but he can imagine the concern there.

“What?” the man breathes back, panting. He twists around to follow Lucy’s gaze, face paling when he catches sight of Romeo. “Oh, shit,” he murmurs.

Awkwardly wetting his lips, Romeo pretends he doesn’t see the hickies already coloring Lucy’s neck.

They all stare for an absurd amount of time, not blinking, not moving, just staring. “I didn’t see anything,” Romeo blurts, feeling his face burn with the lie. He’s going to have to bleach his eyes later. And he’ll probably never be able to come back here without acting weird. Oh shit, he has class with Natsu tomorrow! “Keep doing what you’re doing.” He winces, wanting to smack himself for saying that, but instead he awkwardly goes back to his paper.

He spends the rest of his time working on his paper and pretending not to hear them whispering sweet nothings to each other, stealing kisses when they think he isn’t watching. Admittedly, it’s kind of adorable, and he can’t help but be happy for them, even if he does feel a tad unwelcome.

By eleven, he’s packing up to leave, halfway out the door when Lucy stops him with a shy hand on his shoulder. He looks at her, confused, but she merely smiles and hands him a paper bag that’s warm and sweet-smelling.

She’s gone before he can thank her, and it’s not until he’s almost home that he realizes it’s a scone.

Maybe Wednesdays aren’t so bad.

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

Lyon: Last I heard from Chelia, she just said "I have an appetite for destruction" and then tied all of my shoes together.

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

Chelia: Get on my level.

Lyon, bending down: Consider it done.

Chelia:

Chelia: You have 5 seconds.

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

Chelia: The only thing I'm guilty of, Your Honour, is being adorable.

Chelia:

Chelia: ...And many, many other crimes.

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

would you be able to do some chendy incorrect quotes? those always make me smile :)

Lyon: Okay that’s enough! No more talking about Wendy!

Chelia: But you told me to get it all out of my system!

Lyon: I HAD NO IDEA HOW MUCH YOU HAD IN YOUR SYSTEM!

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

Chelia: Aww, babe, you had a crush on me when we were younger? That's so cute~

Wendy: ...We're married.

Chelia: Still~

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

Cheliia: Salt preserves food because it smells like the ocean and mold doesn’t know how to swim and gets scared :)

Lyon: ...thank you for your insight

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

Chelia: Bitches be like, "I'm baby!" but have childhood trauma and neglect issues, like what the fuck do you know about being baby, you were forced to grow up from an early age. anyways I'm bitches

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

Lyon: Learn to be responsible for the consequences of your childish pranks.

Chelia: With great cuteness comes zero responsibility. That's the motto I live by.

[fairytail-incorrectquotes]

Wendy: wow, your breath smells like flowers

Chelia: thank you! I ate five of them on the way here :D