#usually i would say natsu would be the one to get lost | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tokkias · 1 year

Note

Hi for a fic idea how about Natsu accidentally lost the engagement ring the day he wants to propose meanwhile half the guild are trying help search for it while Lucy has no clue what’s going on, please I thinks it’s a funny/ cute idea ^^

sometimes i get requests that just stick in my brain and nag me until i write them and this was definitely one of them. i had so many thoughts and ideas for it that what i originally anticipated was going to be a 6k fic turned into nearly 20k words. dies.

this one is a big boy, there's lot of characters, there's lots of scenes and it's a long read. i put a lot of hard work and effort into this so i'd appreciate if you read the whole thing <3

as always thank you to @nalunalu for getting me through this, i probably would have given up at 10k if it weren't for you.

ao3

"It was right there yesterday. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Well, it’s not there now."

"I can see that."

Stressed and frustrated bickering filled the otherwise quaint and quiet home, tucked away in the outskirts of the Magnolia Forest, as Natsu and Happy both scrambled around the house to find a very important item before they could head out to the guild for the day.

"Are you sure it was in here?" Happy asked, looking inside the drawer where Natsu had claimed he had left the ring, but came up short.

"Yeah, I’m sure."

"Then where is it?"

"I don’t know!"

While Happy was simply sitting on the table and scanning the area, Natsu was conducting a much more thorough search, crawling around on his hands and knees on the floor, trying to locate the small ring that had, to his knowledge, been here just before.

"Is there anywhere else you could have put it?" Happy asked, realising that their efforts searching in this one spot would be futile.

"I don’t think so," Natsu replied, brows furrowed in thought, trying to recall if he had moved it at some point.

"Maybe you took it to the guild and left it there?" Happy suggested.

Initially, Natsu blew his idea off, but the more he thought about it, the more it felt like it was a very real possibility, and panic began to set in.

"Shit," he hissed. "Maybe I did."

He shot a concerned look at Happy, who returned it with one of his own.

Natsu wasn’t usually this careless, especially with something as important to him as the ring he was going to use to propose to Lucy, but somehow, some way, it has escaped his possession. Had someone stolen it from him? It was worth a pretty hefty sum of cash, and he’d picked up countless jobs just to be able to think of affording it. That being said, his house wasn’t exactly a prime target for a robbery, and he’d know if someone had slipped by and taken it.

That only left one other option.

"I guess we’re going to the guild hall."

The guild doors slammed open with such force that they swung back around almost instantly before Natsu stopped it with his hand. His overly dramatic entrance caught the attention of almost everyone lingering in the guild, though he wasn’t interested in any of them. His eyes scanned the hall to see if Lucy was here, or perhaps more accurately, to make sure she wasn’t here.

For someone who wasn’t known for sticking to a plan, Natsu had planned the entire proposal out pretty thoroughly, and he wasn’t going to let that work go to waste by spoiling the surprise because he’d lost the goddamn ring.

He couldn’t seem to spot her in the crowd, but deciding it was better safe than sorry, he marched over to the bar to make sure she wasn’t going to be hiding anywhere in earshot when he announced his great fuck-up.

"What’s got your panties in a twist, dumbass?" Gray spat once he was in direct earshot.

"Has Lucy been by today?" Natsu practically demanded, ignoring Gray’s provocation altogether.

"Can’t say I’ve seen her," Mira replied with an apologetic smile. "Why? Is something wrong?"

He sucked in a breath, out of relief or fear of what he was about to say; he wasn’t entirely sure.

"I’ve lost the ring."

The room around him fell silent in a moment of confusion as everyone tried to process what he meant.

"The ring? What ring?" Gray asked, breaking the silence before realisation finally struck him. "Oh my god. You’re a fucking idiot."

"Yeah, I know that, dipshit, you don’t need to remind me," Natsu hissed back, his mood very clearly soured from having searched for it all morning to no avail.

"Every time I think you couldn’t fuck up any more, you outdo yourself," Cana drawled from her designated spot at the bar, drink already in hand despite the daylight hours.

Despite the immediate negative reactions, the inadvertent announcement of his intention caused a more optimistic reaction from the romantics in the room.

"Oh my gosh! You’re going to propose?" Wendy exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in delight over the romance of it all. "That’s so great! Lucy’s going to be so happy!"

"Juvia agrees! Lucy has told her all about how she’s been waiting for Natsu to propose," she gushed. "Juvia thinks this is very exciting news."

"Yeah, well, I can’t propose without a ring," Natsu spat, growing more and more irritable for each moment that passed without the ring in his possession.

"Hey, calm down," Lisanna said, her hand resting on his shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze. "You’re not going to find it by snapping at us, so how about you take some deep breaths and maybe give us some information that might help us find it. When was the last time you saw it?"

Taking her advice, Natsu sucked in a long, deep breath to calm himself down, feeling the worry begin to wash away bit by bit.

"I had it yesterday."

"And what does it look like?"

"It’s about this big," Natsu said, holding his thumb and index finger in a circle to emulate the approximate size of the ring as he recalled it.

"Well that’s not very helpful," she replied. "What colour is it? How many stones does it have?"

"It’s gold, and it’s got three red gems in it," he described. "Two little ones on the side and one big one shaped like a star in the middle."

"That’s a start," Lisanna hummed. "Is there anywhere else you think might have left it?"

Natsu furrowed his brows in thought for a moment as he tried to recall where he had been and what he had done since the last time he had seen the ring.

"We went to Lucy’s place yesterday; I guess I could have left it there."

"You don’t think Lucy’s already found it, has she?" Happy asked hesitantly.

Natsu’s face dropped at the suggestion, all of the worry and panic that had just left him now bubbling back to the surface and threatening to burst.

"If she found a random engagement ring at her apartment, you don’t think she’d have come and told us about it already?" Gray refuted. "She hasn’t been by all morning, and I doubt she’d just keep that to herself."

Natsu relaxed slightly at his affirmation, but the stress of not knowing kept him tense, which showed in every part of his body.

"When do you need it by?" Wendy asked in an effort to distract Natsu from his worried state.

"We’re supposed to be meeting back here at six," he explained, nerves quelled slightly, but his gaze kept flicking to the guild doors, clearly growing more and more antsy with each passing moment. "I have to find it before then."

All eyes moved to the clock that hung up on the wall behind the bar to note the current time, finding the small hand creeping ever closer to the two on the face.

"Well, it’s two o’clock right now; that gives us four hours, which is plenty of time to find a ring," she added, optimistically.

"So you guys are gonna help?" Natsu asked, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eye.

"Of course we’re going to help," Mira smiled. "We’ll find the ring, don’t you worry!"

For the first time since he walked through the guild doors, his shoulders relaxed, and he let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in.

"All of us searching in the same spot isn’t going to get much done, so how about we split up?" Lisanna suggested. "Natsu, Happy, and I can go search their place again, another group can go search Lucy’s apartment and everyone else can search the guild hall."

"I can check at Lucy’s place," Gray offered. "I know the place pretty well. If flame brain left it there, I’d probably know where to look."

"Juvia will come help!" She volunteered, latching herself to Gray’s arm with a look in her eyes that said she wasn’t in this for Natsu or Lucy’s sake.

"You’re gonna help?" Natsu asked again, a disgusted gaze shot in Gray’s direction, his tone thoroughly unimpressed, leaving no room for speculation about how he felt about having him join the search.

"Hey man, don’t be a dick, I’m tryna help you out," Gray spat back. "I’m not doing this for you anyway, dipshit, I’m doing this for Lucy. You can look for it yourself for all I care, but I’m not gonna let Lucy go sad because you’re a dumbass who lost the engagement ring."

"Um, I’ll come too, if that’s alright with everyone," Wendy offered, interrupting the impending feud between the boys. "I might not be much use, but I’d really like to help Natsu out."

Her words worked to sufficiently distract the boys, who seemed just about ready to jump each other, perhaps for reasons unrelated to finding the ring.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Gray agreed. "You could probably use your dragon slayer senses to sniff out the ring or something, right?"

"I can try my best!" She replied, looking more enthused now after his suggestion, her hands held in determined fists before her with an adamant look on her face.

"But what about Lucy?" Happy chimed in. "You won’t be able to search her apartment if she’s still there, and we won’t be able to search the guild if she’s here either."

"Don’t worry about Lucy, I’ll take care of her," Erza announced, standing tall and proud and looking very, very determined to play her part.

"You’re not gonna kill her, are you?" Natsu asked, a little hesitant from her choice of words and her penchant for solving problems with a very sharp sword.

"N-no! That is not what I meant by take care of!"

"I’ll join you," Levy announced, lifting Yajee off of her lap and transferring him to Gajeel’s. "You can take care of the twins for the day, can’t you?" She asked, turning to her partner.

Gajeel merely let out a gruff noise of acknowledgement that she took as his agreement.

"But don’t expect me to do none of that searchin’ shit. Salamander’s on his own there."

"Great!" Levy exclaimed, clasping her hands together, "In that case, Erza and I will go-"

Levy’s plan was cut off, and as if on cue, the doors to the guild hall swung open and the woman of the hour entered. All heads whipped around to look at her, any and all conversation about the ring came to a screeching halt.

"Good afternoon, Lucy!" Mira chirped, filling the new void of silence that had washed over the guild.

"Hi Mira," she replied, looking a little confused by the weird behaviour that was seemingly brought upon by her entrance.

"Hey, Lu-chan!" Levy called out, beckoning her friend over to the table where she and Gajeel were seated.

"Hey, Levy-chan," Lucy greeted cautiously. "Is something going on? Do I look weird or something? I feel like everyone’s staring at me," she murmured, not wanting to draw any more of the unsettling attention to herself.

"That’s just because you look really pretty today, Lu-chan!" Levy affirmed with a smile.

"You think so?" She replied, a gentle smile and blush crossing her face. "I tried something new with my hair this morning," she explained, her hand moving to twirl a strand of it around her finger bashfully. "Natsu and I are going out tonight, so I thought it would be nice."

Levy made eye contact with Natsu as he, Happy, and Lisanna all snuck behind Lucy, trying to make their exit without being noticed. Levy offered a confident smile, expressing that Lucy would be in good hands until the ring was located, and Natsu silently nodded back before the three of them scurried off in a hurry.

"I’m off of mom duty today, so Erza and I were going to get our nails done. If you’re going out with Natsu tonight, why don’t you join us?" Levy offered, an eager look on her face, hoping that Lucy would accept without much trouble.

"You and Erza?" Lucy asked, a little sceptical about the unusual combination.

"Mmhm!" Levy confirmed. "Erza and I grew up here together, you know! But it’s been a while since we caught up," she added, sensing her friend’s apprehension.

"R-right!" Erza confirmed, caught off guard by the sudden plan but scrambling to feign confidence.

"Come on, it’ll be fun," Levy pleaded, leaning over the table to grab Lucy’s hands in her own.

"I mean… if it’s okay with Erza," Lucy replied, turning her gaze towards the woman in question, a little nervous about being invited along without her input.

"Yes!" Erza replied, perhaps a little too eagerly, before noticing her mistake and trying her best to rectify it. "I mean, I would be happy for you to come along."

"Great!" Levy cheered. "That settles it! Let’s get going then!"

"Wh- Right now?" Lucy exclaimed before she was pulled to her feet by Erza, her grip firm around her wrist. "Hey! I wanted to see Natsu before we left!"

"Natsu can wait!" Erza declared. "Today is a girl’s day!"

"I didn’t realise Levy was so fast on her feet," Gray commented, as those remaining watched Erza practically drag Lucy out of the guild hall with Levy following close behind.

"Having kids’ll do it to ya," Gajeel replied. "Ya get real good at distractions, and Levy’s great at ‘em." He began to bob Yajee up and down on his knee as Jutla started to cling onto her papa’s arm, all but begging for his attention. "But today I’m on double distractin’ duty."

"Now that Lucy’s gone, it should be safe to check her apartment, right?" Wendy said, pulling the attention of her new teammates towards her.

With a mutual nod of understanding, the three of them went ahead to make their exit before Gray promptly froze.

"We don’t have a key," he realised. "Lucy probably locked the place when she left, and Natsu’s already gone, so we can’t use his."

"No worries!" Mira chimed in, holding up a ring of keys that she jingled in front of them. "I have a spare!"

A sigh of relief was let out amongst the Lucy-apartment-trio, knowing it would be an easy break and enter, though upon closer examination, Gray noticed another familiar key dangling off of the ring.

"Hey, is that the spare key to my place?" He asked, his brow raised in confusion.

"No time for questions! We have a ring to find!" Mira diverted, placing Lucy’s key in his hand and hurrying them off.

Lucy honestly couldn’t recall the last time she had stepped foot in a nail salon. In fact, she hadn’t even known there was one in Magnolia at all until Erza and Levy had physically dragged her to it. She was more of a do-it-yourself type of girl, but the idea of taking the day to be pampered for a bit (and not getting polish smudged around the nails of her left hand) was too pleasant an offer to say no. It wasn’t exactly how she had imagined her day to play out, but Erza and Levy would hear no complaints from her as the trio sat around to pick their colours.

If Lucy hadn’t been to one in years, Erza probably hadn’t been in her entire lifetime, based on the stressed expression on her face as she stood before the wall of every nail polish colour under the sun. Though Lucy probably could have guessed that by her chipped nails, calloused hands, and the dirt that seemed like it had been under her nails since she had met her.

"Not sure what colour to pick?" Lucy asked in a hopeful attempt to try and lighten her mood.

Erza remained silent, instead merely shaking her head as her gaze remained stuck on the colours.

Lucy held out a deep red colour in offering to her.

"This one matches your hair," she suggested in an attempt to be helpful.

"Um… I think that’s a bit bold for my first time," Erza managed to stutter out, confirming Lucy’s earlier thoughts.

"Okay, well, how about a more neutral colour then?" Lucy asked, putting the red back on the shelf.

Levy took another off of the shelf and held it by Erza’s hand to see how it might look on her.

"Brown?" She suggested. "This one would look pretty with your skin tone."

"I’m not sure," Erza frowned, not looking entirely sold on the idea. "I thought I might like something more… exciting."

Exciting but not bold, Lucy thought. It seemed like an oxymoron, but she wasn’t about to criticise Erza’s choice of words, lest she be beheaded in a nail salon. She scanned the wall once again to see what her options were.

"You could go pink," Lucy offered, more for her own amusement than anything else, not expecting anything to come from it.

"Pink. I want pink."

"What? Really?" Lucy asked, taken completely off guard by her response.

"What’s wrong with pink? Do you not think it’ll look good?" Erza replied, looking worried and a little flustered by her friend’s reaction.

"No! That’s not what I think at all," she assured. "I just didn’t think you’d go for it, is all."

"How about a peach shade?" Levy suggested, much to Lucy’s relief, as she provided a distraction for a stressed-out Erza. "It’s a pretty colour, but it’s not too out there either."

Taking her suggestion, Erza directed her attention to the pinks and picked a light, almost nude pink.

"This one," she said, turning around to face Lucy and Levy and holding out the colour for their approval.

She held her options in one hand, letting the glass of the containers clack against each other as she compared them. She had managed to narrow it down to three so far: an eggshell blue, a rosy pink, and a metallic gold. Any other day she might have picked the blue without hesitation; it matched almost every outfit she liked to wear, so she wouldn’t have to think about it too much, but thinking forward to her date with Natsu, Lucy thought it might be appropriate to switch it up a little.

Perhaps pink would be too on the nose for a date, but the shade matched Natsu’s hair so perfectly that it made her heart thrum with excitement over the mere thought of him. Her face flushed red slightly when she caught her thoughts running away from her. She’d get her time with him later, but right now it was a girl’s day, and her full attention was going to be on her friends.

"Do you think you know what colour you want?" Levy probed, looking over Lucy’s shoulder, having already picked out a soft orange for herself.

"I think I want the gold," she finally decided, placing the two rejected options back in their designated spots.

Remembering Natsu’s description of the ring, Levy had to bite down on her lip to suppress the massive grin she would have otherwise broken into if she hadn’t physically stopped herself.

"That’s great, Lu-chan! It’s really pretty," she smiled, trying her best to hide the excited jitters that were beginning to build up in her chest.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve been out here," Lisanna commented as the familiar sign came into view.

It had been several years since she had last come by, but from the very moment she stepped through the door, it was as if no time had passed. The place looked exactly the same as she remembered it, which would have made for easy searching if it weren’t also as messy as she remembered it.

"Still as untidy as ever, I see," she observed.

"Hey! We just cleaned the place!" Natsu shot back.

"You call this clean?" Lisanna retorted, stepping over a stray pile of unclean laundry that had clearly been tossed there without much thought. "No wonder you lost the ring when your house is in this state."

"Lucy’s not gonna be happy you called it untidy after she just cleaned up," Happy commented.

Lucy being the one to have cleaned up most recently made a lot more sense, and yet somehow, she was not surprised that Natsu and Happy had already made a mess of it. Lisanna couldn’t help but think what a saint she must be to willingly volunteer to clean up a place like this, even more so to see it and still keep Natsu in the running for potential life partner.

"And how long ago was that?" She asked, kicking a dirty sock out of her path as she moved deeper into their home.

"I dunno, like a couple months ago?" Natsu shrugged, not seeing any issue with the discrepancy he had just created.

"That's not recent at all," Lisanna pointed out.

"Sure it is," Happy brushed off. "We only have to clean it once a year."

She grimaced slightly at his comment, regret slowly creeping up on her for agreeing to help out as she thought about what kind of gross, nasty things could grow in a home that was only cleaned once a year. If it were anyone but Natsu, she would be out of there immediately, but unfortunately, she had long since deemed their friendship too important to let him do this on his own.

"This is where I left it," Natsu called out, snapping Lisanna out of her thoughts.

He had pulled open a drawer, which, when she peered inside, seemed to be empty aside from a few miscellaneous papers that had been haphazardly shoved in there, perhaps never to be seen again.

"So you think it could be around here?" She asked as she proceeded to shut the drawer and look through the ones surrounding it.

Natsu sighed and shrugged slightly at her query.

"I thought so, but I’m really not sure anymore."

Lisanna furrowed her brows as she searched through the final drawer, only to come up with nothing. She hadn’t expected it to be easy when Natsu arrived at the guild looking as panicked as he did, but this was going to be more of a difficult task than she had anticipated.

Natsu was messy, but he wasn’t incompetent; she was certain he had already done a somewhat thorough search of the area he thought he had left it in, so there would be no point combing through it again. Instead, a more cohesive plan was needed. She scanned the room and pursed her lips as she thought through what the best course of action would be.

"How about you and Happy clear up some of the stuff from the floor, and I’ll take a look on the shelves," she decided. "Maybe you’ll find it in a pile of something on the ground."

"Aye!"

Eager to get going and find the ring, the three set off to attend to their respective jobs, but not before Lisanna got in one last word.

"We’ll find it," she assured.

"I know." Natsu nodded. "Thanks."

When the door to Lucy’s apartment swung open, Gray mentally thanked his past self for volunteering to come here. Lucy’s apartment was a much smaller space than the guild hall, and between the three of them, they would be able to cover plenty of ground in a fraction of the time while missing out on the chaos that was sure to ensue back at the guild.

That being said, they had come without a clear plan in mind, which left them with a very important question.

"So where do we start?" Juvia asked, her gaze passing across the apartment, examining the search area.

It wasn’t a large space, but going in without a plan felt like setting themselves up for failure.

"The ring would probably smell like Natsu, right?" Gray suggested.

He looked over at Wendy, who wordlessly nodded at his comment, not needing him to elaborate any more for her to pick up what he was suggesting. She inhaled deeply, taking in all of the different scents that lingered in the air, trying to spot that familiar smell to give them their first lead before letting out a defeated exhale.

"I’m sorry… it all just smells like Natsu," she said, an apologetic smile on her face.

"Juvia supposes that makes sense," she mused. "Natsu must spend a lot of time here if he wants to marry Lucy."

It was a disappointing start to the search, but they had been through much worse than something as trivial as searching for a ring.

"Can you pick up where his scent is strongest? Maybe we can start looking in those places," he offered.

Nodding, Wendy gave another good sniff, the scent now fresh in her brain as she tried to locate where it smelled the freshest. She wandered around the room a bit, trying to get a better feel for the layout of it. After a moment or two of tracking, Wendy thought she had a good hold on where the strongest scent was.

"The bed, the couch, and-" Wendy began to list, pointing at each of the items before making her way over to the dresser and opening a drawer that had a particularly strong smell. In her curiosity, she opened it, only to be met with Lucy’s collection of risqué panties. Her face now bright red, Wendy slammed it shut and turned on her heel to face Gray and Juvia. "That’s it! Just the bed and the couch!"

Gray and Juvia shared a sceptical look but otherwise didn’t press her on it, both having a vague idea of what she had just seen.

"Juvia thinks those are both good places to start," Juvia affirmed. "It’s easy to lose small things like Natsu’s ring in places like that."

Wendy quickly recovered from her brief traumatic moment in response to Juvia’s agreement.

"I can search the couches then!" She eagerly offered.

"Juvia and I can check around the bed then," Gray suggested, to which Juvia nodded in agreement, perhaps a little over enthusiastic for the cause.

"Try not to get lost between the cushions," Juvia giggled, much to Wendy’s dismay.

"I’m not that small!" She squeaked as she tried her best to pry the tightly fitted bottom cushion, which was almost as big as she was, off of the seat.

Wendy had said the bed had smelt freshly of Natsu, and knowing his penchant for popping over to Lucy’s for a quick midday nap, Gray couldn’t say he was surprised. If Natsu had it on him, there was a very real chance that he could have dropped it in or around the bed and it would have gone unnoticed. Unfortunately, searching the bed posed a glaring problem.

It had been made neater than he could ever hope to make it. There was no way he was going to be able to remake it to Lucy’s standard and leave it looking like he hadn’t been searching through her sheets afterwards. Deciding it would be best to leave it as is for now, he ran his hand across the sheets to try and feel if there was anything poking out from the surface. His hands confirmed what his eyes could see – no ring.

He lifted up the pillows to check under there before shaking the pillow case in hopes that maybe it would fall out of one of them. A small grunt of frustration escaped him when nothing came of it, but he reminded himself that at least Lucy had left the place neat and tidy for them to search.

"Lisanna really pulled the short end of the stick by volunteering to search Natsu’s place," Gray commented as he lifted the mattress off of the bed frame to check underneath. "At least Lucy’s place is well organised, and we don’t have to sort through trash to look for it."

"Gray-sama has been to Natsu’s house?" Juvia asked, shutting the drawer of Lucy’s nightstand to proceed to check in the next one.

"Yeah, just once, a long time ago," he replied. "Place is a pig sty. It’s kind of a miracle that Lucy’s apartment is this tidy when he spends so much time here."

"Lucy is very good for Natsu," Juvia commented. "Natsu is a better, more mature person around Lucy."

"You’re tellin’ me," Gray grumbled, dropping the mattress back onto the frame after not having found anything under it.

"Juvia wouldn’t be surprised if Lucy’s tidy habits have rubbed off on Natsu," she added.

"I wouldn’t go that far," he scoffed.

Natsu had changed a lot since Lucy had come into their lives; he had grown a lot as a person, he was more mature, he thought more before he said or did things, but Natsu was going to live and die a slob, no amount of Lucy would change that.

"Gray-sama is putting a lot of effort into helping Natsu," Juvia observed, the implications of her words not needing to be spoken aloud for Gray to pick up what she was trying to say.

"He’s like a brother to me," he admitted. "A dumb, stupid, idiot of a brother, but he’s still my family."

Juvia let out a murmur of understanding as he spoke, a smile making its way onto her lips as she listened to Gray get sentimental about the person he frequently and publicly claimed he couldn’t stand.

"And being with Lucy makes him about a hundred times more tolerable," he continued. "I don’t know what she sees in him, but whatever makes them happy, y’know?"

"From what Juvia has heard, Natsu makes her very happy," Juvia hummed, continuing her thorough search of the nightstand.

"Yeah," Gray mused, recalling the way Lucy always seemed to feel more at home with Natsu around. "He does."

"Alright, let’s make a plan then, shall we?" Mirajane announced, gathering a group of guild members by the bar who were lured in by her authority. "Natsu tends to get himself into tussles around the whole guild, so there aren't many places we can rule out," she observed.

She tapped her finger against her chin, lost in thought for a moment as she examined the search area and devised their plan.

"I think we should split up," Mira decided. "We can have one group search upstairs and everyone else look down here. If he dropped it, it’s probably on the floor, so be sure to check under chairs and tables." Murmurs of understanding were passed around the group, enraptured by her uncharacteristic authoritative presence. "I’ll be searching by the bar; someone can go check in the supply closets as well," she added.

"What? Why the supply closets? Does Natsu even go in there?" Freed asked, brows raised in doubt at her suggestion.

"Of course he does," Cana chimed in, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "With Luuuccyyy~"

Alzack quickly covered Asuka’s ears with his hands at Cana’s implication, much to the young girl’s distress.

Bickslow let out a loud cackle as her joke registered in Freed’s brain, and the immediate regret of asking overcame him.

"Volunteering for sex room duty, are we?" Evergreen asked, a smirk growing on her face.

"That is not what I meant when I asked that, and you know it!" Freed spat back, his face growing a deep red in embarrassment, which only made Bickslow laugh even harder.

"Great! Freed is on sex room duty then!" Mira chirped, an oh-so-innocent smile on her face that could almost make one believe that she wasn’t joking.

"No, I am not!" He protested as Bickslow absolutely howled in laughter, slamming his fist against the bar top, tears beginning to roll down his face.

His protests were cut short by Evergreen’s grip on his wrist as she pulled him over towards the nearest supply closet.

"I do not want to go anywhere near where Natsu and Lucy have had sex!" He cried out, struggling to get his hand back from a deceptively strong Evergreen.

"Don’t be a baby!" She spat back, tightening her hold on him as she tugged him to the nearest supply closet.

"Aren’t you going to help Freed?" Bisca asked Laxus as the remainder of the group watched him be pulled away by his teammate.

"What am I? His babysitter?" He scoffed. "Ever’s put him through worse than dragging him into Natsu’s sex room."

"Okay, I think we’ve talked enough about the sex room," Alzack interrupted, gesturing with his head towards an upset Asuka who was trying to pry away his hands from her ears.

"I do not want to be here," Freed reiterated as he unwillingly followed Evergreen into one of the guild’s many supply closets.

"Oh, calm down, would you? They haven’t actually had sex in here," she assured. "Do you actually think someone like Lucy would do that?"

"Then why are we searching in here?" He asked, still a little bitter about the scene that was made at his expense.

"Natsu came in here yesterday because Master made him and Gray fix the barstools’ they broke in a fight yesterday," Evergreen replied matter-of-factly.

Freed didn’t reply; he simply raised his brows at her explanation.

"I saw the whole thing go down," she elaborated, noting his surprised expression.

"I didn’t realise you paid attention to those sorts of things," he observed.

"It’s hard not to when they cause such a ruckus," Evergreen replied as she began to move some of the cleaning supplies out of the way to search one of the shelves. "Is it so surprising that I want to help? They’re still our family," she said in response to his silence. "Natsu never stopped defending Laxus after Master kicked him out of the guild, and Fairy Tail would still be disbanded if it weren’t for Lucy. If looking for this ring is what it takes to thank them, I don’t mind doing it."

Her explanation practically stunned Freed into silence. Sure, he knew Evergreen well, they were a team—a family—but rarely did she let herself show a more compassionate side of herself, even to him.

She was right, of course. If it weren’t for Lucy and Natsu, they would still be back at Blue Pegasus, and though he had found himself fond of the friends he had made there, nothing could compare to the home he had found in Fairy Tail. To help in this search was the least they could do for them, and little more than a drop in the bucket in showing just how thankful Freed was to be reunited with his family – his whole family.

"And if Natsu can propose then maybe Elfman will finally grow a pair and pick up the hint," Evergreen added.

Freed chuckled lightly at her addition, feeling as though that was the most Evergreen thing she could have said in that moment.

"Now would you quit standing around while I’m doing all the hard work?" She complained. "We have a ring to find, you know."

"Of course," he smiled.

Lucy felt completely at ease as the woman sat across from her clipped, buffed, and prepped her nails. She practically melted into the plush chair beneath her while she, Erza, and Levy chatted idly about everything they hadn’t had the chance to talk about until now.

Levy gushed about the twins, and Erza told stories of her recent solo jobs (to which Lucy and Levy both teased her relentlessly at the mere mention of Jellal’s name, causing her face to flush as crimson as her hair). It had been a while since she’d had some real girl time with Levy or Erza, and even longer since she’d been pampered like this.

A content hum escaped her lips as the gold polish went on, the metallic finish shimmering in the artificial light. There were no nail polish smudges around her cuticles like when she had to do it herself with her left hand, or perhaps more commonly, when she forced Natsu to do it for her. The bright shimmer wasn’t something she’d have chosen for herself on a normal day, her own collection only being made up of more muted tones, but she supposed the day warranted it.

As she admired her manicure, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness overcome her as she noted how bare her fingers looked. The only thing that decorated her fingers were the scars that held precious memories of her adventures, which she held close to her heart, but she still couldn’t help the longing she felt to have a ring on her finger.

