I just watched my friend twerk aggressively during just dance and it reminded me of your deaf!Natsu au for some reason
Twerk and Grind
Word Count; 1795
A/N; I’m sorry this took so long to get to but!! It’s here!! And I’m done school! for now lmao
So this started out in one way and then… turned into… soft grinding?? sexy party time?? Lucy’s gonna be gross and fuck on a dudes bed like true college trash? Natsu doesn’t give a shit either way lmao
Also! I’ve been reading up more on how to write ASL so hopefully that will be coing across in future pieces! I’ll prob never stop learning how to better convey Natsu’s story and the experience of deaf people/those around them, and anything y’all can say is a huge help <3
All of my content about Deaf Natsu can be found under the deaf natsu au tag, and the main writing pieces under deaf!natsu
Lucy stood next to Natsu, her pink lemonade cooler in one hand and a red solo cup of whatever horrible beer mix was cheapest at the liquor store the men’s soccer team had raided for their ‘We Made It To The First Round Of Finals Which Frankly No One Expected’ house party in the other. Natsu dropped the arms he had crossed over his chest at Lucy’s approach, not looking at her even as he pulled her into his side. Not that Lucy could blame him, seeing as how she too was unable to tear away from the scene before her.
It had that kind of car-wreck feeling, the one with no ambulances but pieces of blue metal four lanes across so that people didn’t feel as bad gawking at it. It also had the same number of cell phones out to record it and post it online to last until one world leader pissed off another equally crazy one on Twitter and sent them all into a nuclear winter, but that just might be Lucy’s Current Politics 400 and the three jello shots she had done with Cana in the kitchen a half hour ago talking.
“What in God’s name is happening here,” Lucy said flatly. Natsu took his beer from Lucy and sipped it, head cocked in confusion as he continued to watch.
Cobra looked at her from the corner of his eye from her other side, answering her kinda-serious question just as tonelessly.
“Loke challenged Gray to a dance contest and then this happened.”
“Okay, but why is Juvia twerking?”
“You’re the one who brought her to a frat party,” Cobra shrugged, as unhelpful as ever.
“As if I would come to Nick’s party without at least seven people to act as a buffer,” Lucy scoffed. Lucy had reluctantly allowed the lacrosse girls to drag her out tonight, despite the fact that Nick, the captain of the men’s soccer team, was the one hosting it. And had hit on Lucy everytime they crossed paths, sometimes in front of Natsu.
So she brought a crowd, both to piss him off and keep him at arms length. Not that most of the people that had come with Lucy had been invited, but at this point it wasn’t a surprise to see Lucy amidst a swarm of loud and energetic college students. “Why are you here anyway, don’t you always say you’d rather put your head in a viper’s mouth than go to a jock frat?”
“Laxus begged me to, one of the dicks in his advanced electrical physics class is on the team.” Cobra said. Lucy nodded like she believed him, taking a sip of her drink.
Cobra growled something under his breath before he slipped away, leaving Lucy to consider all the ways she could stop the slowly worsening dancing in front of her. Juvia was white-girl-wasted, and was dancing like one. Which, to be fair, she was as well as Lucy. Levy was supposed to be watching her, but seeing as how she was the permanent DD/babysitter Lucy could understand not dealing with a drunk Juvia trying to impress a drunk Gray. Who was no longer in the room.
She felt the weight of Natsu’s gaze on the side of her face, turning to him with a questioning look. “She is not even on the beat.” he signed, eyebrows pinched and more confused than anything. “I can dance on the beat and I have no hearing.”
Lucy choked on her sip, whining as the fizz and vodka of her drink burned her nose. Natsu cackled, head thrown back at Lucy’s pain. She dug her elbow into his side sharply, returning the glaring pout he shot her. Rolling her eyes, Lucy gave him a gentler elbow in a different spot, allowing Natsu to pull her closer to his chest.
“We should stop this,” Lucy signed, gesturing in the general vicinity of where Juvia was dancing with her hands on her knees, hair half covering her flushed face, hips moving in what Lucy thought was supposed to be twerking. It wasn’t that Juvia was flat, it was just that she had all the coordination of a newborn deer when she wasn’t in the water.
“We should,” Natsu agreed, making absolutely no movement to do any such thing.
“Or…” Lucy let her hand waver in the air from side to side, leaning more towards the door.
“Gray can handle it,” Natsu smiled at her, bright and cheery as he shook a tightly closed fist before making a releasing motion. Lucy ignored the direct translation of one of Natsu’s many names for Gray -cold jack off. They wandered away from the crowd just in time to see Erza step into the circle and through an entire blanket over Juvia, the music changing to a pop song rather than the ten minute EDM one that Lucy was pretty sure had been put on repeat.
Lucy smiled and waved at people she knew as they walked through the house, giggling and tapping the neck of her bottle with one her goalie, who was sitting on the lap of the redheaded scorekeeper with the eyebrow piercing and bold lipstick choices. Lucy wondered how long the coffee brown make-up would take to wash off, or if the team would be teasing Kiki about it during tomorrow’s afternoon practice.
She let Natsu lead them, her head already a little spinny and her feet not working as well as they should be. Looked like those shots were hitting full force now. They passed through the patio/shack room off the kitchen, Natsu grunting a nod at Laxus who was sitting with Freed, Bixlow, Cobra, and several people she didn’t know the names off, a couple blunts and a pipe being passed around the group. She crinkled her nose at the smell of pot, strong in the smaller room. She stuck her tongue out at Cobra’s smirk and held her middle finger behind her back at her stoner cousin as she followed Natsu up the steps that led to the second floor.
Lucy tripped over the last step, giggling as she fell into Natsu’s chest. She beamed under his fond look, wrapping her arm around his waist and falling into step beside him. Big crowds could get a bit much for Natsu, and Lucy loved that he always wanted to bring her with him when he needed to get away.
Lucy raised an eyebrow when Natsu led them into Nick’s room, sitting on the bed a sober Lucy couldn’t be payed to touch. Her eyebrows rose higher when Natsu locked the door, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other as she waited for Natsu to turn to her.
