#ftfics

“Gray! You’re finally back!” Erza practically ran to give him a big hug and a peck on the cheek.

Gray couldn’t hold back his smile. This was the life really. It was the kind of married life he pictured with Erza for a long time - in fact, it was MUCH better than he imagined - because Erza was much more affectionate than he could ever imagine even during one year of courtship. It was actually considered too short of a time for them to date and get to know one another to the other guild members but Gray wanted to make up for the YEARS it took for him to confess, so he didn’t waste time proposing. To his surprise, Erza agreed, saying she’d never find anyone as loyal and loving as Gray ever again, so she’d be dumb to not accept (which had Gray flustered for days).

His wife scanned him before sporting a look of approval. “Oh, you’re coming back from a job without a scratch for once.”

“It was an easy job, of course I’d come back without a scratch!”

“I guess this means you didn’t bump into Natsu and start a fight for no reason.”

“Hey, I’M the one giving him scratches!” Gray paused, “Wait a minute, that’s not the point! Why is there a piano in the middle of the living room?!”

“Isn’t it beautiful?! I’m going to play it to our baby!” She beamed as she softly rubbed her stomach.

Gray was so incredibly weak against the sparkles in her eyes but had to say something. “But Erza, you don’t know how to play the piano.”

“There’s always room for learning! And I will learn for our baby.” She declared. “You can join me too, Gray!” She gave him a big slap on his shoulder and grinned.

He couldn’t win against that look. Erza always had a knack for persuading him. When they were kids, she used her overwhelming physical strength to drag him to join her on missions and whatnot. As teenagers, the armored beauty simply used her cutting words making it almost impossible to argue against her (except a few times, when he wouldn’t back down with his beliefs and Erza couldn’t help but let him do what he wanted).

Then he fell in love and all Erza had to do to persuade him to do things he never thought he would do was to show off those sparkles in her eyes whenever she was excited about something new and hoped he would come along.

Erza probably didn’t realize that at some point she didn’t have to resort to forcibly dragging him. (And he realized maybe, just maybe she thought of him as someone special because she only asked him to join her and no one else. So in his point of view, they were having dates since way before he confessed).

Gray sighed but gave his wife a soft smile. “Well, I suppose learning from a lacrima piano will be easier.” He said as he sat down, quite excited to tap the piano keys.

“Lacrima piano?” Erza asked confused.

Gray turned to her. “Wait, this is a non-lacrima piano?”

“Of course, I must learn with my own strength after all.”

He smiled. “Well I’m sure a regular piano is at least less expensive than a lacrima one.” Erza suddenly had a robotic look. “It IS less expensive, right?”

“…maybe? Regular pianos are rare nowadays, it should be a given they’re a bit expensive, right?”

Gray sighed. Erza had always been quite the spendthrift, finding new armors almost every month. She just couldn’t resist. She had the money so it was up to her to spend on whatever she liked.

But now they were married with already one daughter and a son coming up, she would spend so much on them when their daughter wasn’t even all that interested in wearing tons of clothes in the first place (and she had a tendency to lose them, damn Gray and his stripping habit was apparently inheritable).

They weren’t strapped for cash or anything; in fact they were quite well off – with both Erza and Gray going on S-Class job requests together quite frequently until Erza was pregnant with their first child.

“But this piano will be worth the money, I’m sure of it!” She declared as she curled her hands into a fist (out of habit) and banged on the piano key. The sounds of the piano erupted in protest causing both husband and wife to flinch.

“Why is there a piano in the middle of the living room?”

Gray and Erza turned to see their nine-year old daughter at the doorstep.

“Violet! How was school?” Her mother asked brightly. Then her face quickly changed, “you didn’t get into another fight, did you?”

Gray could feel his sweat dropping. Erza always had to make sure her husband and daughter weren’t fighting unless it was for job requests.

“No! I did what you said and ignored that boy.” She said as she closed the door and walked towards them. Erza smiled proudly as she gave her a brief side hug.

“Should’ve beaten that bully to a pulp.” Gray muttered.

“Why, so that boy can receive the same treatment you did?” Erza teased, making him think back to his embarrassing behavior as a child.

“Hey, YOU were the one that beat me to a pulp, you were the bully!”

“What are you talking about? It was self-defense.” Erza simply responded.

Violet had told them (after lots of prodding) that a boy was annoying her lately and always picked a fight with her at school. Gray had asked if he was Natsu’s son but Violet denied, saying she didn’t even know the name of the kid and why that boy seemed to hate her.

Gray cringed when he remembered what Erza had responded that day.

“Hmm..maybe that boy secretly likes you?” Erza had said out of the blue.

“Hah?” Violet raised an eyebrow doubtfully. “That makes no sense.”

“I know, right? That’s what I thought about your father too.”

