Fraxus + Cinderella AU (Laxus Cinderella and Freed Prince Charming) ovo
Note: This turned out wayy longer than 500 words
Laxus hurried through the crowded ballroom with his fists tucked deep into his pockets and his head kept down. The sound of music and laughter bouncing throughout the castle walls did nothing to calm his nerves nor did it quell the uneasy feeling he had in his stomach. He was not supposed to be here tonight. Tonight was meant to be spent locked in his cellar masquerading as a room while his step-father and step-siblings kissed up to the royal family in hopes of seducing their way into riches. They did have riches once. In fact, they were once one of the most promising families in the land. They were the top gossip of the village, the beautiful lonely widow being seduced by a rich powerful wizard whom happened to past by her shop on his way through town. ‘It was love at first sight’, his mother would say wistfully. ‘It was a potion of disaster’, Laxus would think to himself now. Either way, his mother and Ivan have always been connected since that day. He was kind, gentle, and always generous when it came to providing for Laxus and his mother. His mother had not been wooed since the death of Laxus’s father so all the attention from one of the most desirable wizards in the land had her falling hard. She even introduced him to Laxus who had been won over after seeing how happy his mother way now. In turn Ivan introduced them both to his twins whom were around Laxus’s age and plans of marriage and happily ever after’s began. And even though the twins had always rubbed Laxus the wrong way with their condescending attitudes and snide vague comments about him and his mother, Laxus was prepared to grin and bear it for the sake of his mother’s happiness.
That happiness shattered after they moved in with Ivan after the wedding. Out in public, the man is a generous kind wizard. But behind closed doors, he was a tyrant lording the household and controlling their ever move. It had gotten even worse when his mother died suspiciously only a few months after the wedding. Ivan, who was as equally paranoid as he was cruel, began to fear Laxus was planning against him and ordered him to be treated like a servant, banned him from using magic and cursed him never to leave the house without an escort.
A curse that he only has an exemption for a few hours tonight.
‘Once the clock strikes midnight you need to be back in your room. Otherwise…well I think you know what happens to those who defy curses’
A crunch rang out in the room. The glass Laxus was handed by one of the servers laid shattered at his feet. The gazes of the ballroom guests all turned to him as Laxus realized what he’s done. He was grateful once again that the kingdom ball was a masquerade ball so the mask he was wearing hid his most of his face. Still, he didn’t want to attract too much attention.
Bowing slightly, he quickly headed out of the back doors and onto the patio. Once there he let out of deep breath into the night. He only had a few hours until he needed to head back to the mansion. Somehow he needed to convince someone at this party to join his cause of overthrowing Ivan. It was the only way for him to be free.
He heard the sound of the glass doors opening and closing again. Before he could turn around, a glass was thrusted into his line of vision. “Forgive my intrusion,” a silky voice spoke as the figure stopped next to him “If you wish to be alone right now I will take my leave.”
Laxus glanced over to see a man around his height decking in a fancy suit and an elegant mask. His hair was pulled back tight behind his head but could still see flashes of green slipping out of the band. Light green hair along with the clothes…he must be some kind of nobility. “No that’s okay. Thank you for the drink.” He grabbed the glass before raising it up and discreetly taking a sniff.
“It’s not poisoned.” The nobleman said amusingly. Laxus took a sip then drowned the drink. “Yeah well, you can never be too sure.”
“That’s true.” The nobleman broke their gaze to stare out at the moon. “This land used to be a place of sound magic. One of good fortune and happiness. A place where neighbor helped neighborhood. That place, the country I had known since I was young, has long since died.”
It was dark thoughts that Laxus whole-heartedly agreed with, but still… “It’s not often you hear such dark statements come from a nobleman.” The man stiffened his shocked gaze turning over to Laxus. “You know who I am?!”
“No.” He reached out and tugged on a lose strain of green hair. “But I can guess your family heritage.”
