Our Collaborations

Brief and concise... FT Cursor by @khaoticvex

[shadowlight-week]

Shadowlightweek 2025 Interest Check

🤍🖤Hi everyone! 🖤🤍

We're planning to host another edition of Shadowlight this April.

If you have a minute, please help us out by filling this Interest check form! And if you have any questions and/or suggestions, don't hesitate to contact us!

Of course, reblogs are very appreciated!

🖤🤍Thank you! 🤍🖤

[ftlgbtales]

Once Upon a Time...

Do you like fairy tales but find yourself wishing they weren't always so hetero-normative?

You're not alone. That's why we feel it's time to shake things up a bit and give some of these stories an LGBT+ update.

And that's exactly what this event is looking to do! This summer we invite you to re-imagine a classic story, or come up with one all your own, starring Fairy Tail characters!

Event Information

Dates: August 23 - August 26

Submissions: Anything that inspires you - art, fics of any length, poetry, aesthetics, edits, head canons, etc.. Both ship and platonic entries are welcome. The most important aspect is that the piece focus on an LGBT+ character(s).

Prompts: We've chosen two different tropes for each day from here that we thought might be fun, but you are welcome to pick others if they inspire you more!

Day 1 (Friday): Cursed ✦ True Love's Kiss

Day 2 (Saturday): Other Dimension ✦ Impossible Quest

Day 3 (Sunday): Abandoned Child ✦ Surprise Royalty

Day 4 (Monday): Forbidden Love ✦ (Un)Happily Ever After

Event Tag: Use the tag FTOUAT in your first five so that we can see it!

General Rules: No character bashing, pedophilia or incest, all content must be previously unpublished and original to the blog posting it. Tag all content appropriately for triggers.

If you have questions, send us an ask!

We love getting likes, but we'd appreciate it even more if you could reblog this post to help us get the word out!

@ftguildevents @fthostevts @ft-reboost

[ftlgbtales]

[ftlgbtales]

[ftlgbtales]

[ftlgbtales]

[ftlgbtales]

Once upon a time, a prince fell in love with a beautiful princess...

But what if he fell in love with a handsome knight instead? Or if the princess rejected him because the witch had already won her heart? Or perhaps the prince turned out not to be a prince at all, but a princess?

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

This is what we'd love to see for this event. Fairy tales, but with an LGBT+ twist and starring our beloved Fairy Tail characters.

Hey everyone! It's been a minute since we ran an event, but we're excited to be back, and we hope you will join us for what we think will be a fun one. Keep an eye out for the event prompts. We will reveal them daily starting on Monday, June 24th!

@ftguildevents @ft-reboost

[shadowlight-week]

Shadowlight Week 2023

Event Fan Art by @oryu404​

Welcome to Shadowlight Week 2023, a celebration of the friendship/relationship between Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney of Sabertooth!

We’re back, baby! It's been a while, and a little quiet in this corner, but we're hoping you are just as excited as we are! The event will run from October 27 - 31 this year.

Our prompts are:

🖤 Rebel / Dare

🤍 Thrill / (Un)dress

🖤 Haunted / Watch

🤍 Potion / Monster

🖤 Sweet / Spice

Of course, these are for inspiration only. Feel free to submit other prompts if they work better for you!

We’ll be accepting:

Fanfics (any length and in any language)

Poetry

FanArt (any kind)

Edits (edits, aesthetics, videos, memes)

Headcanons

Playlists

Social Media Posts

Incorrect quotes

Manga Coloring

Event Rules:

All content must be original and previously unpublished. Updates to an existing multi-chapter fic are not eligible, but standalone one-shots from an established work/AU are fine.

Pairing or Brotp only.

There should be no character bashing of any kind. This event is meant to be fun and positive.

Please tag all triggers and adult content appropriately.

We will not accept any work that contains incest or pedophilia.

You may enter as many times as you want!

Late entries will be accepted!

We will track the tag shadowlightweek2023 so make sure it’s in your first five, or mention @shadowlight-week​ in your post. Fics posted to AO3 can be added to our Shadowlight Week 2023 Collection.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to us through Asks. We’ll be happy to answer them.

Our event page has a complete list of rules and answered questions.

Have fun, and please reblog to help us get the word out!

@fyeahstingue @faneventshub @ft-reboost @ftmlmages @ftlgbtales

[shadowlight-week]

Shadowlight Week 2023

Event Fan Art by @oryu404​

Welcome to Shadowlight Week 2023, a celebration of the friendship/relationship between Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney of Sabertooth!

We’re back, baby! It's been a while, and a little quiet in this corner, but we're hoping you are just as excited as we are! The event will run from October 27 - 31 this year.

Our prompts are:

🖤 Rebel / Dare

🤍 Thrill / (Un)dress

🖤 Haunted / Watch

🤍 Potion / Monster

🖤 Sweet / Spice

Of course, these are for inspiration only. Feel free to submit other prompts if they work better for you!

We’ll be accepting:

Fanfics (any length and in any language)

Poetry

FanArt (any kind)

Edits (edits, aesthetics, videos, memes)

Headcanons

Playlists

Social Media Posts

Incorrect quotes

Manga Coloring

Event Rules:

All content must be original and previously unpublished. Updates to an existing multi-chapter fic are not eligible, but standalone one-shots from an established work/AU are fine.

Pairing or Brotp only.

There should be no character bashing of any kind. This event is meant to be fun and positive.

Please tag all triggers and adult content appropriately.

We will not accept any work that contains incest or pedophilia.

You may enter as many times as you want!

Late entries will be accepted!

We will track the tag shadowlightweek2023 so make sure it’s in your first five, or mention @shadowlight-week​ in your post. Fics posted to AO3 can be added to our Shadowlight Week 2023 Collection.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to us through Asks. We’ll be happy to answer them.

Our event page has a complete list of rules and answered questions.

Have fun, and please reblog to help us get the word out!

@fyeahstingue @faneventshub @ft-reboost @ftmlmages @ftlgbtales

[twomanyideas]

Poor Unfortunate Souls

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

Fanart by @oryu404, do not repost without their permission.

Mermay 2023 AO3

You have a beautiful singing voice…

Those words had never failed to put a smile on Gray’s face. 

He’d loved to sing ever since he was very young, and knowing the other sirens enjoyed listening to him had always filled him with great happiness. But ‌he’d never really given any thought to what their song was for. He just liked to lose himself in the melodies he composed.

He’d heard stories, of course, but they’d all sounded so unbelievable to him. How could the sound of his voice lure other creatures to their deaths when it couldn’t even get his brother Lyon to do the simplest thing?

But as he sat atop an ice floe, the echoes of his song still lingering in the frigid Arctic air, he could no longer deny the truth of it.

At first, the speed with which the distant boat had changed course had filled him with great pride. It was his song that had lured them, and because of him, there would be no empty bellies on this eve.

He’d continued to sing, curious to see what these humans looked like. But once they’d neared, Gray saw they were nothing like the other sirens had said. There were no claws, no fangs, not even a single fishing net to be seen on their boat. 

In fact, the more he observed them, the more he couldn’t help but notice that the top of their bodies didn’t look all that different from his own. His gaze settled on a small female who stared back at him in wonder. She stretched her arm out towards him, and to his surprise, seemed to offer him something. He didn’t know what it was, but it was white, with some black marks on the top that made it seem like it was smiling at him. 

She spoke with words he couldn’t understand, but her delight was unmistakable, and he smiled at her in return. He sang of his life in the ocean and she listened intently until hearts formed in her eyes.

No one will ever be able to resist your song…

It was only when the first human jumped into the icy water that Gray understood the words he’d always taken for a compliment were nothing more than a curse.

He watched with growing horror as the other sirens stirred from their hiding place and swam over to them, their beautiful faces morphing into something ugly and fierce as they prepared to feed.

Gray could feel his own features trying to change in response to his hunger, but he fought it off, refusing to take any part in what was coming.  

And when the girl also jumped in, he forced himself to watch. Even though all he wanted to do was swim away. 

But he couldn’t. 

He was to blame for this tragedy, and he had to see it through to its end. 

So he kept singing, hoping the sound of his voice could somehow soothe the humans as his brethren’s fangs tore the flesh off their bodies. A minor act of mercy that could never hope to make up for what he’d done. 

And as their smiles continued to haunt him, even in his sleep, he knew he could never be a part of something that awful ever again.

So he left the only home he’d ever known, swimming for countless miles, until he felt the water warming. Once he could withstand the difference in temperature, he continued on, following the currents, searching for a place far enough from humans that he might one day be able to sing without fear.

To be continued...

A/N: We wanted to take part in this year's Mermay, so we went back to our one mermaid story, and brought Gray's trauma to life. Wasn't that nice of us? We think so. Don't forget to check out the gorgeous mermen in the banner.

[twomanyideas]

Santu Claus is Coming to Town (Chapter 3)

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

@becausewritingshouldbefun February 2023 Challenge Prompt: Secret Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu AO3 | Ch 1 | Prev: Ch 2 | Next:

Chapter Summary: An oncoming blizzard is no match for Natsu when he's determined to get home for Christmas.

Chapter 3: Here Comes Santu Claus

𝅘𝅥 On Natsu’s last day in Rivera, the universe gave to him…  𝅘𝅥 

Raging blizzards Flight cancellations Passenger outrage One mopey boyfriend  Sleep deprivation Horrible indigestion Nasty public bathrooms Four crowded buses Three and a half train rides Two ferry trips One bumpy flight

𝅘𝅥 And a staggering credit card debt 𝅘𝅥 

BUT… he'd made it back to Fiore in time for Christmas, despite everyone telling him it was impossible!

Suck on that, Universe, Natsu thought as he got into the smelly Uber that would take him the rest of the way home.

Should he have waited for the blizzard to blow over and taken his chances with flights? Probably. That’s what his dad did, but there was no way in hell Natsu was going to bail on Gray for Christmas. Not after the way ol’ droopy drawers had looked the last time they’d talked. 

Natsu loved his new job. It let him travel with his dad in search of merchandise for their business, often to exotic locations. But the downside was, he was gone so often that he and Gray didn’t get to spend much time together. And while that had been fine when Gray was away at school, now that he was home, it was a completely different story.

So he’d taken the last week of December off from work, determined to spend the holidays together like they’d always done. For weeks he’d thought of nothing but the things that made Christmas special to him: stolen kisses underneath the mistletoe, impromptu snowball fights followed by long nights sitting in front of the fire, meals shared with family and outings with friends. 