She and Natsu had been dating for years now, had been best friends for even longer, and Lucy had long since thought it had been time for him to pop the question. Maybe it was because she hadn’t been forthright enough on the topic or hadn’t made it obvious enough that marriage was something she wanted. She had dropped a few hints here and there, though maybe she shouldn’t be surprised that someone as direct as Natsu might not have picked them up.

It had crossed her mind that perhaps she would have to be the one to ask, but she couldn’t shake her longing for a more traditional proposal. In her dream proposal, Natsu was the one to get down on one knee and pull the velvet box out of his pocket before revealing the dazzling ring inside.

She scoffed lightly at the thought. Natsu was not the romantic prince charming that she had always envisioned herself with growing up, but she was content with that. He wasn’t one for candlelit dinners or grand gestures of love, and Lucy had long since made her peace with that. In fact, deep down, she prefered what she had with him to anything she could have imagined as a child. He was not her storybook lover, but he put more into their relationship than any other guy she had been with before him, and she valued that more than any cheesy, romantic scenario her imagination could conjure up.

Even though she didn’t expect a fancy, traditional proposal from someone like him, Lucy was still surprised that he hadn’t ever brought it up himself. He had told her that they were always going to be together, and she wholeheartedly believed that he was going to follow through on that, but she supposed that was never a promise of marriage; they weren’t even together at the time.

Closing her eyes, Lucy let out a sigh, which caught the attention of Erza next to her.

"Is everything okay, Lucy?"

"Yeah, I’m just thinking about something," she admitted.

Erza looked at her as though she wanted her to elaborate, but Lucy wasn’t so sure that this was something she wanted to talk about right now. It was supposed to be a nice outing with her friends, she didn’t want to drag the mood down with her relationship woes. So instead, Lucy waved her off and offered a smile in hopes of moving on.

Much to her relief, Erza promptly dropped it, and the conversation quickly picked back up as Levy began to recount another story about the antics Jutla had dragged Yajee into as of late.

"Have you found anything?" Wendy called out from across the room.

"Nothing yet, but if we do, we’ll let you know," Gray called back. "How about you?"

"Just this," Wendy replied, holding out a handful of bobby pins and coins for them to see. "No ring, though," she added before trying to fit the cushions back on the loveseat. "Sorry, I’m not being much help…"

"Wendy is being a great help!" Juvia reassured, to which Wendy responded with a relieved smile.

"If you’re done over there, I could use some help checking under the bed," Gray added, kneeling at the foot of the bed and glancing underneath it. "I don’t think I’m gonna fit under here."

"Oh, of course!" Wendy replied, placing her couch haul on the coffee table before eagerly bounding over to the other side of the room.

It was a bit of a tight fit, even for Wendy, but she managed to wiggle her way under and get a good look. It was kind of dark too, but enough light streamed in from the room that she could still get a good look at what was under there. It was pretty clean, save for a few dust bunnies that indicated that Lucy hadn’t cleaned under there in a while and many, many hair ties.

"Anything?" Juvia asked, feeling herself get a little antsy in anticipation after a few moments of hearing nothing from the girl under the bed.

"It doesn’t look like it…" Wendy called back, loud enough that hopefully both of them could hear her.

Once she managed to pull herself out, Gray noticed the slightly dejected look on her face.

"Don’t beat yourself up about it, alright? It’s not your fault it wasn’t under there," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"That just means we have to check elsewhere, right?" Juvia added.

"Right!" Wendy agreed, not letting herself get down after another failed search.

Lucy’s apartment wasn’t that big; there were only so many places the three of them could look, which should have made this an easy search in theory. Truthfully, Gray had expected them to be in and out quickly, to find it wedged between the couch cushions or down the side of her bed, and then be back at the guild within the hour. As the clock ticked on, that expectation was seemingly becoming more and more unrealistic.

Knowing Natsu and his careless tendencies, there was nowhere that they could truly rule out as a possibility. There was no place that they could find it that would surprise Gray, he had simply accepted the fact that Natsu was stupid enough to lose it anywhere, which simply meant they had to check everywhere.

Examining the room, Lisanna immediately noticed that Natsu’s board of many memories had grown substantially since the last time she had seen it. She chuckled lightly to herself at how much of it came back to Lucy. Pictures and notes littered the board with Lucy-this and Lucy-that. The occasional job flyer, photo, or souvenir with notes mentioning other guildmates were scattered across the walls and shelves, but it seemed like nothing when put next to the sheer number of memories he had kept with Lucy. She was certain that he had kept a photo from every date the two had been on in the entirety of their relationship and tacked it onto his wall with a note recounting a summary of their day together.

Natsu loved his friends perhaps more than anyone, Lisanna was acutely aware of that, but that love paled in comparison to that he held for Lucy. She hadn’t been around when they two met, but she had seen how much meeting Lucy had changed him for the better. She’d simply assumed that his newfound maturity (by his standards, anyway) was simply chalked up to age and life experience, but if the stories told around the guild about the pair were anything to go by, Lucy was a big part of making him into the person he was today.

While she could have been content to admire Natsu’s dedication to his collection, Lisanna was well aware that she had a job to do. Between all the knick-knacks and tchotchkes that Natsu had accumulated over the years, she wouldn’t be surprised if the ring popped up somewhere on the shelves between them. It was difficult to find where he might have placed it recently given how surprisingly neat his collection was, clearly having been dusted frequently and taken good care of. Not wanting to leave any stone unturned, Lisanna checked every shelf, between, and under every trinket, mindful to be careful with everything she touched, not wanting to sour Natsu’s mood any more than it already was.

Natsu had always been pretty temperamental growing up, but he seemed to have vastly improved on that front over the years. That was why it had come as such a surprise to her when Natsu had arrived at the guild in such a shitty mood, unprovoked. Granted, she couldn’t find it in herself to blame him when she found out why.

A gentle smile crossed her face as she thought about it. Sure, they weren’t as close these days as they used to be, but that didn’t stop the joy and fondness that filled her heart at the thought of her childhood best friend getting married.

Finally, after all these years, Natsu, of all people, was going to settle down. Well, as much as someone like him could settle down, anyway.

Even then, Lucy was filled with just as much vigour and fondness for adventure as he was, that was just one of the things that made them a perfect match. The two of them were inseparable, partners in crime, never one without the other. Together, they had been on more adventures than anyone else could dare dream, and now Natsu was about to take her on a whole new adventure.

The sentiment was so sweet, it could almost make Lisanna cry.

It was like she was watching a storybook romance play out in front of her eyes, only instead of words on a page, this was a real, lived experience from her real-life family.

Holding back tears but failing to suppress the wide smile on her face, Lisanna lifted up one of Natsu’s many trinkets, this one seemingly hollow on the inside, to check if there was anything accidentally left underneath. She didn’t get much time to examine the space beneath before her thoughts were cut off by Natsu’s voice from the other side of the room.

"I’m sorry."

Placing the item down, she turned around to face him, her head tilted slightly in confusion at his sudden apology.

"For what?"

"For bein’ a jackass back at the guild," Natsu admitted, his gaze cast down and away from her as he spoke. "Everyone was just tryna help, but I was bein’ a jerk because I was stressed out."

"It’s okay; I understand," she replied. "If I were in your position, I would probably be a little snippy too."

He still didn’t look up at her, even in his apology, but she could see the way his expression changed, easing into a softer, more gentle look.

"Thanks for helping me out," he added. "It really means a lot."

"That’s what friends are for, right?" She smiled. "I know you’d do the same for me."

By now, Natsu’s smile had fully returned, much to Lisanna’s relief.

"Only I wouldn’t lose the ring," she added, a cheeky look on her face, to which Natsu didn’t respond well.

"Hey! Shut up," he grumbled, throwing a balled-up shirt in her direction, missing drastically as it hit the wall a few feet away from her before pathetically dropping to the floor and earning an amused chortle from Lisanna.

For as much as he’d grown, Natsu really hadn’t changed one bit.

Erza’s eyes were firmly stuck on her hands as the three of them exited the salon, narrowly missing walking straight into Lucy in her trance, who thankfully stepped out of the way just in time.

"Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your nails look so clean," Lucy commented, taking one of Erza’s hands and holding it in her own.

"Yeah, me either," Erza replied, brows furrowed as she closely examined her other hand.

While Lucy was distracted, Levy pulled out her communication lacrima in hopes that she would be met with good news, but instead her home screen remained devoid of any new messages. Quickly, she flicked over to her messaging app to make sure, only to find no updates since they had left. She tapped on Mira’s contact, figuring that if anyone would know what was going on, it would be her.

SMS Levy Any updates on the ring?

SMS Mirajane nothing yet :( we r going to keep looking :) will let u know :)

With a slight frown, Levy put her lacrima away and tried to give Erza a look to indicate that they would need more time.

"This was really fun," Lucy mused, looking content with the outcome of their outing. "I suppose we should head back to the guild now. I didn’t get to see Natsu before we left earlier."

"N-no!" Erza cried out abruptly, to a look of confusion from her friend, before she realised how suspicious she sounded. "I mean, your date isn’t until six, right? That means there’s plenty of time before we have to make it back," she managed to stutter out as she tried to correct her previous mistake.

"How did you know what time my date was?" Lucy asked, surprised that Erza had known when she had never brought it up herself.

"Natsu mentioned it at the guild this morning!" Levy butted in, much to Erza’s relief.

That wasn’t technically a lie, they were simply omitting a key piece of information, but Lucy didn’t have to know that.

"And Erza’s right. You practically live with Natsu these days, and I never get any time to myself with Jutla and Yajee, so what do you say we make this a real girl’s day?"

Lucy’s gaze flicked between Levy and Erza, both of them practically pleading her to stay with their eyes alone. That was all it took for Lucy’s resolve to fizzle away entirely. It had been entirely too long since she’d had a day out that didn’t somehow involve Natsu or Happy and she had admittedly been having a lot of fun with Levy and Erza.

"Okay, you’re right," she agreed. "It’ll be fun."

"Real romantic for Natsu to propose tonight, wouldn’t you say so, Al?" Bisca commented, drawing out her last syllable as she referred to her husband, giving him a sly look that didn’t quite match her words.

Alzack shrank slightly under her words, hearing the implications of them loud and clear as he and Asuka crawled around on hands and knees, searching the floorboards underneath the tables in hopes of seeing the glimmer of the golden ring underneath one of them.

"Yep, sure is," he meekly replied, trying to divert away from the contentious topic.

"I wonder what it’d be like to be proposed to," she continued. "Well, at least one of us knows, isn’t that right, Al?"

He tried to shoot her back an unimpressed look but ended up looking a bit more like a kicked puppy as she bought up his proposal, or more accurately, lack thereof, earning a laugh out of her.

"I was nervous!" Alzack defended, trying his best to sound assured in his words, though he was given away by the crack in his voice. "I was afraid you were gonna say no…" He added, his voice little more than a mumble.

"Oh, come on, I’m only teasing ya," Bisaca laughed, giving him a gentle nudge in the arm that nearly shoved him on his side.

"Something tells me that this isn’t just teasing…" he murmured, trying his best to get back to the search.

"It’s kind of strange, isn’t it?" Bisca added suddenly.

"What’s strange?" He replied, turning his head to look over at his wife, taken off guard by the sudden jump in subject.

"It seems like it was only yesterday when we were all teenagers, growing up alongside Natsu, doing all the stupid things that teenagers do, but now we’ve settled down with a family but they’re still making up for lost time."

Alzack frowned slightly as he processed what she was saying. It wasn’t something he ever gave much thought to, but she was right. He, Bisca, Natsu, and Lucy had all been the same age once, in the most literal of senses. They should have all lived through the same milestones together, and yet now, through the cruel hand of fate, they had several years on them.

It simultaneously felt so recent but also like a fleeting memory.

That was over a decade ago now—to them anyway.

"Do you think that if it weren’t for those seven years, they’d already be married?" He asked.

His question caused her to pause and consider for a moment. For as much as she saw the guild as her family, she was never all that familiar with Natsu prior to the events of Tenrou Island, even less so with Lucy. In a way, the Natsu and Lucy she knew were always going to be the ones changed by the events of Tenrou, the Grand Magic Games, the Eclipse, and every subsequent challenge they had to face together so young. The Natsu and Lucy, who were barely adults by the time she and Alzack had figured out their lives, the Natsu and Lucy who were deceptively good babysitters, and Bisca was sure they would make just as good parents if they ever chose to be.

"I don’t know," she answered honestly. "But there’s no point dwelling on the past though, is there?"

Alzack looked at her with a deadpan gaze, recalling how dwelling on the past was exactly what started this conversation, but Bisca merely returned it with an innocent-looking smile that her husband could see right through.

"Daddy! Stop talking with mommy and help me look!" Asuka demanded with a determined look on her face, sounding very unhappy with her father’s lack of contribution to the search effort.

Bisca did nothing to suppress the laugh she let out as she watched her husband be bossed around by their daughter. She couldn’t exactly blame her, though. Asuka was right; they had a job to do—a friend to help—there was no time for slacking off on the clock.

"Any updates?" Happy called out from among the pile of dirty clothes he and Natsu had accumulated during their search.

The floor was mostly clear, save for a few items scattered across the floor, albeit ones that didn’t necessarily obstruct their search, but they had still come up short, no ring in hand.

"I’ve checked all the shelves, but I haven’t found anything," Lisanna updated.

Her eyes scanned the shelves once more for any places she hadn’t already checked, but at this point she was almost certain she had been about as thorough with it as she could be. If she was certain about anything, it was that the ring wasn’t there, and they would have to focus their search elsewhere.

It was beginning to get dark outside, and those four hours that had once felt like plenty of time were now beginning to feel incredibly insignificant. The thought that he had lost the ring somewhere else entirely had crossed her mind plenty since they began their search, but she had always nipped it in the bud before it overcame her. Now, though, as each moment passed with no ring, Lisanna began to worry that maybe that was the case.

"Maybe you have to postpone it," Happy reluctantly suggested.

"No, I have to do it tonight."

"Why does it have to be tonight?" Lisanna inquired.

"It just has to," he replied. "I’ve planned everything out, and it’s gotta be perfect, and that means asking tonight."

The room fell quiet for a moment, and Lisanna took that time to examine the expression on his face. He had that serious look on his face, the one she hardly ever saw on him, even rarer outside of battle. She already knew that this was something that was important to him, but perhaps she hadn’t understood just how serious he was about it until now.

"Okay," she conceded. "We’ll keep looking then."

"Thank you, Lisanna."

His voice was full of such sincerity that she couldn’t believe that giving up on the search had even been in the cards. In response, she flashed him a reassuring smile to let him know that she wasn’t about to concede any time soon.

"No problem, Natsu."

The rest of their afternoon was spent roaming the streets of Magnolia, window shopping, looking in stores, and treating themselves to lunch at a quaint café just down the street from Lucy’s apartment.

The sun had begun to threaten its fall over the horizon with no news on the ring, but keeping Lucy occupied didn’t prove to be much of an issue when she was happy to stick around with her friends until the end of the day. The three of them walked side by side along a street in the shopping district, peering through windows as many of them closed up shop for the evening, until Levy noticed that Lucy was no longer at her side.

Panicked, Levy looked over her shoulder only to find that she had stopped in front of the display of a shop that was still open despite the approaching evening hours. As she walked back to her friend’s side, she noticed the almost mesmerised look on Lucy’s face as she admired the dress that adorned the mannequin at the very front of the window display.

"It’s really pretty," Lucy breathed.

"Yeah, it really is," Levy agreed.

"Why don’t you go in and try it on?" Erza suggested as she approached the two from behind.

"It probably closes soon," Lucy frowned, clearly disappointed to turn down Erza’s suggestion.

"Closes at 6," Levy said, pointing towards the listed opening hours by the door, hopeful that this would allow for another distraction while they waited on news on the ring.

Lucy still looked reluctant.

"If I go and try it on, I think I’ll be tempted to buy it," she chuckled nervously.

"Girl’s day treat?" Levy suggested, wrapping her arm around Lucy’s, trying her very best to sound convincing.

Lucy remained quiet for a moment, her eyes still glued to the display in the window, examining every inch of the dress, from the silken straps all the way down to the very bottom stitches of the hem. It seemed as though Levy didn’t need to do much convincing of her own when Lucy had already made up her mind.

"Girl’s day treat," Lucy replied, a keen smile adorning her face.

With Lucy busying herself in the changing room, Erza and Levy were left on their own as they waited for her, and a silence befell them, neither knowing exactly what to say to the other now that the girl who connected them was no longer part of the conversation. It was comfortable, if not a little awkward, as both searched for something to occupy the quiet between them. It wasn’t until Levy finally spoke up that the ice finally shattered between them.

"Erza, can I ask you something?"

She was a little taken aback by Levy’s sudden request but obliged nonetheless.

"Of course."

"If you’re so nervous about hiding the proposal from Lucy, why did you volunteer to distract her?" She asked, head tilted to the side slightly in curiosity.

"So it seems you noticed…"

Levy bit her tongue to keep herself from telling her that she was certain everyone had noticed and simply nodded along.

"It’s a bit embarrassing, really…" she began, her cheeks lightly flushed but a fond smile on her face. "I don’t get to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Lucy, and I thought perhaps this might be our last chance before she gets married."

Levy’s expression softened at the unexpectedly heartfelt response. Erza had always been so stoic, so put-together. She seemed like someone who had no need for companionship; she was strong enough on her own. But she was only human. It only made sense that she still craved that platonic intimacy, and perhaps it made even more sense that she craved it with someone who would be more than willing to indulge her in her more feminine side, especially having grown up in a guild dominated by such masculine energy.

"So you think she’s going to say yes?" Levy asked, a smile on her face and her curiosity sated.

"I’d be a fool to think otherwise," Erza replied. "I’ve never seen someone look at another with as much adoration in their eyes as Lucy does at Natsu."

"I’m sorry for hijacking your plan," Levy apologised, feeling a pang of guilt go through her after hearing her reasons.

"Don’t apologise. You were only doing what you thought was the right choice in the moment, and it was the right choice," Erza assured with a kind look on her face. "If it were up to me, Lucy and I would have spent all day looking at new armour until I lost track of time, but I’m not sure that would be her ideal day out." Her gaze flicked from the dressing room, where Lucy was currently changing, back to Levy. "I’m enjoying myself."

"I suppose this means we’ll be competing for the maid of honour position," Levy teased, poking her lightly in the arm.

"I suppose we will be," she smiled back. "But beware; I do not intend to lose," she added, her expression darkening.

"I was just joking!" Levy squeaked out in clarification, holding her hands out in front of her in a placating gesture.

"As was I," Erza replied, the frightening look on her face having since softened into a gentle smile.

The sudden adrenaline spike prompted by Erza’s joke eased at her words, and Levy smiled back.

"I think I’ve got it," Lucy called out from behind the curtain.

"Oh! Let us see!"

Pushing the curtain aside, Lucy stepped out, revealing herself in the dress that had once been worn by the stoic mannequin in the window display. It was a pure white sundress, the skirt falling with gentle ruffles just above her knees, and the bust held up with ribbon tied in cute bows on her shoulders. Lucy did a small twirl to show off the way it flowed, and Levy and Erza clapped and cheered in excitement.

The colour, the fabric, the way she was showing it off for them, and the cheerful smile on her face all made Levy think that Lucy would make the perfect blushing bride. Based on the way tears were beginning to roll down Erza’s cheek, she could only assume she was thinking the exact same thing.

"Wh- Erza? Why are you crying?" Lucy questioned, worry growing in her chest over the unexpected reaction.

"You just look so beautiful," she sobbed, tears now flowing completely freely down her face, having found herself in the troughs of emotion.

"I don’t think that’s anything to cry over…"

Before she could even think of how to comfort her crying friend, she found herself pulled into Erza’s arms, holding her tightly to her chest, and rather than argue, Lucy could only bring herself to wrap her arms around her too. It didn’t take long for her to feel Levy’s arms snake around her back, and suddenly the three of them were holding each other in an unexpected embrace.

"I’m just so happy to have you in my life," Erza said, her voice muffled in the hug but clear as day to Lucy.

Her words were beginning to cause tears to well up in Lucy’s eyes too.

"I’m so happy to have you too, Erza."

She squeezed her two friends closer to her chest, causing Levy to squeak slightly in protest.

"Okay! Too tight!" Levy complained, trying to wiggle her way out of their grasp and eliciting a flutter of giggles from the other two girls.

Lucy would never take moments like these for granted.

"You should buy it," Levy hummed.

"You think so?"

"If it made Erza cry, who knows what it’ll do to Natsu," she giggled.

Turning back around to face the mirror in the changing room, Lucy examined her reflection once more. Erza was right; she did look beautiful.

She hadn’t put much thought into what she was going to wear on her date with Natsu this evening, and as the night approached, Lucy wasn’t too sure she would have adequate time to make it home, get changed, and meet Natsu in time. Even if she did, somehow everything she had back in her wardrobe seemed to pale in comparison to the innocent beauty of this dress.

It was almost as though fate had decided to deal her a perfect hand.

Besides, she deserved to treat herself today, right?

"You’re right," Lucy agreed, a giddy smile evident on her face as she made her decision.

Deeming their search in and around Lucy’s bed unsuccessful, Juvia scanned the room once more, looking for a new place to scavenge. Recalling Wendy’s strange reaction to Lucy’s dresser, Juvia wandered over there with the thought that perhaps he had misplaced it in one of the drawers somehow. At the beginning of their search, it might have felt like a stretch, but the rest of their attempts to check in the obvious places had come up short, and she felt as though they were running out of ideas.

Opening the drawer she had remembered Wendy reacting to, Juvia grimaced slightly as she came to face Lucy’s panty drawer. Deciding better her than Wendy, she began to pull out the garments to search the bottom of the drawer where she assumed the ring would have fallen, only to quickly find herself distracted by examining the risqué garments that Lucy owned.

"Juvia didn’t know Lucy wore this type of thing…" she murmured. "And Juvia didn’t know Natsu was into it…"

Her face held a deep flush to it as she inadvertently thought about all the indecent things Lucy would do in undergarments like these, but her morbid curiosity outweighed any hesitancy she had about looking through her panty drawer. There was more lace in there than Juvia thought she had seen in her life, along with fabric so sheer that she wondered how (or if) they covered anything.

"Any luck over there?" Gray asked, his voice enough to snap her out of the panty-induced trance she had accidentally found herself in.

"N-no! Nothing yet!" Juvia squeaked out, suddenly very aware of what she was doing, before she shoved them back into the drawer and slammed it shut, deciding her time was better spent searching elsewhere.

Wendy, on the other hand, didn’t reply to his update request, instead, his answer was met with nothing more than silence.

"Wendy?" He tried again, worried by her lack of response.

This time, the only sound she let out was as she sucked in a breath, trying to hold back the sobs that threatened to escape her.

"Wendy? Is everything okay?" Juvia asked, noticing the way her breathing had changed suddenly, becoming shallow and jagged.

"What if we don’t find the ring?" She managed to choke out. "What if- what if I didn’t search good enough? And then Natsu won’t be able to propose because we couldn’t find the ring."

Her panicked response caught Gray off guard almost instantly. No matter how old she got, no matter how much she had grown, Wendy was always going to be his baby sister, and seeing her tremble and sniffle like this had his brotherly instincts kick in almost instantly. His hands rested on her shoulders, holding them with a firm grip that made her lift her head up to meet his gaze, where he could see the tears that were already beginning to form in her eyes.

"We’re going to find it, okay?" He reassured, giving her shoulders a light squeeze in an attempt to ground her as she started to sob.

Moving a hand up to her eyes, Wendy wiped away her tears and nodded slightly in understanding.

Gray was going to be damned before he let Wendy cry because Natsu was a moron.

They had searched pretty much everywhere there was to look, but they couldn’t simply give up on it when they still hadn’t heard anything back from the other groups. So long as there was even the smallest chance that the ring was here, they had to keep searching.

"We’ll find it," he repeated.

"Okay," Wendy whispered. "You’re right. We’ll find it."

"Laxus, could you please actually help instead of doing whatever it is you’re doing now?" Mira asked.

"What? I am helping," Laxus argued. "See, I’m looking on this bar top," he added, gesturing to the empty bar top where he was sat doing not much.

Mira didn’t reply, she simply looked at him with a deeply unimpressed look on her face.

"Why are you getting on my case when Cana’s just sitting there doing nothing as well?" He spat back, clearly not happy that he was the only one getting heat for not crawling on hands and knees on the filthy guild floor.

"Hey, I’m not doing nothing, I’m searching for it in the bottom of this barrel," Cana chortled, clearly already inebriated despite the afternoon hour.

The unimpressed look that had once been directed towards Laxus was now being shot at Cana, who shrank a little under her gaze.

"Fine, you want me to help, I’ll help," she conceded, deciding to contribute in the best way she knew how.

Mira’s eyes lit up as she watched Cana pull her cards out of her back pocket. Her hands expertly shuffled the cards promptly and fluidly before splaying them out in front of her and flipping over a select few of them, one by one. Mirajane and Laxus both watched intently, waiting for any change in her expression that might indicate what her cards were reading, but she remained completely stoic. Both flicked their gazes between the cards and Cana’s face. Laxus’s previous disinterest now turned to intrigue as they watched the master at work to find them an answer.

She flipped one more card over, and for a split second, Mira could swear she saw Cana furrow her brows as she examined the new addition to the cards she had pulled. That split-second hope for a helpful answer was quickly dashed when Cana finally broke the silence.

"Natsu has the ring," she stated plainly.

Her reading was met with a let-down sigh from Mira, who had decided that it was entirely unhelpful.

"If the idiot had the ring, then we wouldn’t have been dragged into this crap," Laxus replied.

"The cards don’t lie," Cana shrugged. "I’m goin’ back to my drink."

Realising she wasn’t going to make much progress with these two, Mira decided a more productive use of her time would be to look elsewhere and left the two of them to tend to their drinks alone.

"Levy-chan, I have to go."

"Come on, it’ll be really quick," she assured, trying to keep Lucy from leaving and finding the crazed search back at the guild. "In and out, I promise!"

Lucy shot her a sceptical look, which Levy returned with pleading eyes. Her gaze flicked from her friend to the book store behind her. It was oh-so tempting—shelves and shelves lined with books of every genre for her to flick through the pages of—but six p.m. was rapidly approaching, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to cut it in time.

"Okay, fine," Lucy gave in. "But it has to be quick. I really don’t want to be late."

"It will be! Promise!"

The moment she stepped foot in the shop, any and all of her worries about the time were dashed. It was just her and the shelves of books before her, and suddenly Levy’s promise of in and out was becoming less and less realistic, but as she perused the selection, Lucy couldn’t find it in herself to care that much.

Taking one off the shelf, Lucy flicked through the pages and enjoyed the new book smell that wafted from the pages. It was as though all time had stopped as she read through blurb after blurb, flicking through the first few pages of each book she picked up, having to physically hold herself back from taking up residence on the floor for a full read-through right then and there. She hardly noticed the reassured look on Levy’s face as she slipped another book under her arm and moved on to find the next one.

"Have you read this one?" Levy called out from across the store, summoning her even deeper into the aisles.

Taking the book out of her hands, Lucy examined the cover to be met with what she assumed to be a traditional fantasy novel based on the dragon and gold embossed text adorning the cover until she flipped it over and read the description on the back. She could feel the blood rushing to her face in embarrassment as she read an incredibly not-safe-for-work description of a romance between a girl and a half-human, half-dragon and realised that what Levy had handed her was not, in fact, fantasy but an erotica novel.

"Remind you of anyone?" She teased, watching the moment realisation hit her friend.

"L-Levy!" Lucy sputtered out.

"It’s really realistic~" Levy replied, enjoying the way Lucy seemed to practically glow red in mortification.

"Oh, have you found something good?" Erza asked, peering over her shoulder, causing Lucy to pull the book to her chest in a bid to keep her from catching a glimpse at it.

"Nope! Nothing interesting!"

Erza gave her a look that was somewhere between shock and confusion, but Lucy didn’t give herself much time to analyse as she tried to hide her face and quickly move on, trying not to draw any more attention to herself as she slipped the novel in between the ones she was already carrying and shuffled away.

Lucy busied herself looking through the shelves to hide her embarrassment, trailing her finger across the spines that lined the shelves until something caught her interest. One by one, she amassed more and more novels for her collection, all self-restraint thrown out the window, until she simply could not carry any more in her arms and decided that she needed to make her purchase or she might never leave.

As she made it to the counter, Lucy caught a glimpse of the clock over the shoulder of the shop attendant.

5:52

She sucked in a breath as she realised how long had passed since they had entered the store. If she ran, she would maybe be able to make it back to their meeting spot in time.

"I’m sorry, I have to go," Lucy declared, dropping her books on the counter and making a mad dash out of the front door.

"Lucy, wait!" Levy called out as she ran after her friend.

"Levy-chan, I’ve really enjoyed our day together, but I’m already running late," she called back over her shoulder.

The composure that Levy had been able to maintain the entire day so far was suddenly beginning to wane. They still hadn’t gotten word on the ring, and they couldn’t let her go until they had found it, but she was running out of ideas, and Lucy was adamant.

She couldn’t tell Lucy what was going on, that was simply out of the question, but there was nothing she could do now that would keep her distracted without also giving away that something was up. In a moment of near-defeat, she shot Erza a worried look, though it seemed like she was already far ahead of her.