“Figured we could cock block that dick and get away from the party at the same time,” Natsu grinned at her, voice low and gravelly and pulling a shiver from Lucy.
“Why’d you wanna get away?”
The words left her before her brain caught them, but almost-drunk Lucy didn’t care. She swung her leg subtly, watching Natsu trace the line of her shin and thigh, his eyes hooded low and a different energy from before making Lucy shiver a second time. He walked the several steps to her, hand warm and rough on her knee. His fingers shifted as he gave her a gentle squeeze, leaving trails of goosebumps in his wake.
“You laughed when I said I could dance,” Natsu murmured, hand leaving her knee to run down her bicep, Lucy allowing him to pull her arm to him, her fingers small in his palm where they settled. He pulled her up, Lucy entranced as Natsu guided her to her feet, and then to the middle of the room. “I wanna show ya how good I can dance.”
“Okay,” Lucy breathed, not really knowing what else to do. The lighting of the room made all of Natsu’s features sharper, piercings glinting in the light from the open window, dark look in his eyes hungry and intoxicating, pink hair wild and dangerous. His hand on her back was heavy, pulling her close to him so their chests touched. Lucy leaned in even closer when his hand dropped low, squeezing her ass as Lucy pushed into his fist. They started to move side to side, swaying with the beat Lucy could feel reverberate through the floorboards and up into her bones. She knew Natsu could feel it too, his lead confident as he moved their hips together. It was lewd and dirty and hot, grinding with Natsu in the dark.
Natsu grinned at her, sharp teeth showing off his smugness as Lucy moved her hands from his chest. She held onto one of his arms, strong bicep and tricep flexing under her fingers and making her mouth water, other holding onto the back of his neck as she pulled herself even closer to him.
“Told ya I could dance,” Natsu purred.
“I like your voice,” Lucy said, lost as she stared into his emerald eyes and felt his body move against hers to the pounding bass and drums of the music. Natsu blinked at the random comment, grin soft as he leaned down and brushed his nose against hers.
“I like your face,” he said, gripping her ass even tighter and leading her against his steady rolls, thick thigh slipping between her own. She kissed him, unable to hold back any longer. The hand on his neck moved higher and pushing against the grain of his spikes, hairs soft between her fingers. His tongue brushed on her lower lip, eagerly moving against her own after she let him in. Natsu pushed into her, holding Lucy tight despite leaning over her, making her hold her weight to stop from falling. Lucy trusted him though, and clung to him as she ground against the growing hardness she felt forming where their hips met.
“You keep this up and I’m gonna have to fuck you in this gross frat house,” Lucy groaned, pulling back and holding Natsu’s wolfish gaze. She bit her lip, whine caught in her throat when Natsu lifted her leg to hook on his hip, crushing them together, all pretense of dancing gone.
“You’re so hot when you dirty talk,” Natsu growled. He picked her up, Lucy squeaking at the sudden lift but quickly readjusting. She claimed Natsu’s mouth in a heated kiss, burying both hands in his hair as he carried her to Nick’s bed. His hand slipped under the short hem of her jean shorts, riding the denim high and tight against her core as he groped her ass.
At least Nick’s bed was going to be getting a decent fuck tonight. Especially since Natsu was a giver in the sack.
Idea for the deaf au- a very drunk natsu having a serious conversation with happy in rapid fire sign language about which chemicals should never be mixed together for fireworks. And Gajeel records the whole thing :)
Gajeel Hates His Cousins
Word Count; 987
A/N; :D :D :D :D :D :D Idk if this is what you were hoping for but it sure was fun to write!! I love exploring the friendships, something I admit I neglect a bit for my ships sadly. But tada! Some good old boy (and Loke) bonding over dumb decsions and sucking at romance!
All of my content about Deaf Natsu can be found under the deaf natsu au tag, and the main writing pieces under deaf!natsu
Thank you guys for all the love towards this!! It really means a lot <3
Gajeel didn’t know he had gotten into this mess, but he didn’t really give a shit.
One second he had been sitting in his dorm, headphones and glasses on as he tried to power through an essay about the dangers of bias in media that was due in two weeks, and the next thing he knew his fucking living space was being overrun by his dumbass cousin and his friends.
Not that they weren’t also Gajeel’s friends, but at the time of Gray and Loke throwing open his door and pulling in a confused Natsu clutching an apathetic Happy, they were decidedly not on Gajeel’s favourite people list. Loke had been dramatically bitching about the unfairness of Natsu’s alcohol tolerance. Gray had been demanding Gajeel disprove Natsu’s obvious lie. Happy had meowed at Lily and remained limp in Natsu’s arms.
It was a clusterfuck.
And that was before Cobra and Laxus had come out of his room, half dressed and pissed at the interruption.
Now though, Gajeel was sitting on the chair Laxus had stolen from the engineering lounge, recording his dumbass cousin for both blackmail and Lucy.
“No, of course Lily, Acacia gum is the much better binder, but dextrin is so much easier to get and cheaper! But then if you want the colours of strontium or sodium to stand out more then you’ll need a twenty-five - seventy-five mix too-” he continued on, signs sloppy and never fully finishing before moving onto the next word, Gajeel only following along because he had grown up with the dipshit. Happy and Lily sat in front of where he had ended up cross-legged on the floor, fully immersed in tracking Natsu’s flailing movements.
“What the fuck is he even saying?” Loke asked, half sprawled in Gray’s lap and their feet somehow not mangled for landing in Cobra’s lap. They were nursing a beer, having called it quits after four and refusing to take part in the shots Gray had all but shoved down Natsu's throat. Gajeel would fear for his cousin’s liver if he wasn’t half convinced the idiot was indestructible. He was quietly proud that Natsu wasn’t dead after nearly twelve shots of fire whiskey and a half dozen beers, but fuck if he wasn’t the drunkest Gajeel had ever seen him.
“I ‘unno,” Gray slurred, just as entranced with Natsu’s signing as the cats, “but I think it’s givin’ me dizzy.”