And now, after two long days of traveling, he finally passed the Magnolia city limits sign. He was so close he could almost taste Mika’s jalapeño poppers. 

Natsu arrived at his house ten minutes later, stopping only long enough to freshen up, and gather all his presents. Wendy had been kind enough to wrap them while he was gone, putting them all into a big sack. He added the ones from his carryon luggage, being extra careful with the present Sting had ordered for Rogue. Then, it was finally time to celebrate Christmas Eve with Gray and his family.

He spotted Ur's Christmaspalooza front yard the second he turned the corner of her street, and it brought a smile to his face. It was exactly what he needed to get into the spirit of things, and he spent a few minutes checking out all the displays. There was really only one thing more exhilarating to him than all the decorations, lights, or even the dancing dragon animatronic, and that was the thought of everyone's faces when they saw him. Especially Gray's. 

He couldn't wait!

With a spring in his step, and a twinkle in his eyes, Natsu dragged himself away from the crowd of spectators, being careful not to hit anyone with the sack. He made his way around the house, wanting to sneak in through the back. After everything he'd gone through, he refused to announce his arrival by doing something as lame as ringing the doorbell.

No, he had a much better idea. What if he just walked into the kitchen, called out a greeting to Gray, and headed straight for the food? 

Just thinking about Gray's stunned expression at seeing him waltz in like he wasn’t supposed to be thousands of miles away set him off into a fit of giggles that lasted until he reached the gate.

If he wanted that plan to work, though, he’d have to make sure no one saw him until he was ready to make his entrance. With that in mind, he put the sack down and removed his scarf from around his neck, carefully wrapping it around his head until only his eyes were visible. 

“Nin nin,” he giggled once again, putting his hands up in front of his face, ninja style. 

Satisfied with his disguise, he grabbed the sack and draped it over his shoulder before opening the gate and slinking through. 

The backyard wasn’t as decked out as the front, but it still gave off a festive air. Ur had decorated her gazebo with lots of lights and garlands, while cheerful images of snowmen, reindeer, wreaths, and Santa Claus flickered and danced on the walls of a large tent Natsu recognized from other parties he’d attended over the years, although he couldn’t remember her ever setting it up for Christmas before. 

The rest of the yard was empty except for Ur’s grill, which sat close to the deck. Not the best of hiding places, but it would have to do. At least it would give him a good view of the kitchen. 

He dashed towards it, crouching low to the ground as he moved to make himself less visible. Once safely hidden, he took a moment to catch his breath, and then it was time to peek.

To his right sat a group of snowmen in a mishmash of shapes and sizes, along with Lyon’s obligatory snow creature, a bear this time. Natsu didn’t know how the bastard did it, but his creations always looked like they could come alive at any second.

Seeing it fired him up in anticipation of the snowball fight they would surely have after dinner. And speaking of dinner, he really hoped that was soon. Nobody cooked better than Mika. Hell, just thinking about her food made his poor, empty stomach growl in agony. Just a little longer…

He peered into the kitchen and watched as Lyon set up a makeshift bar on the kitchen island like he did every year, grabbing bottles from a box and adding them to the ones he’d already lined up. Looking past him, he soon found who he'd been looking for: there stood Gray, not too far from Lyon and looking about as mopey as he had during that video call two days ago.

Christmas had always been Gray’s favorite holiday. The one time of year when you could catch the bastard smiling, often for no reason Natsu could figure out. And while Gray had always been handsome, he was absolutely dazzling when he smiled. Which meant Natsu used every trick he could think of to tease one out of him as often as possible.

He was ready to do just that when the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow somewhere to his right distracted him. He turned his head to see who it was, but soon turned his attention back to the kitchen when he didn’t see anyone.

He looked on as Lyon grabbed a metal cup from the counter and tossed it in the air, picking up a bottle and twirling it in his other hand as he waited to catch the cup. It looked pretty cool, right until the bottle slipped out of his hand and he had to lunge to catch it before it smashed to the floor, causing the cup to land on his head like some sort of bizarre birthday hat. 

Natsu couldn’t help but snort at the wounded expression on his face, but it was Gray’s reaction that gave him the greatest pleasure. He laughed at his cousin, picking up the cup and attempting to show him up with some tricks of his own.

And there was that smile. The one that had lingered in Natsu's mind, beckoning him home and refusing to let him give up, even when it seemed like he’d be spending Christmas by himself in Alvarez. He couldn’t help but stare in awe. 

“Ugh, I should have known. I can’t believe you’re still pulling this shit!”

Natsu instinctively flinched as he recognized the fury in Ur’s voice, and he was glad that for once it had nothing to do with him. 

The sound of more crunching drew his attention to the tent, and sure enough, he could see a shadow moving back-and-forth inside it.

“No! You tell her! I’m through making excuses for you!” 

An angry shriek pierced the night air, interrupting his thoughts and almost making him fall on his ass from his crouched position. Thank God he didn’t, though. He’d been so careful with the presents, especially the ones he’d carried throughout his hellish journey back home. It would suck for them to get damaged now. 

What the hell, Ur? 

Natsu bit his lip, looking from the kitchen where Gray was still playing around, to the tent where Ur was apparently having a meltdown. As much as he wanted to go inside and pretend he hadn’t heard anything, he knew he could never do that. He gave one last wistful look at the kitchen and made his way to the tent. 

He entered quietly, finding Ur standing near the center, her eyes closed as she took deep breaths. She held her phone in a crushing grip, and worried he might end up the same way, Natsu decided it might be wise to give her a moment to compose herself before announcing his presence. 

The tent was set up differently; rather than the usual tables and chairs, she’d set up a sitting area next to a Christmas tree, with oversized chairs and a rug that looked comfortable enough to sleep on. It was all very cozy, but it wasn't edible and Natsu soon lost interest.

He grew more and more impatient as Ur showed no sign of opening her eyes, so he cleared his throat loudly before greeting her.

“Hey, Ur.” 

He somehow kept from laughing at her puzzled expression when she opened her eyes to find him there waving at her.  

“Natsu?” Ur blinked at him. “Is that you?”   

“Of course it’s me,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a pout. “I haven’t been gone that long, you know.”

“No, it’s just,” She gestured at her face, making circular movements as if to tell him there was something on his–oh! Duh!

“Oops, totally forgot about that! I’m trying to surprise Gray,” he explained as he unwrapped the scarf and let it fall around his neck.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she squeaked, wrapping him up in one of her big hugs. “I thought you were stuck in Alakitasia.”

“I was, but did you really think a little thing like a blizzard was going to keep me from coming home for Christmas? I just had to get a little creative.” 

“Creative, huh? Now, there’s a terrifying thought.”

Natsu tittered but didn’t give her any details, knowing she’d give him a good scolding if she knew half the things he’d done to get home.

She looked past him to the tent entrance. “Isn’t your dad with you?”

“No, he’s still in Rivera.” 

“Wasn’t feeling creative?”

Natsu shook his head and laughed, “He said he was too old for that, but he’ll be back as soon as he can get a flight out from Rivera again.”

“Oh. Well, it's a shame he won’t be here tonight, but I’m glad you made it!”

“Me too. Your front yard looks pretty amazing, by the way. That dragon!” Natsu chuckled. “No way Santa skips this house.”

Ur’s face immediately fell at his mention of Santa.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s just my ex promised he’d dress up as Santa Claus for Jellal, and he just called to say it no longer fit into his plans,” she said, all but spitting those last words.  

“I don't even know why I’m surprised,” she laughed bitterly. “Breaking promises was all he was ever good at.” 

Natsu clenched his fists. What a jerk! It was a good thing he didn’t know where Mr. Milk Sandwich lived, because if he did, he would’ve gladly unleashed forty-eight hours of pent up travel rage on his face.

“Jellal’s been waiting all day,” Ur sighed, her gaze falling on a Santa suit that was draped over one of two armchairs he’d noticed earlier. “He’ll be so disappointed.”

Oh right, the Santa thing. Gray had mentioned it at some point, mostly to make fun of Rogue, but Natsu knew it was important to Gray’s family. It had sounded like a fun tradition too, one he didn’t want Jellal to miss out on. 

“No, he won’t,” Natsu declared, putting down the sack, “because Santa Claus is still coming to town. Give me the suit.”

“Oh sweetie, no. I couldn’t ask you to do that. You look exhausted.”

“Don’t be silly, this will be fun! I mean, come on, Santa is practically in my name,” he pointed out, doing his best to sound cheerful as he peeled off his scarf and Christmas sweater, draping them over the other chair and holding his arm out for the suit.

Ur hesitated, but it didn’t take her long to give in. “Thank you for doing this,” she said, grabbing the suit and handing it over.   

The suit’s material was heavier than he’d expected, and he soon realized he’d have to strip down to his underwear to avoid overheating. 

“Oh!” 

The way Ur turned around as soon as he began shedding clothes amused Natsu, since she could be just as bad as Gray and Lyon at taking off random items of clothing. Not Rogue, though, which was something he’d always found interesting.

Ur busied herself with her phone, and soon Christmas music played from a set of portable speakers. 

Natsu hummed along to I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus as he grabbed the suit’s pants and pulled them up to his hips. “These aren’t going to stay up,” he said, showing Ur how far the waistband stretched away from his body.

“That’s because there has to be room for the padding. There should be some suspenders in one of the pockets.” 

Natsu found the suspenders and tried to attach them, but ended up just turning in circles. 

“Oh, honey, no. Here, let me.” Ur said, taking the suspenders from him and clicking them into place. Next thing he knew, she was on him, giggling like a schoolgirl as she plumped him up with the padding while he tried his best not to squirm. After what felt like forever, she put the jacket on, fastening it with a wide black belt that had the biggest buckle Natsu had ever seen. “Is there anything I’m supposed to do or say?” 

“Not really. Just the usual. Have you been a good boy? Stuff like that.” 

Ur gave him Jellal's letter and pointed to the lone present that sat under the tree while she secured the fake beard and eyebrows. She handed him a pair of costume glasses before finally putting on the Santa hat, which had a built-in wig. “Is everything alright, Ur? Gray said you got a phone call…” Natsu whirled around at the unexpected voice, and was delighted to find Gray’s mom standing at the entrance of the tent. Until she looked at him, that is, with eyes narrowed into slits and arms crossed in front of her chest. “Oh, so you finally decided to show up, huh?” He raised his arms in surrender, having never seen her this angry before. “I’m sorry! I did my best!” Ur laughed, while Mika blinked a few times in confusion before hurrying to give him a hug. “Natsu! I'm so glad you made it home safe!”