Erza took off after her, her pace far exceeding Lucy's, and it did not take long for her to overtake their friend. Before Levy could understand what her plan was, a blinding light overtook her vision, and suddenly in front of Lucy stood Erza, wielding a sword in each hand, looking more determined than she had seen her in a long time.

"I’m sorry, Lucy, but I cannot allow you to go on that date," she declared, pointing the very sharp tip of one of her swords in Lucy’s direction in threat.

"W-what?" Lucy stuttered out, her expression somewhere in the mid-point of confusion and terror.

Lisanna checked her communication lacrima, hoping that some news had broken about the location of the ring and she simply hadn’t heard it go off. She bit her lip to keep the defeated sigh from passing through as she found no new updates.

"I still haven’t heard anything from big sis," she said, trying to hide the twinge of disappointment she was feeling.

"We’ve combed every inch of the house, and we still haven’t found it," Happy complained, not at all trying to hide the exasperation evident in his voice.

"Are you sure there’s nowhere else it could be? Is there anywhere we haven’t checked yet?"

Her question was met with silence, completely uncharacteristic for those she was with, and concern began to bubble within her.

"Natsu?"

She turned around to see what he was up to, only to find him sitting at the kitchen table, holding his head in his hands.

"We’re not gonna find the stupid ring."

His voice held a sense of defeat and sorrow that she had never heard in it before and the sound of it was disconcerting and made her heart ache in her chest.

"Natsu, I am not letting you give up on finding this ring. I’ve never watched you give up before, and I’m not going to let this be the first time."

"We’ve been looking for hours and we still haven’t found it," he said, turning his head to the side, wherein she caught a glimpse of the blank, defeated look in his eyes that looked so uncharacteristic of him that it almost made her feel sick.

"You said it has to be tonight, so it’s going to be tonight, okay? There’s got to be some place that we haven’t thought of."

"We’ve literally checked everywhere," Happy emphasised.

"We can’t have checked everywhere if we still haven’t found it," Lisanna replied, not wanting the mood to get any lower than it already was. "Have you checked in your pockets?" She suggested, in a hopeful attempt to try to get them to refrain from giving up at the very last second.

Natsu shoved his hands in his pant pockets, still looking slightly defeated and not expecting anything from her suggestion, until he felt something in there and froze in place.

"Natsu… please don’t tell me-"

"Have I ever told you that you’re the best ever?"

Before she even had time to respond, Natsu had her in a bone-crushing hug, her feet having left the floor as he picked her up in delighted celebration.

"Woah-!" She cried out in surprise before laughter overcame her. "You might have mentioned it once or twice," she teased as she felt her feet touch solid ground once more.

Once he had set her down, he held out his hand to show off the very ring they had been searching for all day, as it had sat dormant in his pocket the whole time. It was something more elegant than she ever thought Natsu would pick, and she could only assume that he had had more than a few hands in helping him choose.

"Lucy’s going to love it," she hummed, admiring the way the stones glimmered as the light hit them. "Now hurry up and get changed! You don’t want to be late for your engagement."

Though Mira hadn’t expected the search to be a prompt one, the way the light streaming in from the windows was beginning to dim as the sun began to dip over the horizon had her worried that it wouldn’t be successful either. A quick glance around the guild hall indicated that others were feeling much the same way. Even little Asuka, who had been so gung-ho about the search at the beginning, was now beginning to bore of it, her eyes growing droopy as she clung to Alzack’s arm to keep herself from nodding off completely.

Erza and Levy had been doing their best to buy them time all day. Natsu, Lisanna, Gray, Juvia and Wendy hadn’t given up on their search yet, and neither would she. This was a group effort, and she was going to play her part.

She pursed her lips together as she tried to think of all the places they hadn’t already searched. She’d already searched every inch of the bar top and every inch behind it. Maybe she’d have better luck searching on the other side, beneath the barstools. She could recall serving Natsu a drink the day prior, so it wasn’t a stretch to think he could have dropped it there.

Leaving her post behind the bar, she began to search beneath any and all of the unoccupied barstools. Now that she was mostly alone, Mira didn’t try to hold back the exasperated sigh that passed her lips. After designating herself as the leader of the search, she tried her best to keep up a confident and assured façade, but even she could see that things were looking a little hopeless.

Her quiet moment of searching was cut short when she noticed her communication lacrima buzz on the counter top and strode over to check her new message.

SMS Lisanna <3 we found it! i’m sending natsu over now

She sucked in a breath before subsequently letting it out with a squeal of excitement.

"Natsu’s got the ring!" Mira called out across the guild hall, capturing the attention of all who still remained in the evening hour.

Raucous cheers promptly broke out throughout the hall, both in early celebration of Natsu and Lucy’s impending engagement and in gratitude that the search was finally over.

"Someone go tell Freed, he’ll be happy to get out of the sex room," Bickslow cackled, earning him a half-hearted smack on the arm from Laxus.

"WE DID IT!" A familiar voice called out from the middle of the guild hall, drawing all attention to Makarov, sitting on one of the tables, his face a deep flush to match his deeply inebriated state.

"But you didn’t do anything, Master," Mira pointed out, though her corrections were quickly brushed off in favour of more slurred celebrations.

"Three cheers for Fairy Tail!"

"You really think you should be drinking that much, old man?" Laxus asked, not at all sharing his enthusiasm.

"I gotta if Natsu’s gettin’ married," Makarov slurred back. "‘Cuz that means soon we’re gonna have a bunch of mini-Natsu’s runnin’ around, and I’m not sure I’m ready for that," he justified before letting out a small hiccup. "I just gotta make sure I retire before then," he tried to whisper to Cana next to him, though his words evidently came out much louder than he intended.

Laxus gave him a vaguely sceptical look before shrugging and taking another swig of his drink, deciding that this wasn’t his problem.

"Fair enough."

The moment of quiet that fell across the hall at their Master’s words didn’t last long; after all, their Natsu was getting engaged, and that was plenty reason to celebrate.

Any and all concerns about keeping Lucy’s room as tidy as they found it had long since gone out the window, along with perhaps their sanity, as the group ravaged her apartment in search of the ring. All of the couch cushions had been pulled off of the couch and left in a pile on the floor, not at all dissimilar to the pile of bedsheets that had accumulated in Gray’s second search of the bed. Juvia’s section of the room wasn’t in much better shape, with Lucy’s clothes in piles by the dresser as well as seemingly thrown onto every other piece of furniture in the room.

Another pile was added as she emptied another drawer to search the bottom of it for the ring, hoping that maybe she would hear the clink of it hitting the floor between the garments. She hadn’t seen anything in her first search, but maybe she just hadn’t been thorough enough. With a frustrated grumble, Juvia began to search through the garments to ensure the ring hadn’t gotten caught in any of them before tossing each to the side once she came up ringless.

Wendy, on the other hand, had relegated herself to searching Lucy’s desk in complete and blissful ignorance of the absolute carnage behind her. She carefully rummaged through the drawers, going so far as to avert her gaze when she found an unfinished manuscript sitting at the bottom of one of them. Her brows furrowed slightly in concentration, focusing all of her energy on feeling around for the ring.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, that drawer was a lost cause, as was the one below it, and the next below that, full of nothing but books, letters, and stationery. Letting it slide closed, Wendy decided her attention would be better spent looking on top of the desk; after all, if Natsu had carelessly placed it somewhere, it was more likely on something rather than in something.

Her desk was probably the messiest place in the whole apartment, with papers and notebooks strewn across the surface. The ink on them still smelled fresh, indicating she had just left them there this morning, so it wasn’t a stretch to think that perhaps the ring sat under the papers and Lucy simply hadn’t noticed it was there.

Or at least, that’s what Wendy had hoped anyway.

Carefully, she gathered up the leaves of paper, wary not to smudge any wet ink as she glanced underneath. In her search, Wendy carelessly knocked over a pen stand that she hadn’t noticed sitting there until it was already knocked on its side, pens and pencils now strewn all across the desk.

"Oh no! Lucy’s pencils!" She exclaimed, panic beginning to take hold as she watched the pens roll off the edge of the desk.

She scrambled to pick up the stationery that had been scattered across the desk and place them neatly back in the little pot that she had knocked them out of.

"I’ve made such a big mess," she murmured, paying no mind to the real mess being made behind her.

As she placed each item back in the pen holder, a brilliant idea struck her. She looked inside the container, hopeful that maybe the ring had found itself at the bottom of it or perhaps hooked around one of the pencils, but alas, she had no such luck. A sad sigh escaped her as she placed it back on the desk with a small clink, disappointed that her mess hadn’t brought any success with it.

Juvia bit down on her lip as she looked into the empty bottom drawer at the end of her search. Although perhaps it seemed unrealistic, she had still been hopeful that maybe, by some miracle, she would find the ring safely tucked away beneath one of Lucy’s shirts, and they would finally be able to put an end to their search. Unfortunately, it seemed as though it simply couldn’t be that easy.

She glanced over at Gray and then Wendy to find both of them still searching, indicating that neither had found anything either.

Hoping that perhaps the third time was the charm, she began to dig through the pile of clothes once more. She searched through pockets and shook each garment in hopes of it miraculously dropping out of it before tossing it to the side when she inevitably came up short. With every passing moment, it was becoming more and more likely that they weren’t going to find the ring today. Trying to keep her hopes up, Juvia shoved her hand into the pocket of a pair of shorts before she felt her communication lacrima buzz in her own.

Placing the shorts back down, Juvia pulled her lacrima out while keeping her hopes low, at best expecting the search to be called off and postponed for a later day. They’d been at the search for hours, it was creeping closer and closer to their cut-off time, and there was only so long Erza and Levy could keep Lucy occupied for.

Opening her messages, Juvia’s heart skipped a beat as she read the three new messages.

SMS Mirajane natsu found the ring! :) you are free of your ring searching duties now :) you should get out of there before the happy couple gets back teehee ;)

She nearly dropped the lacrima in joyous surprise as she reread it. They had been searching for so long that part of her was worried that they simply wouldn’t find the ring today, so a feeling of relief washed over her, knowing that they hadn’t somehow missed it in their search.

"Ah! Natsu has found the ring!" Juvia cried, capturing the attention of the others in the house.

"Really?" Wendy called back, dropping the papers ungracefully on the desk.

"Really!" She replied, holding her lacrima out for Wendy to confirm herself.

Gray threw his head back and let out a sigh of complete and utter relief upon hearing the news.

"Took him long enough," he commented, glancing over at the clock sitting on Lucy’s nightstand and noting how close it was to six. "Guess that means we can finally get out of here."

Juvia murmured in thankful agreement. Lucy had a nice place, but staying there for this long, doing nothing but frantic searching was beginning to drive her to the brink of insanity, and she was more than a little thankful to finally make their exit.

"This is the longest Juvia has ever been in Lucy’s apartment," she mused on their way out of their friend’s home.

"What about the Christmas party?" Gray asked, brows raised over the discrepancy.

"This is the longest Juvia has ever been in Lucy’s apartment sober," she corrected.

Gray let out a short breath of amusement at her comment, though before the mortification of the memories of that night could kick in, the sound of Wendy’s voice coming from behind caught his attention.

"Um… Gray? Juvia?"

The two turned back around to face Wendy after hearing her call out to them.

"Do you think maybe we should clean up before we leave?"

Looking back into her apartment, Gray and Juvia noticed the absolute state they had left it in. It looked like they had absolutely ransacked her apartment, which, in fairness, they very much had, but the thought of cleaning up after themselves had completely slipped Gray’s mind until now.

"Yeah, I guess we should," he reluctantly agreed.

If Gray had known how much of a pain in the ass it would be to clean the place up back to Lucy’s standard, he wouldn’t have made such a mess in the first place.

And all for the ring to not even be here.

Even still, he couldn’t find it in himself to be mad at Natsu for the waste of a day. Outwardly, he’d keep up their façade, he’d chastise him, he’d make fun of him, he’d make sure that Natsu would simply never live this down, but if it were to happen again, he would still help him in a heartbeat.

Maybe it was the thought of the impending proposal and wedding that had him feeling particularly sentimental on this day. Gray was never one for romance, but then again, neither was Natsu. Somehow or another, just the thought of that idiot finally giving Lucy what she had been not-so-subtly begging for for months at this point and all the celebrations that would ensue in its wake was enough to have Gray smiling even as he fitted the sheets back on Lucy’s bed.

Weddings were meant to be the joining of families, but they were both already family, weren’t they?

That’s why he felt so compelled to lend a hand in the search—because they were family.

He could already imagine the ear-to-ear smile on Lucy’s face as she showed off her new engagement ring, the tears beginning to form in her eyes again as she recounted whatever ridiculous plan Natsu had come up with for their proposal. She would go on and on about how it had been the best day of her life (so far, the wedding was still yet to come), and Gray could be content knowing that he had done his part to put that smile on her face, even if that part hadn’t been all that useful in the end.

His job at remaking her bed certainly wasn’t as neat as Lucy had left it in the morning, but he just hoped that she would be so elated with the events of the night when she arrived home that she simply wouldn’t question it.

All the clothing that had been thrown in piles around the apartment was now neatly put away in her dresser, and the documents stacked up on her desk looked even more organised than when they had entered.

Pleased with their clean-up, the three of them were more than happy to take their long-awaited leave.

"Oh! Just before we go," Wendy chimed out, capturing their attention one last time before tottering over to Lucy’s nightstand, where she placed the hair ties’ she had collected from under her bed. "Okay! That’s all!"

She hurried back out into the hallway where her companions were waiting for her before shutting the door behind her for Gray to lock before they set off back to the guild, where celebrations were no doubt already ensuing.

Heeding Lisanna’s advice, Natsu scurried off to the bathroom, grabbing his change of clothes on the way before slamming the door shut behind him in his renewed vigour. From behind the door, Lisanna heard a clatter of multiple items falling off of the countertop before a loud thud rang out, followed by a loud expletive.

"Shit!"

"Are you okay in there?" She asked, trying to suppress a laugh at how much trouble he seemed to be having in his rush to get dressed.

"Yeah, I just—god fucking—" He paused for a moment and let out a frustrated grunt. "I can’t get these stupid pants on."

The image of Natsu struggling to get into his pants (no doubt because he probably forgot to unbutton them before pulling them on) made her giggle, but she quickly held her hand over her mouth to hold it in before it escaped.

"Do you need some help?" Lisanna offered, feeling bad for merely standing by the door and

"No, I-" His reply was cut off by another frustrated grunt before he finally called out in success, "I got it!"

He came out wearing something much more dapper than Lisanna ever expected him to own—a pair of neat dress pants and a deep red button-up that he surprisingly managed to get buttoned up entirely on his own without misaligning any of them. There was no tie or blazer, though she suspected maybe that was a bit much to ask of Natsu.

"You look very handsome," she smiled.

"Ya think?" He asked, already tugging at his too-tight collar, before giving in and unbuttoning the top button entirely, letting it fall open in a way that looked much more in character for him.

"I do think so," she hummed. "Lucy’s gonna be really happy that you put in the effort."

At her praise, Natsu broke out into a pleased, self-assured smile.

"Got the ring?"

To her question, he confidently pulled the ring from his pants pocket, and Lisanna could rest easy knowing that all of their searching hadn’t been for nothing.

"I gotta go," he said, shoving the ring back in the pocket, confident that he wouldn’t lose it this time. "Can’t be late, or else Lucy’ll get mad at me."

"Hey, before you leave," Lisanna called out before he could make it too far.

Natsu turned on his heel to face her, and Lisanna responded in turn by dusting off his shoulder and adjusting the collar of his shirt, making sure he looked his very best for Lucy when he arrived.

"Now go get ‘em, tiger!"

For the first time that day, Lisanna saw that signature Natsu grin spreading from ear to ear, and suddenly all that effort became worth it.

"Right!"

He left no time to exchange goodbyes before he was off, for real this time. His face had a familiar look of determination on it.

"Thanks for all your help!" He yelled out before he could get too far out of earshot.

"You’re welcome!" Lisanna called back, and before long he was on his way.

As he sprinted back in the direction of the guild, Happy and Lisanna lingered behind, content to take their time in returning, not wanting to accidentally bump into the happy couple lest they accidentally ruin the surprise.

"You think Lucy’s going to say yes?" She asked, looking over to Happy, knowing that he knew Lucy infinitely better than she did.

"I think Lucy’s gonna cry like a big baby," he replied, earning a soft chuckle from Lisanna. "And then she’s gonna say yes."

"Yeah?" She hummed, earning a confident nod from their exceed friend. "I think so too."

Lucy’s brain was telling her to run, but her body stayed frozen in place in fear. She’d been in plenty of fights over the years, but she’d never fought Erza, and she was not about to now.

"H-hey, we can talk this out," Lucy tried, wary and confused by the sudden change in her friend’s demeanour.

If she fled, she would no doubt not make it more than maybe a few metres before she found herself skewered, which was less ideal than being late for her date, but she had made a promise to Natsu that she would be there at six, and she was less than keen to break it if she could help it.

Her gaze flicked between Erza and Levy as she tried to send her a silent plea for help but was met with no action from her friend, who simply stood and stared, seemingly a little in shock herself.

"Levy! Help!" She cried out in a desperate effort to get herself out of this situation.

Levy was about as taken aback by the whole scenario as Lucy was, but she, on the other hand, was less inclined to stop it. It wasn’t ideal, but it was working, and really, Levy had no better ideas that warranted the intervention.

So long as Lucy made it out intact, she would let Erza distract her by whatever means possible. Instead, she nervously shrugged in Lucy’s direction as if to say she didn’t know what to do either.

"You will not go on that date, even if it means I have to use force," Erza interrupted, pulling both girls out of their panicked trains of thought.

"Okay! Please just… put the sword away," Lucy pleaded, raising her hands to show she meant no harm.

She was at a complete loss of what to do, aside from plead for her mercy, but even that didn’t seem to work, with Erza still holding her weapon up in threat. Her brain could hardly comprehend what was going on—the day had been going so well; they’d laughed together, cried together, Lucy hadn’t felt this close to Erza in months, but now she was only feeling close to the lethal end of her weapon.

"Erza, please, whatever’s going on, I’m sure we can talk it out," she tried again, hoping that her words would break through to her.

A group of onlookers was beginning to gather at the unusual scene unfolding in the middle of Magnolia. Chatter began to spread through the audience, with many making note of the Fairy Tail guild marks that indicated that this was simply another of the local guild’s shenanigans rather than a threat to anyone’s safety.

Levy was thankful that the scene hadn’t caused any panic from onlookers, but she still wasn’t particularly keen for this to go on much longer. At this point, all they could do was bide their time and keep Lucy occupied for as long as they could without either spoiling the surprise or maiming her in the process.

Erza hadn’t moved an inch since drawing her sword, and thankfully, neither had Lucy, but the two could only stay locked in a standstill for so long. Watching it only served to make Levy antsy.

Someone needed to find the ring. Fast.

Almost as if someone had heard her prayers, Levy’s lacrima buzzed in her pocket, and she eagerly scrambled to check it, hoping that they could finally be free from this unusual standoff.

SMS Mirajane natsu has the ring! :) he is on his way back to the guild now :) feel free to send lucy back :)

Levy read the message. And then reread it. And then read it a third time, just to be sure.

She could have cried with happiness at the words on her screen, knowing that after this unusual experience, tonight would be Lucy’s night. Instead of dwelling on that, however, Levy slipped away somewhere out of Lucy’s line of sight but still within Erza’s to let her know the good news. The large crowd and her small stature made it difficult to get her attention without calling out to her, but as she waved her arms, she noticed Erza’s gaze flick up to her.

Levy held her hand up, pointed to her ring finger, and furiously nodded in hopes that she would get the message. With the way Erza’s stiff demeanour seemed to ease at her gestures, it seemed that she understood.

"Never mind," Erza said, sending her weapon back to the pocket dimension with a bright flash as though nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. "You may go on your date now."

"What?" Lucy cried out, perhaps more lost than she was when Erza had first drawn her sword.

"No time for questions! You don’t want to be late, do you?" Levy diverted, trying to usher her back to the guild quickly.

"But what about-" Lucy began, only to be cut off by Erza.

"If you run back, you’ll make it there in time."

Lucy’s brain simply could not compute what had just happened, but her feet moved in time with Erza and Levy guiding her back to her meeting spot with Natsu.

"Run!" Levy shouted.

Heeding her advice, Lucy pulled off her heels, stumbling as she did so, before sprinting down the stone pavement towards the guild.

Before she could get too far away, Lucy looked over her shoulder to see her two friends watching her as she ran, smiling at her as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

"Thank you for today!" She called out to them, deciding to ignore the unusual blip at the end. "I had fun!"

"We did too!" Erza shouted back, both of them waving their arms at her in goodbye.

"Have fun on your date!" Levy added.

"I will!"

Lucy was almost certain she was getting stares as she bolted towards their designated meeting spot at the guild. It wasn’t every day you saw a girl sprinting through the streets of Magnolia in heels as though her life depended on it, but it was a town that was full of surprises, and this was one of the milder ones compared to the things the guild tended to get up to.

She paid no mind to the looks being shot her way as she dashed through the streets along the familiar path to the guild hall. Even as her chest began to ache and she began to heave for breath, her legs continued to carry her until she spotted a head of pink hair standing right at the place they had promised to meet.

She watched his face light up as he spotted her, and suddenly nothing else mattered.

He held his arms out for her in anticipation, and she took full advantage of it, throwing herself into them and nestling her face into the crook of his neck. He stumbled back slightly, taken aback by the force with which she launched herself at him, but he quickly regained his balance and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey," he murmured into her hair, lips grazing her scalp as he held her tight against his chest.

"Hi," she mumbled back, her voice muffled against his skin. "I’m sorry I kept you waiting," she apologised as she pulled back slightly, trying to keep her breath steady and even as she tried to hide just how much she had overexerted herself on the way here. "I’ve had a weird day."

"Yeah? Me too," he replied.

She cocked her head to the side, waiting for him to elaborate, but nothing came of it.

"Don’t worry about it," he brushed off. "I’m real happy to see you."

"I’m happy to see you too."

Reaching up on the tips of her toes, Lucy rested her hands on his shoulders and placed a gentle kiss against his lips. When she pulled back, she found a grin on his face accompanied by a light dusting of pink on his cheeks that made her heart race in her chest. It didn’t matter how many times she did it, Lucy would simply never get over how she could make her big, strong Natsu blush with little more than a kiss.

Seemingly unsatisfied with her light peck, Natsu’s hands cupped her cheeks and pulled her in again before running his tongue along the seam of her lips. A small squeak escaped her in surprise, which was promptly swallowed in their kiss. Once the shock of the kiss wore off, her arms came to rest around his shoulders, and she let him take the lead as she melted into his touch.

He barely managed to pull himself away from her lips, his nose grazing against hers when they parted as he leant over slightly so his forehead rested against hers.

"You look really pretty, by the way," he breathed, his words grazing hot against her lips.

Lucy let out an airy laugh at his words, amused by his sudden, unusual affection.

"What’s got you so sappy today?" She asked, pulling away slightly to get a better look at him, her arms still draped loosely around his neck.

"What? Nothin’. I’m not bein’ sappy," Natsu defended. "What’s so weird about me callin’ you pretty, huh?"

"Nothing’s weird," she hummed. "You look really handsome today, too."

He broke out into a grin at her compliment, which elicited a laugh from Lucy.

"I look pretty cool, right?"

"The coolest," she assured with a smile. "So, where are you taking me?" She asked, plenty ready to head on their way for a hopefully relaxing date after the day she had just had.

"It’s a surprise," Natsu grinned.

"You’ve been saying that all week," she pouted, clearly unhappy to hear the same answer he’d already given her each time she asked.

"That’s ‘cause it is," he said. "It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you."

In response, Lucy stuck out her bottom lip even further, hoping that maybe her pouty lips and glistening eyes would finally convince him to spill the beans, but he merely laughed at her expression.

"You’re weird."

His hands moved up to her face, squishing her cheeks together and pushing both lips out.

"There, now you look like a fish," he laughed, much to Lucy’s dismay.

"You’re sho annoying," she whined, her words distorted by the exaggerated Natsu-induced pout on her lips.

Natsu didn’t reply; he simply grinned down at her, happy to bask in her presence after a day spent apart, even if she was currently shooting him a very unhappy expression.

"You wanna get going?" He finally asked, letting his hands drop from her cheeks and down to her hands, where he intertwined her fingers with his own.

"Yeah, I would like that."

Truthfully, Lucy didn’t know what she had expected Natsu to come up with for tonight. Rarely did Natsu plan their dates, even rarer was that he insisted on planning their dates, so she really had no frame of reference for what he had on the agenda.

She just wasn’t expecting an hour-long hike out of Magnolia.

"Are we nearly there?" Lucy asked, trailing behind him, unable to keep up with his pace in her shoes.

"Almost," he called back.

"You said that twenty minutes ago," she whined. "And now my feet hurt."

"You shoulda worn more comfy shoes," Natsu retorted.

"Maybe I would have if you had told me where we were going," Lucy huffed as she stopped to slip her heels off. "I thought we were going to a restaurant or something, not a hike in the woods. You’re certainly not dressed for it either."

Upon noticing that Lucy had stopped behind him, Natsu followed suit and turned around to face her.

"You’re gonna love it, promise."

Lucy fell silent for a moment as she looked him up and down. Natsu knew her better than anyone, sometimes even herself, and he’d never taken her on a bad date before now. She didn’t know what was up his sleeve, but if he said she was going to love it, then she was sure he was right.

"Okay," she conceded. "But can you please hold these for me?" She added, holding out her shoes to him.

"Sure," he agreed, and before Lucy could even understand what was going on, one hand was under her arms while the other hooked under her knees, and she was swept up off of her feet and into his arms.

"The shoes! Not me!" She cried out, clutching onto him in shock.

Natsu simply grinned down at her, not phased by the prospect of carrying her the rest of the way.

"You’ll complain less this way."

Lucy hadn’t paid much mind to the passage of time, content to rest her head on Natsu’s shoulder and listen to his steady breath as he trod along the forest floor. Her eyes had fluttered closed long ago, and she was teetering on the edge of sleep, lulled in by Natsu’s familiar and calming warmth as he held her close. It wasn’t until she heard him murmur a few words to rouse her from her slumber before her feet hit the ground that she knew that they had finally arrived.

"We’re here."

She took a few moments to rub the sleep out of her eyes before she could fully process where they were. When she looked up at Natsu, she noticed foliage still behind him, though the moonlight shining upon them indicated that they had made it out of the forest. He was still grinning at her, giddy, waiting for her reaction to what he had been planning for her for weeks now.

Curiosity piqued, Lucy turned around to see what he had been so insistent on keeping a surprise.

Behind her sat a cliff that was little more than a backdrop to the view of a sky that was undisturbed by civilisation. Gorgeous shades of blues and purples melted together into the galaxy, dotted with stars as far as the eye could see, shining like glitter against the backdrop the sky provided them.

She had never seen anything like it before.

"Wow."

"Awesome, right?"

Awesome would be understating it.

It was incredible. Breath taking. Extraordinary.

No words in her vocabulary could even begin to encapsulate the true beauty that stood before her.

She felt so small under the stars, but so alive.

"It’s not as good as Stella, but I thought you’d still like it," he said, arms snaking around her waist, chin resting on her shoulder.

"Natsu this…" Her breath hitched in her throat, unable to muster up the words to describe how she was feeling. "This is amazing."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Part of her wanted to turn back to face him, to kiss him senseless for bringing her out here, but the other part couldn’t bring herself to tear her gaze away from the sky. Only when she felt his arms leave her waist did she finally look back over at him, only to find him making himself comfortable on the grass, waiting for her to join him.

She practically dove onto him, letting them both fall back onto the grass as she pressed her lips to his, kissing him with as much passion and fervour as she could muster, which he responded with just as much. Lucy was entirely out of breath by the time she pulled away, but that didn’t stop her from littering his face with kiss after kiss after kiss, ensuring no inch of skin was left untouched.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she murmured between each kiss.

"No problem, Lucy," he smiled before cupping her jaw with his hand and easing her down for one more kiss.

Once he pulled away, Lucy rolled off of him onto the grass beside him before sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest, where she rested her chin to admire the view, a dreamy sigh passing her lips as she did so. That position didn’t last for long, however, before she felt Natsu’s hands on her and was pulled into his lap.

"So you don’t stain your new dress," he reasoned when she let out a confused squeak.

"Huh?"

Lucy looked down to recall that she was still wearing the dress she had purchased mere hours ago.

"I didn’t realise you noticed," she sheepishly admitted.

"Course I noticed," Natsu replied. "Like how I noticed that you curled your hair and painted your nails different."

She had barely managed to keep herself together thus far, but hearing him say that made her feel like her heart was simply about to burst.

Now it was her turn to cry.

Her eyes grew glassy as tears began to form. No longer could her emotions be contained, and suddenly the tears began to flow freely down her cheeks.

"Lucy? Oh god, Lucy, is everything okay? Did I-"

"I love you so much!" She sobbed, throwing her head back to rest on his shoulder and bringing one hand up to tangle in his hair.

Her sudden declaration caught him off guard, causing him to stiffen for a moment before he finally relaxed, knowing that she wasn’t hurt or upset. He lowered his head to place a tender kiss to her bare shoulder.

"Yeah, I love you too."