“That’s ‘cus you tried to match him shot for shot you idiot,” Laxus said flatly. Cobra was tucked under his arm, and Gajeel knew he was only pretending to be pissy about having people in his dorm. For as much as a bitch-face that Laxus had, he was more comfortable with people around, even if that was drunk-off-their asses college brats.
“Oh,” Gray said, nodding to himself at Laxus’ wise words.
Gajeel snorted, focusing back on Natsu with his phone. He was doing that thing where he made odd noises, as if he were trying to speak every fifth word, Gajeel thrown back to when they were twelve and Natsu was trying to explain that there was a cat stuck in a tree root system but couldn’t think of the words over the racing of his thoughts. Not that Gajeel had been able to focus on anything other than how bloody his hands were, Gajeel finally understanding when Natsu had eventually dragged him to the spot where he had been trying to dig through the thorny brambles around the crying kitten.
A kitten that would grow up to be the one in front of him today. And the one that pounced on Natsu’s hands, gnawing on his knuckle as Natsu fell backward with a loud squawk. Cobra and Loke burst out into laughter, Gray slow as he processed what was happening and Laxus cracking a grin. Natsu gave up his debate over firework internal workings to play with his cat, cooing happily when Lily jumped into the fray, chewing on a piece of Natsu’s hair.
“Lucy’s gonna love this,” Gajeel mumbled. And if Lucy loved it, then she’d definitely show it to her friends. Which included Levy. Not that Gajeel cared what Shrimp thought of him, except she sent the cutest emojis in the weirdest fucking way...
Gajeel grunted, phone falling from his hand by the heavy weight that crashed over his shoulders. He glared at the sly grin Cobra shot him, trying to be as intimidating as he could before his pseudo-cousin could open his dumbass mouth.
“You that desperate to talk to her that you’d manipulate poor little Bunny Girl with pictures of Pinky and the cats?” Cobra teased. Gajeel shoved his hand in his face, pushing him away with a curse. Cobra snapped at his hand, sneering as he slunk back to the sofa and resumed his place under Laxus’ arm. Gajeel shared a look with his roommate, silently asking why he had to fuck someone that was a certifiable sociopath. Laxus shrugged in a way that Gajeel interpreted as ‘the dick’s good’.
“Oi, is Natsu gonna like, die, ‘cus I don’t need that on my conscious or college record,” Loke called. Gajeel snorted again, picking up his phone and tucking it in his pocket.
“Nah, but he ain’t gonna be happy tomorrow I can tell you fuckers that.”
Loke made a face at Gajeel, their glasses half smushed into their face but doing nothing to fix it. Loud snoring filled the room, Gajeel turning back to where Natsu laid flat on the floor. Lily pawed at one of the piercings in Natsu’s upper ear, a dangly star that he had stolen from Lucy’s jewelry store. Happy curled on Natsu’s chest, nose to his chin.
Gajeel groaned as he stood up. Natsu would have to pay him back for this through begging and doing his science req homework for a month, all semester if the dipshit threw up in his bed.
A/N: Happy Birthday to @constellunaa! I saw your beautiful drawing of Laxus and Cobra and thought ‘hey what if she actually ships it?’ and then wrote 6.5K of it in hopes that you actually do lmao.
If not, have some hint of nalu bcus I am so sorry
Part of my deaf!Natsu college au bcus I’m a slut for continuing universes! Also shout out to @papalogia for putting up with me yelling about this and for helping with some of the words. Natsu and Cobra are cousins, with Indian!Igneel and his unnamed brother who is Cobra’s dad.
Also praise @rivendell101 for helping me title it! Apparently I’m useless without my friends :D
College!AU
Pairing: Cobraxus, Nalu, Fairy tail
Words: 6515
Rating: M for language
Part: Oneshot
Laxus wanted to die, and not just because of his pounding headache or the fact that he was in an eight AM lab for fucking chemistry of all things. No, Laxus wanted the sweet embrace of death -or maybe to plead for manslaughter on account of insanity- because of his benchmate.
“Could you please make your stomach make disgusting noises quieter? I’m trying to measure out our chemicals, considering you’re going to be useless today.”
Laxus narrowed his eyes at his labmate, thinking of other uses for the sodium hydroxide solution that was being poured from the erlenmeyer flask to a petri dish.
“Stop looking at me like it’s my fault you decided to do jagerbombs instead of sleeping like a normal human being with an eight AM.”
Laxus scowled. The dude wasn’t even able to see his face, eye on Laxus’ side closed from a nasty looking scar. Laxus felt his own scar over his right eye twinge in sympathy, line thinner than the other boy’s. “How’d you know what I was drinking?” he asked, tongue fuzzy and thick in his mouth and voice rough with disuse. He sounded like his dad, and Laxus wished for another double jager to push back that unwelcome comparison.
“Because you reek of licorice, red bull, and regret.”
Laxus snorted, grinning as he scrawled down the fourth trial’s measurement in his lab notes. “I showered.”
“Don’t feel bad,” the boy drawled, sealing the vacuum box the petri dish now resided in before they turned on the chlorine gas, “it’s a stench that permeates engineering students.”
Laxus frowned, wanting to bite back against the generalization of his major, but flashbacks to the group of twenty somethings doing keg stands and flip cup after their last electrical midterm stopped him. His labmate wasn’t exactly wrong.
But his class had fucking earned going a little wild, especially after the hell that was the four hour midterm of Jose’s quantum nuclear midterm. Laxus was pretty sure that time length wasn’t even allowed by the school board, but seeing as how his grandfather was at a bit of a cold war with the dean, Laxus wasn’t about to say shit.
“Well I’m sure you biology kids know all about the danger of popping illegal prescription pills, don’t you?” he snarked. He had yet to meet one that wasn’t permanently shaking from a near overdose of Adderall, struggling to stay awake to finish making their four hundredth flash card.
“I'm not a biology major,” he said flicking on the highly poisonous gas with the most uncaring expression Laxus has seen on something besides his mirror.
Laxus eyed him critically. “Only biology majors are actually interested in chemistry labs,” he said finally, watching the plastic cube in front of him as the gas reacted with the solution.