Erza ended up telling their daughter about Gray’s embarrassing history of trying to get her attention by challenging her to fights he was obviously going to lose. It took a lot of convincing on his part that - for a long time he was in love with her for the scarlet-haired woman to accept him, (one of them was admitting that he probably liked her ever since they first met) so there was no way Gray could deny it when Erza told their daughter Gray had a lousy way of getting her attention because he liked her.

Violet agreed that it was indeed lousy and immature, to which Gray hastily defended himself that he was just a kid and kids being immature is totally normal.

But hey, if he didn’t do it, there was no way Erza was going to talk to him so…it worked for him…sort of. (He was friend zoned for a long time but Gray was going to bury that tragic part of his love life forever. He didn’t think Erza would bring it up again).

“He didn’t bother me today so it was easy to ignore him.” Violet shrugged. “So where did the piano come from?”

“Your mother wants to play for your new little brother.”

Violet had a brief horrified look on her face.

“What?”

“Mama, if you’re going to play like you did just now; my new brother might come out deaf.”

“I’m going to learn!” Erza defended herself.

“From who? Papa?” Violet couldn’t help but sport a doubtful look. Gray shook his head.

“No, your father would be worse than me.”

“Hey!”

“Regular pianos aren’t easy to learn by yourself, Mama.” Violet reasoned gently. “You should just rest a bit more while you can before my brother comes out.”

Sometimes Gray couldn’t help but be stunned at Violet’s maturity. As she grew older, Gray saw more and more of Erza in her, and a touch of gentleness Gray had rarely seen from Erza when they were children.

Gray was glad that their lives had been much more peaceful and happier ever since Zeref and Acnologia had been defeated all those years ago. Zeref, the source of all the tragedy that had happened towards Gray and Erza in their childhood, had forced them to mature at a young age.

Gray prayed every night that Violet wouldn’t have to go through anything they had.

“I could hire a teacher or something.” Erza pouted, snapping Gray out of his thoughts.

For some reason, both Gray and Violet pictured the worst case scenario of a violent, pregnant woman raging on a poor, defenseless piano teacher.

“No.” They both answered. But Gray quickly added, “Coz you know…I’m not spending money on a teacher that probably isn’t even good enough to teach you.”

What was worse than Erza raging because of her hormones was a crying Erza. It was still his biggest weakness.

Violet rolled her eyes at her father’s excuse.

“I already bought the piano! If I don’t play it, who will?” Erza whined.

Violet let out a deep sigh. “Papa, scoot over.”

Gray and Erza were momentarily stunned. But Erza’s look quickly changed to an excited one. “Get off, Gray.” Violet was already pushing Gray away with her tiny hands.

“Hey!” He was sure both mother and daughter get a kick from bullying him.

As the notes hit their ears, Gray and Erza were transfixed as their daughter’s little fingers gently caressed the ivory keys. A beautiful melody resonated in their home, so different from the usual bickering sessions from none other than her own parents that would result in laughter.

When the melody gradually came to a stop, an explosive applause came from Violet’s side. Her mother was actually tearing up and clapping at the same time.

“I had no idea my baby could play like that!” Erza cried as she smothered her daughter in hugs and kisses.

Violet let out a small smile. She glanced at her father who was just gaping in awe. “Papa, you’re going to drool.”

Gray reddened in embarrassment and quickly snapped out of his trance. “Okay, where did you learn the piano?”

“They teach it at school.”

“They teach regular piano at school? How did we not know this? Since when? Erza stop suffocating the girl she can’t answer me.”

Erza loosened her hold but still didn’t completely let go. Her daughter was too amazing! Now if only Violet learnt her Requip magic too. But her daughter only wanted to learn Ice Make as she wasn’t all that interested in armor like her mother was. Of course, Erza was proud of her daughter learning Ice Make, she always thought Gray’s magic was very beautiful.

But still, she wanted to teach her daughter the few things she knew she was good at. Looking at Gray teaching Violet sometimes made Erza jealous. How was it that she was jealous of her own husband? Even though she was way stronger than him?

“There weren’t enough lacrima pianos when they first started teaching so the teacher let me play on a normal piano. Then once there were more lacrima pianos I said I didn’t want them.” Violet shrugged.

Erza nodded in understanding, the proud look never leaving her face. “Okay, Violet. I approve. You will be my teacher as of today.” She declared, to which Violet replied that her mother would still have to take care of her health if she was going to teach her.

“Erza, you don’t have to learn. Look, Violet can play for our baby.”

Erza pointed an accusing finger at her husband. “Why, are you jealous? That I will be spending quality mother-daughter time by letting her teach me?”

“Pfft – I was already spending father-daughter time when she said she’d learn Ice Make over your Requip!” Gray scoffed.

Violet was expecting her mother to argue back but instead was met with the sound of instant sobbing. “He’s right! Baby why won’t you learn my magic?! I want to be a good mother and teach you things too!” Erza tightly held onto her daughter.