Well, that was better than her being mad at him for making Gray unhappy, at least, but it sounded like she’d been expecting him. Did that mean Gray was, too? 

“You don’t sound very surprised,” he whined, not bothering to mask his disappointment.

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe,” Mika assured him. “Your dad just wanted to make sure someone was expecting you, and that you had a place to stay.”

That was Igneel for you. It didn’t matter that he was the one by himself; he was still worrying about him. The man had a big heart, probably almost as big as these damn pants!

“So I take it Asshole isn’t coming?” Mika turned to Ur, looking more than a little relieved.

“No, he was busy,” Ur fumed. “Can you believe the nerve of that man?! I could just scream.”

“You did,” Natsu reminded her.

“Oh, heh, I guess you're right.”

“Well, it’s lucky for us you came when you did, Natsu, and I just know Jellal’s going to love your Santa,” Mika said, grinning impishly as she added, “Kids can always recognize one of their own, after all.”

“Ouch. That sounds like something Gray would say.”

“Who did you think he got it from? Silver?” she laughed before taking a picture with her phone and showing him the results of Ur’s efforts. “You look amazing, don’t you think?”

“That’s wild!” Natsu couldn’t believe his eyes, he looked absolutely nothing like himself. 

Hell, he was pretty sure not even Gray would recognize him. 

And just like that, he came up with a great idea. If he could pull it off that was…

“Hey Mika, do you think you can get Gray to come out here?” 

“Oh, I like where this is going.” Mika giggled. “He’ll never see it coming! Ooh, maybe we can even get him to sit on your lap?” Mika almost pleaded. “I’d kill for that sort of photo op! We haven’t been able to take any pictures with Santa since… well, you know.”

Yep, he knew, and while the idea of messing with Rogue a little was extremely tempting, he knew better than to piss off Mika like that. No, messing with Gray would be plenty satisfying. Natsu could just picture the scowl on his face when his mom made him sit on Santa's lap for pics. 

This was going to be great!

“Alright! Let’s do this!” He pumped his fist in the air.

“Aren’t your feet cold?” Ur snickered, handing him a pair of boot covers with fur trims.

"Oh, yeah." Natsu looked down at his socks and wiggled his toes.

“I’m so relieved everything worked out, after all!” Mika sighed, hugging her sister. She then set about collecting Natsu’s clothes, folding them and placing them in a neat pile behind an armchair. 

“Me too. Just need to go talk to Ultear and get Jellal.”

“Alright, I’ll send Gray out after Jellal’s done with Santa.”

“What are you going to tell him?”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

Natsu left them to their conversation. He collected his sack of presents and shoes and took them back to the sitting area. After hiding his sack behind the chair, he sat down to slide the covers over his boots.

He sang along to the music softly as he pulled on his boots, smiling to himself as he messed with the lyrics like he always did. It was something Gray absolutely hated, which was all the more reason for Natsu to do it. 

"You better not cry, You better not frown, You better not strip, Gray, I'm telling you why Santu Claus has come back to town!"

[twomanyideas]

hello! i dom't really know where to ask since all the blogs dedicated to ft events seem to be inactive since last year or more, but is there a stingue week planned for this year?

Hi there! We've stepped down from running events, we'll only run Shadowlight weekend this year as we never got around to running it last year. There won't be a Stingue week (as far as we know), but please look forward to Shadowlight weekend later this year!

[twomanyideas]

Santu Claus Is Coming to Town (Chapter 2)

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

@becausewritingshouldbefun January 2023 Challenge Prompt: Resolutions Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu, Sting x Rogue, Lyon x Erza (mentioned) AO3 | Prev: Ch 1| Ch 2 Next: Ch 3

Chapter Summary: Rogue faces two challenges this Christmas eve: asking Sting out, and a confrontation with his childhood Christmas trauma.

Chapter 2: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fuck This

Rogue was well aware his family went all nutcrackers in December, but… man, they had really lost it this year. His mom and aunt in particular. He heard the Christmas music playing as soon as Ultear opened the door to welcome them in. Band Aid, now wasn’t that a perfect fit? That had to be their theme song.

𝅘𝅥 Do they know it's Christmas time at all? 𝅘𝅥𝅮 Yes. Yes, they did. But aunt Ur must've been worried someone might forget because she and that traffic accident magnet of a yard of hers made sure there was no getting around it.

𝅘𝅥 Feed the world! 𝅘𝅥𝅮 You know what? That might just be possible with the metric fucktons of food his mom had prepared. 

No, Christmas was not Rogue’s favorite holiday.

Ultear’s laughter at the parking situation, and the fact she hugged him when he greeted her, were all he needed to know she was already tipsy. They’d never been all that close, but he had to admit it was good to see her again. 

Her husband… hmm, not so much. 

Rogue tensed up as soon as Siegrain approached him, the smirk on his face letting him know he wouldn’t like whatever was about to come out of the bastard’s mouth.

“Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, little cousin!” Ugh, like that. It wasn’t that Rogue hated Christmas. He liked parts of it, like the coziness of twinkling lights in the dark winter days, the abundance of good food, and the joy of unwrapping presents or playing games with loved ones. And his family was nice–not counting Siegrain, and his permanently inebriated uncle. He just had some… issues with the supposedly most wonderful time of the year. Issue, actually. All the holiday's wonderful things combined weren’t enough to make him forget the one thing that ruined the season for him every year. Santa Claus. Of course, Siegrain knew this. Who didn’t? The story behind it had been told so many times that by now it was a family legend. And Rogue knew every last detail of it, despite having no recollections of his own.

His uncle, pre divorce and alcoholism, used to dress up as Santa for the kids. It was one of their family's many Christmas traditions. Gray, Lyon, and Ultear had loved it when they were little, so naturally they'd all assumed Rogue would too. 

And who knows? Maybe he would’ve, if only his brother and cousins–who‌ were seven, eight, and ten years older than him, mind you–hadn't decided it would be funny to have him watch Krampus with them. Cause what’s funnier than traumatizing a four-year-old, right? While he believed that was never their intention, it was exactly what ended up happening once his mother woke him up from his nap and plopped him on Santa’s lap. End result: he’d never lived down the humiliation of peeing on his uncle, and the asshole's reaction had scarred him enough to leave him with a fear of Santa Claus that he still carried with him to this day.

Just as Rogue was about to give Siegrain the greeting he deserved, Jellal–Ultear and Siegrain’s four-year-old son–came running out of the living room. He took one look at him and immediately said the words that Rogue dreaded the most.

“Did you know Santa’s coming here today?!”

“Yeah, that’s great.” 

Lies. It was not great. It was, in fact, about as far from great as you could get, but Jellal looked so excited that Rogue didn’t have the heart to say anything else.

The truth was, he’d flat out refused to attend the party when his parents had first told him they were bringing the tradition back for Jellal. They'd promised it would all be over before they even set foot in aunt Ur’s house, but he’d known that it wouldn’t be that simple, because if there was one thing about his uncle you could count on, it was the fact that you couldn’t count on him. 

And wouldn’t you know it? Dear Uncle Asshole had yet to show up. 

His mom had assured him he had nothing to worry about, because aunt Ur was handling it. He seriously hoped that was the case, because while he would never deprive Jellal of the wonderful experience, he wanted nothing to do with it, and that included talking about it.

So he excused himself and hurried to catch up with Gray, receiving a pat on his shoulder from dad as he passed him on his way back to help mom with the last of their cargo. 

Rogue wasn't surprised to find the kitchen crammed full of people. After all, who in their right mind would want to sit with Siegrain? He’d already had enough of him after only a few seconds. Still, he fretted a bit when he saw just how many people there were. 

A flash of something red in the crowd startled him enough to flinch and back up, and with no one behind him, he almost lost his balance. It was a good thing he caught himself at the last moment, because imagine the embarrassment of falling ass first on the floor over the long scarlet hair of mother and daughter duo Irene and Erza.

Where the hell did Sting go? He’d been right behind him just now. Had he lost him already? At least that meant he hadn’t seen that blunder, and judging by the lack of snide comments, it seemed none of the others had either. “You brought booze? Good man,” Lyon greeted Gray, immediately lowering his voice. “We’re gonna need it.”

He took over the boxes Gray had brought in, and organized the liquor bottles into the bar area they’d set up without elaborating any further, which didn't please Rogue one bit. Sure, most of the adults were likely getting drunk at some point, but this reeked of drama. Aunt Ur, frowning at something on her phone and typing furiously a moment later, further solidified that belief.

“Gray! I don’t see you enough!” She was the next one to greet his brother, putting her phone away so she could squeeze him tightly, as if not enough meant never. 

“Sorry, it’s been hectic.”

“I was sad to hear Natsu won’t be able to join us, we always love seeing him too.”

“When will he be back?” Erza took a break from helping Irene gather napkins and plastic cups to join in, waddling over to give Gray a hug.  

“No clue. Last I heard, they were having a hard time finding flights out.” Gray said, quickly changing the subject by asking “How’s baby treating you?” “Just fine.” Erza rubbed her belly, but Rogue caught Lyon’s expression of disbelief that suggested otherwise. “Although I have to admit, the closer I get to my due date, the more impatient I’m becoming.”

Speaking of due date… when was that? Erza looked like she'd swallowed a watermelon whole. He really hoped she didn’t go into labor mid-Christmas party. If that were to happen, he was out of here. 

“You can only hope the baby doesn’t take after you,” Irene teased. “I swear, you were so late that by the time you were born, I felt like I’d been pregnant for about four hundred years.”

She, Erza and Ur launched the room into the utmost fascinating world of pregnancy and baby talk, which Gray and Lyon either didn’t care to or were too scared to interrupt. And Rogue couldn’t blame them, knowing just how scary the women in his family could be. Or who knows? Maybe they were actually interested.

But he sure as hell wasn’t. So even though he hated being the center of attention, he cleared his throat, stepping out from behind Gray and steeling himself for the circus that was likely to ensue once they set eyes on him. 

“Hi–” he held up the bag of food he’d brought– “Where should I put this?”

“Rogue? Is that you?” Ur gasped, looking exactly like his mother had before when she hugged him. “You look great!”

“You'll want to avoid the tent in the backyard,” she whispered, winking and squeezing his shoulders before letting go of him to grab the bag he’d been holding.

“Thanks Aunt Ur,” he said, offering her the most genuine smile he was capable of as his gaze automatically drifted to the glass sliding doors leading out to the deck. 

He could see the tent she'd mentioned through the gap between the curtains, and instantly recognized it as one she used for large parties. Given how few decorations surrounded it, he had no doubt she had scrambled to put it together for him.