“What about chem students?” he asked flatly, switching off the gas lever after the thirty seconds had passed on the stopwatch.
“Those freaks can do this shit in their sleep and try to go and set shit on fire under the fume hoods.” Laxus said just as flatly as his lab partner, focusing on writing down the chemical equations involved in their experiment. “If you aren’t biology then why the hell are you in this lab then?” Laxus asked. He knew why he was there, stupid requirement for his degree saying he need at least a 200 level in each of physics, chem, and bio. Not that Laxus fucking understood why he needed to know how bases and ions reacted to make deadly gases, considering he was going to be an electrical engineer.
Fucking reqs.
The student gave a long suffering sigh, turning his face so Laxus could see his withering look, red-so-dark-it-was-almost-brown hair falling in his face and styled on the sides and back, chin and cheekbones sharp. HIs tan skin was smooth, Laxus fairly certain it was because he could only make two facial expression: blank apathy or an unimpressed sneer. “I’m a toxicology major,” he said, opting for the latter of his whole range of two emotions.
“What the shit is that?” Laxus asked, barking out a laugh before writing the final time when salt crystals stopped forming in their solution.
“It is what it sounds like it would be,” the darker hair boy hissed, opening the cube and retrieving the crystallized solution so they could separate the salt and the bleach.
“It sounds fake,” Laxus snorted, adding a fourth row in the weight of the crystals and the PH of the solution. He must still be drunk to be egging on someone he didn't know, but Laxus really didn't give all that much of a fuck.
“And you still sound drunk,” the boy said coolly. He held out the filtered vial of lab-made bleach. “Here, drink this and it'll disinfect your stomach.”
Laxus blinked at the clear liquid behind the glass before barking a short laugh. “Alright, what's your name for the report.” Lab or human resources to be determined by if his bench mate slipped the chemical into his coffee thermos.
“Cobra,” the boy said, grin sharp in victory at Laxus’ startled expression. “It's similar to my major, don't you think?”
“Still don't know what the fuck toxicology is,” Laxus shrugged, recovering quickly. His cousin’s boyfriend’s name was Natsu and one of her best friend’s Gajeel. At least Cobra was a thing that existed and not a fucking season.
Laxus wrote down the name, frowning at the spot ‘ Freed ’ usually went. His best friend -and ex-boyfriend- unusually absent. Laxus had found out when he sat down from a text from Ever that he was delirious with a fever and needed to be restrained so he couldn't spread it to the rest of the university in his attempt to not miss class. Hence how a late Laxus had ended up with the possible-psychopath as a lab partner.
“It's the study of toxins and poisons you dumbass,” Cobra said flatly. He huffed in irritation before prattling off the volume of the fifth sample of sodium hydroxide. “How did you even pass Biology Two-hundred if you couldn't put together ‘tox-’ and ‘-cology’?”
“By studying for twelve hours and then forgetting everything about that bullshit course.” Laxus said back, defensive. He'd worked hard for that A in the course, and was proud of it.
“Only idiots forget what they've learned,” Cobra hummed, face once more a mix of cocky and blank. How he managed to look bored and superior at the same time was starting to grate on Laxus’ last nerve, though he knew he was one more incident away from academic suspension.
Laxus could really use that shot right now.
At least this was the last trial they needed before he could fuck off and never worry about dealing with Cobra again.
Laxus looked over, taking in an appreciative view. Laxus may be stoic and rough around the edges but he wasn't blind. Cobra was hot , with rich brown skin and spiky hair and two bars in his right ear. His personality might have been garbage, but that'd never stopped Laxus from being able to appreciate someone's aesthetic.
“Take a picture, it'll last longer,” Cobra said, corner of his mouth twitching at his own joke. Laxus remained unfazed, expecting to be caught and uncaring.
“How'd you get your scar?”
“How'd you get yours?” Cobra sneered, flicking on the gas switch and recording the pressure and flow rate of the gas as shown on the display connected to the nozzle.
“Fair,” Laxus hummed. “What's your number?”
“What the fuck? ” Cobra spat, eye large as he whipped his head to look at Laxus. He thought the boy's cheeks might have been a little darker, but he couldn't really tell. The thought made him preen in victory though, that he had gotten the upper hand.
“For the lab report? In case our data doesn't line up?”
Cobra grunted, looking back at the chamber as the reaction took place. “Whatever.”
Laxus blinked when at the end of the lab there was a torn off corner of paper shoved in his notebook, ten digits scrawled across it in sharp handwriting. He shook his head with a rueful smile, typing in the numbers to his contacts under the name ‘Snake Boi’.
Why was everyone he interacted with so fucking weird.
Laxus woke up, sitting straight up in his small single bed that came with his dorm room, staring unseeing into the dark.
“I fucking hit on him.” Laxus whispered to himself.
And Cobra gave him his number .
He jerked the cord from his phone where it had been charging on his bed side table, barely registering the time of 3:47 fucking AM as he blinds himself with the full brightness. Cursing, Laxus adjusted the screen to barely painful before typing a message to Freed. Laxus was smart with books, but interactions with other human beings was a thing Laxus liked to avoid at the best of times. And now he was texting his ex about the possibility of him hitting on some random dude. And succeeding.
Me - 3:47 AM: So uh I asked a guy for his number for a lab cus you have the fucking plague and looking back i think i flirted with him and i think i hit on him and now i have his number uhhhh what the actual fuck is this?? Was I actually hitting on him?? Did he hit back??
Me - 3:48 AM: is hit back the right term?
Me - 3:48 AM: I don’t think it is but I’m going to use it anyway bc fuck english
Laxus flopped back on his pillow, rubbing his scar. Fucking emotions. Did Laxus even want to have been hitting on Cobra? He thought about his fuller bottom lip and the twinkle of mischief in his eye when he was telling Laxus to drink bleach and the way his cologne smelt like the riverside and musk and his stupidly spiky hair that Laxus wanted to fuck up just to see that small fire light his dark eye.
Ah fuck, Laxus wanted to hit on him.
His phone buzzed in his hand, and Laxus blinked in surprise at Freed still being awake. Or maybe he had woken him up. Either way, Laxus wasn’t about to complain about getting some damned advice.