A few sniffles and sobs later, Lucy finally felt as though she had finally gotten all her emotions out. She brought a hand up to wipe away her tears and restore her foggy vision so she could truly admire what Natsu had brought her out here to see. She felt him nuzzle his nose into the spot where her neck and shoulder met, no doubt preparing himself to spend the rest of the night out here with her as she pointed out each constellation she could spot and recounted anecdotes about stargazing with her mother as a child.

His arms were warm, fighting off the cool night chill as a gentle breeze passed them by, and she snuggled even further into his embrace. She didn’t even mind the cool air hitting the exposed skin of her legs and arms, definitely not dressed for the occasion, but then again, neither was he.

She didn’t get much time to mull it over before something much more enticing caught her attention.

"Natsu, look!"

Her finger pointed up towards the stars, following the train of a meteor that ripped across the sky, followed by another, and another, and another, until falling stars were all that the eye could see.

"Did you know this was happening tonight?" She asked, whipping her head around to face him.

He didn’t answer her, didn’t need to. The wide smile plastered on his face was all the answer she needed.

"You gonna make a wish?" He simply asked.

Lucy turned her gaze back to the sky, watching the shooting stars pass them by.

A wish…

She didn’t need a wish.

Everything she could ever want was right here with her.

"No, I don’t think so," she breathed, content to simply be here, to exist with him.

"Really? You’re not gonna wish for anything?" He replied, his tone almost a little disappointed by her response.

"Do I have to?" Lucy asked, a little caught off guard by his tone.

"I guess you don’t," he mused. "But it probably would have made this a lot more romantic."

He left her no time to guess what he meant before he held out in front of her a dainty gold ring, embellished with three red stones at the top, and for a moment, Lucy swore the world around her stopped.

Her jaw dropped open, words caught in her throat as she sat there gaping at the ring.

She knew exactly what she wanted to say; she’d practically rehearsed it, but now that she was sitting here, Natsu holding the ring expectantly for her, she was too overwhelmed with emotion to spit it out.

Suddenly, all the tears that she thought she had cried out threatened to break through, and Lucy did nothing to stop them.

"Y-yes!" She finally managed to sputter out, answering a question that he hadn’t even asked.

Through her tears, she could barely manage to make out the ear-to-ear grin on Natsu’s face, but she didn’t need to see it to know. Instead, she simply held out her left hand for him, and he slipped the ring onto her ring finger, where it fit perfectly snug, and Lucy had to wonder just how much help he had gotten to make that happen.

With both of their hands now free, Lucy moved to straddle him, resting her arms around his neck as he began to wipe away her tears. As his hands moved to rest on her cheeks, she leant down to feel his lips against hers once more.

She didn’t know how many times she had kissed him tonight, but she did know that it would never be enough.

"I’m so happy," she choked out once they parted, their lips barely millimetres apart.

"Me too," he breathed, his hands still cupping her cheeks. "I love you," he repeated, his voice barely a murmur against her lips.

He closed the distance between them once more, and then again, and again, and again, barely letting her breathe between kisses until she was a giggling, sobbing mess.

Her heart was well and truly full.

She’d dreamed of this day for so long, her mind had conjured scene after scene of how it would happen, but nothing she could have come up with was as romantic as sitting here under the stars with her best friend and the love of her life. If they could stay like this forever, she would be content with that.

Forever.

Yes.

Forever sounded nice.

#fairy tail #nalu #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #fan fiction #fanfiction #fanfic #mya writes things #dies this took 3 weeks of writing every single day #im so glad thats over lmfao #long post

92 notes · View notes

dragneelshmagneel · 2 years

Note

Can I please get protective Laxus with reader? maybe she gets hurt and he panics or she has to go on a mission and he argues with her to stay?

i’m a sucker for protection tropes, especially with Laxus cuz I feel like he’s the type to not let anyone know his feelings. So ta daaaa enjoy the lil fic!

Ship: Laxus x fem!reader

Warning: some swearing, mentions of injuries and blood, fluffy

•

One Shot - Why didn’t you listen?

(Not my gif)

The guild hall was busy, as per usual for FairyTail. Everyone was either drinking or trying to bite each other’s heads off. But today, today was different because you had accepted a job that had everyone questioning your sanity.

“Are you insane?!”

Laxus’s voice boomed over the guild hall causing heads to turn in your direction. It wasn’t the first time Laxus had apposed to you going on a dangerous job, but this time he seemed adamant on you staying.

“What’s the big deal, Y/n’s a dragon slayer like us she’ll be fine,” Natsu voiced, offering you a cheeky grin. But Laxus only stared him down before saying,

“No one asked you fire head, now get lost. This discussion has nothing to do with you.”

“And it has nothing to do with you either, Laxus.”

You finally spoke, irritated that everyone suddenly had an opinion on what jobs you could take. Even Cana was a bit unsure on whether you should take it, but a quick look at her cards kept her quiet. For now. Natsu laughed, his head shaking as he took a few steps back and headed back down towards the ground floor of the guild hall. Leaving you and Laxus a moment to talk. You could already tell where this was going, Laxus would talk about how you wouldn’t know what you were up against until it was too late or that there are much stronger people out there. Though he never called you weak, the words he used always left you assuming that's how he viewed you.

Both of you stayed quiet, letting the air between you grow thick. You wanted to ask him why he cared, why he bothered to argue against you all the time and why it bothered him so much but every time the question came to your lips, you brushed it away. Laxus clenched his jaw before breaking his silence.

"Did you lose a bet or something? is that the reason why you're taking the job?"

"No I didn't lose a bet," you spat back, annoyed that he would even suggest something so childish.

"Then why are you taking it? it's probably the closest thing to an S-Class quest on the board how did the old man even approve of this."

You could feel it, the surge of power in your body as you fisted your hands. Every time, Laxus was like this every time and it started to get on your nerves. Just let me do what I need to you wanted to tell him. But Laxus wouldn't understand, he was an S-Class Wizard already, considered one of the strongest of Fairytail. You were just the weird shadow dragon slayer who felt like she had to constantly prove herself.

"I don't get why you're getting yourself worked up over this, it was an available job and I took it. Master Makarov approved it this morning with no hesitation.”

“That old man has no sense.”

“He—you know what,” you huffed, annoyed that you felt like you had to explain yourself to him. Time and time again, it was like you had to prove your worth but not this time. This time you were going into that job with a clear head. You didn’t have time to waste.

“Forget it Laxus, I don’t have the energy for this.”

You turned your back to him, your hair swishing with the action but before you could take your first step towards the stairs, a light touch gripped your wrist and stopped you from walking away. You half turned, looking at the hand that felt so warm on your skin, then up to the man who held you in place.

"Don't go," Laxus said softly, his green eyes meeting yours. All you could do was hold you breath, not sure on what to say. You couldn't stay, not when you already accepted the job but most importantly, there was no reason to not go. You pulled your arm back and to your surprise, Laxus let go.

"I leave in an hour."

That was all you said before you made your way downstairs, this time Laxus didn't stop you. As you left him behind, you swore you felt electricity in the air. I could do this job you kept telling yourself, but you couldn't lie. You were nervous, because what if this went wrong? what if you failed and proved Laxus right? Would he hold this over you?

****

After you left, Laxus sat by the bar drinking away by himself. He didn't speak a word to anyone, only to Mira who he ordered from. Not even Natsu's provoking could get him to turn around.

"I don't get it, don't you believe y/n's strong enough to handle it?"

Natsu wasn't giving up so easily. He knew your strength, had fought along side you plenty of times he had seen what you were capable of. Even Laxus had, though you didn't know it. Laxus had always been aware of the power that you had, he just never had to guts to say anything to you. Laxus sipped at his drink, the frothy ale tickling his lips as tried to ignore the horrible images of you getting hurt that his mind kept imagining for him.

"Well, whatever your deal is, she's gunna prove just how powerful she is you just watch. She'll come back in a few days with her reward, a few scraps and bruises sure but she'll be back."

I should've gone with her Laxus thought to himself. Why didn't I go with her?

The first day went by, then the second then the third. With each day that passed Laxus grew more irritable, more so than his usual self. And he seemed to blame one person for his anger.

"This is all your fault old man."

Makarov stirred the spoon in his cup of tea, choosing not to reply at Laxus's outburst. He couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong, it had been five days you should've been back by now.

"How could you let her take the job?"

"Y/n is more than capable of handling it. I have no doubt she's succeed in her mission and is returning already."

As if by some sick coincidence, Erza came bursting through the doors of the guild hall, Gray and Natsu just behind her. What the? any curiosity Laxus had turned to panic when he saw who Natsu and Gray were carrying.

"Wendy! where's Wendy?" Erza called out, everyone from the guild seemed to freeze but Laxus... Laxus rushed past the crowd, pushing away Freed, Elfman and even Gray and Natsu.

"Y/n..." he breathed out your name, taking you into his arms. You made no sound, and you breaths were raged. Bruises and cuts covered your body. No. No. No.

"What happened?" He barked at the fellow dragon slayer.

"I have no idea, she was down when we found her. Look like whatever she had to fight really took it out of her, I barely sensed any magical energy from her."

Stay with me. Please y/n, stay with me. That was all Laxus could think of as he held you close, carrying you all the way to the infirmary. he looked down at you, how you appeared to be so fragile and small.

"Why didn't you listen," he said under his breath, wishing he could go back in time to stop whatever it was you were up against.

****

Laxus stayed by your side for two days, and it took a lot of Wendy's healing magic to get you breathing properly again. The job was a suicide mission, but you gave it your all. Even if it almost cost you your life. With struggle, you turned your head and ever so slowly opened your eyes. Immediately you saw the head of blonde hair across from you, noted the closed eyes and the soft snores that came from his lips.

"Laxus," you croaked, your voice raw from screaming. His eyes fluttered open, confused by the voice he had heard until he saw you. A weak smile on your face, head bandaged. Laxus shot up from his seat, almost falling to the floor to get to your bedside.

"You're awake."

He seemed dumbfounded, and just when you wanted to reply Laxus did something you never thought he'd ever do. He dropped to his knee's, took hold of one of your hands and placed it to his cheek.

"I'm so glad you're awake."

There was a strange swell in your heart, one you never thought would be created by Laxus of all people. You continued to smile softly, letting your fingers stroke his cheek.

"I'm sorry I—I'm sorry I failed."

You could barely get the words out from your mouth before humiliation filled your chest. You had fought so hard, but in the end you came away with nothing. You were sent to deal with a dark guild after all, alone. And you had failed.

"What?"

Laxus couldn't believe what you had said to him, and as his green eyes took you in he felt ashamed that he might have caused that doubt in you.

"Y/n, you haven't failed. You're alive—"

"You were right, I couldn't handle it. I should've—I should've listened to you"

Laxus laughed to himself. No matter how badly he'd wanted to hear you say it, it felt wrong. He sighed, placing a kiss on top your hand that send a wave of butterflies into your stomach.

"No y/n, you shouldn't listen to me. I was wrong, I've always been wrong to think you'd be anything but capable of handling things on your own. I just wish I could've been there to protect you."

#laxus x reader #laxus dreyar #laxus imagine #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #fairy tail fic #natsu x reader #laxus dreyar x reader #laxus oneshot #gray fullbuster

121 notes · View notes

mirage-05 · 1 year

Text

Sting and Lyanna [Fairy Tail]

So... it’s been a while since we do this, but seeing some likes on our Fairy Tail content lately couraged me to post another fanfiction collab between me and @eleanor-devil xD As usual, this is part of our bigger project.

This story take place after the Alvarez war and there are a few OCs in it, namely Rin ( @mirage-05 who you probably already know by now), Eleanor ( @eleanor-devil ) and one of the titular characters, Lyanna. We don’t want to give many spoilers, though, so I hope you enjoy reading x3

Oh and a small warning that by this time, StingYu (Sting x Yukino) and NaLu (Natsu x Lucy) are already a couple!

Feedback is, of course, highly appreciated. ^^

-------

For some reason, and it had to be a very good reason, Sting Eucliffe was quiet... for days. That never ever happened, not even Rufus had memory of such a thing happening.

Rogue and Lector had noticed this started happening not long after Sorano, Yukino's elder sister and former member of Crime Sorcière, having asked - she actually more like demanded along with her nuts of a knight boyfriend - to join Sabertooth.

Sting would still do his usual stuff, go to the bar, take walks, do Master stuff but just in a very quiet way, almost gloomy and nobody could understand why.

It wasn't that Rogue didn't ask him... time and time again what was bothering him, it had reached a point he'd give anything for Sting to act in his usual childish and annoying way - though it was not like he was gonna admit it to anyone, let alone to that knucklehead. The awful quietness of the White Dragon Slayer had started to worry him, so much so that it wasn't beyond him at this point to try desperate measures.

"Rogue... what is that?" Sting asked while raising an eyebrow, looking at the big envelope in the Shadow Dragon Slayer's hands.

Without ever changing his stoic expression, the young man answered. "Orga's baby photos." It shall remain a secret as to how he got a hold of said photos. He held up the envelope, knowing that under normal circumstances Sting would never say no to that. "You wanna take a look at it?" Honestly, anyone watching them from outside would think they've just swapped their personalities.

After a moment of silence and stares between his Twin Dragon Slayer and the envelope... Sting went back to what he was doing. "I have a lot of paperwork to deliver Rogue, I don't have time for that right now."

And that's how Rogue Cheney's jaw dropped... well... not literally but the Shadow Dragon Slayer was shocked, so shocked that he nearly asked what had the guy in front of him done to the real Sting... but he chose not to as he probably would get a not-very-Sting-like answer. So he just forcefully dragged his feet out of the man's office, without saying anything else to the blond; he faced almost the whole guild that was waiting outside for an answer and hopeful looks.

"...He refused the photos." The Dragon Slayer announced.

"Okay that's it, I'm calling him sick." said Eleanor.

The Master, in the meantime, sighed and rubbed his temples as soon as the door closed. He was aware that his friends were just trying to help him, but really, the problem was all in his head, and it wasn't something small that a little group therapy would solve. He was having a number of recurring dreams lately - not the same nightmares from a while ago, thank god -, all of them included the same three people, laughing and chatting with... well, a younger version of him. It was such a nice and warm atmosphere that there had been mornings he found it hard to get up and face the reality that those three people didn’t exist anymore.

Sting had no doubts about it...he had been seeing his real family, the one he had lost many centuries ago. A wave of sadness washed over him again at the memory, threatening to drown him...and that’s why he had decided to immerse himself in his Guild Master's duties, work to forget - that and well, the sense of responsibility that had finally kicked in -. If he didn't do anything to keep his mind busy...he felt like he would go crazy.

The blond didn't know how much time had passed while signing off the paperwork, but he suddenly heard chatter out of his office again. 'Sheesh...what does a guy have to do to get some privacy?' he thought to himself, mildly annoyed now.

And suddenly a familiar pink haired man burst into his office so fast that it even made some papers fly around the room - awesome..he had just finished organizing those...self-note to get some paper clips later… Attached to both his arms and practically dragging on the floor were both Lucy and Yukino, clearly they seemed to have been trying to hold back the Salamander from doing exactly what he had just done.

"Yoooo Sting! It's been a while!"

Sting just blinked a few times to see if he was actually seeing right. "Um... Natsu-san?"

Natsu moved closer to the Light Dragon Slayer, the girls completely forgotten on the floor, and patted him a few times in his head, maybe with a little too much strength as Sting was trying to hold back winces whenever he did that. "Drop the 'san' man, we're brothers aren't we?!"

Well... apparently some things were never going to change. "What brought you two here?" he asked instead of replying to the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Eh what, is it too weird to want to see my fellow Dragon Slayer?"

"You still shouldn't have interrupted his work though." Lucy pretty much chastised the pink head.

"I'm sorry, Sting... we tried." Yukino supplied her.

"Yeah, what's up with that, man?" Natsu continued as if he didn't hear the girls. "Your friends keep telling me that you're all work and no play lately. Or well what Rufus actually said was that you've become dull as Orga's songs."

Now his eye had begun twitching. Typical...leave it to Sabertooth to start rumors behind his back...

"There is nothing wrong with me." he said as he stood up from his chair. "And I haven't become dull either...! I am just being the Master I should have been for a long time, I don't have time for plays right now."

"Sting..." Yukino whispered, sweating at how harsh her lover was acting, this definitely wasn't him... she wished he would at least open up to her or Rogue...

"Now, what did you come here for?"

Natsu was just silent for a bit, not seeming bothered by his friend's bad humor, and then grinned. "Weeeell we have come here to invite specifically you - and a few more if they want to - on a job."

Sting raised an eyebrow. "Why would you ask another guild to come on a job requested to Fairy Tail?"

This time it was Lucy who talked, she stepped forward and held out the piece of paper that contained the information about the mentioned job "Actually it's because the client demands this job to be done by both Fairy Tail and Sabertooth mages, but don't ask me why, I have no idea. Plus the client decided to keep his face anonymous until we find what he wants."

"Oh, I think I've seen that job on our board," Yukino walked to another table in the office where there were a few recent job requests and looked through them. "Here it is, this is the copy but it's no doubt the same job." The request actually demanded Sting himself to participate in the job although like Natsu mentioned he was allowed to take more Sabertooth mages with him.

Yukino couldn’t help but find this strange, last time they had seen a request with specific demands it turned out to be a trap set to capture both Sting and Rogue.

"Well we came to pick Sting up for the job," Natsu crossed his arms behind his head and then grinned with tease. "But since he's so busy being Master I guess he won't have time to do it with us."

There were times the White Dragon Slayer wouldn't stand by and let a teasing pass over, but he didn't feel like it now. The blond didn't say anything for a moment as he took the job form from Yukino and glanced over it. His confusion only increased when he saw the location of the mission. "...Fairy Tail's library? Is Makarov-san okay with it?" After all, a guild's library held many things, including their secret archives most of the time. To allow another guild to walk in freely was something unheard of in the many years past.

"Yeah, uh...there won't be any problem regarding that." the blond celestial mage said while sweat dripped down her chin. To be frank, what led Fairy Tail's Master to accept the job was what the mission promised in the end...or so he said, even the reward was being kept a mystery.

"Find... a treasure hidden in the library?" Now this was becoming even more mysterious.

"Well? Are you in or not?" Natsu folded his arms, impatient.

Sting sighed, closing his eyes for a minute. "Fine. I'll come with you." He looked over at his girlfriend. "Are you coming too, Yuki?"

The girl shook her head. "I can't... I'm leaving on another job, but..." a sweat dripped down her cheek. "I... think there are already a flock of our members ready to take it on."

Sting just glanced at the door and he felt sweat drops on the back of his head when he saw nearly all the guild members at it with their hands up and even their eyes shining, he could only guess they wanted the mysterious reward more than just do the job itself.

But no he wasn't going to take the whole guild into Fairy Tail's secret library, Sting just sighed. "Okay... Rogue, Rin, you're coming with me on this job if you are free."

"Oh come on, you always pick them!" complained Orga, who now looked like a child pouting while he crossed his arms.

Sting raised his eyebrow. "Maybe because I know they won't destroy the entire library..."

"Touché," mumbled Rufus.

They set off to the train station... and the two girls of the group had their hands full considering they had to deal with not one but three motion sick Dragon Slayers during the trip back to Fairy Tail, it was so bad that Natsu wanted to jump out of the window and run there instead.

But finally, after what felt like hours... they were in front of the entrance of the library and it wasn't an exaggeration to say that the Sabertooth mages were awe-struck.

"Whoa, this place is huge," Sting said, voicing their thoughts. To be honest...during her recovery time in Fairy Tail, Rin had been allowed to visit the library to keep herself distracted so she was already familiar with the place. Still it was a sight to be amazed.

A normal person would be intimidated by the size of this mission, especially when they didn't know exactly what they were looking for. But Natsu Dragneel was not what you would say a normal person. He cracked his fingers, totally unperturbed. "Okay... let's get this going!"

"Wait, not just like that," Lucy interrupted, then she distributed to all of them what looked like marking devices. "Let's pick a section each. When you are done, you can use this to mark the shelves, so we know not to check there again."

"That's boring." The pink haired mumbled, boredom translating to his eyes and it only made the Celestial Spirit Mage angry.

"You would just destroy the library otherwise!"

Rin giggled at the two mages arguing, it was funny that theirs was such a fiery relationship whereas Sting-nii’s and Yuki-nee's was so calm and quiet, despite Sting-nii not being the most calm person when he was in his normal days of course.

"Next time you get your butt stuck in a cactus don't come ask me to take off the thorns!"

Those words for a reason ringed in Sting's mind, he couldn't explain why but he felt he had been in a similar situation before, well not exactly the argument between Natsu and Lucy but... something else...

~.~.~.~

"Ow! Ow!" the voice of a little boy rang through the air. "Can't you do that a little more gently??"

"Taking them off slowly only hurts more, dummy," a soft female voice answered back, amusement was clear in her expression as the little blond boy laying tummy down on her lap was trying to hold back the tears. "And you deserve this you know, how many times did mom tell you to not play near the cactus, Lys?"

"Don't call me that." the little boy said with a big pout curled in his lips while he folded his arms. The older girl laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should be calling you Lysander."

"Stop it."

"Lysandeeeer~"

"I hate you!" The boy said indignantly, and then another "Oww!"

"You know actually, now that I think of it... I think I know what I will call you from now on. I have the perfect idea."

There was a big moment of silence, it was apparent that the boy was trying his best to curb his curiosity. In the end though, he couldn't keep it in. "What...?"

"Since you keep falling on your butt in cactus... I will just call you Sting from now on."

~.~.~.~

"Ugh..." Sting brought his hand to his face as he felt a sudden headache settling in. Where did that come from?!

"Sting-nii, are you okay?" Rin immediately asked, concerned.

Rogue's attention was also on Sting, just what was wrong with him...? The worry for his brother in arms was becoming bigger.

"Nothing," of course he would say that, it had been his answer in the past few days. This time though, the young man rubbed Rin's head softly and gave her a soft smile, not his usual smiles but at least it was one.

'Rin... actually looks a lot like her...'

"Let's just get started, yes? We have a lot of work ahead of us." Sting pretty much dragged Natsu inside the library so that he and Lucy would stop arguing at once. Something that usually wouldn't bother the Light Dragon Slayer, it would actually amuse him, but not this time. Not with the headache he was having.

The group split up and began checking every single shelf in attempts to find... whatever they were looking for.

"It's hard to find something when you don't even know what you are looking for..." mumbled Sting as he took yet another book and blew away the dust on it, the job itself was just too strange. "Who is even the client again?"

Apparently no one knew the answer for that, and as Sting was about to put the book back in its place without much of a glance at it, the title suddenly caught his attention. "Dreyar Family Chronicles".

Maybe he shouldn't - this was nothing short of invading private space... but the Light Dragon Slayer still found himself opening the book. He would just take a quick peek... this couldn't hurt anyone, right?

For some reason he started from the end, looking at the current members of the Dreyar household, Laxus-san (with whom he was on neutral terms, the two of them really didn't have a lot of contact), his father Ivan (whom he believed was still in custody) and the current leader of the guild, Makarov-san. He flipped the pages forth, looking through various generations of the family, almost as if in a trance.

He was a bit caught off guard when he came across the photo of Makarov-san's father, Yuri, he looked a bit familiar even the way his spiky dark blond hair was done, the smile too.

Sting continued flipping the pages, seeing some family photos and then he just stopped when he saw the picture of a woman, immediately considering her really beautiful the Master took a look at her long and straight blonde hair, a bit darker but not as dark as Yuri Dreyar's and then her sharp shaped but gentle aquamarine eyes and an equally gentle smile.

It was her, the one he saw in his dreams…

His... mother...

~.~.~.~

"Lysander Eucliffe!" The voice of a woman echoed through the walls of the wooden house. "What in the world happened to you?" The woman bent down, holding her long dress as she did so, until she reached her son's height. The child was on the verge of tears and looked all battered, scratches and dark circles here and there.

"Have you been fighting again? God how many times have I told you to not do that?"

"But..." the child sniffed, trying his best not to cry.

"It's not his fault, mama..." A young girl approached the two, looking down, ashamed and sad. "It's mine... there were some kids messing up with me... Lys just tried to defend me..."

"Don't call me that." the child mumbled, raising a hand to wipe his tears but wincing as he touched one of the cuts.

The look in the woman's eyes softened a little, and she reached out to scoot both of her children to herself. "Lyanna, Lysander... I'm glad you are standing up for one another but-"

"Of course I will stand up for her! She is my sister!" The boy said defiantly, holding his hands in fists. "Those boys had what was coming for them! I will do it again if I have to!" Tears started falling down one by one, but he didn't care now.

His sister turned to him and flung her arms around his neck, also teary. "You are my hero." she whispered in his ear, and the boy felt a little blush spreading across his cheeks.

Their mother smiled fondly at them, her light colored eyes soft. "Okay... but now let's get this hero cleaned up, shall we?"

~.~.~.~

Sting blinked as he came back to reality, and was surprised that he had teared up too. The memory was still fresh... like it didn't happen centuries ago, but just yesterday... But the question was... why was the picture of... his mother in the Dreyar's family album? Granted he had never known other relatives from both his parents' sides but still... it was all too confusing for him. He flipped to the next page and there was another photo of his mother but this time she was in the company of a man, tall, strong body built, short but slightly spiked light blond hair and a pair of dark blue eyes. The man had an arm wrapped around his wife's shoulders while the other hand rested on her swollen belly, standing in front of them with both her hands also on the belly was a younger girl, Lyanna for sure.

This was becoming more confusing, why was his family depicted in this album? What could even be their connection to the Dreyars when his family had been gone for over 400 years?

Sting suddenly remembered a question he had once made to his father…

~.~.~.~

He had come with his father into the forest so they could cut and gather wood for winter. It was going to be a very harsh season, his father had said.

Lysander would often hear how those harsh and cold temperatures could kill someone and he didn't like the idea or the thought of his family dying, whether it was because of the cold or something else.

The child was now sitting on a trunk of a tree that his father had already taken down, he was waiting for him to finish cutting the wood they would be bringing back some. Wrapped in the warm scarf knitted by his mother, Lysander swung his little legs back and forth, watching with lack of interest how his breathing turned into a cloud right in front of his face and then slowly disappeared.

His attention then turned towards the cutting sounds that came from the impact between the wood and the axe on his father's hands. Suddenly a small pout formed on his lips.

"Daddy?"

The man stopped what he was doing and then turned his dark blue eyes towards his son "Hm? What is it?"

But Lysander then lost his guts to ask what he wanted... it was a silly question anyway "No... it's nothing."

Instead of hearing his father returning to his job, the boy heard the axe being buried one single time in the trunk and then the steady paces in the snow coming closer to him. Lysander raised his own dark orbs to meet his father's stern but at the same time soft look.

"What have your mother and I said about lying?"

He averted his eyes again "I'm not lying..."

"You wanted to ask me something, didn't you? So why did you suddenly back off?" He was now crouched down in front of him.

There was a time of silence before the blond boy finally spoke up, the pout still there "You will never die right...? We'll always be together... right?"

His father gave him a confused and surprised look. "What is this about?"

"It's just... I keep hearing about people... dying in our town... and I don't want that to happen to us…" There was a rosy blush on the cheeks of the boy though it was unknown if it was from embarrassment or the cold weather.

“I see, so you’re scared?” His father shifted his position to sit beside him but Lysander didn’t look up to him, the snow was suddenly something very fascinating to look at. “It’s alright to be scared, we are humans and it’s normal to feel that way.”

This got the child to finally look up at the man, a surprised look on his indigo orbs. “Even you are scared? But you never look like it...!”

The man laughed and pulled his son closer to him. “Of course I am scared, I am scared of losing you, your mother and your sister but feeling that way makes us stronger, it gives us strength to protect the ones we love.” He poked one finger on the child’s nose. “So never ever be afraid of showing how you truly feel, there is no embarrassment in showing that you are sad, scared or happy, understand?” Lysander nodded, a big smile finally reaching his lips and the blush on the cheeks spread further.

“Now, as for your other question. Death is something inevitable, it will come for us one day whether we like it or not but we just don’t know when. There is no way that we can be together forever in the physical world but ‘forever’ can be something that only this here…” and he touched the boy’s left side of the chest “...decides what it is and how it is.”

~.~.~.~

Sting couldn’t help the small smile that reached his face, it was an almost melancholic smile but at the same time a happy one. It seemed that even when he didn’t remember him, his father’s words had always accompanied and shaped how he was.

Moving to the next photo, the Master noticed how there was a woman, very similar to his mother but still with some differences, she was dressed in what looked like a beautiful white wedding gown.

Out of curiosity, Sting's eyes drifted to the description of the photo "Lyanna Dreyar on her wedding day". The Sabertooth Master's eyes widened in surprise, it couldn't be right?

Lyanna... was a very common name, it couldn't be her, she had died on that day along with their parents, he was sure of it...

Sting didn't even notice that his hands had started shaking, so much that the book dropped from his hands; it was still a sort of a big fall considering as Sting had been sitting on a tall ladder and it grabbed the attention of the remaining members of the group when the impact of the book on the floor echoed through the library.

"Oi, is everything okay Sting?" Natsu asked, approaching the ladder he was on and looking up at him. "Did you find anything?"

"U-umm... yes and no?" He really didn't know how to answer. Well yes the album became something very important for him but... they still had a mission to complete, which none of them knew if they were making progress or not. And yet, for him suddenly that album meant everything...