But more importantly, most of the view of the tent's inside was blocked by a Christmas tree strategically placed near the entrance. How many did that make now? Four? Well, whatever. This was hands down his favorite one and Ur was definitely his favorite aunt. Thanks to her, he had one less worry. 

He was so relieved that when Erza and Irene began gushing over him too, he just accepted his fate. He would have appreciated some help from his traitor of a brother, but apparently Gray would rather laugh at him with Lyon. Not that Rogue was all that surprised. It had always been like that; Ultear, Lyon and Gray on one side, and him on the other. 

Him and…

“Where’s Sting?” Ur asked once she was done unpacking the bag and looked around the kitchen. “Didn't he come with you?”

“He did. He should be around somewhere,” Rogue said, shrugging his shoulders as he looked around in search of his friend, feeling oddly lost even in his own aunt's house.

He'd never resented his childhood, had even come to understand that the gap between him and his brother and cousins was simply the result of their age difference. But it hadn’t kept him from feeling lonely, like he didn’t quite belong.

That changed when Sting's mother fell ill. She and Mika had been longtime friends, and so Rogue's parents did everything they could to support the Eucliffe family through the difficult time of her treatment, which sadly wasn't enough to help her win the battle.

Although Sting had been Rogue's playmate from the moment they'd been able to sit up, it was through that tragedy that they truly found the friend they so desperately needed in each other. Despite being as different as night and day, they'd quickly become inseparable. The two of them against the rest of the world.

Maybe that was part of the reason it had taken Rogue so long to realize his feelings for Sting had grown into more than just friendship. 

Once he had, it wasn't long before the worst-case scenarios had taken over his daydreams. So he'd kept it quiet for a while, hoping the stomach-fluttering, head in the clouds feeling would pass and he could go back to simpler times, but there'd been no way around it. Not when the guy lived in his head rent free.

And things between them had felt different lately, feeding the hope that Sting might feel the same way until it was driving him nuts. He’d had enough of wanting, dreaming and waiting; it was time to man up and do something about it. 

And he was going to do it tonight. He'd done his best to look nice, and though the responses he'd gotten so far were annoyingly exaggerated, he couldn't deny they'd also boosted his confidence.

Rogue put his hand in his pocket, feeling for the pouch he’d placed there when he got dressed and squeezing it for courage. 

He could do this.

Assuming he'd find Sting, of course. Seriously, where had he gone off to? You’d think a guy wearing bells on his shoes would be easier to find. Oh! Bells! He heard them! Rogue turned around only to see his parents putting more stuff they’d gotten from the car in the hallway, but no sign of Sting. And the last of his excitement deflated when he realized the sound was coming from his aunt.

𝅘𝅥 Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul, with a corn-cob pipe and a button nose and his eyes made out of coal 𝅘𝅥𝅮

“I’ve got to take this real quick,” Ur sighed before she’d even reached for her phone and looked at the caller ID. “I’ll be right back.”  

“Here we go,” Lyon muttered under his breath in a tone Rogue easily recognized, having heard it plenty of times during his aunt’s divorce.

“Erza! You look wonderful!” his mother chirped the moment she entered the kitchen, while his father shook Lyon’s hand and nodded a greeting to the others. 

“Where’s Ur?” 

“Phone call,” Gray shrugged, wisely not going into further details. Their uncle was a touchy subject in their family. “She said it shouldn't take long.” 

“Oh, alright. Can I get you guys to help me set out the food?”

Erza offered, but Mika and Irene were having none of it, sending her back to the living room with a slice of strawberry shortcake. Silver went ahead of them to set up the warmers in the dining room, while Irene and Mika followed with plates, napkins, and cutlery. 

Rogue watched Gray walk towards Lyon, who was still busy with the bar. Not knowing what else to do, he went through the remaining bags, placing the food on the counter so that people who had a clue could do something with them. 

His gaze landed on his mother's purse, which had ended up among them. He could hear her chatting and moving stuff around in the dining room, and Gray and Lyon were too busy doing their best impression of that one scene from Cocktail to pay him any attention. If he was fast enough, he could send himself those pictures she took of him and Sting by their tree…

Acting as nonchalantly as possible, he opened up her purse and quickly found her phone. The password wasn't a problem. They all knew it was her wedding anniversary. He'd just opened the camera app when he heard bells jingling closer.

Shit, he was coming! Rogue's heart raced as he tried to find the pictures he wanted amongst the hundreds of shots his mother had taken. How the hell did she find anything in here?

“Santa!”

Where?!

CRACK!

….Oh no.

Rogue picked up the phone–which had been an anniversary present from his father, by the way–from where it had landed screen down on the cold, hard kitchen floor. Closing his eyes, he prayed that when he turned it over, it would miraculously be fine.

“You are one lucky bastard.”

The relief he heard in Gray’s voice encouraged him to look, and he was shocked to discover that not only was the phone unscathed, it was also showing him the exact picture he'd been looking for. Whatever cosmic force ran this joint must be on his side today.

“He’s not here yet. See?” Sting entered the kitchen, carrying a very impatient looking Jellal in his arms. 

So that's where he'd gone. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, seeing Rogue on the floor with his mother’s phone.

“Doing his best to get on the naughty list,” Lyon said wryly. 

“Huh?” 

“No, Rogue, don’t do that! Then Santa won’t come!” 

If only…

Jellal’s look of horror would have been comical if it hadn’t been directed at him. Even worse, how was he supposed to put the phone back in his mother’s purse with Sting watching him? 

“Rogue, honey, did you unpack the mashed potatoes already?” his mom called out, her heels clicking on the floor as she walked over to the kitchen. 

Foreseeing exactly what would happen even before she aww'ed at Sting and Jellal, he wanted to crack his own skull on the tile floor for being stupid enough to think about snatching her phone. He'd known she'd be snapping shots all night, paparazzi style, as he'd already seen hundreds of things she'd want a picture of.

And, yeah, Sting and Jellal together would definitely be high on that list. They looked ridiculously cute.

“Don’t move! Let me grab my phone!” She hurried to her purse, opening it in record time. 

“That’s strange. Has anyone seen my phone?”

Rogue scrambled to his feet and handed it over. “Oh, yeah, I found it in one of the bags. I meant to put it back in your purse.”

Judging by the look she gave him, his mother wasn’t buying it. Even worse was the smug expression on her face as soon as she turned on the phone. Rogue really didn’t like the smile that played on her lips as she looked from him to Sting. It seemed to suggest that, at least for his mother, Christmas had come a day early. The cherry on top was his own phone vibrating in his pocket. He could make a fairly educated guess of what he’d find if he checked it.

“Thanks, sweetie. Now, why don’t you go stand next to Sting, so I can take a picture of both of you?” 

He obeyed her commands without protest, realizing no amount of snark was going to improve this situation. Sometimes he really hated his family. 

Luckily, his mom didn't get to take more than a few pics as Jellal grew more and more restless by the second.

“Oooh, I see cookies!” Sting tried to distract him, or maybe he just wanted cookies. Both were equally plausible. “Do you want some? Aunt Mika's are the best!”

“I want to see Santa,” Jellal pouted, his bottom lip trembling as his eyes filled with tears, causing Sting to look from one adult to the next with a face that screamed Help me.

“This is a very busy night for Santa, Jellal,” Lyon said, ruffling his hair and taking him from Sting. 

“But Unka Lyon,” Jellal protested, “What if he doesn’t come?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Lyon assured him with a smile, although the steel in his voice made Rogue think his cousin was getting ready to take matters into his own hands. “Now, how about one of those cookies?”

“Okay.”

Mika handed Jellal a plate with a couple of snowmen sugar cookies and Lyon walked him back to his parents, talking softly to him all the while. 

“I didn’t know what to say,” Sting said, managing to look apologetic even while shoving a cookie into his mouth.

“You did better than I would have,” Rogue shrugged, nudging him aside with his hip so he could grab at least one of those cookies before they all disappeared into Sting’s pretty mouth. “I truly hope he gets a better experience than I did. Then again, could he really have a worse one?”

“Not likely,” Sting laughed.

“Right?”

Gray walked up to them and put his arms around their shoulders. “That reminds me. Who’s in the mood to watch Krampus tonight?” 

“Fuck you,” Rogue scoffed, giving his brother a shove and ducking out of his grip.

Gray laughed at him, and though his attempt to torment him annoyed Rogue, he was too glad to see his brother in a decent mood to let it really get to him.

“Why don’t you guys go join the others?” their mom suggested, peering outside. “I’m going to check on your aunt real quick.” She opened the sliding door and slipped outside.

Well, so much for seeing Gray in a decent mood. No sooner had mom left than his brother was back to looking glum, pouring himself another drink at the bar. 

“You guys coming?” 

Rogue almost caved, having a pretty good idea how Gray would feel sitting with the happy couples while his own boyfriend was a continent away. But he was on a mission, and he wanted to complete it now, before he could overthink himself into chickening out. Or worse, sensed the old bearded demon and self-destructed his mood for the rest of the night. 

“We’ll be there in a minute,” he said, grabbing Sting by the wrist before he could disappear again.

He was sure Gray was going to pry, but all he did was offer a nod and a slightly more depressed version of their mom's smile after the thing with her phone, and then he left without saying a word.   

This was it. The moment of truth. 

Maybe it was the way Sting smiled at him, which was somehow even more distracting than usual thanks to the sugar and cookie crumbs sticking to his lips. Then there was that stupid outfit of his. No cropped shirt this time, thank God, but the image of his legs in those tights was definitely going to stick for a while. And did those shorts really have to be made of fabric that looked so soft it screamed 'feel me'? How was that fair?! 

Either way, the end result was the same. Rogue's mind was eerily empty.

This was so dumb. He knew words. Lots of them! Pretty words, sappy words, dirty words… Now that the moment was here, and he still couldn't put them together to say what he wanted.  

“So tell me,” Sting started, twisting himself free so he could squeeze Rogue's hand before letting go to grab another cookie. “On a scale from one to ten, how done are you with Christmas songs? Because believe it or not, I'm approaching a solid 9.”

“Yeah, I’m going to need a bigger scale than that,” Rogue snorted, glad that Sting had broken the silence. Grabbing one last cookie for himself, he moved the container out of Sting’s reach. “Never thought I'd see the day you got there, though.” 

“I didn't either, but here we are,” Sting said, already scanning the counter for another snack.

“Hey, at least you got some variety. Try working at the mall. If I hear that Mariah Carey song one more time, I might commit murder.” 

Rogue knew he was going to regret those words as soon as he saw a devilish grin spread across Sting's lips.