Freed (Sword Emoji) - 3:50 AM: Yes, babe. You were hitting on him. It’s okay, it took you four dates to realize we were dating.
Freed (Sword Emoji) - 3:51 AM: Two weeks to realize we broke up.
Me - 3:52 AM: I’m beginning to realize why you wanted couples therapy
Freed (Sword Emoji) - 3:55 AM: It’s okay babe, I still love you. Now go get laid please, you’re insufferable when horny and have a crush.
Laxus snorted. He wasn’t insufferable , if anyone was insufferable in their group it was Ever and at all times. Insufferable. Ha.
Wait.
Did Freed mean right now? Wouldn’t that be uncouth, as Freed would put it? Did he want a booty call? Or did Laxus want more? Laxus didn’t know what the fuck he wanted to eat most of the time how in all holy hell was he supposed to work out stupid things like feelings .
Ugh.
Me - 4:00 AM: Like... now? Cause its 4 am and idk if hes up. I mean, hes a fucking chem/posion/fuck knows major so probs but wouldn’t it be rude? To start a date with a booty call? I feel like asking for sex this early would be rude
Me - 4:00 AM: both time of day and in regards to a possible relationship
Laxus stared up at his ceiling, eyes barely able to make out the rock poster above his head from the brightness of staring at his phone screen. Him and Bixlow were supposed to be going to the Thunder Claps next saturday and Laxus was looking forward to getting stoned and zoning out to some good rock EDM for a couple hours with one of his best friends so-fucking-much. He startled out of his thoughts at the dark phone buzzing on his chest, screen lighting up with Freed’s text.
Freed (Sword Emoji) - 4:05 AM: I love you, but how you manage to keep your stupidity secret from everyone we know I’ll never comprehend.
Freed (Sword Emoji) - 4:06 AM: No do not text him for a booty call at four am.
Freed (Sword Emoji) - 4:06 AM: You animal.
Me - 4:09 AM: Ohhh, like later today okay i get you
Laxus rolls over, groaning into his pillow. He turned his head, typing another message.
Me - 4:13 AM: Can’t we just date again that was a good thing
Freed (Sword Emoji) - 4:07 AM: No darling. We tried that before and while the sex was amazing you were frankly a horrible boyfriend. But you have grown and I have full confidence in you not fucking this new one up horribly.
Laxus grinned at his phone, rolling his eyes before typing out a quick ‘gee thanks’ and clicking off his phone.
Ah fuck what the shit was he going to say to Cobra?
Laxus adjusted the strap on his shoulder as he exited the math building, three stories tall and made entirely of brick that was probably twenty years old when it was built fifty years ago. He groaned as he rubbed his neck, thankful that he was finally done his last class of the day. How Natsu had gotten into his fourth year electrical physics course Laxus had absolutely no fucking clue, and how that fuckhead had gotten a better grade than him on the last assignment was even more astounding.
Thinking of annoying chemistry majors, Laxus’s pocket burned where his phone rested and the uncontacted number that Laxus felt judging him. He could actually hear Cobra’s snarky voice calling him a pussy in his head, scowling as he continued to walk along the cracked sidewalk.
“Angel I swear to every fucking god in existence if you tell anyone -”
Oh shit, Laxus was really hearing Cobra’s voice.
He looked up, spotting Cobra standing beside a bust of some old dead dude that had helped found math or whatever, a pretty woman with long silver hair pinching his cheek with an almost cruel smile. “That our little snakey has a crush ?” she sang. Cobra’s shoulders tensed, and Laxus leaned against the bust five feet away, curious to see where the fuck this was going to go.
“I talked to the bastard once ,” Cobra snapped, swatting away Angel’s hand. The girl smirked as if Cobra had just told a joke, twirling a piece of hair between her fingers.
“Uh huh, and that’s why you’ve kept your hand on your phone all day. ‘Cus you two ‘talked’ once.” Cobra sputtered, Laxus watching the side of his face twist in a flustered sneer. “Tell me, was he tall and muscular? You always were too easy for the masc types.”
Laxus snorted, covering it with a cough but too late not to draw Angel’s attention, and by extension, Cobra’s. The girl’s face lit up like it was fucking Christmas and Cobra looked like he wished he still had that bleach.
“Awwww you two match face scars!” she cooed, clapping her hands together once in excitement.
“You say another word and I’ll put Kerberos in your fucking bed.”
Angel pouted at Cobra before huffing and flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Whatever, spoil my fun as usual, Erik ,” Cobra -or should Laxus say Erik?- glared at her sharply but Angel carried on, paying his threat display absolutely no attention, “I’m off to make sure Midnight didn’t die in their sleep in whatever nook they’ve found now.”
Laxus returned her small nod as she passed, lifting an eyebrow at her sniff as she looked him over again. He thought it might have been a silent ‘my friend could do better than you’ and judging by the RBF she had Laxus was pretty sure he was right.
Cobra was silent as he glared at Laxus, a new expression painted on his face; pure and clear murder.
“I don’t know what fucking game you’re playing but I’m over it and-”
Laxus interrupted the rant Cobra was spitting at him, looking over his worn but polished combat boots and torn black jeans that were tight enough on his thighs to leave Laxus with no need to imagine how muscular he was, tight black tank top with a deep purple snake skull partially covered by leather jacket that had deep red accented strips of leather along the arms and two over the breasts, dark black studs on the shoulders and back of the arms from what Laxus could see, band patches thrown over the pockets and back as a visual record of all his concerts. Laxus finally eyed the thick black collar with large and shallow spikes on it before meeting Cobra’s pissed-off glare.
“I’m going to the Thunder Claps concert next weekend. Judging by the Poison Blood sticker you got on your ass there I’d say you’re in need of being taken to a concert with good music playing.”
Cobra choked on his words, staring at Laxus blankly before barking a sharp laugh. He drew his pointed gaze over Laxus’s own slides, ripped jeans, loose work out tank, and the large bright yellow headphones that hung around his neck.