“I do not wish to speak of them tonight.” The man said eyeing Laxus. His gaze suddenly turned serious, searching as though he was attempting to reach inside Laxus’s mind. For his part, Laxus did not flinch nor shy away. Nodding to himself, the nobleman reached out a hand. “I would love to learn more about you, however. There’s something in your gaze that interests me. I know a place in the gardens, if you’d like?” He voice grew softer at the end indicated that Laxus had a choice in the matter. But something about the confidence in his stance and the way his eyes never strayed from Laxus said he was Laxus was going to accept his invitation. Usually, being read like this would piss Laxus off and he would be giving this man a piece of his mind, but there was something about him, about them, standing there under the moonlight with all the soft music from the party still playing in the background that urged him to take that hand and let this strange man pull him closer. With the countdown to midnight still fresh in his mind, Laxus nodded taking the offered hand and the two stepped into the night. He only had a few hours and he swore on his mother he would make them count.
Summary: When Lyon learns of Gray's feelings for Natsu he decides to enlist Lucy's help to get the two stubborn mages together. Loke volunteers to act as a go-between for the two mages, but due to Fairy Tail's usual nosiness, Lyon ends up fake dating Loke instead.
Chapter 1
Somewhere in Crocus, x-791
“Stay focused, this is a war zone!”
Lyon kept his eyes on their surroundings trying to stay ahead of the never-ending throng of dragonlings. He thought Gray would heed his warning, so he was surprised to hear him continue to speak.
“Juvia, listen for a sec. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now.”
"Whatever something is, I'm ready to hear it..."
“I mean it’s not that big of a deal but—”
Lyon listened on in disbelief. Could his idiotic foster brother be choosing this moment to confess his love for Juvia? It didn't make sense, Gray had said over and over he wasn't interested, so why now? Lyon hoped not, he really was enamored of the blue-haired water mage, and he'd wanted to spend some time with her in Crocus if she'd allow it.
A rustle of falling gravel caught his attention, and he saw a small group of dragonlings climb over the rubble and ignite their breath attacks, all focused on the spot where Juvia and Gray were standing.
“Juvia move!” Lyon yelled in desperation, it was too late for him to do anything himself. Gray moved and shoved Juvia out of the way, but Lyon didn’t even have time to breathe a sigh of relief as something much worse than Juvia being attacked unfolded right in front of his eyes.
A multitude of beams converged to pierce Gray's body, now occupying the space Juvia had, only seconds earlier, Lyon could just watch as Gray collapsed to the ground with a dull thud after one last beam pierced his head.
"GRAAAAAAAAAY!" Lyon screamed in agony, suddenly not caring about the dragonlings or anything else, not now that his last remaining family member lay dead in front of him.
That's when things got decidedly strange, for suddenly, like a granted wish that he never knew he'd asked for Gray was standing in front of him once more and the same situation was playing out again. For a moment Lyon thought he'd somehow tapped into some new ability, one that let him see the future, but he could see that all of them looked disconcerted and he heard Gray utter words he hoped to never hear again.
"I died?" Gray examined his body, reassuring himself that he was still alive. Meredy reminded them where the dragonlings had come from, and this time Gray was ready, attacking them with his ice. They left the area as quickly as possible.
Lyon could tell that Gray was still shaken, but he fought on as he always did, interiorizing his feelings to analyze them later. Lyon was determined to talk to him about it before they left back to their respective guilds. The last thing Gray needed was one more thing to fester in his already overburdened soul.
The opportunity arose after the Grand Magic Ball. Lyon watched with disgust as Juvia continued to fawn over his brother, but this time Lyon was paying attention. The loss he'd been forced to witness had made him hyperaware of every little thing Gray said and did. It was the only way to really gauge how Gray was doing since he would never voice anything serious. Everything in Gray's body language screamed leave me alone, and for the first time, Lyon realized that Gray had been telling him the truth the whole time.
Lyon had expected Juvia to apologize, to realize that her constant behavior around Gray had been part of the reason for his death and to change, but she acted as if nothing had happened and that irked him. His brother had almost been taken away from them, and she was going on about being Juvia 2.0 or some other nonsense. He realized then that his feelings for her had diminished after the incident.
Gray told her off, and even then she refused to accept it, continuing to attempt to cling to him. Thankfully Natsu showed up just in time to horrify everyone with his antics. Lyon turned to say something to Gray, and that's when he noticed, even though Gray was smiling he looked troubled. He decided to ask Gray if he wanted to leave the ball.