“I…don't want a lot for Christmas…”

“Don't,” he warned, groaning and facepalming when instead of listening, Sting snatched a salt shaker off the counter to use as a microphone.

“Theeeeere is just one thing I need…”

“You need to shut up.” 

But Sting paid him no mind and kept singing, swaying his hips for good measure.

 “I don't care about the presents… underneath the Christmas tree…” 

Wow, he was really going for it, full performance. Rogue shook his head, but couldn't stop himself from smiling. If this was how the stupid song was going to take his brain hostage for the rest of the night, so be it, especially since Sting had such a nice singing voice. 

He held his breath for the next line, which was something he would absolutely love for  Sting to say to him, but he never got to hear it.

“That’s what I was hoping to see.”

“Huh?”

“Your smile, dimwit.”

“Oh.” Rogue looked away, feeling said smile widening. “Anyway, speaking of presents–” he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the pouch. “You just said you didn't care about them, so I take it you don’t want this, then?”

Yes! That was a start! Sting had always loved presents, so it should get his interest. But sneaking a peek at his reaction, Rogue only got to see a flash of the excitement he was hoping for before Sting's expression fell, his eyes widening as he reached for his shorts pockets.

“Oh no. Where did I–” He patted himself down, muttering a long string of curses under his breath, and storming off to the coat rack to feel his coat's pockets. "You've got to be kidding me!"

“Is something wrong?” Rogue frowned at him when he came racing back in, phone in hand, to search through the now empty food bags.

“Nope!” Sting grinned rather unconvincingly, seeing as he looked more distraught than he had that time he’d lost his lunch money back in middle school. "Just don’t go anywhere, okay? I'll be back before you know it."

"No, wait! If this is about the gift, don’t worry about it. I just want to tell you some–" 

“–thing,” Rogue sighed as the door slid closed on his words.

He watched Sting disappear from his sight, and waited for what felt like an eternity of nothing but his own dumbstruck face staring back at him through the glass. 

He knew he'd missed his shot when he heard two familiar voices approaching, and couldn’t help but huff a laugh. Who knew when he'd be getting another moment alone with Sting? Had he really gotten himself all hyped for nothing? 

“Wow, you look like you need a drink.” Lyon said, after taking one look at him. “You want one?”  

“You might as well make us all one. It’s gonna be a long night,” Gray sighed, grabbing a deviled egg from an appetizer tray and shoving it in his mouth. 

Sure. Why not? It couldn't be any worse than watching Krampus. 

[twomanyideas]

Santu Claus is Coming to Town

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404 @becausewritingshouldbefun January 2023 Challenge Prompt: New Beginnings Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu, Sting x Rogue, Lyon x Erza (mentioned) AO3 | Ch 1 | Next: Ch 2

Summary: It's the most wonderful time of the year... supposedly. Natsu, in his absence, has taken Gray's Christmas spirit with him, and an unfortunate event from Rogue's childhood has him dreading the holiday altogether. Needless to say, they're not particularly excited about attending their Aunt Ur's annual Christmas eve party. But the night turns out to be full of surprises, making it one they certainly won't be forgetting anytime soon.

Chapter 1: Santa Bring My Bastard Back to Me

Christmas had always been Gray’s favorite holiday. That often surprised people, given he wasn’t exactly the most cheerful person to be around, but there was just something in the air that never failed to lift his spirits.

But this year was different, and while he hadn’t yet reached ‘Bah, humbug’ levels of bitterness, he was skirting fairly close.

The reason was simple. 

Natsu, his childhood best friend and boyfriend, had gotten himself stuck on another fucking continent with no chance of getting home before Christmas. And yeah, Gray knew all too well that he was being unreasonable for feeling this way. It wasn’t Natsu’s fault they’d canceled all flights out of Rivera because of a massive snowstorm.

But after five years of only being able to see each other on the occasional weekend and during school breaks, Gray had been looking forward to spending more time together now that he was back home. Instead, they both got swept up by work. Gray was lucky enough to have landed an entry level position at an architectural firm soon after he'd graduated, and while Natsu still worked for his dad, he’d gotten promoted last year. Now he traveled along with Igneel for work so often, it felt like Gray saw him even less than before.

Was spending Christmas together really too much to ask?

“Please tell me that’s not what you’re planning to wear to your aunt’s party.” 

Gray looked up to find his mother frowning at him. It took a minute for her words to pierce through his self pity, but when they did, it just added to his misery.

He’d completely forgotten all about his aunt’s Christmas Eve party.

“I don’t suppose there’s any way I could just stay home?” he asked. The last thing he felt like doing was feigning cheer at a loud family party.

“If he’s not going, then I’m not either,” his younger brother Rogue said as he plopped down on the sofa next to him, destroying any chance Gray might have had of his mother taking pity on him. The smug look Rogue flashed him let him know the bastard knew it, too.

Great. Thanks a lot, half-pint.

“You're both going, and that’s final. Now, go change into something a little more festive,” Mika directed, putting her hands on her hips as she looked back and forth between Gray’s sweatpants and Rogue's all black getup. “How about those Christmas sweaters I bought you?” 

Gray touched a hand to his forehead. “Will you look at that? I think I have a fever. I must be coming down with something.”

“Yeah, me too.” Rogue said, faking a cough.

“Oh come on guys, it’ll be fun,” their mother badgered as she paced to the kitchen and back, gathering all the food she was bringing to the party. “This is the first time in a long while the whole family will be together. Even Ultear made it.”

That touched a nerve. What was she talking about? The whole family would not be there.

Besides, what did Gray care if Ultear and her asshole husband had graced them with their presence when Natsu wasn’t around to make fun of them?

“Wow. Nice, mom.” Rogue rolled his eyes and sighed.

“What?” She paused, her eyes widening as she finally realized her mistake. “Oh honey, I’m sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Gray grumbled, even though it did kind of hurt that she’d forgotten Natsu’s absence so easily. You’d think she’d notice. The guy had only been terrorizing their pantry since they were ten, and they’d been a couple since his freshman year of college.   

He got up from the sofa and headed off to his room to change into something his mother wouldn’t give him a hard time over. Rogue followed, looking about as thrilled as he felt. Gray doubted either of them would be wearing those Christmas sweaters. 

It took some searching, but he found a shirt that was ironed and wouldn't have him sweat to death. He’d just located a clean pair of pants when the doorbell rang, soon followed by the elated sounds of his mother greeting their visitor.

He knew it couldn’t be Natsu. He hadn’t rung their doorbell since he was twelve, just made his way in through whatever door was open. Even so, Gray couldn’t quite silence the part of him that desperately hoped his boyfriend had somehow made it home in time.

He quickly finished dressing and went back downstairs, skipping the last steps when he caught the sounds of someone rummaging through the fridge. For a second, he truly believed he’d find Natsu grabbing the makings of one of his monstrous sandwiches with whatever leftovers he could find, but his mother shattered that illusion before Gray could even come out to see for himself.

“For God’s sake Sting, get out of my fridge,” she complained, “I swear you’re as bad as Natsu!”

“Lay off him, Mika, he’s sixteen. You know better than anyone that teen boys are always hungry,” his father snickered, tossing Sting an apple from the fruit basket that sat on the counter.

“Thanks, Mr. F!” Sting inhaled the apple while peering into the multiple shopping bags full of food and drink Mika had lined up, no doubt studying their contents and making a mental list of what he was going to eat first. 

“Are you sure you’re bringing enough?” Silver glanced at Mika as she packed a box with as many bottles of wine as she could safely fit. 

Mika stopped what she was doing and gazed at Silver worriedly. “Do you think I should bring more?” 

Gray had never figured out whether his mom was really oblivious to his father’s sarcasm or whether she just enjoyed playing dumb. Either way, he rarely got a rise out of her.

“I think we should go.” 

“Not yet. We’re waiting for the boys.” 

“Gray still moping around?” 

“I am not moping, I’ll have you know,” Gray said, entering the kitchen before his parents got too comfortable talking about him. “Of course,” he sighed, taking in Rogue’s best friend and his ridiculous Christmas elf costume, complete with red suspenders, bells on his hat, and even bells on his bright green shoes. Of course he would, and of course it would have been Sting. Gray had been a fool to think otherwise. The guy practically lived at their house, hanging around his brother like the two couldn’t function without each other for longer than a day. 

And speak of the devil, Gray heard his brother coming down the stairs. He turned to look, fully expecting some sort of passive aggressive move to protest having to change, but for once, it looked like Rogue had actually put in some effort. 

While he was still wearing the black jeans, he’d found a clean white button-down shirt to go with them, and he’d even tied back half of his hair into a ponytail, revealing the side of his face Gray couldn't remember seeing in forever. 

“Nice!” Silver complimented him. “And perfect timing! Why don’t you help me load the car? Gray and Sting, you too.”

"Sure thing," Sting said, jingling with each step as he grabbed a couple of bags, but he knocked one of them straight into the counter when Rogue walked into the kitchen. “Ow! Hi! Sorry!” “Hey,” Rogue briefly flashed him a smile before he nodded at the bag Sting had just savaged. “Careful with that. You don't want to mess with my mom when she's full of ‘Christmas spirit’.” 

Gray snorted at that, and while his father shot them both a warning look, he didn’t disagree.

“I heard that!” Mika called out, already running around the house and turning off lights, but stopping to come at Rogue with a face that had Gray struggling to hold back his laughter. 

“My, who’s this handsome young man?” She crooned, cupping Rogue’s cheeks, and fondly gazing into his eyes as if she'd never see them both at the same time again. “Are you done?” Rogue huffed, glaring and red-faced as he let her pluck at him, taming a few rebellious strands of hair and making sure his shirt was tucked in nicely from all angles. 

“No!” she said, pulling her phone out from her jacket pocket. “You have a face. We need to take pictures.”

“What are you talking about? I always have a face.”

Now, normally Gray wasn’t a big fan of pictures, but Rogue’s hatred of them was legendary. And given how he was stuck going to this party because Rogue had opened his big mouth, he felt a little payback was in order.

“I think pictures are a great idea!” he said, mustering up as much enthusiasm as he was able, just to piss him off. “How about by the tree?”

“That’s a lovely idea, Gray!”

“How about by the tree?” Rogue mocked in what sounded absolutely nothing like Gray's voice at all, and stuck out his tongue. 

“Rogue!” Mika scolded as she ushered them all out of the kitchen. “It’ll just take a minute. Besides, I have so few pictures of you.”