He quickly descended the stairs he was perched on, only to find out that the Fire Dragon Slayer had picked up the book and was... trying to open it to no avail - which made absolutely no sense, it was a goddamn book, how hard was it to open it?

"What is it with this book?" Natsu grumbled, not impressed. "Does Gramps want to keep all his family shenanigans to himself?" Just then a huge, mischievous grin lit up his features and he turned to his friend. "Oi Luce, you think we will find some embarrassing photos of Laxus in here?!"

"It's not like that!" Sting said almost indignantly as he grabbed the book out of the pink head's hands. All of their jaw dropped as the blond had no trouble opening the book at all.

Sting raised an eyebrow. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"You just opened the book when a second ago I couldn't that's why!" Natsu approached the Master and tried to flip a sheet of the book only to have it slam closed right into his hand; the Fire Dragon Slayer yelled both in pain and surprise, startling the others, and immediately removed the hand from the book. "Did you enchant the book or something?!"

"How would I do that, I don't even have Rune Magic."

"Um... well for some reason that book only opens with you," Lucy stated as she attempted to open the book herself. "So maybe we are on the right path to find the treasure..."

Natsu side eyed them. "How does gold fit inside a book?"

Everyone felt right in that moment the need to face wall at the pink haired’s brain work.

"Anyway..." Lucy spoke again. "Does the book say anything important? Maybe there's a clue..."

"Well..." Sting was suddenly very reluctant to share this private information for him. It was weird to explain, but it was almost this... instinct that he should protect this book and its contents to the last of his breath. Not that anyone in this room was an enemy or anything... but it was somehow private, personal.

It was then that he met Rin's eyes and that odd nostalgic feeling hit him again, that the little girl looked a lot like the sister he remembered... and maybe that was the reason why he started talking.

"I don't know if it's the special treasure the mission is talking about... it's actually some sort of photo album for your Master, Makarov-san..." he paused for a moment, a lump in his throat. "I know it sounds weird but... I saw the picture of someone... I thought it looked like..." his voice dropped, but he wasn't even aware of it. "...my sister..." It was weird, he didn't even know if his fellow Dragon Slayers remembered anything about their families...

"Sister?!" Everyone's voices echoed in Sting's already enhanced ears but the young man just nodded and re-opened the book right where he remembered the photo was.

"So... you remember your sister from..." Natsu tried to count with his fingers but it was too much. "400 plus years ago?? That's a good memory you have dude!"

Sting felt like rolling his eyes. "It's not like I've always remembered her... or my parents for all that matter, just... recently what I think are memories that started gaining shape in my mind, I can't explain how."

"Skiadrum and Weisslogia... they were the only dragons that choose to wipe the memories of their children before sending them to the future," Rogue began, a hand on his chin. "Could it be that the effects are wearing out? But I haven't had any memories of my original family."

"Wouldn't that mean that Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel would remember their past too?" Lucy pointed out.

"Well... I do remember my time with Igneel but I don't recall anything from my parents," Natsu put his arms behind his head casually. "The only thing I know is from when Zeref showed up in my mind or something."

"I... it doesn't make sense for me either..." The blond dragon slayer brought up a hand to rub his eyes, the headache pounding in his skull again. Still, he forced himself to talk about what to him was probably the most painful memory. "Because... my sister, I thought she didn't... survive the attack that separated us..."

As if on cue, the book in his hands suddenly started to glow faintly with a soft, golden light, once again attracting the gazes of all of them. "Whoa dude, what are you doing to that book?" Natsu asked him, now standing a couple of feet away from the book and his arms raised upon his head. Typical of the Fire Dragon Slayer to be freaked out by something as simple as a book...

"I'm telling you, I didn't do anything!" the Light Dragon Slayer said again. "I-..."

His voice was cut in by a soft, almost soothing sound coming from the book... and hearing it, a hushed silence fell upon the group, especially on Sting, who was looking at the object with an awed expression... he didn't know how... but he knew that voice...

"Year x396. This is the start of Lyanna Eucliffe's diary." There was a small pause before the imaginary woman continued, and they could all hear the smile in her tone now. "Well... I'm a Dreyar now. A little over twenty years have passed since I lost my precious family in the attack from the dragons... and now, as I continue my path with my new family, I would like to record all that made that little girl into the woman she is now."

Sting could feel his heart starting to beat faster, so fast that he was sure not only the other two Dragon Slayers present would be able to hear it but the other two ordinary girls as well.

"I was born on the Year x366 to Juliana and Ewan Eucliffe and six years later I received the best gift I could ever ask for, my little brother Lysander was born, I loved him so much... on the day he was born I promised I would always protect him no matter what... but..." The voice was getting teary. "...in the end I couldn't do anything as he was taken away by that dragon, nothing at all. He was always exploring, always getting his clothes dirty and making mom worry and sometimes angry, he even used to play around cactuses and would always fall on them, then would come crying to me and I would take all the thorns out." There was a soft laugh. "I started calling him Sting because of that, I think he actually preferred that over his real name."

Sting started feeling his eyes hot and a large lump forming in his throat, just... what was all this...? How...?

"Out of our family I was the sole survivor, I was just ten at the time and so I was taken to an orphanage but life was really complicated after the dragon attacks, so I lived there most of my life. When I was of age, I started traveling on my own but no matter where I went I couldn't find a place to call home, not without my family around. Then I met James and for the first time in years I felt truly happy... he helped me in many things, it is thanks to him that I am being able to record this diary now, it turns out I have magic that none of my family members had: Recording Magic." There was a pause. "...I am carrying our first child now, maybe if it's a boy I can name him Lysander."

"B-but... no, that's not possible..." Sting's voice was shaky as he frowned in denial, the book's glow dimming as the voice faded out. He was surprised how he could even still find his voice... it was like he just received a major blow, the pain in his chest was so real... "She... she died on that attack... that was the last thing I remember before that dragon took me...!"

The others were silent, both out of a profound respect for the diary's owner and loss of words in such a situation. "It seems that..." Lucy finally said in a sad tone, wiping a tear from her eyes. "...neither of you were aware that the other survived..." she couldn't even imagine the scope of the tragedy the blond was going through.

"But if Weisslogia rescued you from the attack... why would he leave your sister behind?" Natsu asked doubtfully.

"Natsu..." Lucy began in a warning tone, but Sting cut her in, shaking his head.

"No, it wasn't Weisslogia who took me away from the attack..." he whispered as another piece of memory came back.

~.~.~.~

Lyanna was holding her brother's hand tightly, both running through the ruins of what once was their village, now all there was fire, smoke and... death.

Their parents were both gone... their beloved mother crushed by the ceiling of their house... their brave father killed by the claws of a dragon. All that was left were the two of them and Lyanna was determined to keep her word, she would protect her little brother no matter what.

The two children were trying to stay strong, trying not to shed the tears that threatened to fall, trying not to sob out of fear of being heard by any nearby dragon.

Lyanna suddenly came to a halt and hugged Lysander close to her as they hid behind a broken pillar and wall, they heard footsteps, big footsteps and a roar nearby. There was a dragon closeby...

"Ly..." the girl put her delicate hand over her brother's mouth, signing him to hush. They stayed there for what seemed an eternity... and right when the dragon seemed to have gone away, the pillar behind them crumbled in the direction of the children.

Out of instinct, Lyanna threw her brother as far away as she could as the pieces of marble fell upon her. Lysander rolled a few feet away from the fallen pillar before looking up at where his sister once stood.

The little boy's eyes widened in terror as he tried to reach for his sister. "LYANNAAAA!!" he screamed out, his voice ringing around the area, and finally the tears came flooding down his cheeks... it was too harsh a reality for a four year old to realize that now he was all alone in the whole world... he had no one left from his precious family...this was everything he had always feared...

He didn't have a lot of time to proceed with his grief though. Big, heavy talons grabbed him and the kid screamed in pain as they bit into his shoulders. Despite the pain, he wasn't aware of his surroundings, his eyes were still fixated on the rubble beneath which his sister had disappeared, and he kept staring there even when it became a small speck on the ground, and even when he soared through and above the clouds... it was only the freezing wind that rippled through his thin clothing that finally made him snap out of his shock. That was when he heard a rumbling roar of laughter coming from the monster holding him... chilling him to the bone in a way no wind can.

"Heh... you, kid, ain't enough for my belly... but you'll make a fine meal for my cubs."

The little boy attempted to fight off the claws of that big monster but they were so tight on his tiny shoulder that the more he moved, the more they penetrated his thin skin making the child yelp in pain. It was over, he would be meat for baby dragons and there was nothing he would be able to do about it.

...Although it didn't matter anymore, he was all alone, maybe it was for the best now he would join his family and the pain of living alone in a world full of dragons wouldn't be a problem for him.

Just as the child's eyes started closing, he thought he heard a second roar tearing apart the skies and the dragon carrying him was suddenly covered by a shadow much bigger than itself. Then he felt it, the bigger dragon bumped into the other which caused it to let go the nearly unconscious boy.

The last thing he knew was that he was falling from the high skies, the last thing he felt was something grabbing him. Then it was all darkness.

...

When he opened his eyes again... the boy was a little surprised to find himself standing on a rocky place... surrounded by huge rock bodies everywhere. A mountain? Funny, in all of the stories he heard about heaven he was sure he didn't hear of mountains.

A sudden pain on his shoulder made him wince and put a hand on it. Something wet and sticky came to his hand, and he saw blood covering it. A chilled wind rushing through him also made him aware of the fact that his senses were pretty much intact.

"If this is heaven, I don't like it..." he mumbled under his breath as his lips turned in a pout. Where were mama and papa...? And Lyanna...

"I know no such thing as heaven," a loud, rumbling voice can be heard then, making Lysander jump a foot in the air. He saw a shadow moving behind a cave not too far from him. A big shadow... "But you are not dead, human child."

"A-are you...God?" the kid asked, his voice trembling. There was a low, chuckle-like sound.

"Well no, I don't think you would call me a god either."

Then the shadow moved again. Time came to a stop and the boy gasped in fright as the creature finally revealed itself.

It was a gigantic dragon, but actually very different from the one Lysander remembered that had taken him away from his burning village. This one was light-colored and had a large and long beard that resembled feathers; it also had two small antlers protruding from the top of his head. Compared to its feathery, windswept face the rest of the dragon's body was covered by thick scales and its belly looked really smooth. But what made the child open his mouth into a big 'O' was the wings of the dragon, they looked like those of an angel that his mother would often tell him about in bedtime stories.

Despite being in awe with the majestic and sage looking appearance of the gigantic beast, survival instincts kicked inside the small child and he reached for the first thing that he could find: a tiny and thin stick. Lysander stood up, although his shoulder burned like hell from the wound, and pointed the stick at the dragon as he attempted to keep his tears yet again at bay. "S-Stay back!"

The dragon once again grumbled. "Don't be ridiculous kid. What are you going to do with a stick?"

"I-I will hurt you," the boy was trembling from head to foot, but somehow he still stood his ground. "I will poke out your eye!"

"Uh-huh. And how is it wise to reveal your card to the enemy?"

Instead of answering the dragon, Lysander squared his shoulders and raised the stick again a little higher. "Don't underestimate me!" I had nothing to lose... was what he was about to add... but that thought almost made the tears fall and he didn't need that now.

"Relax, kid." the dragon's voice was weary now. "I don't eat humans. You folks don't even taste good."

"Eh?! I taste good too, you big-" realizing what he had just said, the little boy's hands flew to his mouth and his eyes widened in impossible size.

He heard the dragon growl. "Are you trying to tempt me now?"

Lysander trembled even more when the dragon moved forward and its head was now just a few inches away from him, again the child tried not to show his fear and also to not let his tears fall. He gulped when the dragon opened its mouth slightly... and then all he felt was a giant breath hitting his already fragile body.

...And he fell on his butt.

It was all it took for the child to finally give in to his fears and start bawling his eyes out, his cries echoing through the mountain they were standing in. He was scared, he was hurt, he was hungry... and he wanted his mama, his papa, his big sister.

The dragon breathed again in what looked like an exasperated huff... and then reached out with one of its paws, wrapping it carefully around the boy's body and pulling him closer.

"Uh... there there kid." it attempted to comfort the child but it was obviously not good at it. "You're quite brave for a human child."

"I-I'm not," the boy wailed as he brought his hands to rub his eyes, sobs tearing through his chest. "I-I couldn't even protect my family... m-my sister..."

"You couldn't do anything. Those dragons were some of the worst of our kind." Maybe it wasn't making it any better... so the dragon decided to change tactics. "Let's start this over, shall we? I am Weisslogia, the White Dragon. What is your name?"

Lysander hicked, trying to find his voice. "Lys-..." he stopped, and averted his eyes. "Sting. My name is Sting Eucliffe."

The dragon cocked its head to a side. Even among humans, as far as it knew, this was a pretty strange name... It decided not to comment on that though, since it already had a traumatized kid in its hands... "Alright... Sting Eucliffe... as long as you are with me, you are going to be safe."

~.~.~.~

He hadn't been aware of it until now, but Sting felt the tears wetting his cheeks as he came to the end of his story. Someone small came to his side then, and he felt Rin wrapping her arms around his middle, hugging him tightly. Somehow, he couldn't explain how... but her presence was reassuring.

Blinking himself back to reality, he used one hand to clean his face, now all tear stained - not that he cared much about others seeing him cry, it wasn't the first time it happened - while the other reached for Rin and caressed her head softly.

"Sad stories apart..." he finally said regaining his composure, he would ask questions later. "We lost too much time with this book, we still need to find what the client wants."

They suddenly heard a soft laugh coming from the top of the library's stairs, drawn to it the group looked up to see it was none other than the Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov.

"That's where you are wrong young man," he walked downstairs and soon reached the group. "That is exactly what I wanted you brats to find, more specifically you, young Master."

"Master..." Lucy mumbled. "W-Wait! That means you are the client?!"

"I am not understanding anything!!" Natsu cried out while he scratched his head with both hands.

Sting ignored his fellow Dragon Slayer and continued looking at Makarov. "How did you...?"

"Heh, I made my research after I saw the name of your sister in the book. Turns out there hasn't been a single person more bearing your surname since her, all it took was to do some math... and the knowledge that Lyanna-san made it so that only the Eucliffe family descendants could read it. My family is descendant from yours."

There was a silence as Sting looked back at the book, brushing the photo of his sister carefully. The moment though was broken with Natsu approaching them with a mocking face while he sneered.

"Well well well... so that means your real name is Lysander..."

Before the Light Dragon Slayer could reply in the appropriate manner though... Lucy was on her boyfriend, holding him by his ear and yanking him away through the doors of the library. "Are you a moron?! How can you be so inconsiderate, that was a touching moment!"

"How am I supposed to let him live this down?! Hey, Lysander, let's do this again sometime, this. was. fun! And hey, does it make you Gramps’..."

Makarov sighed in frustration and closed his eyes as their voices faded away. "I should apologize for Natsu... him and manners don't go hand in hand. But you are welcome to keep the book if you so wish, Master Sting. It is your right, after all."

The blond looked at the book longingly, but after a minute of indecision... left it on the top of the railings. "It was enough for me, what it had to offer... thank you very much." he said sincerely. He didn't know what else to say, and it was kind of a lot to take in that he was related to the Dreyars...

"So that was why you had been acting weird all this time..." Rogue remarked, his tone decidedly more understanding.

"Yeah... I'm sorry for making you guys worry."

"If you're apologizing then it is another cause of concern."

"Give me a break, will you?" Sting sighed... he couldn't be sure if with all these revelations, whether he would have a peace of mind any time soon... "Well in any case, let's get going. I still have a lot of paperwork to do."

"You can't be serious!" The blond raised an eyebrow at his friend's outburst. "That's all you can think about even now? Who are you and what did you do to the real Sting?!"

"C'mon man, you always complain about me leaving the official stuff to you."

Rin giggled softly at their antiques as she followed the Twin Dragon Slayers out of the library. Just at the doors though, she glanced back and her eyes met with Fairy Tail's master. She could've sworn that she saw Makarov-san wink at her. Feeling heat came to her cheeks, the young girl let the doors close behind her.

#fairy tail #sabertooth #sting eucliffe #yukino aguria #stingyu #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #nalu #rogue cheney #celestial light #starlight #sting x yukino #stiyu #yuking #stikino #my writing #fanfiction collab

10 notes · View notes

pearlsephoni · 1 year

Text

Spiking Heartbeats: A Day in the Life

Can also be read on AO3!

Rating: T

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Relationships: Platonic Karasuno First Years, pre-relationship Tsukkiyama (Tsukishima/Yamaguchi), pre-relationship Kagehina (Kageyama/Hinata)

Characters: Shoyo Hinata, Hitoka Yachi, Tadashi Yamaguchi, Kei Tsukishima, Tobio Kageyama, Original Child Character (Hinata's niece), Minor Original Characters, Asahi Azumane (cameo), Daichi Sawamura (cameo), Natsu Hinata (cameo)

Word Count: 4.8k

Summary: Some years later, the five unlikely friends are respected professors in their fields, known for their dedication to their patients and the learning opportunities they provide to the residents and interns in the hospital. But no matter how busy they get, they still find time to bring some teasing, bickering, and comfort to each other.

A/N: Written as part of a collaborative series with @/r0mantic-era of Haikyuu Hospital Playlist AU fics, featuring the Karasuno first years as the 99s! Originally published on AO3 on April 1st. Further author's notes can be found there.

🩺

Mornings like these are rare for Hitoka. She could wake up and get ready for work at the same time as her boyfriend, get dropped off by him, and have time to spare to get a coffee before her first appointment of the day. Even rarer is the chance to walk into the hospital cafe and see—

"Tobio?"

She's used to the sight of his eyes jerking up from his phone with a look of panic, before he recognizes her and relaxes right back into his blank, accidentally-intimidating expression. "Oh, Yacchan."

"You can't keep looking so scared to talk to people," she laughs as she sits at his little table. "You're going to hurt someone's feelings."

"It's just my face," he mumbles, shoving a bite of omelette into his mouth. "You're here early."

"Mm-hm! Takuto wanted to drop me off today, since we had to get up at the same time!" She begins to take a sip of coffee, only to lower her cup when she notices Kageyama's brows furrowing. "Hey, be nice."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You don't need to!"

With that, Kageyama's features settle into the frown Hitoka knew they'd been resisting. "...I still don't like him."

"Well, I'm glad you and Kei finally have something to agree on," she sighs. "When's your next appointment?"

"Not for a while. I just finished a delivery. What about you?"

Hitoka hums as she looks at her watch. "Oh, shoot! Soon, I should go! See you!"

"Shee yo," Kageyama mumbles around another bite of omelette.

She only gets to the elevator before she hears someone call out, "Yacchan!"

"Hey, Tadashi!" Yamaguchi looks unusually harried, still combing his hair down from its usual tufts. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah! I lost track of time while prepping my lecture, and now I'm almost late for my first appointment."

"Oh, no," Hitoka sighs in sympathy. The elevator arrives, and they slip to the back together, letting nurses and residents fill in the rest of the car. "Would you like some coffee?"

Yamaguchi seamlessly takes her proffered cup, sips at the coffee, and returns it to her hand in the middle of straightening out his lab coat and making sure everything is in the correct pockets. "Oh, by the way, I wanted to talk to you about something I'm working on," he mutters in the quiet of the elevator. "Let me know when you get a free moment."

"Okay!"

The elevator dings at the second floor, and with one more smile, Yamaguchi weaves his way through the slower doctors and jogs down the hallway to his appointment room.

Something about seeing Kageyama be at his leisure while Yamaguchi is blustering around brings a smile to Hitoka's lips. Her smile lingers when she reaches her floor and makes her way to the neurology outpatient hall. "Hello, Mrs. Sakurai! Please, come in with me."

🩺

"Ren-kun, don't you want to feel better? Let's get your shirt up, okay?"

The three-year-old lets out a long whine as he cringes away from the nurse's touch and pins his mother and Tadashi with a pout.

"Goodness," the mother sighs, adjusting her son's big teddy bear in her arms, "I don't know what's gotten into him today."

Tadashi is quiet for a moment, watching the toddler glower at him and biting back a smile, before an idea occurs to him. "Ohhhh, Mr. Bear!" he gasps theatrically. "What's wrong?"

He glances up from the bear to raise his brows at the mother, who thankfully catches on quickly. "Ohhhh, Doctor," she groans in a cartoonishly low voice, "my stomach's been hurting terribly! Can you help?"

"Hmmm, let's see!" Tadashi presses his stethoscope to the teddy's fuzzy belly and declares, "Oh dear, how do you feel now?"

"Oh, Doctor, I feel much better!"

"Wonderful! And what about you, ma'am?" He settles the stethoscope on the back of her hand where she's holding the teddy.

"Doctor! I feel great now!" she gasps in her regular voice.

"Good, good! Now whooooo's next, hm?" Tadashi dramatically looks over at Ren, who beams at him and raises his hand. "It's Ren-kun! C'mere, kiddo, can you lift your shirt for me?"

Once upon a time, Tadashi could barely make it through an appointment without his cheeks burning at the silly things he had to do to get his little patients to cooperate. Now it's just another part of the job, a simple way to make going to the hospital a little less stressful for their young minds.

By the time he's done with appointments, his throat is a touch sore from not only giving lengthy explanations to nervous parents, but also doing a series of silly, exaggerated voices to keep his patients distracted from the severity of their prognoses.

"Goodness, Doctor," the nurse, Sawamura, says with a soft laugh. "No wonder you always need tea after seeing outpatients."

Tadashi shoots him a sheepish grin around his mug of tea. "A small price to pay to make any part of this easier for them."

There aren't many outpatients in pediatrics today, giving him a rare chance to duck upstairs to his office and maybe even have a snack. If Tsukki is feeling generous, he might even have a chance to enjoy some of his expansive collection of sweets, kept secret within their group (though he bemoaned the possibility of Hinata, notorious swiper, helping himself to the sweets drawer).

As though summoned by his wandering thoughts, the elevator doors open to reveal Tsukishima himself, alone and slouched against the back wall with his head leaned back. "Tsukki!"

Tsukishima's eyes flash open, and with a jolt, he pushes himself upright, cheeks just barely rosy in the harsh elevator lighting. "Hey. You done with outpatients already?"

"Yep!" Tadashi can feel a wide, childlike smile pushing at his cheeks as he joins Tsukishima at the back of the car. "What're you doing here? I thought you had the day off?"

Tsukishima groans, eyes sliding shut and head knocking against the wall again. "I had to chew out some interns and make sure the patient could bounce back from their mistake."

Tadashi gives a low whistle. "That bad?"

"Mm." Eyes still closed, Tsukishima tilts towards Tadashi, leaning the slightest bit of weight against him. Tadashi's cheeks immediately tingle with warmth, even though he should be used to it by now. For as long as they've felt physically comfortable in their friendship, this has been Tsukishima's favorite way of silently seeking comfort from Tadashi, and Tadashi only: a silent lean that lets their sides press flush against each other.

The only thing that's changed is Tadashi's feelings towards Tsukishima. Not that Tsukki knows anything about that.

"Are you going home now?" he asks as he leans some weight back, fighting valiantly to keep his voice steady.

"No." Tsukishima slouches even more into Tadashi, until a laugh bursts from him and a tiny smile tugs at Tsukki's lips. "I've got another patient to check on. Then I might go home."

"Well…since you're here…"

Goldenrod eyes blink open over a small, knowing frown. "Yes, you can have some cookies, you little thief. D'you still have the extra key?"

"Yep! Thanks, Tsukki!"

The elevator slides to a stop with a cheery ding, but Tsukishima doesn't say anything until Tadashi has already stepped off and the doors begin shutting. "Don't let Hinata in!"

"He's not in today, relax!" Tadashi wouldn't have let him into Tsukki's office, anyway. Unsupervised snack drawer access was a privilege he enjoyed all on his own. And sometimes with Yachi. But mostly on his own.

🩺

"What's going on?" Kei asks the moment he stepped into the ward, smearing on some hand cleanser.

The resident hurries up, already speaking by the time he reaches Kei’s side. “Doctor, the patient was hooked up to the ECMO, but she developed a pulmonary edema, so we had to intubate her. Her heart was barely beating when we checked her echo.”

Shit. Shiho’s been steadily improving, to the point that they were planning on getting her off of the ECMO and into a general ward. But if she’s regressed this badly… “Does her family know?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” That will make explaining the next steps a little easier.

When they approach Shiho’s bed, her mother is hovering over her, carefully tucking blankets around the sleeping 7-year-old. The sight makes Kei’s heart squeeze. It doesn’t matter how many years he works and how thick his skin is—the sight of little bodies dwarfed in hospital beds never gets easier.

He doesn’t know how Yamaguchi does it.

“Excuse me, ma’am. May I have a word?”

Shiho’s mother jolts upright and whirls around to face Kei. “Oh, hello, Doctor! Yes, of course.” The shadows under her eyes have gotten deeper since yesterday, and she seems unsteady on her feet as she follows Kei and the two interns to a quiet corner away from Shiho’s bed. Kei is almost tempted to set a steadying hand under her elbow, but he doesn’t dare.

“Shiho’s heart has worsened, Mrs. Suzui, to the point that she’s developed pulmonary edema,” he says once they come to a stop, never one to beat around the bush. He’s been on the other side of these interactions. He knows all any family member wants is to know how their loved one is doing. “She won’t be able to depend on the ECMO for much longer. An artificial heart would be better, especially in reducing the pressure on her left ventricle. She will need surgery either later today or tomorrow.”

"Oh, god," the mother gasps, eyes wide and wavering with tears. "Doctor, I…I really can't afford to pay for a surgery right now. Could we wait a week? I can get the money in a week! Please, please save her, I don’t…I don’t know what else to do…"

Anger sparks in Kei's chest—not at Shiho's mother, of course not, but at the injustice of it all, the choice between death and bankruptcy. "We really can't wait to operate," he sighs, trying to school his face into a gentler, if not fully reassuring, expression. "But don't worry about the costs, ma'am. The hospital has several welfare programs—we can inform them about your daughter's case, and they will provide you with whatever financial assistance they can." Over his shoulder, he tells Azumane Asahi, one of the interns shadowing him that morning, “You go look into it.”

Shiho’s mother’s face crumples into the tears she's been fighting against so valiantly. "Thank you, Doctor! Thank you so much!" she weeps, dipping into bows with her hands clasped over her chest.

"We're just doing our job, ma'am." He bends into a bow of his own, before looking over his shoulder and frowning at the sight of Azumane still lingering there. "What're you doing? Go call them!"

Azumane jolts, giving a hasty bow and stammering, "R-right!"

Kei keeps an eye on him as he hurries out of the ward while digging his phone out of his pocket. Yeah…that kid has no idea who to call.

Sure enough, when Kei finishes explaining the needed surgery to the patient's mother, he leaves the ward and sees Azumane frantically typing on his phone. He’s a tall, sturdy guy, with long brown hair pulled into a bun and a neatly-trimmed goatee. But he never looks as intimidating as he could, because he’s almost always curled in on himself with doubt and anxiety. He looks positively hunchbacked now.

Kei feels for him. He does. He remembers when Yamaguchi and Yachi were always ten seconds away from a panic attack as interns. But there isn’t time for nerves in this field. The sooner Azumane learns that, the better.

With a sigh, Kei dials the number to the social services office and approaches Azumane. "I'm doing the operation tomorrow, and now I have to call social services. What exactly do you do around here?"

While Azumane stammers an apology, the line connects, and Kei's voice takes on a well-practiced tone of polite pleasantry. "Hello, this is Tsukishima Kei from Cardiothoracic Surgery. We have a pediatric case that needs financial aid, would assistance from the Fly High Fund be possible? Yes, just a moment."

Sharp eye contact is all the warning Kei gives Azumane before he tosses the phone at him and walks away. In his wake, he can hear Azumane beginning explaining the details of the surgery, voice finally steady and sure.

Well…at least he made sure to study the case.

Even though he has nothing else scheduled for the day, he decides to get lunch at the hospital cafe, just in case something else comes up. Better to be a few floors away than have to turn back around on the drive home.

The path from his regular elevator to the cafe takes him past the ER waiting room, an area he usually disregards if he hasn't been specifically called. Today, though, he stumbles mid-step, eyes catching on a terribly familiar mop of ginger hair.

"Shrimp?"

🩺

Shoyo loves his niece. Really, he does. Sure, when Natsu first announced her pregnancy, he was mostly relieved to no longer bear the pressure of providing their mother with a grandchild. But the little girl showed signs of that special Hinata charm from her first burbles, and now, at four years old, she already knows how to best wield her words in a way that even Shoyo has a hard time saying no to.

Sometimes, he wishes he could actually say no. Even if he is the cool, fun uncle, Kasumi really needs to learn how to take no as an answer. Maybe then they wouldn't play tea party every time Shoyo babysat her, costumes and all. And maybe then he wouldn't be standing in the ER waiting room of the hospital he works at with a plastic silver tiara superglued to his head.

“Uncle…Uncle Shoooooo…” He looks down at his pulled hand, and sees Kasumi gazing up at him with big, dark eyes. Her black hair is pulled into pigtails, and she’s still wearing her own gold tiara with gaudy pink jewels. “I’m really sorry!”

“It’s okay, Sumi-chan,” Shoyo sighs with a tired smile. They’ve been through this conversation ten times in the past hour, because the poor thing inherited the trademark Hinata anxiety along with their charisma. “You wanted to help keep the tiara on. Just…there’s a reason Mommy doesn’t let you use that glue.”