There were no bars open, so with a mischievous look they stole a few bottles from the party and left before anyone could notice. They walked around the ruins of the city, each drinking from their own bottle, unconsciously heading towards where it had happened. They sat among the rubble and continued to drink, taking in the destruction they had been such a central part of.
“Are you okay?” Lyon asked before cursing himself. What a stupid thing to ask, of course he wasn’t okay.
Gray laughed nervously, his hand shaking as it moved to touch the spot where the final beam had pierced his head.
“What was so important you had to tell Juvia right then?” Lyon wasn’t sure Gray was drunk enough yet for him to probe but sitting in the ruins of where he’d watched Gray die was making him antsy, he’d rather be anywhere else.
Instead of answering him directly Gray seemed to be having a conversation with himself, “I died and I never even told him.”
Now Lyon was confused, who was Gray talking about? “Him?”
"Natsu," The name came out in a whisper, but Lyon still heard it and while it shocked him to learn that his brother harbored feelings for his rival it also felt oddly right.
He knew there was a lot of history between the two men, he supposed it wasn’t surprising for feelings to develop. Gray had always closed himself off from people, but from what Lyon had seen on Galuna Island and while fighting the Oracion Seis, Natsu was able to get through to his brother better than anyone else.
It begged the question, did Natsu feel the same way?
“I -- there’s still time, somehow you got a second chance, just tell him now.”
“Why would he want me?” Gray once again laughed, “I’m a mess and he’s--”
"Also a mess?" Lyon added helpfully, thinking of the Fire Dragon Slayer and his constant penchant for destruction and chaos.
"No, no," Gray's words were starting to bunch up on each other, and he waved Lyon's words away making him wonder if Gray was really that drunk or merely trying to get out of the conversation.
"Warm," Gray smiled blissfully as he said the word, his eyes almost shut, but even so Lyon had to acknowledge he hadn't seen him look so happy in years. It was a look Lyon recognized from shared evenings sipping hot cocoa with Ur when they were children, and it filled him with a longing for those simpler times.
Gray opened his eyes, his body swaying a bit, "Don't wanna scare him, need him."
Lyon stared, he couldn’t remember the last time Gray had said so many words about how he felt in one sitting. He must really be drunk.
Gray uttered one last phrase before collapsing in the same spot he’d died, “So tired of being cold.”
He'd passed out leaving Lyon to figure out how to get him back to his room. He was somewhat honored that Gray had confided in him, even if he'd had to be extremely drunk to do so. As he carried his brother back, he began to think about how he could help him out. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Gray.
o-o
Front of Lamia Scale Guild - Margaret Town x-792
Natsu raced headfirst into a horde of monsters screaming “Get outta my way!” as he headbutted his way through, intent on getting his Exceed, Happy, back from Chelia.
Lyon couldn't help but chuckle at his idiocy, which he'd come to find oddly endearing. He watched as monsters flew left and right in Natsu's wake. Lyon could tell the Fire Dragon Slayer had gotten a lot stronger this last year, it was evident in the way none of the monsters were attempting to get back up. His thoughts quickly went to his foster brother and wondered with amusement what Gray would think when he saw Natsu again.
Gray had been a source of worry for him for the last few months, he'd disappeared entirely off the radar. No one seemed to know where he'd gone to and with Fairy Tail disbanded there was no easy way to keep track of its mages. Still, he'd hoped that Gray would have made a point to stay in touch every once in a while, let him know he was alright. Lyon worried about him after all.
The monsters charged ever closer to the Lamia Scale guild forcing Lyon to halt his thoughts and focus his attention on them. He got into his Ice Maker stance and was already freezing the monsters when he noticed a bright light glowing next to him. He gave a quick look to make sure that Lucy was okay and saw a man standing next to her.
He was tall, his lean body accentuated by the fitted suit he wore. He had a head of messy orange hair, and even though it was nighttime, he wore sunglasses. Lyon was intrigued as to where he'd come from but soon remembered that Lucy's magic consisted of using her keys to summon spirits from the Celestial Kingdom. This must be one of her celestial spirits, although he couldn't be sure as he had not heard her invoke any.