“Oh, right. My bad,” Rogue said, pointedly looking at the walls, which were covered in family pictures, and at the digital frame that displayed a constant slideshow of shots. 

Gray wasted no time in standing in front of their Christmas tree, a huge Isvan pine that stretched all the way to the ceiling and took up a sizable chunk of the living room, but his smile froze as soon as a picture of him and Natsu grinning like idiots as they tried to shove a s’more into the other’s mouth popped up on the digital frame. 

He could remember that day clearly. The two of them had spent the afternoon building a firepit in the backyard for his mom. They’d broken it in that evening, roasting s’mores from their deck chairs with the rest of the family. Then, after everyone else had gone inside, they’d stayed by the fire, kissing until–

“You know he’d be here if he could,” his father said, patting him on the shoulder and offering him a smile. 

“Yeah,” he said, still wrapped up in his boyfriend’s face and the memories of that night until the picture switched to one of him, Rogue, Ultear and Lyon on Lyon and Erza’s wedding day. 

“And Rogue, can we please get this over with? I’d like to leave soon.”

Rogue sighed long and deep–the closest to a yes that most would get from him these days–and followed their mother's instructions for the pictures she wanted. 

Seeing the discontent on Rogue’s face as he struggled to pose and smile to please their mom made it worth having to do the same thing, as well as keeping his mouth shut when he had to sit through the round of pics his mom shot of Rogue and Sting together. 

Look at that, the little bastard could actually smile after all. 

Rogue bolted as soon as she'd uttered the word “Alright,” grabbing Sting's hand and the car keys from the table.

“We’ll start loading the food.”

“Can someone please grab the presents?” Mika called out as she went to get more bags from the kitchen. 

Gray figured he might as well do that, so he quickly sorted through the tower of presents, grabbing the ones meant for his aunt’s house and placing them into boxes which he set in the entryway to be loaded along with everything else. Then he got to work arranging the remaining presents underneath the tree. 

He paused when he got to his present for Natsu. He’d bought him the usual ridiculous amount of candy and snacks, and he’d found a plush red dragon that he knew his boyfriend would go bonkers over. But the envelope the dragon was holding in its arms was his big present, and Gray couldn’t wait to see Natsu’s reaction when he opened it. 

When he’d heard of a new resort opening up on Mt. Hakobe, Gray had taken advantage of their introductory specials to book them a four-night stay. Then he’d gone a little crazy with the extras: tickets to their onsen, a one-hour couple's massage, lift tickets and equipment rentals, and passes to their indoor water park.

Yet for as much fun as all those sounded, it was the thought of having Natsu to himself for those four nights that thrilled him the most. They’d finally get to try out all the things they never got to do because they both lived with their parents.

He put the present down along with the others, trying very hard not to think about how much he’d wanted to give it to him tonight. 

“Oh good, you’re still here,” his mom said as she entered the room, dragging a box behind her. “Can you please take this to the car for me? I can finish up here.”

“Yeah, sure.” Gray peered at the contents before picking the box up carefully to keep from breaking any of the bottles. “That’s a lot of liquor.”

“Tis the season,” Mika smiled, grabbing presents and rearranging them to her liking.

Fair point. He was definitely planning on having more than a few drinks. He left her to it and carried the precious cargo to the car.

It wasn’t long before they’d filled up the trunk completely and were strapped into their seatbelts, each of them carrying something on their lap that didn’t fit in the back. 

“Will your father be joining us later?” Mika asked Sting once they’d backed out of their driveway.

“Yeah, he just sent me ahead cause he said I was driving him nuts.”

“Wow, shocker,” Gray muttered under his breath, earning himself a glare from both Rogue and his mother. Sting, however, gave no sign he’d heard him.

His Aunt Ur’s house was visible from a distance. She’d always put up lots of decorations, but it looked like she’d kicked things up a notch this year. Huge inflatables and dancing animatronics covered every inch of her front yard, and how she wasn’t causing a town-wide power outage with the amount of lights strung about basically everywhere was a mystery. 

Ahead of them, cars slowed down as they passed the house, while others parked and got out to examine the display up close. The whole spectacle caused them to have to park further than expected, which wasn't helping Gray’s mood in the slightest, seeing as his mother had laden him down with boxes to take inside. 

As he got closer, he discovered the animatronics played music, too. It literally looked like someone had thrown up Christmas on his aunt’s lawn. And was that a dragon?

God, if Natsu were here, he’d fucking love this. Gray could almost hear his excited cries as he oohed and aahed over every little thing. Come to think of it, shouldn’t Sting be doing the same thing right about now? He glanced over to see Sting was indeed taking in the spectacle, but he wasn’t bouncing on his feet with excitement like Gray expected him to. He was just sort of gaping at it, not a thought behind those blue eyes. “I might lose you in there,” Rogue joked, flicking the bauble replacing Sting’s regular stud earring. “You blend right in.” Gray watched Sting nearly jump out of his skin, trip over his own feet and almost drop the box of presents he was holding. Thank God it wasn’t the liquor. “Stupid shoes,” Sting laughed nervously. 

Yeah, the shoes… real smooth, Sting. Gray peered over at his brother to see what he thought of this bullshit, but the idiot looked none the wiser. As he followed his father to the front door, he could only hope that he and Natsu hadn’t been this lame.

“Uncle Silver, Gray!” Ultear opened the door before they could ring the doorbell. “Come in. We’ve been waiting for you guys.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. We had to park kind of far.” 

They filed in, moving out of the way so the others could come inside. Ultear greeted them all with enthusiasm.

“Isn’t it wild?! It’s been like that all day. Someone even left a donation earlier,” she laughed. 

Gray was happy to see his cousin, but he was more interested in putting the boxes down somewhere, so he made his way into the kitchen, following the sound of laughter set to a backdrop of Christmas music. 

He counted no less than three fully decorated trees on his way there, and even though he still wished Natsu was by his side, he could feel the Christmas spell start to grab hold of him.

0-0

A/N: Well we're back with a new story and our first official collaboration for the year! This one, like most of our stories, started out as a drabble and now looks absolutely nothing like the original idea. 🤣

We had a lot of fun creating a world for them to inhabit (and we wonder why things grow outside of our control) and might revisit it at some point. You never know.

If you like it, let us know! If you have any questions about this world, ask us. You have no idea how much background we create for even the simplest story. Seriously, it's a problem!

Anyhow we hope you enjoy this first chapter, and know that the following three are already written. We'll upload them as we edit them and we plan to start on the last one in the next day or two. So bright side, we hopefully won't leave you hanging for the conclusion!

[becausewritingshouldbefun]

Happy New Year, and may 2023 be kinder to us all than the past few years have been!

It's certainly been a ride, getting 3 years of 2020, and unfortunately it hasn't been doing our writing focus any good. Although we've stepped down from running events, we did like the motivation and inspiration it gave us to create, and so, this blog was born.

Our goal is to write as many days of the year as possible and this blog will mark our progress. To help us along, we'll create an inspirational moodboard which will hopefully be up on the 1st of every month. Each board will have a prompt for every week of the month, as well as a writing challenge.

We firmly believe that writing should be fun, and it is even better when shared with friends. So if you too are looking to change your writing habits this year, you are more than welcome to join us.

All fandoms and original content are welcome! If you use a prompt or do the challenge, tag or mention this blog and we will be happy to reblog it for you. Though we are focusing on writing in this post, art is welcome too.

Love,

Maria and Oreo

If you have any fun ideas for prompts or challenges, please send them our way!

[twomanyideas]

Hey Everyone,

We hope that you all have a wonderful year!

We also wanted to let you know about our newest project! This is something we are trying out for this year in the hopes that it will get us back on track with our writing.

It shouldn't affect this blog's content as we will still post here first (or @ft-dads-au ) and reblog to @becausewritingshouldbefun but if any of you like to write we'd love it if you joined us!

Love,

Maria and Oreo

[twomanyideas]

I Know What You Did Last Christmas - Chapter 3

A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

AO3 | Ch 1 | Ch 2

Chapter 3

Sting silently thanked Natsu for his unintentionally brilliant idea as he helped Rogue get into the right position on his board. 

"Alright, you ready to show these kids who's boss?" He grinned, squeezing Rogue's hips through the padding of his jacket before grabbing his hands. 

"Ha, please lower your expectations," Rogue chuckled, although he looked more optimistic than he had all morning. 

"Nah, you'll do fine! Just relax and keep your eyes on the flag like you did last time."

Rogue nodded and pushed off, sending them sliding down the training hill together with a wobbly start. But he caught his balance before they could fall and kept it, even as he tightened his grip on Sting’s hands when they picked up speed. 

"Okay, now slow down," Sting instructed when they reached the bottom of the hill, leaning back in time with Rogue to slow them until they came to a halt. Not a graceful one, by any means, but they were both still standing. 

Suck on that ski instructor Gray!

"I didn't fall." Rogue stared at him with eyes wide in disbelief and still holding his hands. 

And unable to hold himself back after the whipped cream incident that still lived in his head rent free, Sting sighed, "Ahh, shame. And here I was, hoping you'd fall for me."

"Haven't you been paying attention? I've fallen more times than I can count already." Rogue said, a twinkle of something mischievous glimmering in his eyes. "How about you fall for me instead?"

Sting didn't have time to utter a comeback before he received a playful shove and lost his balance. So instead, he latched onto Rogue's jacket, taking him down with him as he fell into the snow.

The landing was a bit rough, but Rogue laughing along with him made it more than worth it. He had the prettiest smile, and Sting was drawn to it. Close enough to smell the coffee on Rogue's breath, he wondered if his lips would taste like it too. If they'd be as soft and inviting as they looked. He inched even closer.

Until the squeals of children reminded him of where they were. 

"We should–" 

"I–right, sorry." Rogue struggled to get up, cheeks a shade of pink that rivaled Natsu’s hair. He fought against the restraints of his bootstraps, groaning in frustration at the lack of control over his legs. "How do I–" 

“Oh, it's pretty easy like this! Just crawl back until you're sort of squatting, and then you can just stand up.”

Rogue did as Sting told him, turning a deeper red as he crawled back. Or down, as that was what it looked like from Sting's point of view. He knew what he'd be thinking about tomorrow should his shower turn out to be another cold one. 

"Wipe that smirk off your face," Rogue scolded as he stood up, but he still extended his hand to pull Sting out of the snow. 

"Says the tomato." 

Still on his board, there wasn't much Sting could do to dodge the handful of snow that was shoved in his face. Unfortunately for Rogue, though, if there was anything that years of boarding with Natsu had taught him, it was how to unstrap his bindings fast, precisely for this kind of thing. 