“I know.” She pouts and leans into him, her cheek squishing into his arm. “I’m sorry.”

He strokes his free hand over her head as he looks around the dwindling patients in the ER waiting room. It’s not that he thinks he deserves special privileges just because he works here, but really now…how long does it take to find someone to get this tiara off? The superglue will be tricky, especially where the tiara is stuck to his forehead, but it’s nothing this hospital hasn’t handled before.

“Alright, that’s it!” he declares after five more minutes. “C’mon, Sumi-chan, we’re going to find someone to help us!”

His niece brightens immediately, always eager to follow through on a grand plan. Her little legs somehow manage to keep up with his marching steps to the ER, hurrying along with a momentum that nearly flings her forward when Shoyo suddenly stops. “Ow!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Shoyo gasps, gathering her up and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I just, uh…changed my mind, let’s go back to waiting—”

“Shrimp?”

Shit.

With a wince, Shoyo slowly turns to face the last person he wanted to see like this. “Ah…hey, Four-Eyes. Kasumi, say hello. He’s a friend of mine, but you shouldn’t make friends like him! He’s big and mean!”

Kasumi’s eyes are wide with fear and intrigue as she does a little bow in Shoyo’s arms, missing the sneer Tsukishima sends him. “I’ve met Kasumi before.”

“Kasumi, do you remember Uncle Tsukki?”

Eyes still wide, Kasumi ever-so-slightly shakes her head. Tsukishima can’t do much more than sigh and offer the little girl a bad attempt at a reassuring smile, which immediately slides off his face when his focus shifts back to Shoyo. Jerk. “What’re you doing here? And what’s with the crown? Have you spent too much time with the King?”

“Haha.” He quickly presses another kiss to Kasumi’s cheek when he sees her little face start to crumple with guilt again. “We just had a little…mishap.”

“...Okay?”

Tsukishima’s steady eyes tell Shoyo that he’s not getting away without a proper explanation. “I told Kasumi that her tea-time tiaras don’t fit well on me, so she decided to help…with superglue.”

Pure, unadulterated delight melts across Tsukishima's face. “Holy shi— I mean, oh wow! That was a good idea, Kasumi!”

Kasumi’s guilt is replaced by confusion. “No no no, it wasn’t a good idea, but we know that now, and Sumi-chan won’t do it again, right?” He didn’t speak a moment too soon—her confusion gives way to determination as she gives a hefty nod. “Good girl!”

“Do you want me to call Yacchan?” Tsukishima asks, suppressed laughter clear in his voice. “Maybe she can give you a free psych evaluation after the tiara’s off.”

“Fu—uhhh, don’t be mean, Tsukishima! I’m just going to find someone to get this off quickly, and I’m going to go and enjoy the rest of my precious day off with Sumi! Right?”

“Right!” Shoyo can’t resist it—he simply has to press another kiss to Kasumi’s cheeks when they’re all round from her bright smile.

“Good luck with that,” Tsukishima snorts. His voice only gentles when he addresses Kasumi. “It was nice seeing you again, Kasumi. Make sure you keep your uncle out of trouble.”

It’s a rare sight to see Kasumi nervous to the point of a silent nod. Shoyo knew she had good instincts. Only when Tsukishima walks away does she mumble, “He’s scary.”

“Nah, he just looks like that,” Shoyo laughs. “He’s like Uncle Tobio—a big scary meanie at first, then all sweet when you’re friends!” That…doesn’t apply to Shoyo, but Kasumi doesn’t need to know that.

Her face creases with some confusion. “Uncle Tobio isn’t scary.”

Never mind. Her instincts aren’t that good.

The dreaded run-in with Tsukishima isn’t enough to distract Shoyo from his mission. What does distract him is the sight of Yachi wide-eyed and pointing straight at him. She’s standing next to a hospital bed with an older gentleman laying in it, arm in a sling and bandage on his head. It takes Shoyo a moment to recognize him as a prolific general surgeon who works in a hospital that’s clear across the city. What’s he doing here?

Never mind. “Um. Hi, Yacchan!” Maybe she really can help get the tiara off. Neurosurgery should apply to stuff on the outside of the brain, right?

“Shoyo! Oh my gosh, you’re exactly who I needed to see, can you come here?”

Unfortunately for Shoyo, Yachi is another person he can rarely say no to.

The explanations go by in a blur, something about a liver donor finally coming through for a young man who needs a complex operation, one that only one doctor in the city can reliably carry out. Said doctor had the misfortune of getting into an accident on his way to the hospital, and now they’re left with a liver and a patient and no doctor.

“We can’t wait, otherwise a different hospital will take the liver. Please, Shoyo, we really wouldn’t ask if we had any other choice!”

And now he’s here, in surgical scrubs, washing his hands and trying his best to ignore the itch of the tiara that is still on his head, now covered by a hair net.

“This is ridiculous,” he grumbles to Iwaizumi, the one and only general surgery resident in the entire hospital. “What’s the director going to say? This kind of last-minute change is serious!”

“Dr. Yachi said she already spoke to him and got it approved,” Iwaizumi easily answers.

“What about the patient’s mother? Does she know what’s happening? Someone needs to explain what’s going on and get her consent!”

“Dr. Yachi already knows the mother from a different case and was able to get her to sign the consent form within a few minutes.”

“And the original doctor? I know he’s injured, but still, he must be upset at being switched out so easily.”

“Dr. Yachi got him on board when they saw you in the ER.”

“Will Kasumi be okay? What if Natsu can’t come pick her up on such short notice?”

“Dr. Yachi let her know what happened, she’ll be here in a few hours. Dr. Kageyama offered to keep an eye on her until then.”

Shoyo drops his head back with a prolonged whine, forgetting about the light on his forehead until he hears a soft grunt and looks down to see Iwaizumi shielding his eyes with his clipboard. “God…she got all that done, and still couldn’t get anyone to get this thing off my head. Alright, fine. Let’s do this.”

🩺

Tobio likes Kasumi. Really, he does. She’s the only child who didn’t cringe away from him the first time they met.

That might’ve been because she was practically a newborn when he first saw her, but still. It was nice. She likes volleyball, and as an only child, she already knows how to keep herself somewhat entertained. She even knows how to be quiet while staying occupied, something her uncle still doesn’t know how to do at his big age.

None of that changes the fact that the office of an OB/GYN is not…the ideal place for a four-year-old.

“Um.” He stares at her, and she stares back from where she’s sitting on the office couch, little legs sticking straight out in front of her. Cute. “Do you want some cookies?”

Her solemn face brightens at that as she eagerly nods. “Can I pick?”

“I don’t have a lot, but sure.” He opens his snack drawer and lets her peruse the collection of Oreos and strawberry Meiji and regular Marie. He’s not surprised when she picks the strawberry Meiji, no doubt drawn to their pink packaging. She looks so excited about the cookies that he can’t resist offering, “...Want some milk?”

Some cookies, a Gun Gun yogurt, two pieces of scrap paper, and some markers that Yamaguchi blessedly dropped off between appointments keep Kasumi perfectly happy at the little office coffee table. “Uncle,” she calls after a few minutes of humming.

His chest warms at the familial term. It’s been a while since such a young voice called him that. He’s missed it. “Yeah?”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Orange,” he answers without thinking. “...Why?”

“It’s a surprise!” she giggles, covering her paper with her arms when Tobio peers over at her. “What’s your favorite animal?”

“A wolf.” A tiny smile tugs at his lips when his answers earns him a serious nod. “Are you…going to draw me an orange wolf?”

“No!” she squeals, laughing as though that’s the funniest thing she’s heard all day. Not likely, considering she’s been with Hinata. “It’s a surprise!”

“Alright, alright.”

It’s surprisingly easy to work with her in the office. Sure, he’s forced to pause his work a few times to listen to a prolonged story about something that happened at school, or a toy she really wants her mom to buy, or a joke that her bestest friend in the whole wide world told her. But it’s impossible to feel very annoyed by her bright voice and brighter smile, especially when it gives him an excuse to pause his paperwork.

He doesn’t notice the time passing until he looks up from his work and sees Kasumi passed out on top of her drawing, orange marker still clutched in her hand.

Tobio doesn’t want kids. He doesn’t, at least not now, especially when he doesn’t have a partner he’d want to raise a kid with. But he’s never felt as tempted as he does when he spends time with Kasumi. The sight of her sweet face squished on her artwork makes his heart feel too big for his chest, and when he carefully slides the marker out of her fist and gathers her up in his arms, the feeling of her nuzzling into his shoulder nearly makes him burst into tears on the spot.

God…he has got to get more sleep.

He gets her settled on the couch, his sweatshirt tucked under her head and his coat draped over her. She’s small enough to fit completely beneath his coat, especially when she lets out a soft huff and curls up even more. He glances at his closed office door to make sure no one will see him, then bends over to press a kiss to her temple and brush her pigtail out of her face.

“...Tobio?”

He jumps and nearly bites his tongue in choking back a curse. There, standing at his door that somehow opened silently, is Yachi, watching him with an amused but kind smile. “...Don’t tell Hinata.”

She laughs at that, careful to not wake up Kasumi. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Natsu will be here soon, do you want me to take Kasumi down to the entrance?”

Tobio stares at the tiny sleeping form almost covered by his coat. “...No, I’ll do it.”

“Okay.” When he looks at her again, Yachi’s smile has mellowed into a terribly sweet and warm little curve. “Are you sure you don’t want me to tell Shoyo?”

“You…can tell him I made sure Natsu picked her up. Not…anything else.” If that tangerine finds out Tobio gave Kasumi a kiss, he will never hear the end about how sweet he is to Kasumi and how mean he still is to Shoyo, and “geez Yama, I thought we had something special!”

He has no idea how true that really is.

Natsu is effusive in her thanks when Tobio hands her off, holding her daughter close as she bows and asks him how she can ever thank him. “It’s nothing,” he reassures her. “Hinata was pulled into an emergency surgery, but Kasumi was great. Made me a drawing and everything.”

That finally makes a smile relax Natsu’s worried features. “Ah, another one for your collection.”

“Yeah. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, we’re all set. Thank you, Tobio-nii, seriously!”

“You don’t have to thank me. I should be thanking you—she wouldn’t have been so easy to look after if you weren’t doing such a great job raising her.”

The praise is a little corny, especially coming from him, but it’s the truth. Tobio could never work in pediatrics like Yamaguchi, but he really does enjoy the times when he gets to hang out with Kasumi, even if it is a little awkward at first. Like her uncle, it never takes her long to make any room warm and comfortable, even at age four.

By the time he returns to his office, it’s about time for him to grab some dinner. But before he leaves, he makes sure to hang his new piece of artwork—a picture of him and a wolf in the woods, which is somehow all orange trees—next to the other three drawings he’s been lucky enough to receive and the few photos he has hung up.

The photos are a small collection of memories—his high school volleyball team, he and the group in their first year of university, and again at their graduation from med school, him as a child with his grandfather, and another photo from graduation, this one with Miwa pulling him down and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

The photo his eyes catch on is the only candid in the bunch: by some stroke of luck and photographic genius, Yachi managed to snap a photo of them playing volleyball. They’re in their work pants and shoes, their sleeves are rolled up, and Hinata’s shirt has one too many buttons undone. It’s clear they got distracted by a volleyball court after a night of work drinks, but besides what they’re wearing, the shot could have been of a V.League match. A ragged volleyball is leaving Tobio’s fingertips mid-jump, and Hinata…he’s flying, body suspended in the perfect spiking posture and hand already swinging for the ball that still hasn’t reached him.

It does reach him. Tobio can remember that much, just like he can remember the slam of the ball on the other side of the court, and the way Hinata leapt into his arms for a victory hug and cheer.

He misses volleyball. He misses the two-on-two matches that they forced Yamaguchi and Tsukishima to agree to, the impromptu lessons he gave to Yachi, the sting of his fingers after a good long game. But most of all, he misses that, the way playing on a team with Hinata makes him feel invincible in a way that is so rare in the medical field.

He wonders if Hinata misses it, too.

6 notes · View notes

moonchild-things · 1 year

Text

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Third Day

Summary: Shōyō Hinata loves volleyball! There is no doubt that all he really thinks about is volleyball. His sister, however, isn’t the same way. Sakura is ready to start her first year of high school at Karasuno with her twin brother and doesn’t really want to do anything, unlike Shōyō. Though she can’t help it when she gets dragged into the antics of the volleyball club.

Word Count: 7042

Blog Masterlist | Red Herring Masterlist | Last Chapter | Next Chapter

---

WAKING UP IN THE HINATA HOUSEHOLD WAS a much quieter affair than normal. Shōyō wasn’t as energetic when he had woken up and barely spoke a word to his family. Not even his little sister, Natsu, had really said anything when she watched her older siblings leave for school. She obviously could feel the downtrodden mood and didn’t know how to make him feel better.

Sakura didn’t want to bother Shōyō by asking him if he was all right. She knew that he wasn’t. From the way that his brown eyes were misty and his lips always seemed to quiver, as if he was a hair away from busting out into tears, there was no way he was okay. Their bike ride was quiet besides their breathing as they trekked up and down the mountain. All the while, Sakura was thinking about how she tried her best last night to make him feel okay. She had comforted him all last night, not even reprimanding him for staying up later than usual.

She’s always been there to comfort him for everything, every loss, every injury, every issue. So she did the same as normal ever since the end of the game. She kept close to him, didn’t say much, let him vent to her when he felt like it, and didn’t leave him by himself. Shōyō doesn’t usually like being by himself whenever he’s sad. Sakura has helped him through a loss before, being the one game that he had during middle school. He had wanted to be close to her since he’s a very physical person, which usually meant hugging her lots to make him feel better. Sakura may not like hugs all that much, but if it made her brother feel better she’d endure his hugs no matter how long it took to make him feel better. Though she couldn't make him feel completely better. He still lost. There's no changing that.

Though today it seemed like he was completely out of it, so Sakura was just going to leave him be for a while. He could usually bounce back pretty quickly when he was upset. Not this time, however. Perhaps he needed to just be alone for a bit. So when they put their bikes away, she bid him a hug goodbye and headed off to her own class.

She went about her day like normal. She talked with Yachi about it all and she was sad to hear about Karasuno’s loss in the tournament. Through stuttered words and a few apologies sprinkled in there, Yachi told Sakura that if she wanted to take her mind off of it then Yachi would help her out somehow.

It was a bit confusing though. Why would Sakura need to take her mind off of it? Sakura wasn’t the one who played or was completely emotionally attached to the game. Plus, she basically assumed that this would happen. The only thing that would probably be affecting her would be how Shōyō was upset. She hates seeing her brother sad or frustrated to this point, so that’s the only issue that she could see for her.

She still appreciated the gesture from her newest friend. Maybe she’ll take her up on that offer at some point, who knows. It’s not like I’m upset about the game, Sakura lied to herself, I had a strong feeling that this would happen. She was upset but kept it to herself. After all, it would be a bit selfish of her to express how sad she was when her brother and his team were the ones really hurting.

A part of her was shaken after the game. Terribly so. During the game against Aoba Johsai she had started to grow hopeful for Karasuno. They had fought back against their opponent that Sakura actually thought she’d get to see them win it. She was so swept up in the emotions of the situation that he logical side of thinking was completely abandoned.

She shouldn’t have let that happen since she’s basically lived her life by expecting failure to avoid heartache. At least, for the last few years she’s grown accustomed to having that sentiment. It kept her from being hurt. This time it just didn’t work completely. While it wasn’t her team, or her accomplishment, so she isn’t allowed to be emotional about it like her brother. So she pushed it aside and went about her day as easily as she could. Perhaps she was a bit more snippy and cold towards people today, but that didn’t matter. Everyone assumed she was like that anyway, so what harm is there in being a bit more quiet than usual. It’s not like anyone would care that she was rattled or that she was affected by this at all.

---

It was a somber morning for all of the third years. Which was to be expected after yesterday's game. Due to this, some questions started to arise between them all. The most important being whether they would continue to stay on the team after this moment. They were the seniors and they had to think about what their futures will be like after this year. Should they decide to focus more on their future, or stick with the team? After such a bad defeat the other day, leaving the team might have been on their minds.

The third-years gathered together during break time on a stairway landing. Endo munched on an apple as he looked between his friends who looked beyond conflicted. He certainly didn’t like seeing those types of expressions, but it was unavoidable. Hell, even he probably had his mask fall from time to time to show his near matching look. As much as he wanted to act like he was unaffected by the loss against Oikawa and his team, Endo couldn’t completely lie. It bothered him in a way that he never knew could. Losses in volleyball didn’t feel all that bad to him in the past. However, it was probably because this game was personal to him that it felt all that much worse.

Daichi gazed out of the window with a deeply conflicted expression on his face, “I think it’s best that we back out here.”

Asahi gasped, “Huh?” The three other teens looked to their captain in shock. After all, they didn’t think Daichi out of all people would offer up the idea of leaving the team.

“I wanted all of us third-years to be able to compete in the spring tournament, so I wanted us to hang in there until then and go to Tokyo to fight. But…” Daichi pauses for a moment, thinking about their younger teammates. “After watching the first and second-years, I think it might be better to hand the club over to them. Their futures are so full of promise, that it might be better to let them start as mainstays of a new team. That way, the team will-”

“Daichi,” Suga cut him off, “do you really mean that? It’s true that, as captain, you’re responsible for thinking about the team. But I don’t think you need to completely remove yourself. If you’ve already made your decision, I won’t object, but if that’s not the case, then at least see things through to the end.” He took a deep breath and continued on, “As I already said, I’m staying. If the first and second-years asked me to leave, then I’ll think about it. And I’m staying even if you, Endo and Asahi leave.”

Asahi jumped in, “I already said I’d stay yesterday!”

“Me too, I wouldn’t leave my friends hanging.” Endo said while continuing to chomp on his apple. If his friends weren’t leaving, then neither would he. After all, what else would he do with his time if he didn’t spend time with his friends at the volleyball club?

“I’m not planning on going to college.” Asahi explained, “If the first and second-years asked me to leave, I’d feel really bad.”

“I… Of course I want to keep playing.” Daichi exclaimed, “I want to keep playing volleyball with you guys!”

The three other boys shared a small glance before smiling at their captain. So it didn’t seem like they were going to be breaking up this team any time soon. They still had to prove themselves to everyone else that they can win the tournament and even go on to nationals!

Endo swung his arm around his friend, “That’s good, it’d be awkward if you said you wanted to leave.” Daichi just shook his head at the blond but continued to smile. Hopefully things will start to get better from here. Though they’ll have to work hard for it, and they would more than gladly rise to the challenge.`

When her break time came around, Sakura thought that it would be a good idea to find her brother. Just so she could check up on him a little bit. She can imagine that he hasn’t been paying attention in class and mulling over yesterday. Though it isn’t that surprising that he wouldn’t be paying attention, just this time it was for a not so good reason. So she started her trek down the hall towards her brother’s class.

Sakura walked into the other classroom, already scouring for the sight of her brother. Though she saw that he wasn’t in his seat, nor sitting with his friends. She approached the one boy that she knows is friends with him and tilted her head, “Hey.”

“Oh, Hinata-chan!” The boy greeted with a kind smile, “how are you?”

“Good.” She hummed in reply, “where’s Shōyō?”

The boy didn’t even blink that much at the question since whenever she did come in here she was always looking for her brother. “Oh, he said he was going to the bathroom.”

Sighing Sakura nodded her head, “Okay. Thanks.” She then left and went searching for him. However, she was certain that he hadn’t gone into the bathrooms and hid or anything. He probably was taking his frustrations out with volleyball, like normal. So she started looking for him in the usual spots he likes to practice in. As she came up on the last spot to check, she ended up finding yet another brooding teen. He seemed to have just found Shōyō as well, and turned to walk away. Only he ended up running into the tangerine’s doppelganger. The doppelganger stared at him for a long moment before greeting him with a subtle nod of her head, “Kageyama.”

He nodded back slightly, “Hn.”

Sakura sighed, “Do you know where my brother is?”

He jabbed his thumb behind him, “over there.”

She leaned around him to see her brother depressingly tossing his volleyball up in the air. It really was quite a sad sight. “I would think you’d be practicing with him.” She said with a quirk of her eyebrow, “You guys never seem to stop doing that.”

The boy huffed, “Can’t we have one day off?”

“A day off?” Sakura nearly laughed at the idea, since she would never think the King would take even one day off of volleyball. “Since when do you of all people have a day off from volleyball?”

“Since now.”

Sakura could see that through his little brooding expression that Kageyama was more than hurt by the game yesterday. Sure, he’s not as expressive when it comes to his emotions like her brother, but she could still see that even the King was upset. She sighed heavily and pursed her lips. “Look, you guys did good. Beating Aoba Johsai was seemingly impossible but you held strong against them.”

He clenched his fists at his sides, “It wasn’t enough.”

“Even if it wasn’t, why did you expect it to be more? You knew who you were up against.” Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, “I understand wanting to be hopeful, but you don’t want to be too optimistic about impossible odds.” Even she would think that Kageyama would be somewhat expecting this outcome. She would never say that she and Kageyama are similar in anyway, but she at least theorized that he had a modicum of pessimism in him when it came to his games.

Kageyama stared down at her with a frown, “Is that what you told your brother? That he wasn’t going to win.”

Sakura shook her head, seeing that he was twisting what she meant. “I told him not to expect it. If it happened, it would have been a miracle. Though the odds were stacked against you all.”

“So you told him that nothing was worth it, his effort was for nothing if he was going to lose, huh? That’s pretty shitty.”

“I didn’t exactly say that. I only said he should expect disappointment.” She explained simply, “He’s too optimistic, about everything. You of all people know that. Even things that are far too out of reach. I’ve learned to expect loss and failure, so that way I’m not let down that far.” Sakura got a far-off look in her chocolate eyes as she continued, “He builds himself up so far… and I hate seeing him fall. I don’t want him hurt the same way I was. He can’t end up like me, ever. I don’t want him to face the hardships I did at my lowest points. Had I known that I could end up at rock bottom, then perhaps I could have felt differently about myself.”

When she had first started her journey in photography, she felt so elated. Not only had she found something to differentiate herself from Shoyo, but it was something that she thoroughly enjoyed. She kept her camera by her side at all times because it made her feel different and special. Though to have her photograph then ridiculed the moment she tried to share it with others, hurt her so much. She didn’t expect it to happen. Sakura had just always gotten so much praise for her work and been separated from her brother that she could have never thought of going back to the person she had been. She was optimistic at the time. Perhaps too optimistic.

Sato was the biggest perpetrator of putting her down, practically bullying her for the remainder of her junior high experience. Thanks to his influence, the entire yearbook club had decided that everything she did was trash. She kept it from Shōyō, from everyone for that matter. Sakura didn’t see a point in worrying them with something like that. Looking back, she maybe should have said something, but it’s too late now. Besides, it wasn’t anything too bad. The harsh, mean, and unwarranted insults towards her work never came to her unless she tried to show people her work. So she kept her hobby to herself after that. It wasn’t until she was brought into a new environment that she tried to be a bit more outgoing once again. Thankfully this time it worked out favorably for her and wasn't an unpleasant experience again.

Back in junior high, had she factored in the possibility of others not liking her work or putting it down in some way, then she might have been a different person today. She knows now that what Sato had done to her in junior high was most likely done out of spite. He wanted to put her down just for the sake of it. This year in high school has proven that to her. His jealousy was palpable back then, Sakura just ignored it at the time due to wanting to be civil with him. Now having positive reinforcement from people other than her family has given her some confidence back. However, she’s learned to have a pessimistic outlook on things, just in case things don’t end up favorably. It's better to expect a bad outcome than think that things will go well when they end terribly.

She shook her head out of those thoughts, “I’ve learned my own lessons in the past. I’ve faced too much disappointment to the point where I should expect nothing else. I want Shōyō to have faith in his ability to play, but I also don’t want him to be delusional to the point where he can’t see the facts.” Sakura swallowed thickly, “He’s the twin who should be happy and successful. I’m just here to support him from the shadows.”

It was silent between them for a bit. They stared at one another, the two sized each other up at that moment. Sakura was watching him with annoyance now that she had been wacked by him, she had half the mind to retaliate against him. Who did he think he was doing that to her? She’s not her brother! Kageyama was staring at her in a new light with his blueberry eyes. He knew that Sakura valued her brother’s happiness over her own. He’s seen her put Shōyō before herself, even if it meant being put in annoying or uncomfortable situations. It was more than just her valuing her brother’s happiness over her own, Kageyama realized. He may have thought that she was just there to only support her brother because she had no other dimensions to her personality. Though he’s seeing now that it was more complicated than that.

Kageyama could see that Sakura didn’t see herself as successful in almost any way. Whatever she had experienced before had destroyed her self-esteem to the point where she couldn't see herself succeeding in anything. So instead she put her effort into supporting Shōyō in hopes that he would. It was something that Kageyama wouldn’t talk to her about since it was a bit too heavy of a topic and also they don’t know each other enough for him to bring it up. Either way, that way of thinking is just stupid!

“I was wrong,” Kageyama muttered to himself, causing Sakura’s eyebrows to furrow. Sure, she knows he’s wrong about a lot of things but for him to just admit it is weird. Though her thoughts were broken as she was smacked on the top of the head. “You are like your brother. You’re both idiots!” He shouted at her as she whined at the sudden pain. As Sakura nursed her now bruised head and glared up at him, Kageyama scowled at her, “No one should expect failure, you’re just setting yourself up to lose. You can’t just predict how something is going to happen!”

Sakura almost felt like a little kid being scolded by a parent. Which is strange with Kageyama being the one to tell her off. Most of the time it was him being told off by someone, never the other way around.

“Maybe not,” Sakura grumbled, “but I like being a realist. I look at facts and logic and it was a fact that Aoba Johsai had the advantage going into that match.”

Kageyama clicked his tongue in annoyance. In a way she is right, Oikawa’s team does have a bit of an edge over Karasuno thanks to certain things. However, to go into a game expecting them to lose is just absurd in his mind. If he were to go into a game thinking that it would be impossible to win, then he certainly wouldn’t have won any. Playing volleyball, or sports in general, isn’t just a game about physicality or strategy but also mentality. He must have the outlook and optimism to believe that he will win his games.

“If you go into every game expecting to lose, you will lose.” He stated simply, “maybe you should have a little optimism when it comes to your brother, to his team, and believe that we’ll win.” Sakura didn’t appreciate the feeling of being told off. Honestly, she’s usually the one doing it to people. Though he has to question if he’s right or not… The conflicted expression that now spread across Sakura’s face told Kageyama that he had gotten to her just a bit. He then started to walk off, leaving her to her own thoughts, “See you.”

Sakura watched him go with pursed lips, she didn’t like the way he had left her contemplating this. In her own little existential crisis in a sense. She glanced back around the corner to see her brother continuing to toss the ball high into the air. He was too lost in his own thoughts at the moment, and Sakura needed to rethink some things. So she changed her mind, and stalked off elsewhere to think things over.

---

It was stuffy in the room that Takeda had called all of the third-years to. Endo wasn’t sure if it was because they all knew what he wanted to talk to them about or there was far too much dust in this room. It was probably both, since he’s certain no one’s cleaned out this place in a while. His allergies were going to start acting up if he sat in this room for too long. The table in front of him seemed quite interesting as he stared at it instead of looking at his teacher in front of him.

The five third-years all sat in front of Takeda in silence for a moment longer before their teacher cleared his throat. “If you guys try too hard and end up hurting yourselves badly enough to affect your futures, but still want to play, we will probably stop you. There are times where it’s not best to act based on how you’re feeling.” Endo shifted uncomfortably in his metal chair, silently wishing that he could leave this talk at this very moment. “However, if you’re able to keep challenging yourselves, there are choices. That’s what I think. Of course, I’m not saying that scoring poorly on an exam is nothing. To overcome difficulties, you need effort, endurance, and sacrifices. The hours you’re putting into the club are hours others are putting into studying and securing their futures, which will give them an obvious lead over you. You all might end up regretting that.” He gave each student a look, expressing just how important this was for them. “Please choose wisely. Choose the path that you will not regret in five, or even ten, years.”

Endo stared down at his hands in compilation. Their teacher had a point about them needing to focus on their future. After all, even if they as third-years were good players, none of them really had the aspiration of playing sports as a career after they graduate. So why would they continue now after a huge loss when they could try and set a successful future into motion.

Though for him, he didn’t see a point. Yes, he wished to go to college. For what? He isn’t entirely sure just yet. However, no matter what it is, his father will dictate it for him. That was their deal. Endo got to have some semblance of control over his life for junior high and high school. Though once he graduated from high school, his father would decide what was best for him. Since to Hidake, his son didn’t seem capable of deciding what his life should be like, or how to go about it. More or less thinking of Endo as an idiot, unable to make big decisions for himself. At least that’s how Endo sees it.

So after some last parting words about making the right choices and thinking of their future despite what they might want in this moment, Takeda dismissed the teens. The five shuffled out of the room, slightly more conflicted for the time being after being reminded of what they had to think about. They walked with each other, not saying anything to each other as they were in their own thoughts. Eventually they ended up heading outside with the afternoon sun beaming down on them and the pleasant smell of blossoms wafting around them.