Said daughter shot an annoyed look at her father who was instantly flustered and panicking. “Um…uh –That’s not - ”

Use-less, Violet mouthed to her father.

“Hey!” Gray indignantly rejected the claim.

Thus, ten whole minutes was spent on Violet wiping her mother’s tears and reassuring calmly she was the best mother in the world, while Erza declaring she wouldn’t kiss her husband for the rest of the week.

“Did you hear that Gray? I think our baby likes the piano! He definitely kicked just now!” Erza’s eyes sparkled again.

Click.

With the layout of the small apartment, he couldn't see the front door through his doorway, but his ears were sensitive enough to hear someone definitely breaking into his place. A growl started to build in the back of his throat, but he stifled it. An iron hue crept up his fists, and with breath nearly held he slowly rose from his bed. Very little ambient light ever filtered into his abode at night and it was definitely limiting. But whoever it was, Gajeel could guarantee he could see better in the dark than they could.

Quiet as a predator, he crept toward his doorway and could hear his door close behind whoever had opened it, and quiet footsteps came after. There was the sound of something shuffling…sifting through some of his belongings maybe? A thief?

Gajeel grit his teeth and rushed out of his bedroom to overcome the…small figure that stood in his living room. A tiny gasp pierced the silence and Gajeel stopped dead with his hand close enough to her neck that he could feel his fingertips brush her warm flesh. It took him a few seconds to catch up to the tiny, now trembling figure there in his space, and when he released the breath he had been holding he picked up on the familiar scent.

"Levy?!" He breathed, his hand recoiling from her as though he had burnt himself.

"G-Gajeel?" The girl whimpered, still quite startled, looking up at the ominous dark figure looming over her.

"God damnit shrimp, I could have hurt ya! The hell are ya doin' here?" He scolded, exasperated and still working consciously to relax his muscles and let go of the fight instinct that had taken him over.

"I'm sorry." The blunette squeaked shamefully. "I d-didn't mean to break in but I…couldn't sleep."

Gajeel lifted a brow and he balked slightly, staring down at and taking in the incredibly vulnerable, trembling girl in front of him. She had averted her eyes and was fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt, shifting uncomfortably on her feet with a barely-there pinkness on her cheeks.

The realization was slow, ticking along, nearly there nearly there…

Ding!

The blush ignited across his features and his chest tightened because oh my Mavis she is so damn adorable and she came to me because she couldn't sleep and it smells like she's scared but she came to me.

He could tell the extended silence made her uncomfortable, and he finally realized that seeing her like this made him feel nothing but protectiveness. Gajeel didn't know what was keeping her up, but she had clearly sought safety in him and he wanted nothing else than to give that to her. Levy was a gifted mage and easily capable of handling herself, hell she had gotten him out of more than one pinch in the past. But she was still a tiny thing in a very big world.

"I'm so sorry I shouldn't have—" Levy started to turn away from him, but he stopped her with a loud huff.

"Shush." Before Levy realized what was happening, he scooped her up into his arms and started to walk towards the bedroom.

"Gaj-Gajeel! W-wait!" Levy sputtered, squirming in his arms. His grip was, for lack of a better word, iron, and she wasn't going anywhere.

"Relax, shrimp!" Gajeel said more sternly than he had intended, and he immediately kicked himself internally. "I ain't gonna do nothin." He mumbled, coming to the side of his bed and taking a seat with her still in his arms. He could feel that she was still tense, but he could also feel her questioning eyes directed up at him.

Gajeel shifted to lie down in his side, moving her around in his grip to situate her flush against him, with his arms now wrapped securely around the blunette. He could feel her move to help him, but the tension in her body was still there.

Levy, as always, was tiny in comparison, and he could have wrapped himself entirely around her. As they were, with her back pulled to his chest, he could easily rest his chin atop her head and inhale her calming scent.

"Is this okay…?" He finally broke the silence, his voice soft and tentative. Levy shifted a little, but didn't answer straight away. The pause sped up Gajeel's heart just a tick, and the girl seemed to be trying to figure out the answer herself.

Finally, he could feel all the tension leave her, as she nestled herself back into him, and a long sigh left her. "Yeah." Levy closed her eyes and a small smile crept onto her blushed face. "This is definitely okay."

Gajeel could feel his own face burning, but he found himself happier than he had expected by her answer. His arms tightened around the vulnerable mage, and he planted a soft kiss on the top of her head. The softness of her hair was—as many times as he had ruffled it playfully in the past—surprising to him. Gajeel found himself lingering there, breathing deeply and allowing every one of his senses to be overcome by her. She had come to him seeking comfort, and really she was bringing just as much to him.

"Sorry for scarin' ya." He muttered into her blue locks.