He continued to fight the monsters keeping his eye on how Toby and Yuka were faring, ready to lend a hand if needed. Every once in a while when there was a lull in the attacks Lyon's eyes would make their way back to the celestial spirit, he now knew to be called Leo. His magic exuded a warmth that immediately appealed to the ice mage. Leo was clearly skilled at fighting, dispensing a large number of the monsters with barely any effort. He caught Lyon's gaze and winked as he continued fighting by his master's side.
Just as quickly as the attack started it was over, they could only assume Natsu, Wendy and Chelia had defeated the mages from Orochi’s Fin that were behind it. With no enemy left to fight the mages made their way back inside the Lamia Scale guild and sat at the bar to celebrate their victory.
Lyon sat next to Lucy, there were things he wanted to discuss with her without any of the other Fairy Tail mages around. He ignored the celestial spirit who had chosen to sit next to him, figuring since he was contracted to Lucy anything Lyon said to her should be held in confidence.
“Have you heard from Gray?” Lyon came straight to the point, it had been months since he’d heard from his brother and he thought if anyone knew where he might be it would be one of his teammates.
He could see he was wrong the moment he saw Lucy’s face become serious.
“I tried to keep track of everyone, but I lost Gray some months ago,” Lucy looked down at the table, “I’m sorry.”
Lyon shrugged into his drink, “No need, I lost track of him too. I don’t know why I’m surprised, after everything that happened at Tartaros I can imagine none of you was too keen on company.”
“I’m just worried about him you know, that was a lot to deal with,” Lyon sipped his drink slowly pondering how to bring up what he wanted to know, “At least Natsu looks well.”
Lucy’s lips curled into a sad smile, “He does, but I can tell he still hasn’t worked through anything. Those two, huh?”
They clinked mugs in a silent toast to their friends. After a few minutes spent coming up with ruses Lyon decided this was one case where honesty would work better. “Can I ask you something?”
Lucy smiled at him, intrigued. She knew Lyon wasn’t much of a talker. “Of course.”
“You and Natsu, are you together?”
Lucy, who had been mid drink, spit out the contents of her mouth all over Lyon. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"
Leo began to laugh. “Are you interested in her or him?”
“Sorry?” Lyon turned his attention towards Leo as he looked around for something to wipe his face.
Leo removed a handkerchief from his suit pocket and smiled as the flustered Lyon cleaned himself off. “The name is Loke by the way.”
“Thanks, “ Lyon gestured at the handkerchief, “I’ll get it cleaned for you.” He stretched out his hand towards the celestial spirit and introduced himself, “I’m Lyon.”
Loke shook his hand firmly, “Ah, so you’re Gray’s foster brother, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
"As for my earlier question, I find humans tend to dance around the questions they really want to ask. I was just trying to save you both some time."
"Uhm, Natsu I guess," Loke was looking at him appraisingly, and Lyon was not prepared for the sharpness of his gaze. He realized that his words could be misinterpreted, "Oh not for me, for a friend."
"A friend, you say?" The gleam in Loke's eyes made no effort to hide that he didn't believe Lyon's words, but his smile was amused like he was sharing a joke only he and Lyon understood.
"Leave him alone, Loke," Lucy chastised her spirit, Loke was a flirt, and she'd seen the way he was looking at Lyon.
"No, Lyon. Natsu and I are not together," Lucy's smile was a bit sad around the edges, but Lyon couldn't detect any animosity. "The truth is Natsu's heart has belonged to someone for a very long time, I never really had a chance."
“Oh, so there is someone," Lyon was disappointed, he'd hoped he could help Gray, but if Natsu were already involved with someone else, he would have to respect it. "Does Gray know?"
At this point, both Lucy and Loke began to laugh together.
“What’s so funny?”
“No, Gray doesn’t know,” Loke took the initiative, talking although Lucy was smacking his arm yelling at him to be quiet.
“I will close your gate!”