The blond cleared his throat, “I’ve made my decision. No one can change it otherwise.” Everyone looked at him to hear what he had to say. After all, they rarely ever got to hear about what Endo was thinking about. He usually kept things like this to himself. Asahi was really the only one who may have an idea of what Endo thinks. Endo took a deep breath, “My life after school has already been decided for me. So I'll decide this part of my life for myself, and I’ll keep playing.” As if he’d let this be taken away from him like most other things in his life. “If Takeda-sensei has changed your mind, then I’ll respect that, but I wanna stay.”

Asahi gave his best friend a large smile, “I’ll stick with you, no matter what, Joji.” It warmed Endo’s chest to see him like this. Especially if it was Asahi devoting to be by his side. Well, not his side, just the team. Yea, Asahi was saying he’d stay with the team, not just Endo.

“Look at you, actually wanting to play volleyball!” Suga laughed as he smacked Endo on the shoulder harshly. “Oikawa must really annoy you, huh?”

Endo chuckled, “He can be a pain in the ass, that’s for sure.” At this time, Endo still doesn’t know if he likes volleyball itself. He can say that he’s decent at it, and can hold his own in a game. However, he enjoys playing with his friends more than the sport itself. Though after yesterday something felt different. He wouldn’t say that he was suddenly inspired to become the best volleyball player in Japan or anything, but there was something. Maybe it was just revenge creeping in, wanting to win against Oikawa after that loss. Who’s to say? Not Endo. At least not yet.

---

School was over now, and every student was either rushing their way home to finally relax or heading to their club. Sakura was doing neither. She does have a club meeting today, but she has to find Shōyō as soon as she can. Sakura has spent most of this day without her brother, and while in the beginning it was to give him space to brood over yesterday's game, she has to check on him now. She should have done it earlier, but she got… distracted by Kageyama.

She searched for a while, and eventually found him by himself, staring at his volleyball. The depression on his face hurt Sakura’s heart so much. No matter how much time had passed, she was still going to be upset to see her brother like this. He sat on the ground in the courtyard, not really paying attention to all that much around him. Obviously stuck in his own thoughts, and even from her spot, Sakura could tell he was just about close to tears.

Slowly, she approached him and silently sat down next to him. He didn't really acknowledge her presence besides glancing at her arrival. They were silent for some time. Neither wanted to speak for sometime. Whether that’s because they didn’t know what to say, or that they wanted to talk about it is not exactly clear.

"You know if I'm being honest,” Sakura started breaking the silence between them, “I never thought you guys would make it as far as you did."

"Huh?" Shōyō grunted in surprise as he turned to her. How could she just outright say that? Doesn’t she see he’s upset!?

"There were a lot of obstacles for you guys to overcome.” She started to explain, “And I had thought that there was no way you guys would get over them, but you proved me wrong. You improved yourselves, evolved after every practice to become better players. Through sheer will, optimism, and luck, you guys got close to your goal."

Shōyō scowled, "Close isn't good enough."

Sakura paused at the echoed words that she had heard earlier from Kageyama. She sighed, "You still have the inter-high, boke. After these few games, Karasuno has proved themselves not to be as weak as they were before. Now people will consider you all a contender for number one. They see you as a threat. Which means you will face even more obstacles… ones that I know you can get over."

Her brother gasped at her words as his brown eyes widened, "You sound optimistic." There were times that he has heard her be hopeful and optimistic, but that felt like so long ago. Honestly, Shōyō didn’t know exactly what changed her outlook on things into how she is now. However, he found it more than refreshing for her to be like this once again.

"Yeah, don't get used to it.” Sakura clicked her tongue as her cheeks started to turn a light pink. Honestly, why did he have to point that out? Now she’s embarrassed! She shook her head with a huff, “I'm just saying, you guys somehow exceeded the expectations of everyone, what harm is there in thinking that you can do it again. Look, losing is... not just a bad thing."

Shōyō tilted his head, "It isn’t?" How is losing anything other than a bad thing?

She shrugged her shoulders, "Losing gives us the drive to push ourselves harder. We make sure that we do our best to win the next one. Without losing we wouldn't cherish a win as we should. It feels terrible, I know. But losing gives the feeling of winning value." Shōyō has suffered quite a few losses in his time on a volleyball team. Surprisingly, Sakura has tried to see them in a positive light. Instead of believing it to be a setback, she wanted to see it as something to improve from and to help her brother. She more than often kept that to herself, though now seemed like a good time to bring it to light. After all, he’s never suffered this devastating of a loss.

Shōyō thought over her words for a moment. Perhaps he saw it like that to an extent, but he never thought he’d hear something like that from Sakura. Then again, it’s a bit of a logical way to look at it. He shook his head slowly, “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

“Stop being a downer.” Sakura paused and blinked in surprise of herself, “Wow, never thought I would be saying that to you. So stop pouting.”

Shōyō just pouted even more, "I'm not pouting."

"You are," Sakura chuckled.

Soon enough the two dissolved into small bouts of laughter before becoming silent again. They said what they needed to for the time being. They’d more than likely talk more about it when they went home. However, for now they got what they needed out in the open. Besides, they both had to go to their respective clubs. While they didn’t totally want to part ways, duty called for them. So being the good big brother he is, Shōyō walked Sakura to her club room before sprinting back to the gym.

---

Planning for the next gallery was a bit easier than it was before. Sakura wasn’t as anxious about this one as she was about the first. They had to decide on a topic at the moment, so they were having a bit of a discussion about what to do. There weren’t any holidays really coming up, so a holiday theme was out of question. Plus they wanted to be more original and more thought provoking than having a one-dimensional theme. They had a little while to figure it out, so it wasn’t that much to worry about. Though Sakura kept the decision making to the other members. She was still contemplating what Kageyama had discussed with her earlier.

What he had said had been stewing within her the rest of the day. She thought over his words thoroughly and believed that he had some truth to what he had said. Sakura was at least going to admit that she could possibly be wrong or misguided about her pessimism and optimism outlook. However, she does still think that there is some merit to her thinking. Just after the conversation it… made her question her thinking a bit.

Was he right about her outlook on the game being wrong? She supposed that in a way it could be perceived as such. However, she wasn’t just outright believing that the game was over right from the start. She just believed that when looking at who was stacked against who, the odds were always favoring one team for another. Besides, watching the game yesterday had even shaken her initial belief that Karasuno had little to no way of standing against Seijoh.

Add in the fact that she had talked with Shōyō about it and did her best to cheer him up, her mind was starting to change. It’s not like she was suddenly going to become optimistic and think that Karasuno can go all the way. Having a healthy dose of skepticism and pessimism about certain situations is a good idea.

Though the advice that she gave him about thinking a loss could be turned into a good thing stuck with her. Deep down, she thought about the idea some time ago, just never thought that it could be put into action. If anything, she just hoped it was true, since she didn’t completely believe in it. Just because she hasn’t had to witness Shōyō lose so badly. Which meant it was more than a good time to try it out.

Shimada then appeared suddenly in front of Sakura and plopped onto the desk her underclassman was sitting at. A large smile was plastered on the club president's face as she pinned her kohai with an inquisitive look. “You seem deep in thought, Saku-chan!” Ever since Sakura had come into the club room, she seemed distracted. Shimada noticed that her brother was there to drop her off before rushing off, so she wondered what he was there for. After all, the male Hinata never seems to come around here.

“I sort of am,” Sakura commented, now seeing that her senpai was not going to leave her alone. She brushed her hand through her hair, “Just thinking about the game yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah. I heard about that.” Shimada hummed, “The boys did really well though! From what I heard the team they played is super good.” Sure, she didn’t know much about volleyball, but she did know the results of the game. The volleyball team isn’t talked about that much around school since other teams take the spotlight a bit more for their tournaments. Then again it wouldn’t matter if the boy’s volleyball team were the number one in the prefecture, Shimada still would know nothing about the sport.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, “Seijoh’s one of the best teams in the prefecture.”

“I guess they didn’t take it that well.” From the frown on Sakura’s face, Shimada knew that was a bit of an understatement. “What about your brother? How’s he doing?”

“He’s upset, as to be expected…” She sighed heavily while her brother’s depressed expression haunted her for a moment. Sakura stared down at her hands on the desk as she nervously fiddled with them. “I really wish that they won.”

Shimada nodded her head, “I mean, I would too, imagine what photos you could have gotten of their win!” She gushed as her imagination took over the amazing photos that Sakura could take in that scenario. Though once she saw the unamused stare from the other girl, Shimada calmed down and appeared sheepish, “ahem, sorry.”

Sakura shook her head at her friend’s behavior. There are definitely times where she thinks that Shimada is crazy. There are quite a few moments like that. Though she focused back on what she was feeling about the game, “I honestly thought they were gonna win after all that work. They tried their best. Shōyō especially, I know he put everything he could into it.” A soft little smile then graced her face, “I’m so proud of him.” Sakura is always proud of her brother, basically no matter what he does. However, this time it was much stronger than usual. Maybe it was because she was extremely sympathetic towards him and his loss, maybe it was just because he’s her brother. Either way, the effort that she knows he put into it for so long just made her admire him so much more.

Shimada had to hold herself back from jumping the adorable girl in a tight hug. Her eyes were sparkling as she started fangirling at how adorable her kohai is. “You’re such a sweet sister!”

Sakura huffed while hiding her pink cheeks, “you’re annoying.”

The president eventually calmed herself down before saying, “Well, I don’t know all that much about volleyball, but I’m sure they can do better next time!”

“I hope.” That’s all she can do right now. She’ll gain some hope and optimism for the next tournament coming up. Sure, she’ll keep her own healthy level of pessimism and keep her brother down to earth, but maybe now she can see there’s nothing wrong with reaching for the impossible.

Shimada gave Sakura a meaningful, hopeful expression, “Support your brother, boost up his morale, keep the other boys in check. I know you’re really good at that.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Shimada displayed her pearly white teeth in a large smile, “I usually am!” That totally didn’t just stroke her ego.

Their white-haired vice-president then walked past the desk and casually commented, “No you’re not.”

“Gah, Aiko!”

---

After their talk with Takeda and a small conversation between them, the third-years had rushed to the club room to get ready. However, they were certainly going to be late at this point. Even if practice was technically off for today, there was no doubt in everyone’s mind that the entire team was going to show up.

“Crap, hurry.” Suga called out to the others running behind him.

Endo huffed, “Yeah, we are.” He was going to get tired once they started practice, why did he have to tire himself out now by running across school to get to the gym!

Just as they thought, they were late, the last ones into the gym while everyone else was already there. Tanaka jumped at them once they got into the gym with a vicious smile, “You’re late!”

Suga huffed and puffed as he caught his breath, but couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face. He declared to the team, “Let’s go to the spring tournament!”

“All right!” They cheered before they started to set themselves up for practice. It’s safe to say that the team's morale was quite high at this moment. The boys all worked together to get the net set up, the balls out and started some drills. It was quite the sight for Ukai to come into the gym and see. After all, he wasn’t sure if any of them would actually show up.

“Thank you!” The boys all greeted their coach who stared at them in disbelief.

Ukai smiled in amazement, “You guys are in good spirits.”

They all then lined up in front of him as Daichi shouted out, “Please continue to coach us!”

The boys all bowed, “Please!”

From a bit further away, Sakura smiled as she watched the coach enter the gym to a more than overzealous team. Her own club had just ended and she was walking out with them right now. As she walked over to where she left her bike, she couldn’t help herself but glance into the gym through the open door to see what the shouting was all about. It was quite the exciting scene to see for her. No one seemed upset any longer about yesterday, if anything they seemed more determined.

“Saku-chan!” She turned at the shout of her name and found that her own club was waiting for her. They all waited for her expectantly as Shimada was waving her over, “Come on, we’re all going to get food!”

“Yeah, sure.” She grabbed her bike and started to walk off towards them. So Sakura left, for the first time in a while, she was journeying off on her own, away from her brother. Perhaps this was for the best. Both Hinata twins seemed to have carved a spot for themselves at Karasuno. While it wasn’t surprising for Shōyō to do that, it was for Sakura to find that niche place for her. As the wind blew, cheers continued to come from in the gym, and Sakura trotted over to her group of club members, a lone snowtail butterfly settled itself on a random flower.

A little while later, Ukai called for the team to have a break so he could talk over a few things with them. After all, they needed to discuss yesterday's game. “We lost in a match that decided our superiority or inferiority.” Ukai said to the group as they sat on the gym floor. “Seijoh was strong and we fell to them. That is our reality right now. As for today’s finals for the Inter-High… The winner was Shiratorizawa.” That shocked everyone. After all, Aoba Johsai is such a strong team… and Shiratorizawa beat them?! That must make Shiaratorizawa extremely scary!

“Seijoh…” Shōyō’s eyes started to widden.

Kageyama’s eyes were just as wide, “...lost?”

Ukai continued on, “There are teams stronger than Seijoh, even in our prefecture. That just means we have to get stronger. I’m pretty sure you know what our next goal is, but… It’s the spring tournament. For the third-years who will be participating, it will be their last battle.” He then turned to focus on Daichi, “Well, then let’s have the captain pump us all up.”

Daichi stood up with his back facing his team as he started, “It’s the stage that Karasuno has been to just once in the past… Tokyo. The Orange Court.” He then turned to face them with a determined expression on his face. “We’re going to go there one more time!”

“All right!” It would mean intense practice, long nights, and sore muscles, but the team were certainly going to put in the work now. A fire was lit under all of them, and that fire wasn’t going to go out until they made it to nationals!

---

Blog Masterlist | Red Herring Masterlist | Last Chapter | Next Chapter

5 notes · View notes

eve-akemi · 2 years

Text

I just had a brainrot idea Fuyumi backstory angst, but I can't draw it yet, until I finish the sketches of another au.

But please hear me out.

(TW: Abusive/manipluative Rei, Endeavor.., unhealthy coping mechanisms)

Fuyumi has a bit of an identity crisis when Touya is gone. If he's just dead, then all the pain everyone around him trying to help, or being affected by his pain (her, natsu, mom, probably shoto too) was for nothing. All the pain and trouble he went through. Was for nothing. So she tries to apply for UA herself, so that in a way, it was like he is still going there himself (possibly twinning older siblings au).

And everything goes flawlessly! She should have passed. And after she doesn't get accepted in, she can't.. accept it. So she goes to ask a teacher or something why she didn't get accepted. And they tell her one of her parents was just concerned for her safety.

Of course her father would do such a thing- because only Shoto is worthy of being a hero. Eneraged, confused, and heartbroken, she says nothing. For three months into the new schoolyear, she barely even looks at him, until he finally pulls her aside and won't let her leave the room until he gets it out of her what's been bothering her. And she snaps.

Screaming and crying at him about the whole situation, but start to finish, Endeavor is just as confused as when he pulled her in the room, if not even more lost. Until it finally dawns on her that he really doesn't know what she's talking about. And didn't even know she applied.

But her mother did.

And that just hurts so much more. Because she didn't even have the gall to say it to her face. Once. She's about to leave, and she's stopped again, because Endeavor wants answers now.

Why she really applied, what she was hoping for, if she even wants to be a hero.. she owes at least this to him, for giving him shit over something he had no prior knowledge of. And when she's finished, he finally tells her that he doesn't care if she wants to go, or not. She's proved herself more than capable, and he shouldn't stop her regardless of how he feels (yes, this is guilt over Touya because he couldn't save him, yadda yadda). But if she does go. He wants her to go as herself, and not her older brother. And suggest doing a little more soul searching before making a decision right away.

Fuyumi doesn't end up going to UA anyway, and she doesn't tell either of her brothers about this. Natsu is really attached to mom, even though he can't see her as often, and Shoto feels guilty, but she knows he really loves her still too.

But even though she doesn't really like Endeavor, and sometimes gets scared of him, she's starting to respect him. It doesn't make up for her having call his agency for help dragging him inside at night when he's drunk, doesn't make up for the times he's snapped and yelled at Natsu over small things, or the times he's completely demonlished sections of the house he's usually in in the middle of night. It's better than nothing. And she'll take it.

#fuyumi todoroki #touya todoroki #Rei is abusive in this one #fuyumi mourning gone wrong #enji is a good parent for 0.5secs #he's still shitty tho #au thing #idk how to make an under the cut read more thing

4 notes · View notes

haikyuu-philia · 2 years

Text

How They Would Confess to You

Headcanons for the Karasuno Boys (Hinata Shouyou, Kageyama Tobio, Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei, Ennoshita Chikara, Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Nishinoya Yuu, Azumane Asahi, Sugawara Koushi, Sawamura Daichi)

A/N: There have been so many takes on this already, but here I am anyways! Feel free to request more scenarios or characters :) It’s gender neutral!

Trigger Warning: None

hinata shouyou

Surprisingly, he didn't charge into the confession part without any preparations. Growing up with Natsu by his side, he had read an ungodly amount of fairy tales to her and he was insisting on making it a special moment for him, but especially to you, as well. He really wanted to share all the joy he was feeling whenever you two got to spend time together with you.

Soon enough he had made up his mind, after getting lots of advice from Suga and Yachi to keep him from jumping on whatever he could come up with first. Everyone could tell that something was up that day, though, because he rather kept to himself, was more lost in thought and he was even more fidgety than usual.

He pulled you aside when he was supposed to be at volleyball practice. To some degree it felt like he was about to hold an important presentation that he had rehearsed not at all and therefore, he averted his eyes from yours. Maybe he was considering running for the toilet shortly after he had spoken the first words.

“Are you ok-” - “WELL, ACTUALLY I WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT I REALLY REALLY LIKE YOU.”

His eyes were wide, his cheeks and ears were flushed and there was an insecure grin on his lips. He went on more calmly explaining exactly what he and Yachi had prepared in advance in case of him not knowing what he wanted to say. That included the fact that he had considered it for a long time but had come to the conclusion that you meant more to him than volleyball.

He was literally over the moon once he realized that you felt the same way about him - His head nearly collided with the ceiling when he jumped full force in absolute ecstasy as soon as the energy of happiness had hit him. Yachi, Suga and Kageyama were the first ones to know.

kageyama tobio

For the longest time he had zero intentions of telling you or making it public that he had somehow managed to develop romantic feelings for someone. There was volleyball, there were his studies, there was his career, way too many things on his plate for him to add another obstacle.

At some point he realized that being in a relationship didn't mean he would have more on his plate, but that he would have two more hands to help him carry the weight of it. Now, he wasn't on the stupid side, yet he had to resort to Google to find out how a confession is supposed to go as calling Oikawa was not an option.

He got flowers. He got chocolate. He even tried writing a letter. He bought a little teddy bear plushie. Thanks to all these preparations he was really confident in his plan, whether you were to say yes or no. There was no way you could say no considering these efforts. Right?

Granted, the challenging part was the talking. He tried to form coherent thoughts and sentences, but expressing emotions had never really been his forte and he was struggling quite a bit. At the end, he bowed to you in the very respectful and classic Japanese way, with his hand extended towards you.

There was a surprised spark in his eyes that immediately turned into the biggest grin when he looked up, only for it to turn into him scratching the back of his head and avoiding your glance. To be fair, he had no idea how to go from there. But he knew that he was extremely happy.

yamaguchi tadashi

To be fair, he had to fight his anxiety at first. He knew that you two were close, he knew that he wanted to be even closer to you and he knew that the worst thing that could happen was you saying no. But then there were these dark thoughts, painful remains from the trauma he had experienced when he had gotten bullied as a child, that told him that there was nothing about him someone as perfect as you could truly love.

Eventually, he asked his dad for advise on how to deal with a crush because at some point his dad must have had a crush on his mom and obviously he had been rather successful in that regard. He refused with a blush on his cheeks when his dad suggested to ask his mom as well. But she knew anyways once Tadashi snuck into the kitchen late at night to bake some cupcakes for you.

Baking simply helped him calm his nerves. And someone as sweet as you would definitely be happy about them, right? Maybe seeing your smile while eating the cupcakes would boost his confidence enough to say the mighty words he had locked inside his heart for quite some time.

At that point it had turned into an open secret that he had a crush on you. By the way his mood always brightened when you were talking to him and how easy it was to get his attention by saying as little as your name it wasn't too far-fetched to assume that he liked you.

Eventually, he kept it simple. During your little cupcake-eating-session he stumbled over his words here and there, but he suggested that the two of you could go out again. Once you had agreed, he added that he would like to call it a date. He took a huge bite of the cupcake in his hands to distract his anxiety - Sugar was a good way to keep his serotonin high.

At home he turned into a puddle on the couch in the living room and his parents assumed the worst until he could feel happy tears in his eyes and he reassured them that everything had gone just fine. Even though he nearly started crying from being so overwhelmingly glad he was beaming.

tsukishima kei

He sighed. A lot. Mostly at himself because he couldn't believe that a single human being was capable of distracting him from everything else in his life only by existing and interacting with him. It drove him beyond crazy that he had to admit at some point that he had two options: Confessing to put an end to this misery or moving across the country.

Lo and behold, he got absolutely nothing for you. He wasn't even sure what exactly he was trying to achieve by having this conversation with you because it made him rather uncomfortable having to talk about his most privat feelings.

“You might be wondering why I asked you to come here and it’s actually really stupid, so I don't want to waste our time any further. I’ve come to the realization that I have feelings for you, which is quite inconvenient to say the least. Not that you aren't a nice person, I seem to have taste, but I can't do the most mundane things anymore because you are always on my mind.”

He was about to turn around and leave before you eventually said that this was mutual. Again, he sighed. In an awkward way he asked whether you wanted to go and grab some coffee or lemonade at a cafe to talk about this. His back was straight, his posture stiff and dead silence was proof of his head trying to catch up with what had unraveled in front of him.

You had to pinky-promise that you would never say a word about the way he confessed, especially not when Kuroo was present. Or Kageyama. Or anyone for that matter. But that didn't last too long because Yamaguchi figured it out, then Yachi, then Kiyoko and well, it spread like wildfire.

When you were holding hands on your way back, he was looking anywhere but in your direction. He simply didn't know what to do. Yet, his hand was shaking slightly and that gave away his nervousness. A long sigh followed once he was home and no one was around to hear it.

ennoshita chikara

Until then, only like three people had known that he even had developed a crush on you. Was he close to Tanaka and Nishinoya? Yes. Was dealing with his own feelings a business they might get way too involved in, so he rather to Kiyoko about it? Also yes.

Internally, he was always somewhat panicking when you were around because he was worried that someone, or you for that matter, might notice how nervous he got around you and how happy it made him when you called his name. He felt invincible with you by his side and that made you so special. That’s why he wanted to make the confession special as well.

After literal days of planning how to properly ask you out, only his own nerves seemed to be in the way of him finding happiness with you. He chose a quiet place that radiate calmness, which helped him be a little less on the edge as he arrived with you. Casually chatting with you, he slowly guided the conversation to the topic of relationships ... he was testing the ice he was about to step on.

He was combing a hand through his hair every couple of seconds, trying to focus on actually paying attention to what you were saying instead of sorting the words he wanted to say. So, he kept starring at the tip of your adorable nose (he could keep ranting about it for hours).

“I know this is very sudden and I don't want to make it awkward between us. In the past months I’ve realized that while being friends with you is absolutely amazing and I’m very grateful for it, I want to ask you what you’d think about been more than ... friends. What you’d think about ... being a couple, you know?”

After you had confessed as well he excused himself to turn around for a second, slapping his own cheeks with his hands to make sure that he wasn't dreaming, so he faced you with double-flushed cheeks and asked you to repeat what you had just said: “Well, um, great, I guess, that means we are daaaaating?”

tanaka ryuunosuke

His friends thought that he would blurt out his feelings right in front of you in the heat of the moment at some point. But this boy had a plan. A plan he had created with his dearest sister, who he had confided it.

He went classic. And maybe a little overboard. Actually, as part of their research his sister had read online that 100 red roses symbolize “I’m fully devoted to you.”, which was a message he immediately felt deep inside his heart.

So, he was standing in front of you with this huge bouquet of flowers more or less effectively hidden behind his back. The confession itself went quickly. With his cheeks gave away his nervousness while he spoke his words in such a fast pace that it got nearly impossible to not admire his passion right then and there.

“I love you. I just love you so freaking much. I think of you first thing in the morning and last thing at night. When you text me, I drop everything I’m doing. I’m not very poetic. But I just really, very genuinely love you from the bottom of my heart.”

When you told him about your feelings for him, he nearly forgot to hand over the flowers. Well, he got a little embarrassed explaining the meaning of the 100 roses AFTER the confession part because he had somehow not mentioned it in his little speech earlier. But he was proud to call you his.

nishinoya yuu

To say the least, he was enthusiastic about confessing to you. He would finally get to tell his special person how special they actually were to him. Even days before the actual thing he couldn't stop grinning at you whenever he came into sight, which made it hard for others not to notice that something was up.

The only issue his friends were facing was that he came up with a new “super-duper-giganticly amazing idea” every day. They had to sit him down to have his mind focus on one plan at a time, eventually leading him to setting his mind on confessing to you after a volleyball match.

Cue to him jumping through the hallways of the gym to find you among the visitors. Considering that it was after five sets and nearly two hours of him being on the court he had way too much energy from the thought of soon enough being called your boyfriend alone. He was sweaty, he was thirsty, he was lightning.

“DID YOU SEE ME OUT THERE, I THINK I WAS GREAT AND YOU ARE PRETTY. SO WE ARE PRETTY GREAT!”

He might have skipped a few steps there. When he realized that himself he stopped mid-air and he ended up standing right in front of you, not knowing what to do like someone had cut of his energy supply. He was actually at a loss for words before he asked you if he could start anew with what he had wanted to say.

Now in his second attempts, he was much more flustered than before. It was slowly sinking in how much was on the line and all his flaws, like his academic skill, began to weigh on him. The celebration of you reciprocating his feelings followed suit with a hug. A very sweaty but very ecstatic hug.

azumane asahi

Everyone knew this was going to be torture for him. All the methods that Suga and Daichi tried to talk him through sounded worse than the one before and he actually ended up wondering if his crush on you couldn't simply subside without you having to know what feelings he had for you.

He decided to tell you and ask you out during one of your casual meet-ups because then he wouldn't have to worry about the location and the time - and seeming suspicious, which still left him a door open to escape in case of him chickening out last minute.

The two of you were resting on a bench at a local park, watching kids play at a playground when he gathered enough courage to let you look inside his heart. As not being in control over his words was one of his greatest fears he had prepared something like a little script that he pulled out of his pocket after picking up the conversation again.

As part of this short speech he admitted how making new friends wasn't something that came easy to him, but that talking to you on the day you met was one of the best choices he had ever made. He emphasized how you always made him feel safe, regardless of how nervous and scared he was when it came to some things.

Throughout the whole ‘ordeal’ he barely dared to look up even though he could feel yours eyes on him. But with his fingers shaking slightly and his throat going dry with every word he was afraid he would stumble. He sat up straight as a meerkat, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar the moment you said it was mutual.

“I honestly can't believe I’m this lucky to have you in my life, (Y/N).”

sugawara koushi

He had a plan. Originally, it had been one of those super-staged romantic scenarios he had seen on tv, but he discarded all of those when his heart acted on this warm and fuzzy feeling erupting inside of him while the two of you had been on an outing one day. His head had zero seconds to intervene.

Even before he had made actual plans of confessing to you, he just knew that you were the one he wanted to date. You were the one whose hand he wanted to hold. You were the one he wanted to hold when you were sad and he wanted to be the one being held by you when he wasn't feeling like his usual upbeat self. Being around you and falling for you had come as natural as breathing to him.

Well, he more or less ended up blurting out his feelings when the conversation somehow reached the topic of dating and you said that you were in fact single but ready to mingle - And Suga’s mouth moved before he could think about anything he was about to say. His heart saw the opportunity and acted on it.

“This might sound absolutely weird, and of course you can say no, but considering that, how about our next outing will be a date? It’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a little while now. And it would be an honor to be the one going on a date with you.”

Once he realized what he had just done he was starring at you like a deer in headlights. But he very dramatically reached for his heart and exhaled a little heavier than usual following your agreement to his offer. From there, he planned it all, swearing to himself that later on he would ask you out properly and wouldn't let his heart take over like that again! A smiley boy for the rest of the day.

sawamura daichi

This man was an overthinker. It didn't matter how much time you two spent together and how much you radiated more-than-friends energy, he was always overthinking if all of this was just his own head-over-heels-for-you conception of the situation. He needed a push from his friends.

In the end, his confession was really short but sweet because he wanted to get it over with and didn't want to burden you further in case of you not reciprocating his feelings. You could tell how much he was trying to not cringe at himself while saying the most important words.

“Actually, I think I have known for quite a while now. Spending time with you is my favorite thing to do and I’m genuinely the happiest person on earth when you smile. So, I was wondering, if you wanted to be more than friends, too. Because I would be delighted to.”

He might have rehearsed these sentences over and over again in front of a mirror the last night, hence the slight shadows underneath his eyes. But who could think of sleep when he was planning how to confess to his crush, aka. the most gorgeous person on planet earth?

When you said ‘yes’, he broke into the biggest grin and even thanked you for giving him a chance. He invited you to one of his favorite restaurants nearby. At home he sat down on his bed, head in his hands and had to take a deep breath to realize what had happened today. As soon as the butterflies hit his stomach he was laying on his bed, slightly punching his pillow while his cheeks turned bright red in happiness.