“I highly doubt you’d be able to have any taste in music if you insist on dressing like a fucking gym rat, but I won’t turn down free shots and concert tickets,” Cobra smirked at him, grin sharp as he insulted him. Laxus grinned back. Flirting was fun when you got to rip into the person.
“Who said I’d pay for your drinks?”
“The way you can’t take your perverted eyes off me would be a damned good hint that all I have to do is touch your dick and have you wrapped around my little finger.”
“Aw, that’s not a very nice thing to call your dick. I’m sure it’s at least three inches.”
Cobra sneered at him, stepping closer as fire danced in his eye, obviously delighted at the challenge. “Two inches longer than yours.”
“You wanna find out or something? Laxus asked, tipping his head down as he towered over Cobra by a good four inches, stepping forward as well.
“You that desperate to get fucked?” he asked, meeting Laxus’ gaze and holding his own, unperturbed by Laxus’ height.
“ You that desperate to get your face pinned against a wall?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Cobra smirked, thumbs hooked in his belt loops and leaning further into Laxus’ space, looking up at him through thick lashes and a promise of danger and battle of wills in his dark gaze.
“Yeah, I think I fucking would,” Laxus said, unashamed. His smirk widened when Cobra’s faltered and his cheeks got distinctly darker as he blinked up at Laxus, the blond man’s confidence sure enough at this point that he hooked his pointer through one of Cobra’s unfilled belt hoops and pulled his crotch closer so that it brushed against Laxus’. “Wha'dya say, Erik?” Laxus breathed against the shorter man’s lips, noses almost touching.
“Call me that again and I’ll strangle you in your sleep, shithead,” Cobra hissed, not pulling away from him as his eye darted to Laxus’ lips and then back up. Laxus swallowed roughly at the challenge that sparked in his sharp grin as he reached up with both hands and yanked on Laxus’ headphones so that their foreheads touched. “Now why don’t you show me your tiny ass dorm. I ain’t getting my sheets fucked up for a douchebag like you.”
“Ain’t you full of romance?” Laxus snorted, brushing his nose against Cobra’s and barely speaking above a whisper.
“One of us is about to be full of something and I was never big on the flowers and chocolates crap.” Cobra said back, chin tilting up slightly to brush his top lip against Laxus’ lower one.
“Good to know,” Laxus grinned, pulling back before he could actually kiss Cobra. He readjusted the strap on his shoulder again, nodding with his head in the direction of his dorm.
Cobra looked at him like he was a lab report that wasn’t making sense - a thing that Laxus interpreted as baffled and irritated and determined to understand- before nodding and walking towards where Laxus had nodded.They walked in silence, Laxus’ hand twitching each time he almost grazed Cobra’s. It felt wrong to just walk apart considering what they had planned, or at least insinuated, but Laxus had zero fucking clue how to make the first move. Especially because Cobra apparently wasn’t into that. The minutes passed awkwardly as Laxus considered just fucking texting Freed about what to do but also not thinking that texting his ex-boyfriend would be good hook up etiquette. Was this a hook up? Was this all that was? Cobra had said yes -kind of- to the concert and oh fuck Laxus had asked him out on a date without realizing it-
And Cobra said yes again.
They were halfway to his dorm, just passing the English building his cousin Lucy was probably still in working on her seventh draft of her creative writing piece, and her stupid boyfriend probably draped over her like a god damn blanket -how was that for romantic, as if Cobra would ever let Laxus do that to him- when Cobra moved and startled Laxus from his thoughts.
“You’re useless at shit like this aren’t you?” Cobra sighed. He kept looking ahead as he grabbed Laxus’ arm and slung it over his own shoulders. “I could basically hear you thinking about holding my hand. Better?”
Laxus swallowed thickly, grunting an affirmative as his face heated at being caught. He glared at a flock of geese under a tree to their right, channeling his anger into the birds resting in the shade on the warm fall afternoon.
What the fuck had Laxus’ gotten himself into?
“What do you mean you haven’t kissed besides when you fuck ?” Lucy gaped at him, dumbfounded as she gathered her own nine dollar strawberry cooler and Natsu’s four dollar beer, Laxus both thankful and irritated that he had run into his cousin and her dumbass boyfriend at the concert. Bixlow hadn’t been the happiest to give up his ticket, but had been placated by Freed reading aloud first Laxus’ panicked four AM text messages and then his even more panicked nine PM text messages about having just gotten laid before going on an actual date.
Fuck, all of his friends were massive dicks. No wonder he was dating Cobra.
Well, kind of dating Cobra.
“Listen I don’t need to be lectured about relationships by someone who brought their deaf boyfriend to a fucking concert.” Laxus frowned, careful of the shitty vender beer cups so that he wouldn’t crush them by accident in his annoyance.
“One,” Lucy huffed, half running to keep up with him through the crowd, “ Natsu dragged me here. He likes to be part of the chaos of the crowd and to feel the bass bump through him or whatever. And two, we are still on the topic of you and your inability to have a relationship like a normal human being.”
Laxus rolled his eyes as they walked to where Natsu and Cobra were standing by one of the entrances into the stadium, hands moving quickly and in agitation as they signed to one another.
Laxus couldn’t fucking believe that Lucy was dating his maybe-boyfriend’s cousin.
“You fucking dick, you know I can’t understand ISL!” Natsu roared, throwing his hands above his head, voice loud enough to draw passing glances from a few people entering the large arena.
“Not my fault you don’t know your own heritage,” Cobra sneered, following it with something that Laxus could extrapolate was an insult by the sneer of his lips despite not understanding the other language. “ Ullu de pathe.”
“I can read Hindi on lips,” Natsu hissed. Lucy smiled as she moved the beer in front of his face, Natsu blinking at the sudden liquid blocking his view of Cobra. He smiled down at her, lip ring shifting as it was pulled. Lucy signed a quick hello, her hand flat as she did something that Laxus thought looked like a short and relaxed salute, quickly dropping her hand with her pointer and middle finger intended in a weird peace sign and flicking her lower lip with her middle finger twice.