“Actually, Princess I came here on my own power so you can’t. Besides, if he knows something then maybe Natsu could get what he’s always wanted. He’s your friend, don’t you want to help him out?”
Lucy became quiet and looked around nervously, probably worried Natsu would return soon.
"Is Gray the friend you're referring to?" Loke once again got straight to the point, and Lyon found that he really liked that about the spirit. He found himself nodding in agreement before he realized he'd just betrayed his brother's drunken confidence.
"Excellent!" Loke grinned, "I've known your brother for years, but I could never get him to admit to anything."
“Wait, you’re saying that Gray likes him back?” Lucy squealed, all vestiges of her earlier nervousness gone. “That’s wonderful!”
“Not so loud,” Lyon hissed, “I’m not supposed to know.”
He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to their conversation.
“Are you sure about Natsu?” Lyon pressed Lucy.
"Y-yeah," To Lyon's surprise, Lucy's face had turned beet red at his question. Loke was laughing at her with uncontrollable mirth, and the sound made Lyon smile despite his confusion.
"She caught him jer--" Loke attempted to explain, but Lucy began to punch his chest repeatedly.
“Shut up! You promised you’d never tell anyone about that!”
“She’s sure,” Loke grinned, once again winking at Lyon.
“Oh,” Lyon blushed as well, although he wasn’t sure whether it was because of the implication that Natsu touched himself to thoughts of his brother or Loke’s wink beginning to affect him. He decided to go with the former, it was more comfortable than thinking he might be interested in a man. Not even a man, a celestial spirit.
He shook his head trying to clear all thoughts other than figuring out how to get Natsu and Gray together out of his mind. “So, now that we know, what do we do?”
“I think it’s obvious, we try to get them together,” Loke looked over to his master, awaiting her approval.
“I think it’s a bad idea, they’re both really private... but if we can somehow get them together,” Lucy mused, chewing on a lock of her hair, “Maybe they can help each other get through Tartaros.”
Lyon nodded in agreement, “But how do we go about it, if I start spending time with Lucy won’t it seem a bit strange? No offense.”
"You're right, so I can be the go-between. I can come and go as I please as long as Lucy doesn't need me," Loke shrugged, "Besides, it's about time those two idiots got their act together, and...I'm not averse to seeing more of you."
Lyon wasn't sure what to make of that last comment, so he just ignored it, telling himself Loke was just friendly. He kind of wished that they'd come up with another solution, Loke unsettled him, but he could put up with it for Gray's sake.
"Once we find Gray and get everyone back we'll come up with a plan," Lucy's excitement was contagious, and all three of them clinked mugs.
Talk moved on to other things, and by the time Natsu arrived with the girls they were all laughing like old friends.
I'm glad you them like <3. For a prompt how about 'tears'?
I do! Tears as a prompt for these two is evil @x4evermore !! Still I somehow managed to keep it non angsty. Thanks for the ask!
Natsu couldn’t say he’d gone through as many emotions in one year as he had in one day on Galuna island, and it was confusing as hell to him that they all revolved around his longtime rival Gray Fullbuster.
Anger was the easiest one to accept — hell that’s pretty much the way he felt around the ice prick on a daily basis — but this was different; he was actually angry at people because of the Ice Block, like wanting to knock them into next week angry and that was definitely new — what the heck did he care if someone wanted to hurt Gray?
Terror was a new one for him; Natsu Dragneel was scared of nothing and he would pummel anyone who said any different, but seeing Gray attempt that Iced Shell spell and knowing full well what it could mean if he succeeded had left him weak at the knees; which of course sent him right back to anger and he punched Gray’s stupid ass in the face to stop him.
Tenderness was the one that threw him for a loop because he’d never ever felt that way about Gray before, unless you counted the ache in his muscles from their many fights; but when he saw Gray shed tears over his Master and his lost childhood, damn if his whole body didn’t feel funny as all he wanted to do was comfort him.
Natsu laughed at how ridiculous that was, Him, Natsu Dragneel — comfort Gray Fullbuser; he had no idea what this all meant but he knew one thing for sure: their relationship had changed on Galuna Island and maybe…he didn’t mind all that much.