"Oh, so that's how you wanna play it?" Sting wasted no time gathering his own ball of snow while Rogue, realizing what he'd gotten himself into, rushed his attempts to get off his board. 

"Sting, no!" 

"Sting, yes!" 

He got in two good hits before Rogue took off, dodging kids, parents and other beginner boarders. They laughed, continuing to hurl pathetic clumps of snow that didn't deserve to be called snowballs at each other until a member of the resort staff overlooking the trail yelled at them to quit. 

Sporting twin sheepish smiles, they grabbed their boards out of the snow. Rogue nodded and mumbled a few apologies at the many annoyed glares that were cast in their direction. Sting mostly ignored them. After all, it wasn't the first time he'd gotten them. But what he couldn't ignore was the way Rogue’s teeth were chattering.

"So, uhmm… do you wanna get out of here?" he asked, taking a peek at his watch. 

"What gave me away?" Rogue chuckled, hugging himself as he shivered.

"Well, that," Sting snorted. "But also, it's nearing lunch time. Most places around here are going to be packed, so I was thinking we'd be better off going back to the hotel."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go." 

Rogue held out his hand, but rather than take it, Sting wrapped an arm around him, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that reminded him of what he'd said to Natsu yesterday. 

No offense, but you tend to get overeager.

As if he were any better. 

He knew he should feel guiltier about ditching his best friend—again—but he'd conveniently told himself that all the scheming was in Natsu’s best interest. Besides, it wasn’t like he was planning on leaving him to his own devices all week, and he'd already thought of a way to make it up to him later. He'd treat him to dinner tonight, and maybe after they could do something fun together. Play some games or rent one of those cheesy Christmas movies in their hotel room. 

Sting was painfully aware that there was no need to pat himself on the shoulder for it. That had been their plan for this holiday all along. Still, with everything Rogue had told him about Gray, he had faith they were doing the right thing.

0-0

Natsu stood next to Gray as they waited in line for the lift that would take them up to the harder trails. Truth be told, he’d much rather have tried his hand at a few of the intermediate trails before jumping into the diamonds, but he wasn’t about to back down from a challenge.

No way, no how. Even though he suspected‌ his friends had played him. 

Now here he was, exactly where he’d told himself he would not be from the moment he’d recognized him at the rental place. 

Alone with Gray.

Great.

“You’re looking a little nervous there,” Gray said, using that same annoying tone that had gotten Natsu so riled up in the first place. “You need me to hold your hand or something?”

“Go right ahead. Just know it will be the last thing that hand ever does.”

Gray only laughed, despite Natsu’s best attempt to sound intimidating. It reminded him of the night they’d met. 

Gray had done a lot of laughing then, too. God, how he hated himself for still liking the sound of it even now. 

He hadn’t wanted to go to that stupid Christmas party. Blue Pegasus was one of the most popular clubs in town, and he knew it was going to be a madhouse. Full of students from all the surrounding colleges wanting to blow off steam from finals week. But his friend Lucy had nagged him until he’d agreed to go with her. 

Even then, he’d only planned to stay long enough to have a few drinks. By then, Natsu figured Lucy would have either found a group of people to party with, or a guy she was interested in. Either way, he’d be off the hook. Honestly, the thought that he’d be the one to meet someone had never crossed his mind, but that’s exactly what had happened. 

Gray had bumped into him, spilling his drink all over him and when their eyes met, all Natsu could think was that he’d never seen eyes quite that blue. The rest of him hadn’t been bad to look at either. And he’d definitely gotten a good look, seeing as Gray had lost his shirt somehow. 

Natsu couldn’t seem to tear himself away, even after Gray had apologized for his clumsiness and helped him clean up with the towels he’d begged off the bartenders. Their conversation had been effortless, and soon everyone else had melted away. 

For the first time in his life, Natsu had actually tried to make his interest known. He’d flirted, or at least his best attempt at it. He’d asked Gray to dance, and when he’d held his hand as he'd led him to the dance floor, he’d felt it - a tingle of electricity he could only describe as joy traveling up his spine.

It was sappy; it was stupid, and Natsu fell for it hook, line and sinker. He fell hard and fast and when Gray pointed at the mistletoe that hung above their heads with a raised eyebrow, Natsu didn’t hesitate to make use of it. Not that time or any of the others. They’d kissed until he felt drunk from the alcohol on Gray’s breath and his arms felt like they'd found a home.

And afterwards... he’d waited for that phone call for weeks. Even now, it still hurt a little when he thought about it. Which was why he was absolutely determined not to go back there again. He didn’t care how hot or even fun to be around Gray was. He’d had his chance and Natsu wasn’t about to give him another one.

Which were mighty big words when he could already feel himself slowly being drawn into Gray’s spell.

Why couldn’t Sting have just listened to me?! 

The line finally moved, and as it did, Natsu hardened his heart as much as he could.

0-0 

Rogue entered his hotel room, already unzipping his jacket, wanting to get out of his clothes asap. He hung it up and put his board and boots under the coat rack, fully intending to let them sit there for the rest of the day, tomorrow, maybe the entire holiday. 

He shivered as he took off the rest of his clothes, wondering why he'd even bothered asking for a room with a functional heater when Gray would barely let him turn it on. The room was freezing cold, or maybe that was just him. He needed a shower. 

Or…

Rogue eyed the hot tub, which, despite its ridiculous shape, looked very appealing. Soaking and relaxing his muscles in the warm water sounded absolutely fantastic right now, and so did the idea of skipping the line for the lunch buffet altogether and ordering room service instead. 

That poor, ignored bottle of champagne… someone should drink it. It was an acceptable time to drink somewhere in the world, right? Besides, he hadn't died or broken any bones during snowboarding. That was pretty celebration worthy.

He reached for his phone in his pocket, tempted to text Sting and suggest his plan. Then again, he'd just met the guy less than 24 hours ago, and a voice at the back of his mind that sounded an awful lot like his father's insisted that this was not the most brilliant idea he'd ever had. He’d been somewhat wary when Sting had first introduced himself, even if he was drop-dead gorgeous. And now he was moving too fast, just like when Gray had asked him if he should look for another room and his answer wasn’t an immediate and resolute no.  

Shower and lunch buffet it was.

He gathered his clothes and draped them over the heater, turning it up to max so they could dry–deal with it, Fullbuster. Then, he spotted a colorful envelope sitting on the table, along with a small box of heart-shaped chocolates.

Wow, these guys are really into heart shapes. 

Curiosity got the best of him, so he opened it, shoving a chocolate into his mouth.

Dear guests,

Due to the large number of check-ins yesterday, we neglected to give you the vouchers that were included on your reservation. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you enjoy your stay.

Sincerely, 

The resort staff.

And sure enough, there were two vouchers in the envelope. One for a three course dinner for two, the other for a romantic sleigh ride. 

Interesting.

About 15 minutes later, Rogue made his way back downstairs, showered and dressed in what he hoped was a decent compromise between looking nice and feeling comfy. He walked into the dining area, almost ready to change his mind and go with the hot tub idea when he saw how busy it was. But he soon found Sting sitting at a table, bouncing his legs while he had his phone pressed to his ear. 

"Uhm… We’re back at the hotel."

Rogue watched as Sting pulled the phone away from his ear with a grimace, swiftly recognizing Natsu’s voice as he serenaded Sting with his displeasure, causing more than one person to turn their head. 

"I know, I know, but Rogue wasn’t feeling so well and honestly, I'm pretty wiped, too."

Whatever Natsu responded to that little nugget had Sting worrying at his lip. Rogue’s eyes followed, immediately reminded of how close they’d come to kissing not even an hour earlier. And while he couldn’t deny he’d love nothing more than to lounge around with Sting for the rest of the day and see what came of it, he was also starting to feel a little guilty about disrupting Natsu’s plans.

Were they really trying to help him, or was that just a convenient excuse on their part? 

"Relax, we'll meet back up later," Sting promised. “There was this envelope in the room when I got back and it had–”

“He is not a ho!” Sting suddenly exclaimed, to surrounding snickers. “What is with you? You’re acting like a child!” 

By this point, Rogue figured they were talking about him and although the temptation to keep eavesdropping was definitely there, he decided not to be rude. 

"Not a ho, but he can always ask Gray for a second opinion," he chimed in, announcing his presence and snorting when Sting jumped in his seat. 

He covered the phone’s speaker with his hand. “Hey, this should only be another minute.”

His eyebrows furrowed as he went back to listening to Natsu, but he soon broke out into an unexpected grin. “Wait a minute, I see what’s going on here… your defenses are weakening, aren’t they?”

For once, Natsu’s response was barely audible, and that alone was enough for Rogue to think Sting was probably on the right track. 

Very interesting…

"Uuhuh, suuure."

Sting looked down at his phone’s screen with a laugh. “He hung up on me,” he explained, not looking annoyed in the slightest. 

“Everything okay?” Rogue asked as soon as he’d put his phone away. 

“Yeah, I think it's going to be just fine.” Sting got up, draping his hoodie over the back of his seat to keep their table occupied. “Ready to hit the food line?”

"I'm getting cold again just looking at you," Rogue lied through his teeth as he laid eyes on Sting's shirt, which ended slightly below his chest, but he followed him to the line all the same.

They ended up piling way too much food on their trays, not wanting to risk braving the line for seconds. As they ate, Rogue had to admit it was liberating to enjoy a meal with someone and not get any weird looks or questions about where he was putting all that food. Although he was pretty sure they’d gotten those, anyway. Not that he’d paid any attention to the other guests around them.

“So, what should we do now?” Sting asked once they’d placed all of their dishes on the conveyor belt. “Those guys won’t be back for hours.”

“I’m honestly too tired to do much of anything that isn’t sitting around.”

“Well, let’s do that then. There were some sofas in the lobby.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”  

Rogue was glad Sting hadn’t asked him back to his room because he honestly didn’t know what he would have done. For as much as he knew he shouldn’t, he trusted himself less and less to say no. 

They soon found an empty sofa close enough to a fireplace that he finally felt warm. He made himself comfortable and turned his attention back to Sting.

“So you never told me what Natsu said when he called.” 

“Oh right! He said a guy wiped out right in front of them on their first run.”

“Wiped out?”