Natsu grinned and rolled his eyes, Laxus lost at what the gesture meant. He had managed to learn a few swears and the alphabet, but otherwise relied on Natsu’s ability to read lips and speak when interacting with him. He’d offered to take better notes for Natsu in their class, but the stubborn bastard had refused and instead relied on a voice to text app on his phone as he took his own notes from the board.
Cobra signed something, the only sign Laxus caught making him grin at the end; Cobra flicking his hand from under his chin and out with his palm facing towards himself.
“I ain’t a bitch you fucking emo furry.” Natsu spat.
“Just because I respect and collect snakes doesn’t mean I want to fuck them,” Cobra snarled, “and at least I’m passionate about animals that actually exist, dragon boy .” Cobra held his hand so his fingers were splayed, wiggling the three middle fingers as he moved it from his chin outwards, palm facing down this time. “I don’t even know how we’re related, even your fucking hair is off brand! What kinda genetic fuck-up gets pink hair?”
“I like his hair,” Lucy defended. Laxus groaned loudly, throwing his arm around Cobra’s shoulders.
“We're gonna go somewhere else now,” Laxus said to Lucy, nodding at Natsu as he led Cobra away from his own cousin. They moved through the crowd, Cobra fitting nicely under Laxus’ arm as they walked. They entered the stadium, filing their way to the ground level where they would be standing for the show, Laxus letting Cobra stew as he learned the other man liked to do.
“That useless little jackass follows me everywhere,” Cobra hissed. Laxus looked at him from the corner of his eye, debating if he wanted to get into family dynamics right now. Considering how Natsu was more likely to become family than Cobra though...
Laxus swore internally before speaking against his better judgement.
“Technically they decided to come here before you,” Laxus said, not looking at Cobra. He felt him stiffen under his arm, but didn’t pull away.
“Whatever,” Cobra spat, taking a long sip of his beer. Laxus grunted, content with listening to the crowd around them mill between one of the opening acts and Thunder Claps. Two girls were standing by them, talking loudly with flower crowns in their hair and neon bras under white netted tops, one tucked into her short jean shorts and the other hanging down to her mid thigh and touching the top of her thin stockings, her own shorts barely visible under the netted fabric.
Laxus didn’t think he’d have noticed if it weren’t for Cobra tensing again under his arm and leading them away from the girls.
“I know you’re a big fan of my dick but I didn’t peg ya as needing to avoid an entire gender.” Laxus commented, taking a sip of his own drink as he waited for Cobra to speak.
“Their voices were irritating me,” Cobra said flatly, lips turned down slightly in his neutral expression. Normally when Laxus wore that look as his own neutral expression people said he looked liked he was plotting murder, when in reality he just thinking of dumb shit. Laxus was pretty sure Cobra was definitely plotting to murder someone, though. Laxus thought there might have been more to it than what Cobra was telling him but decided to drop it. Freed had been very adamant about not pissing off his date when at a social event.
Cobra took out his phone as Laxus glared at a boy that was staring a little too intently at Cobra’s biceps, revealed by his ripped sleeve tank top. The boy scurried off as Cobra slipped his phone back into the back pocket of his tight jeans. Jeans that Laxus knew for a fact Cobra was wearing because he was aware how tight they were on his ass and Laxus’ appreciation of it.
“Natsu and Lucy will down here in a second and if you say anything about it I will bite your dick off tonight.”
Laxus blinked once before nodding. He pulled Cobra closer to him when the other man downed his drink in a way that the other engineering students would cheer on, and made Laxus respect him just a little bit more.
Natsu and Lucy appeared again like Cobra said, Natsu sending a wary glance at Cobra before smiling brightly. Laxus huffed and sipped his beer as he scanned the crowd again. Natsu didn’t have a fucking single grudge-holding bone in his body when it came to abuse against himself. Laxus also wondered how the pink-haired pyro freak and Cobra were related, though for different reasons.
Laxus noticed Lucy lean towards him and Cobra, Natsu’s attention on the stage as the stagehands brought out the equipment and instruments for Thunder Claps. “If you do anything to ruin this concert for Natsu I will find out where you live and do something so horrible and scarring you’ll never be able to sleep again.” Lucy said sweetly, not bothering to lower her voice as the back of her head was to Natsu. She smiled once, lips pulled up sharply and eyes cold enough to make Laxus’ heart skip a beat like the time he thought he had missed a final. He took another sip of his drink, already half done but choosing to pretend he hadn’t just witnessed his cousin promising to maim another student in a huge crowd. His one law course taught him nothing if not plausible deniability.
He snuck a glance at Cobra’s face, somehow surprised and not at the bright grin pulling up one corner of his mouth.
“I like her.” Cobra said, looking around the crowd as well. Laxus shook his head, offering the rest of his beer to Cobra. “Well isn’t someone trying to get me drunk.”
“You’re much easier to top when you’re already a little fucked up,” Laxus grinned down at him. Cobra snorted, drinking Laxus’ beer and twisting his lips into a sneer, retort lost in his disgust.
“Thought an alcoholic like you would at least know how to drink good beer,” Cobra drawled.
“If you don’t like it I’ll definitely be needing it to deal with you all night,” Laxus said, raising an eyebrow at Cobra. He rolled his eye, taking another large sip with a grimace.
“I’m a fucking delight.”
Laxus snorted loudly, grinning at Cobra’s flat glare.
The crowd began cheering as people in ripped jeans and wearing over a dozen glow stick pieces of jewelry began filing onto the stage, the lights dimming and the crowd enveloping them so there was no place that Laxus wasn’t being touched by slightly sweaty and glitter covered bodies. Cobra glared, hiding deeper under Laxus’ arm and away from the chance of anything too sparkly and happy touching him. “Why’d you agree if concerts ain’t your thing?” Laxus purred, leaning down so his lips brushed his ear.
“I like concerts ,” Cobra hissed back, turning his head so his lips almost brushed Laxus’, “I don’t like raves.”