501 notes · View notes

xanvasofxords · 2 years

Text

Misunderstandings 《Chapter 03》

《01》 || <-Previous Chapter

At the guildhall Natsu finds Loke at his usual spot, by the bar and flirting with his one of many girlfriends. The dragon slayer heaves a sigh.

"Yo, Loke!" He calls.

Upon seeing Natsu, Loke's usually calm demeanor changes. Natsu may not be the wisest, but he is not dumb. The salmon haired man clearly catches the way Loke's face shifts to a dejected look, before he quickly puts on a smile to cover up.

"H-Hey Natsu," Loke motions the girl beside him to give them some space and says, "Man 'sup?" Natsu warily eyes his nervous expressions, it is almost as if the celestial spirit wants a chance to escape.

Natsu will not let him do so, but he keeps himself from asking the ginger haired man anything about it. At least for the time being.

"Where's Luce?" Natsu quickly gets to the point. "It's been one week and she hasn't come to the guild yet." Loke shakes his head and sighs.

"I believe, she left you a letter?" He reminds the slayer, Natsu pulls out the paper from his pocket. "She did, and I don't trust this. There's something wrong and I need-"

The celestial spirit cuts him off with a glare. "Lucy is allowed to do jobs without you Natsu, she's not compelled to always be with other people," Loke snaps. "Get that inside your fuckin' head man."

Natsu again feels a pang of guilt in his chest, he clenches his fists on both sides and stares down. He knows something is wrong, something he needs to figure out but Loke is correct, he does not get to come to conclusions all by himself.

Once his anger subdues, Loke sighs in regret. Honestly, who can blame him for getting mad at Natsu? His master spent hours after hours crying, all for the dragon slayer.

But Loke is aware that it is not actually the salmon haired man's fault. He doesn't even know why Lucy left all on a sudden. Does not know that it is all because of him.

Natsu is doing what a best friend will do, what Loke would do if he were in his place. He lost his temper in the heat of the moment, thinking about Lucy, which was unfair to the fire mage.

So Loke aplogises the next moment.

"Sorry man, I'm a bit sensitive when comes to Lucy!" He raises his hand in the air. The fire mage smilingly nods.

"Nah I get ya, I just... don't feel alright... about this. I know Lucy can protect herself better than me, heck even saved my ass at times! But... I just can't..." Natsu trails of with a groan, frustratedly rubs his temple. "Besides, even if I know she's safe... I still want to be by her side. I don't think I can go through the pain of... losing her again..." He adds right after.

The confession makes Loke reconsider his decision of not telling him anything about Lucy. Only if he can do anything to ease his pain, while not breaking his promise to his beloved master.

I know you won't tell anyone where I am, I trust you.

The ginger haired man then takes a deep breath and asks, "What is Lucy to you?"

"What?"

"I said, what is Lucy to you Natsu?" Loke repeats. The celestial spirit sincerely hopes what he sees in the eyes of the man before him, is true.

#fairy tail #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail nalu #ft nalu #nalu #natsu x lucy #nalu fan fiction #nalu fanfiction #nalu fanfic

76 notes · View notes

nalu4emily · 3 years

Text

In The END

Summary: She's always been there for him, since the very beginning. A small drabble where Natsu tells Lucy just how important she really is. Can be seen as romantic and/or platonic. NALU fluff/hurt/comfort.

For general audiences.

"What do you mean your weak?"

Those words stung him, like a bee with no other choice; was that really what she thought about herself?

Crouching down beside her bed, he gazed over her beaten body. Those wounds would take time to heal, much like her shattered confidence.

He waited, letting it sink in for a moment, annoyed that she'd even contemplate such a thing; did she not know? Could she not see how strong she was?

Sighing heavily, his own injuries niggled across his body, but he didn't care about them, it was all part of the job, and sometimes they went badly.

His hand was itching to wipe her tears away, hold her hand, and make her smile, the way she always did—he loved that.

"Lucy?"

"I meant what I said," she turned her face away, the sunlight burning into her eyes but that didn't matter; what was one more pain?

With brows furrowed and head tilted, he tried to see how, how could she say that?

"But, your not, you never have been. You've always been strong, Luce-"

"No. You've always been strong, Natsu. Along with Gray and Erza, even Wendy. I'm so sick of you guys pretending that I'm on the same level as you, because it's been made quite clear that I'm not."

He could hear the ire in her voice, see the sorrow on her face, and felt the desperation of her words. This seemed more of a deep seated problem than he first thought, but where had it all come from? For how long had she felt like this?

It made him angry; it made him sad. For the first time, he'd been rendered speechless on a subject he often felt so strongly about—bragged about even. He had to make her see, needed to, in fact.

"I don't know why you try, you can't change facts, Natsu. I'm weak and that's all there is to it," she sniffled, but quickly wiped her nose with her sleeve, her feelings numb. "I wish I'd never gone on that job, then maybe I wouldn't feel so useless. Just look at me, for gods sake! No matter how hard I try not to, I always lose. It's pathetic-"

Silencing her with his hand over her mouth, he couldn't bare to listen. Unwilling to accept that his best friend, his teammate, could think so poorly of herself.

"Stop now, I've heard enough."

Shaking his hand off of her face, she forced herself to sit, the pain rippling through her broken limbs, "I don't care if you've heard enough, I've had enough! I'm sick of it! Tell me why, Natsu, why do I lose so often if I'm supposedly so strong? Why?"

He kept quiet, which only seemed to anger her more, "answer me!" Her tears began to cascade down her reddened cheeks, her eyes puffy and full of distrust.

He puffed out a halo of smoke, feeling an overwhelming need to prove her wrong, but how? Deciding his next words carefully, he spoke softly, "you don't lose, Luce. You've never lost, not once."

The air, thick and tense between them, only seemed to exacerbate the silence, her eyes wide and bleak, a colour of brown that dulled in comparison to her usual gleaming irises.

"What are you saying? Stop lying to me!"

The corner of his lips quirked upward as he thought back on all the years they'd been together, and not once had she ever let him down, left him behind or put herself first. Because that was her biggest strength—to never give up! "Do you remember when we were on Tenrou island, and we went up against that Kain guy?"

"Yeah, and I was just as useless back then, too."

"That's the thing though, Luce, you weren't. I was," he said, noticing her eyes shift towards him, but never quite reaching his. "I watched him beat you to a pulp, and no matter how much I tried to get you to run, you refused. You never left me, even though I couldn't save you. That takes real guts to smile like you did, through pain you were in."

"But that… that proves nothing. You still ended up saving us in the end," she huffed, turning her head away again.

"Fine then, if that's how you wanna do it, I've got all night." Treating it almost like a game, he'd win this one, for sure. "What about future Lucy? She saved all of our asses."

"But she was from the future, that wasn't-"

"It was still you, Lucy." He reached forward and tugged on her hand, anything to get her to look at him. "She'd been through so much, and yet still found the courage to come back and save us, while sacrificing herself in the process. Hell, she even saved you, Luce! She saved you where I couldn't."

The blondes head turned around this time, her brown eyes fixed on the man, who's voice had begun to quiver, "Natsu?"

"If that doesn't prove it, then what about Tartaros? You sacrificed your own spirit to save us, because you were the only one that could."

"Natsu, I-I-"

"Don't even get me started on END and rewriting that book. Gray told me all about it."

"A-And? You would've done the same for me." Buckling under the intense pressure from his fiery gaze, her eyes shifted, trying to look anywhere else but at him.

"Sure, I'd give it my all, but I'm not you. I don't have a brain like yours. Only you could come up with an idea like that, and only you would have the smarts to rewrite a book of Zeref."

Without knowing, he'd moved closer, his face now in hers, unwilling to back down now that his words seemed to be getting a reaction.

Her heart had sped up tenfold, heat reaching the tips of her ears, "u-uh...it was..."

"You gave me my life back that day, and then you went and blew it outta the park by casting Fairy Sphere, a spell only the first master could conjure. You saved the whole of Fiore, and all because of that awesome mind of yours."

"B-But I had..." Now she was the one who was speechless; he'd really put some thought into this. Feeling a warmth encase her cheek, the girl felt her breath be forced from her lungs, the tingle of a blush tinting her cheeks, "Natsu, I… I don't know what to say."

"Then say nothing. Just listen," he said, finally wiping those few stray tears away, his forehead gently resting on hers, and hot breath fanning across her lips, "Luce, you are the reason that we get to sit here like this today. Without you, we'd have been dead long ago."

Was that really true? Had she really made such an impact?

"Whether you believe me or not, I had my reasons for picking you as my teammate." He nuzzled closer, his free hand gripping hold of hers.

"So, it wasn't because I was a blonde, then?" With smiles on both of their faces, they chuckled together at the memory, and what a fond memory it was.

"You were the one to break me outta that spell, remember? With that fake Salamander."

She gasped; she'd forgotten about that.

"See, Lucy, you've been saving me from the very beginning. It's only fair that I get to return the favour every one in a while," his lopsided grin returned, her cheeks quick to mirror. "And I'm glad I did today. That's what teammates are for, right?"

"Right. Thanks, Natsu, for always being there for me," she said, leaning further into him, using his warmth to settle her aching body.

"No, thank you, Luce, for never leaving my side."

#Nalu #fairy tail nalu #ft nalu #natsu x lucy #natsu lucy #Natsu and Lucy #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail natsu #fairy tail lucy #fairy tail #fairy tail 100 years quest #ft #nalu fanfiction #fairy tail fanfiction #fairy tail fandom

185 notes · View notes

i-cant-sing · 3 years

Text

An Accident

Yeah... you may have seen this before, earlier this week when I accidentally posted it. Anyways, this is a part 2 of the Todoroki clan being obsessed with reader's hair. So, um enjoy.

Check out my MASTERLIST for more!

Yandere Todoroki Clan:

Rei is obsessed with reader’s hair.

She’s taken such good care of it, and after years of hard work, your hair now reaches just around your butt. Your hair is healthy, thick, luscious, and cut into a smooth, U shape; of course all trims are done by Rei herself because she doesn't even trust professionals. And even though you’ve asked Rei on multiple occasions to cut it short, at least up to the middle of your back, she just wouldn’t, always saying that you’re being unreasonable. But you’re not; you’ve given her multiple valid reasons.

For example, Rei and Fuyumi do your hair themselves. And initially, they would let you choose whatever hairstyle you wanted, but now they pick one for you, saying they know which one will suit your outfit of the day better. Rei likes to do double buns, or ponytails tied with ribbons or just one high pony with a pretty big bow on the top of your head. Fuyumi on the other hand makes super intricate hairstyles, and while they look pretty, only you know how much pain your scalp is in. Fuyumi does your hair as if you’re her doll, yanking and twisting hard, saying that she needs to be this rough to achieve the distinctive braid patterns. Thankfully, Rei usually does your hair most of the time.

One of the main reasons you've begged Rei to let you cut your hair short is how much time she (and you) would safe. Since your hair is so long, it takes a lot of time for Rei to put in hair masks, serums, oils, etc. It takes even longer to wash and dry them out, and then style them as well. But she smiled oh so kindly, and told you that she doesn't mind. She looks forward to taking care of your hair, forcing you to sit between her legs for hours as she applies some expensive magic growth oil, ignoring how you didn't like this.

And even if your hair is curly naturally, like even 4C curly hair, Rei will have it straight as a stick in no time (don't bother telling her that you like it natural). But don't worry, its still quite voluminous.

Of course, Rei washes your hair herself, telling you that you’re simply not capable enough to manage it. (At least she lets you wash your body yourself.) And due to your hair being so long, it takes time to not only wash it, but also dry it. Rei will detangle using a wide tooth comb, starting from the bottom and working her way up. Then she’ll dry it with her cold breath, and if required, call Enji to dry your hair with his heat. You like it when Enji dries your hair, because he does it quickly and your hair becomes far smoother.

And its not just Rei and Fuyumi that are obsessed with your hair, the boys are just as fond of it as well. Enji likes to card his fingers through your hair while he’s working on some papers or listening to news, his warm hands always putting you to sleep in his lap. Its an adorable sight, gives him a sense of peace.

Shotou also likes to run his hands through your long hair, especially after a stressful day. The feeling of his fingers through your smooth, long locks, it calms him. And if he’s feeling extra stressed, then he might braid your hair loosely as well. He always wears a scrunchie on his wrist for you.

You wouldn't ever admit it, but you enjoy it when Natsuo played with your hair. Its like he can sense when you're having a headache. He'll have you sit on the floor while he takes a seat on your bed, and then his fingers will do their magic. He knows exactly where to put pressure on your scalp, and exactly how much force to use. His massages always relieve your migraines, and he always massages with expertise to ensure their is proper blood flow in your scalp.

While you are more than happy to let Natsuo touch your hair, you hate it when Dabi's around. If you didn't know better, you'd think he wants to rip your scalp off. He knows how much it annoys you, always pulling at your ponytails, tugging at your braids, even yanking it a few times when you ignore him. And you've complained to your family, but all of them say that "oh he's just playing around." Or "no, he just misses you. He's only teasing." And when you ask Dabi to stop it, he'll just smile and say "big brother privileges."

He's insufferable.

Everyone gets to play with your hair, but God forbid if you do. Oh no, apparently you'd "destroy it", as if you're not capable of managing your own hair. You're not allowed to open your ponytails because, quoting Rei, "you're yanking your hair. You're going to rip your follicles- baby, stop. Just let me do it." But you know that she does that because she wants to brush your hair with the soft, bristle brush before you go to bed. And somedays, Rei doesn't tie your hair in a bun or something, letting your hair fall, and it gets in your way, and even then you're still not allowed to put it up because "oh honey, your hair needs to breathe too. If you keep it in a pony, the band will leave a mark in it." Honestly, everyone finds it adorable when you're dressed in your little, fluffy skirt paired with a cozy oversized sweater, all mad and pouting, trying to blow the hair strands blocking your field of vision. Like a little baby.

While Rei looks at your hair and sees years of her hards work and patience, all you see is losing control over your own life. And you are. They decide everything for you, from the clothes you wear, the food you eat, and even things you should like and dislike. They choose when you should go out, what you should watch, when its time for bed. They disregard your opinions and feelings, and if you show that you're frustrated, then its means that you're just throwing a "tantrum", and you need to be put to bed like some cranky child. You've told them that they're too overbearing, but they always say that they just love you.

What kind of love is controlling?

They're so lost in their delusions, that they don't even see the deteriorating effects it has on you mentally.

Actually, one person did see them. Dabi.

He saw how much everything was overwhelming you, how you were near tears when they talked over you, made choices for you.

He felt a bit bad for you, just a tad. Mostly, he felt there was another opportunity to mess with you.

When Dabi came to bother you one night, tugging at your hair again, this time a bit harder than usual, he saw you were ready to cry. You didn't even bother saying anything to him anymore, just kept quiet and did your best not to cry. Of course, now he ridiculed you. Called you a little crybaby and used that annoying patronising tone with you. And just as he was about to leave, he said "if your hair bothers you so much, why don't you just cut it, you big baby?"

As if something had finally snapped in you, you let his words echo. Why don't I cut it? What's stopping me?

Was it because you had learned to just give in?

You didn't even realise you had walked to your bathroom until you were holding a pair of scissors. Which surprised you, because you weren't allowed to use scissors unsupervised. It was almost as if a sign from the universe motivating you to do it, and definitely not Dabi who left them on the sink.

Holding the pair of scissors in one hand and a chunk of your hair in the other, you hesitate for a second and wonder what will Rei do. But before you could stop yourself, you cut.

I'll cross that bridge when it comes.

You start low, maybe 2 inches above your hips. It looks okay, but maybe you could cut a little more. And a little more. And a little more. Before you know it, your hair is around shoulder length, in an uneven, chunky bob. Its not perfect, but somehow you feel much better. Like you’ve finally gotten some control back. Wiping your tears away, you ruffle your hair a bit, the cool air on your neck adding to the feeling of freedom. You feel normal, happier, peaceful. Things you haven't felt in years. And all because you had 3 am meltdown.

After you cleaned up the bathroom, you went back to bed, anxious how everyone will react in the morning. Maybe they won't care. You thought. Its only hair. My hair.

Everyone was waiting for you at breakfast the next morning, and to everyone’s surprise, Dabi had joined them as well. Rei was cooking up some eggs, while the kids chatted. Enji was suspicious of the mischievous glint in Dabi’s eyes, and it was filling him with unease. Just as he was about to question him, you walked in.

Everyone went silent.

Then Fuyumi let out an audible gasp, while Dabi chuckled darkly. Natsuo, Shotou and Enji looked at you with their mouths agape.

“Good morning.”you greeted them.

Rei, who was facing away from you, finally turned towards you. “Good mo-”Rei’s breath hitched, eyes blown wide, as the plate of bacon fell from her hands.

Its funny how everyone in the kitchen, including you, had the same thought at that moment.

What the fuck?

Taking a deep breath, you moved to sit in your usual spot between Fuyumi and Rei, but Shotou suddenly pulled you back and pushed you into the seat beside him. He knows his mother is in a better state mentally, but something tells him not to risk it. Fuyumi snapped next, quickly getting up and cleaning the mess on the floor while Enji pulled Rei, who was still staring at you in disbelief, to sit beside him. You remained indifferent to everyone’s stares, quietly eating your food. As soon as you were done, Shotou got up and quickly pulled you out of the room, Dabi following close behind.

They sat in your room as Shotou looked at your hair with worry. “Looking nice, doll.”Dabi chuckled as he plopped down on your bed beside you. “Thanks.” you mumbled. “Y/n how did- why did you- why did you cut your hair?” Shotou asked, still looking at your choppy hair. “Do you not like it?” you asked. “N-no I do. But what will mom say-” “Shotou, its my hair.” you snapped. “Yeah, Shotou.” Dabi mocked. Fuyumi and Natsuo soon joined you guys, worrisome looks on their faces. “Why did you cut it? Oh my god, do you even know how much trouble you’re in?” Fuyumi was freaking out. “Its my hair.” you rolled your eyes. They ignored you. “Okay, okay. Shotou why don't you stick around with Y/n for a couple of days? Fuyumi and dad will try to keep mom away from her.” Before Fuyumi could nod, you stood up. “No.”

Natsuo looked at you confused. “what do you mean “no”?”

“I mean no. I don't need Shotou to babysit me. I can handle myself.” Fuyumi walked towards you, reaching her hands for you but you backed away, “Y/n, sweetie-” You cut her off ,“Stop treating me like a child.”

Shotou spoke this time, “Its for your protection-” “Protection from who? Our mother? Why?”your words dared them to say the truth. To agree that Rei was unstable. They didn't say anything.

A few days had passed by and things were returning to normal. Almost normal. Rei still had this thousand yard stare when she looked at you, but she never said anything. Cutting your hair was the best decision you had made, because not is it only easy to manage, but it also got the family off your back. Rei doesn't wash your hair anymore(although you think she's just not over the shock), Fuyumi doesn't need to do your hair, they dry faster, and all of your brothers (including Dabi) doesn't mess around with them anymore. Enji was the first to adjust to your new cut, he even complimented you one day.

Did you feel guilty because you know how attached Rei was to your hair? A bit, but then realised that you needed this. You need some control over your life, and if this is how they react to your new cut, then maybe you could start taking back reigns over other aspects of your life as well.

You thought that maybe Rei had finally gotten over it a week later, when you were laying in the bathtub, enjoying the hot bath. When you heard her walk in, you were a bit startled. Why was she here- is she finally over it? "Um- hey." She smiled at you. "Why are you here?" She took the bath stool and sat behind the tub. "You know why." She replied and started rolling her sleeves up. Is she here to wash my hair? "Oh, are you here to wash my hair? I don't need help with that anymore now that they're short." Rei smiled again, this one looking forced, before dipping her hand in the tub. "No, silly." And with that, Rei froze the entire the tub in 2 seconds. The ice trapped your limbs, and reached up to your clavicle. The sudden change from hot to cold had you jolt, but you couldn't move due to the frozen ice. "Mom-!" You heard the buzzing sound of a trimmer and then felt Rei entangle her fingers in your hair to yank your head back. "I'm here to complete your haircut." You tried moving your head but her grip on your scalp was unrelenting. She started trimming the right side of your head, moving it slowly as to get every single hair. "Honestly, you should've come to me. I do agree that it'd be a good idea to start again." Tears fell from your eyes, your teeth chattered and you could feel your heart beat slow down as the cold seeped into your bones. "M-mom, I'm col-d. P-please s-stop..." Rei was done with one half of your head. "You know, I read somewhere that your grows thicker if you cut it. I'm sure that after I've shaved your head, your hair will grow even fuller. I've already gotten some new oils and hair masks! Maybe we could do them together." You couldn't hear anything besides the slowing of your own heart beating. Your breath had started to become shallow, you couldn't think about anything except for how painful ice could be. Your lips were turning blue, eyes were getting clouded with black spots, all sensation from your body was losing. Just before you lost consciousness, you heard the bathroom door open and a panicked yell.

You felt warm.

When you came to, your entire body felt warm and weighted, probably due to the heavy blanket spread on you.

Opening your eyes, you found yourself in a dimly lit room. It was...your parents room. Why am I here? You turned your head to look around but your eyes stopped at the large figure sitting on a chair next to your bed.

"Dad?"

The figure's head snapped towards yours. "You're awake." He paused. "How- how are you feeling?" You moved the blanket off you, your body felt dense and ached. "Warm and...sore. What happened? Why am I in your bedroom?" Enji shifted in his seat. "I think its best if you stay here from now on, so that... your mother and I can look after you." Your eyes widened. "What? Why?" You moved to sit up but then a pain shot through your head. "Ah shit." You hissed in pain as you went to massage your temples but your hands halted at the feeling of your hair... or lack there of. You tried to run a finger through your choppy bob cut, but all you felt was your shaved head. Your eyes met Enji's, looking at him in disbelief as you recalled the events that had led up to this. "Darling-" You jumped off the bed and ran towards the vanity mirror, praying that this is just a nightmare. But as you looked at your reflection, you realised that this was the terrifying reality you were living in.

Tears dripped from your eyes as you took in your appearance. Trimmed- no, shaved pink hair. You couldn't see a single bit of hair above the roots, only a baby pink scalp. She had not only trimmed your hair first but then also proceeded to shave your scalp off. Your head looked like it had peach fuzz.

You couldn't bring yourself to look away, not even when Enji placed a hand on your shoulder. "Y/n-" He didn't even what to say. He was still in shock from what would've happened if Fuyumi hadn't yelled for him when Rei was-

Enji shook his head. Now's not the time. You're here and you're fine. You're fine. Enji pulled you towards him, burying your face in his chest as you cried. "You're fine." He repeated, more to himself than to you. "Why- why would she do this?" Your voice was muffled by his chest but he understood. He understood your pain and it tore him apart that he still wouldn't be able to help you.

Enji honestly didn't know what to tell you. He didn't know what words would bring you comfort. "It... it was an accident." His chest rumbled as he spoke. You pushed yourself away from him as you looked at him perplexed.

"What?" Your eyebrows raised, nostrils flared and blood rushed to your face. You were going to blow up.

"An accident? Is that what you said? Oh okay. Was it an accident when she froze the fucking tub? Did the trimmer accidentally fall from her hands to my head?! Oh and did she accidentally pull the razor over my head?!" Angry tears fell from your eyes but you were far too enraged to care.

Enji opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by the sound of the bedroom door opening. Turning around you saw her.

Rei was standing there with a tray of food and water. Her face turned to shock before turning to happiness. She set the tray on a nearby table before she rushed towards you, her hands reaching for your face.

"Angel, you're awake-" you pushed her hands away roughly as you backed away from her.

"Dont you dare touch me."

The couple, they had never heard your voice such hostility. It wasn't like you. Rei shook her head as she tried to reach for you again, taking another step in your direction. But you smacked her hands away again. "I said don't touch me!" Your yelling had got your siblings to rush in the room, wanting to see what the commotion was about.

Rei's eyes shifted from you to Enji, looking at him for help, before they returned back to you. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Y/n, darling. What's wrong?" You scoffed at her soft tone that tried to quell the storm of negative emotions bubbling inside you. "What's wrong? What's wrong? I don't know, you tell me, Rei. Why the fuck am I bald?!" Your head was pounding with rage, raw unbridled anger.

When Rei didn't say anything, Fuyumi stepped forward to help her out. "Y/n its-"

"Shut up."

Fuyumi's- everyone's eyes widened. Of everyone, you never even rose your voice at your favourite sibling. But to hear your voice turn so cold towards her, it shocked everyone. "Y-Y/n-" she tried again but you cut her off. "I said shut up. I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Rei and she'll answer for herself."

Enji placed a hand on your shoulder, pulling you back slightly. "Have some respect. She's your mother-" You yanked your shoulder away from his grip. "No, she's not!" You inhaled deeply, trying to stabilise your voice. "No, she's not. You're not my dad. I'm not a part of this family. And I'm so sick of playing this game."

Dabi's eyes narrowed. "Stop being an ungrateful brat. You've been given all the luxuries one could only imagine, spoiled to no end-" You laughed. "Did I ask for anything?" "You never had t-" "And all these luxuries that you're talking about, I didn't get them for free. I had to give up a lot. No, wait-" you laughed again, tears blurring your vision. "I didn't give up anything. You all took it. Yeah, all of you snatched everything away from me. My family, my friends, my privacy, my sanity, everything. And you-" you moved towards Rei, pointing a finger at her. "You have been the most greedy one of them all."

Rei's jaw fell open, as she shook her head. "No-" You shook your head.

"Yes! I gave you everything. I let you dress me up in those god awful clothes, feed me whatever you wanted, stick to your side like glue because you don't like it when I was out of your sight for a more than a few minutes. For fucks sake, I didn't even go to college this year because you weren't ready to see me become an adult!" You ran a frustrated hand through your hair. "I played into your sick little fantasy. I let you treat me like a child, talk to me like I'm some helpless baby. I let you touch me even though it disgusted me to no end. I never even complained when you gave me ice burns because I was throwing a tantrum." You looked at the rest of your family, and they were shocked to hear that last bit. You smiled cruelly at them. "Yeah, you didn't know that did you?"

Rei was crying herself by now, as she reached out for you once again but you moved away. "I let you have everything. All I wanted was this little bit of freedom, for my own sanity. But you couldn't stomach that could you?" Your head hung low, your tears hitting the floor.

"Why do you have to be so selfish?"

Your voice held so much pain and defeat. Rei couldn't help but engulf you in her arms, wrapping herself around you tightly before you could even protest. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She cried out. "I- I promise I'll fix this! Yes. I-I've already gotten you some new hair oils! They say that they'll help you grow 6 inches in a month! Oh and Natsuo also brought some stuff for hair growth! Some vitamins and- Natsuo whats that spray called? Minoxy? Mi-minoxidil! Yes! He said that'll help you grow your hair in no time! Doesn't that sound nice? You'll have long hair like before!" Rei pushed back to look at you. You couldn't believe it.

"Are you- are you really that delusional?" Your voice was so soft, almost like you would break any moment now. "Are you so blind to see what you're doing to me?" Your eyes held so much pain and confusion. "Sweetie, don't worry- mommy will take such good care-" You pushed Rei away from you, your anger rolling back in full speed. "YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!" You shrieked. "Y/n-" Shotou tried to interject. "I'm not a part of your fucking family."

Enji stepped towards you. "Calm down."

You looked at him. "You said that what happened was an accident. What will you do if another one happens? And you're not around this time to save me? Hmm? What will you do? Continue playing house with my dead body?!"

Rei's sobs shook her body. "Shut up. Think before you say stupid shit like that." Dabi spoke this time, moving to stand between you and his mother. "Or what? You're going to hurt me? More the reason why all of you, but especially you-" you pointed at Rei "deserve to be in that nuthouse-!"

You were on the floor before you could even process what had happened. Had you- had you fallen? But when the searing pain of the burn on your cheek came alive and you looked at his hand that had erupted in blue flames, you realised what had happened.

Dabi slapped you.

"Y/n!"

Your cheek felt like someone had placed a hot iron on it, the sting spreading to your entire cheek, but you were far too shocked to care about the pain.

Dabi slapped me.

Shotou, Natsuo and Fuyumi quickly rushed to your side, picking you up and out of the room, while Dabi stood there in stunned as his own hand throbbed. The image of his handprint branded on your scared face wasn't going to leave his mind anytime soon.

Enji hesitated, looking at his wife and son in disbelief, before leaving the room to look for you.

Rei walked towards Dabi and smacked his arm. "What did you do?!" She yelled at him. He opened his mouth to explain but nothing came out.

"She's your little sister, Touya! W-why would you do that?!" Rei scolded him.

He hurt you. Like Enji hurt Rei.

He hurt you.

Rei sighed before closing her eyes and engulfing Dabi in her arms. "Its okay. Its not your fault." She rubbed his back soothingly. "It was an accident, wasn't it?"

Dabi wrapped his arms around his mother, burying his face in her neck, before nodding.

"Yes. It was an accident."

So... how was it?

#yandere bnha #yandere dabi #yandere endeavor #yandere dabi x reader #yandere mha #yandere todoroki family #yandere todoroki clan #yandere enji todoroki #yandere rei todoroki #yandere natsuo todoroki #yandere fuyumi todoroki #yandere touya todoroki #platonic yandere #yandere platonic #platonic enji todoroki #yandere shoto todoroki

1K notes · View notes