“It means he had a nasty fall,” Sting clarified, flopping down next to him. “Natsu stayed with the guy and his kid while Gray went to fetch the snow patrol, and after they took him away, they decided to warm up on the intermediates first.” Rogue winced, firmly believing that could’ve been him if they’d joined their friends. Definitely dodged a bullet there. “So Natsu wanted us to meet them there,” he guessed, “and when you told him we came back already he got mad and called me a ho?” “Indirectly?” Sting chuckled, rubbing his neck. “He pulled the bros before hos card. Sorry about that.” Rogue shrugged. “When you put it like that, he’s not entirely wrong. Wouldn’t you have said the same thing if you were in his place?” 

“No, not really.” Sting made himself more comfortable, sinking further down. “Here’s the thing. Natsu is my roommate, and our families have been close since we were little. I love the bastard like a brother, but we see each other pretty much every day.”

“Still, he sounded pretty upset on that call. Maybe you should go meet up with them. You don’t have to stay on my account.” “I know. I'm staying on my account." Sting yawned and scooted closer. "Don't worry so much. Natsu can be loud, but he's pretty easygoing. For as much as he loves to bicker, he really doesn't like to fight. Besides, do you really think he’d stick around with Gray just to be polite?” 

“No, I suppose not. I know I wouldn't.” Rogue smiled, fighting a yawn of his own. “Gray sure as hell wouldn't either.” 

It had amused him to learn what Gray had done to make Natsu dislike him, and he’d secretly approved of Natsu’s response. After all, Gray sure as hell had it coming for being an asshole. But then he’d seen the wistful way Gray stared at the picture he’d forwarded him. It was clear whatever feelings he’d had for Natsu had resurfaced, and he sorely regretted the way he’d treated him.

And regret was not a word that Rogue had ever thought existed in Gray’s vocabulary. 

“It’s strange to see him try so hard to connect with someone,” Rogue admitted. “He doesn't talk about his feelings much, and though we're not as close as you and Natsu are, I can tell there's something keeping him from letting people in.” 

Whatever that was, he didn't know, but it had never stopped Gray from being a good friend.

"He's a good guy at heart."

“I hope so,” Sting sighed, “I’m kind of betting on it.”

“I’m serious. I wasn’t supposed to be here; Gray’s roommate Lyon was. They’d planned this vacation months ago. But then Lyon’s plans changed, and when Gray found out I was going to spend Christmas alone, he invited me along.” Rogue snorted, thinking about how differently things likely would have gone if Gray had taken this trip with Lyon. "It's funny. It kind of feels like fate."  

“You were going to spend Christmas alone?!”  

"It’s no big deal. I mean, I’d rather not have to, but my dad had a work thing he couldn't get out of, and my mother hasn't been in my life since I was two."

“Well, I’m glad Gray invited you along.” Sting said, grabbing hold of his hand. “No one should have to spend the holidays alone.”

"I’m glad too." Rogue leaned against him, resting his head on his shoulder. 

The combined warmth of the fireplace and Sting's body heat made him never want to leave. He closed his eyes, enjoying the peace that was left now that most of the families with kids had finished eating and returned to their activities. He had almost dozed off when Sting nudged him with his arm.

"So you think we're fated, huh?" he teased.

Rogue hummed something unintelligible, too tired to think of a witty comeback, or to have a deep conversation about fate. And apparently, so was Sting, because his head hit the back of the sofa with a soft thud just a few moments later, followed by the sound of snores.

Who knows? 

0-0

The first thing Gray heard when he stepped out of the crowded bathroom was Natsu yelling at someone. He cursed, wasting no time in following the sound of his voice, convinced his big mouth had finally gotten him into something. 

It didn’t take him long to find him, seeing as the guy was literally right outside the building. Natsu paced back and forth, looking increasingly agitated as he talked to someone on his phone. 

“I’m sorry, what?!”

“What the hell happened to bros before hos? All you’ve done since we got here is spend time with Rogue.”

Ah, Sting then. Gray tried not to laugh out loud at hearing Natsu call his friend a ho. He supposed there was a first time for everything, but really? Rogue?

“N-no, of course not!” Natsu stammered into his phone, looking mildly panicked by whatever Sting had said.

Huh… wonder what that was about…

“Just get your ass over here!”

Gray watched as Natsu hung up his phone, for the briefest of seconds looking like he was about to yeet the thing, but he calmed himself down and tucked it back in his pocket instead.

Now that the call was over, Gray made his presence known, schooling his features to hide the disappointment he felt at those last words. He’d thought they’d had a good morning. Well, as good as could be, considering they hadn’t gotten any boarding in and had come to the rescue of some guy and his son.

Still, Natsu had kept his cool throughout the whole thing, which had surprised Gray given how easy it was to rile him up. He’d kept the kid entertained, and by the time Gray had returned with the ski patrol in tow, the three of them had been laughing like old friends.

Gray had really liked that about him, and the ride down had been pleasant; quiet but not awkwardly so, making him think that maybe things between them were improving just a little. But apparently he’d gotten his hopes up over nothing. 

And now it seemed like their friends wouldn’t be joining them after all. Not that it was surprising, Rogue had looked miserable and blondie was too interested in him not to take advantage of that. Gray sure as hell would have had the situation been reversed. 

Not that he’d ever get the chance at this rate… But there was no point in feeling sorry for himself, not when he was the one who had dug his own grave. All he could do was keep trying to get through to Natsu, and somehow prove to him he was a better person than his past actions showed.

“Something wrong?”

“Sting and Rogue went back to the hotel.”

Gray hid his amusement at the outrage on Natsu’s face. “Yeah, I kinda figured that would happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was pretty obvious that Rogue hated boarding. He doesn’t seem to like the cold much either. So yeah, he was going to want to go back to the hotel as soon as he could, and your friend hasn’t exactly been shy about showing his interest, so of course he’d tag along.”

“Why would he even come here if he hates the cold?”

“Cause it beats spending the holidays alone,” Gray said, reading through the different signs until he found which lift would take them to the intermediate trails.

“Oh.”

He could feel Natsu’s eyes on him, but he resisted the urge to look, focusing instead on the long line that awaited them. No way he was gonna do that line more than he had to.

“Let’s just do like we planned. We’ll do a few warm up runs and head back to the top.” 

Gray tried not to get too discouraged when there was no response. He’d known this wouldn't be easy, and in all fairness, he’d probably have already lost interest if it had. 

“So, which trail should we try first?” Gray asked after a few moments of awkward silence. He pulled out the brochure from his coat pocket and opened it to the map, pretending to study it as he waited for Natsu to decide what he wanted to do.   

“Which one looks the least lame?” 

“You tell me,” Gray shrugged, handing him the brochure. They pored over it, discussing which trails looked the most challenging as they waited their turn.

The ride up was slow and jerky and though Gray tried to get Natsu to talk, he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. 

There was no sense in worrying about it, though. Not when the sun was out, and the powder was fresh. 

This was it, the moment he’d been looking forward to since he and Lyon had planned this trip months earlier. Now all he had to do was to get Natsu out of his funk. Given his competitive nature, that shouldn’t be too hard.

“Didn’t you say something about showing me up?” Gray injected just enough challenge into his words to tease Natsu back into “fun” mode.

“You say that like it’s hard,” Natsu scoffed, taking the bait. He turned to examine the colorful wooden signs that listed the trail names and pointed to their location and soon called out, “I think that’s it over there!”

Gray turned his head, already smiling at the excitement he could hear in Natsu’s voice.

Oh…

He was completely unprepared for the joyous grin on Natsu’s face and his heart skipped a full beat at the sight.

“Last one to the bottom has to buy lunch,” Natsu said before taking off.

Lunch? That sounded nice… Gray was still so dazzled that it took him several seconds to even realize that not only had a challenge been issued, but Natsu had given himself a head start.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” Gray growled before taking off after him. 

Though he was loath to admit it, Natsu turned out to be as good as he’d said. Certainly more than capable of keeping up with him, and he’d been doing snow sports since he was pretty young. 

And he loved to watch him. When Natsu was having fun, it was almost like there was a fire inside him bursting to get out. There was a confidence in him which Gray found alluring. His eyes lit up with excitement, his hands danced as he talked and there was so much happiness in his laugh that Gray couldn’t help but join in. 

Natsu was beautiful, and to know he’d been his once, even if only for a short while, was torture.

Why had he thrown that away? Had he really been too drunk to remember his number, or as he was beginning to suspect, had his stupid fear of letting people in reared its ugly head? 

Either way, he regretted it. And it made him wonder how many others he might have hurt like this over the years. He’d been so determined to hold on to his freedom, he’d never given it any thought.

When the trails ended up being too easy for them, they made them more challenging. They tried tricks and trash talked the whole way down, laughing at each other’s successes and failures. It was so fun Gray and didn’t want it to end.

But they inevitably reached the bottom only to discover the line for the lift had almost doubled. It would take forever to get back up for another run, long enough for Natsu to put his defenses back up, which was something Gray wanted to avoid at all costs.

“How about we go get that lunch?” Gray offered, scrambling for something he knew Natsu wouldn’t be likely to turn down.

“Well, I am hungry…” Natsu said after some thought, “And you did lose our race, so I guess we might as well.”

It wasn’t the enthusiasm Gray had been hoping for, but he’d take it. He pulled the resort map back out to see what their options were. Most of the eateries near the lifts were likely to be cheap and noisy, which wouldn’t do for what he had in mind. 

He knew there was only one way for him to get a second chance. They had to talk about what had happened between them last Christmas. 

The idea terrified him, but even the small glimpses he’d gotten of Natsu when he wasn’t holding back were enough for him to decide it was worth the risk. For the first time since he’d left home for college, Gray thought maybe dating someone might not be as bad as his previous experiences had led him to believe.

All he had to do was own up to his actions and apologize. How hard could it be?

A/N: We're alive! The last few months have been really busy for us but we hope to start getting back to a more normal writing schedule. We hope you enjoy this update!

[theguildawards]

Congratulations @twomanyideas​!! Your artwork “The Prince’s Bride” has been nominated by one of your fans for The Guild Awards, Second Term of 2022!

The Guild Awards was created by five Fairy Tail enthusiasts who want to spread the love of fandom creators all across the net, and we are very excited to give you this message!

Your work has been nominated into the following category:

Best Kiss

Voting will take place after the nomination period closes, and the link to do so will be found on theguildawards tumblr page.

If you would like to pull your work from consideration for an award, please let us know via tumblr or reach out to one of the moderators.

Once again, congratulations for your beautiful contribution to this wonderful fandom, and thank you for all that you do!

Nominations are open until the end of the day July 4th, PST! Submit your Fanfiction/Artwork nominations through our page!

For more info, see our Fired Up! post

[twomanyideas]

What?! That's amazing, thank you so much for the nomination!

Good luck to everyone 😍