“This isn’t even close to rave. I’d be on way more drugs if this was a rave ,” Laxus murmured back, distracted by Lucy’s lecture in the back of his head about normal relationships. Heat from where Cobra was pressed against his side and under his arm scorched him, Laxus’ brain focusing on Cobra’s lips and how the top one was thinner than the bottom, a slight dimple under the left corner of his lip where a lip piercing might have once been. Laxus’ throat grew dry at the thought of seeing the silver against his warm-toned skin.
Laxus lifted his gaze to meet Cobra’s, a dark, unreadable expression piercing him.
“Maybe you just wanted to be here with me,” he said, leaning forward slightly so his nose brushed Cobra’s. A slight grin lifted the corner of Cobra’s mouth, a mocking glint flashing in his eye that made Laxus smirk in turn. Whatever Cobra was about to say was lost as the DJ of the band made the bass drop and the crowd went wild, jumping and thrumming around them. Cobra got jostled, shoving him towards Laxus, his forehead pressing into his lips. Laxus glared at the clearly drunk girl who had shoved Cobra and ruined whatever the fuck Laxus had been trying to do.
Laxus grinned when he heard Cobra swear under his breath, pleased that he wasn’t happy about it either. Deciding that a EDM concert probably wasn’t the best place to figure out what the shit was going on between them, Laxus turned his attention to the stage and lost himself in the performance. He sang along with the next few songs, moving with the crowd, bouncing on the balls of his feet and losing himself to the pounding that resonated with his bones and overrode his own heartbeat in his blood.
Cobra shifted slightly in front of him when Lucy and Natsu got crushed to his side, rolling his eye less sarcastically than Laxus expected at Lucy’s mouthed apology. Laxus grinned at the opportunity to both touch and embarrass him, grabbing his hips and pulling him against Laxus’ chest, dancing behind him as one song bled into another, the crowd going wild at the new mix.
Cobra stilled at first, looking over his shoulder with a sharp glare that made Laxus’ smirk grow larger as he rolled his hips against Cobra’s ass. His cheeks looked darker when a strobe light rolled over his face, bathing him in purple light and a voice in the back of Laxus’ mind compared him to what a god of contempt and poison might look like. Thoughts of how fucking whipped he was were forced out of his mind as Cobra gave him a dangerous smile before turning his head back to the stage and crushing his ass into Laxus with a lewd and rough roll. Laxus cursed through a grin, fingers digging into Cobra’s hips, thumbs slipping under the hem of his shirt and moving over the taut skin of his hip bones and stomach.
More songs passed like that, Cobra and Laxus working up a heavy sweat grinding and rutting against one another in the sweltering heat created by a crowd full of young adults doing the same. Laxus pointedly ignored his baby cousin going even harder against Natsu than Cobra was to him, Natsu’s sweaty forehead connected to her jaw as he sucked at her neck, one hand flat on her stomach as he guided her in deep rolls against him in what Laxus was almost disgusted to note was practiced movements.
He didn’t know how well Natsu would understand a ‘touch her and I’ll castrate you’ without being able to hear Laxus’ tone but he was hoping he’d be able to convey the right amount of ‘I could kill you with you hand’ in his eyes when he cornered the pink haired brat after the show.
He was thankful to see Lucy stop trying to ride Natsu’s dick through their clothes, shrieking with joy when Natsu stooped low and put her on his shoulders. She gripped his hair as he stood again, bare thighs clenching around his head and his own hands gripping into her pale skin tightly. Laxus was stopped from straight up decking Natsu for putting his face so close to parts of Lucy Laxus would rather fucking claw his eyes out with a rusty spoon than think about when he noticed Natsu looking up at Lucy. His eyes were soft, fondness almost palpable in an aura around them as they met each other's gazes. Lucy beamed as she smiled down at him, braid messed and slung over one shoulder and glitter paint smeared over her cheek and bare shoulders. Natsu’s smile was lopsided, the couple completely separated from the music and crowd around them as Lucy leaned down, sealing her lips against his sweetly. She pulled back slightly, giggling as Natsu rubbed his nose along hers and they got lost in each others eyes again.
Laxus let his gaze drift to Cobra, an unfamiliar ache in his chest making him frown at the spiked hair in front of him.
“Put me on your shoulders and I’ll create a mosh pit,” Cobra said, serious and flat as he looked over his shoulder at Laxus again. The blond smirked, nodding and forcing his attention back on the stage. He frowned down at Cobra when he stopped dancing against him. He cocked his head at Cobra’s searching scowl, unsure of what was going through his head. "Fuck it,” he grunted, confusion making Laxus knit his eyebrows at Cobra’s low grunt. He froze for a second, Cobra twisting fully in his arms and threading his fingers into the short hairs at the base of Laxus’ neck. He grunted as Cobra slammed his mouth to his, rough and a little awkward as he leaned up into Laxus.
The music dulled in his ears, arms winding around Cobra and pulling him flush against his chest. Their lips slated against one another's easily as the kiss drew on, Cobra’s short nails digging greedily into the back of Laxus’ neck and fisting at his short hair. Laxus nipped at Cobra’s lower lip, opening his mouth at Cobra’s demanding swipe of his tongue along Laxus’ lips.
His hand dropped to push into the back pocket of Cobra’s jeans, squeezing harshly and pulling his body flush to Laxus’ again. Cobra broke the kiss, grinning up at him hungrily and with lewd joy dancing in his eye. Laxus squeezed again, returning the dark smirk. Cobra chuckled under his breath before kissing Laxus softly once, returning to demanding and impatient kisses as if to cover up the almost tender action. Neither said anything, resuming dancing and losing themselves in the atmosphere of the show and trying to one-up one another.
Laxus figured Cobra liked having a boyfriend that wasn’t afraid of a little friendly competition.
His hand released Laxus’ hair, sliding between their bodies and roughly groping at the front of Laxus’ pants. Cobra smirked against his mouth when he grunted at the unexpected touch. His self-pleased grin fell when Laxus pulled his hand from Cobra’s pocket and instead ran along the center seam of his jeans, fingers pressing firmly and rubbing at him there. Laxus looked at Cobra through his lashes, pleased to see Cobra’s deep scowl and to feel his face warm in the lack of space between them.
Okay, so maybe a little less-than-friendly competition.