Levy laughed a little, a sound like music that sped up his heartbeat. "It's okay. It was kind of my fault."

Being a smartass was like a reflex, and before he could even stop himself he answered her, "Yeah, you're right. It was Shrimp." Her tiny hands dug a warning grip into his forearms, and though it was barely strong enough for him to feel, the adorable, prickly rage was more than clear. He waited for her outburst, to try and squirm away from him. But as quickly as Levy had reacted, she relaxed again and reduced to useless mutters under her breath.

"Stupid Gajeel." Levy finally said audibly.

"Gihi, couldn't resist." Gajeel responded, in his own way at a half-assed apology. But really, they both knew he wasn't sorry. And he knew that somewhere deep down, she liked it.

An exasperated sigh left her, and Levy shook her head a little. She took another moment of silence, before speaking up once more. "Thank you." The words, coupled with the way she now held his arms like a necessity, made him feel as though there was something else she wanted to say. But the way they were now was easy enough, and he didn't need to go looking for more words in the dark.

"Mhm." Gajeel answered her. "You too." He added.

Levy turned her head a little, curiously. "For what?"

A rumbling noise came from his throat when he groaned with exhaustion as he felt stinging pain from his muscles and soreness in his joints while he walked down the street.

Though it might sound a little harsh, it was at times like this that he was glad that the crowd would part like the red sea while he walked since he was in no mood to deal with anybody for the rest of the day.

Everything that he did earlier played out in his mind, opening his eyes when he came closer to his sanctuary, his home.

Upon opening his eyelids, he saw that there was a faint glow of light seeping through the closed wooden windows and his ears caught the sound of movement inside.

The man wasn’t able to stop the corners of his mouth from going up and forming a small smile, that is, not until he had stepped into the building and heard a soft hum coming in the direction of the lit up kitchen.

He didn’t need to peek around the corner to know who had decided to make a little evening visit as his nose had picked up the scent of hot stew from the front door, but he would act clueless each time, possibly for his own amusement.

‘What is on the menu today, chef?’

The person in question lifted her head from the pot that held her delicious masterpiece; an expression of surprise changing to one of welcoming happiness.

‘Tonight, it’s the chef special.’ She proceeded to scoop up a generous amount each into two bowls placed adjacent to the stove.

With the table already set, once the main meal was placed in between the silver utensils on either sides, there was a chime in her voice when she spoke next.

‘Dinner is served.’

After draping his heavy fur coat over the back of the chair, he took a seat and let out a sigh of relief at being able to finally relax before the two picked up their spoons, taking their time digging into the piping hot food.

Like always, she would start up the conversation first.

‘How were the job requests today? When I first read them to myself, I was worried that it would be too much at once.’

He took a few sips before looking up to answer, being taken aback for a split second when he met her warm gaze.

‘It was fine. They gave us a little more trouble than we wanted during the second one, but we got through it.’ There was a pause, ‘How’s the guild?’

‘Nothing has changed though things have settled down a bit, now that everyone is getting special requests.’ She casually extended an arm as she placed a hand on the back of his.

Back then, he would have pulled away from the touch upon contact, but now he quietly turns over his hand to hold her fingers, with the occasional rubbing of the thumb over the knuckles.

They told each other about their day, a week in his case whenever he had a long absence period away from Magnolia, and thus time passed by just like that.

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Dishes lightly clattered as they were carefully returned to their places in the upper cupboards until the female stepped away from the kitchen and into the living room area where he was resting on the large sofa.

It was only when she lightly shook his shoulders that his grey eyes peeked open, shifting upwards to meet her blue irises as she said in a soft voice.

‘Laxus, you can go wash up first before me.’

Sitting up abruptly as his eyes suddenly went wide, shaking his head as he lightly nudged her with the back with his hand, ‘No, you can go first, Mira. I can go later.’

‘But you’re--’ Her words were cut off when he stood up without another word and guided her to the bathroom, standing in front of the open door way in wait, arms crossed.

When she saw the determined look on his face, she knew that he wouldn’t walk away until he heard the sound of her turning on the water of the shower head, a small defeated sigh leaving her smiling lips.

‘Okay, I give up. I’ll go first.’ After going to grab the extra change of clothes she kept in one corner of his dresser drawer, she tip toed over the cool floor tiles, hearing him state that he would be waiting when she closed the door.

However, once she stepped out with a towel draped over her arm to tell him that she was done, her call was met with silence in the house.

Curiously, she began to look around for him though she didn’t need to go far until a small laugh came out from her parted lips, ‘You said that you would wait.’

The lightning dragon slayer had returned to the sofa to do just as he promised yet here she was now, looking at his calm, sleeping expression with his arms crossed over his chest in an upright sitting position.

As his head fell slightly to one side, this sight made it hard to believe that this was the same person that had enough power to defeat one of the Ten Wizard saints.

She glanced around the room for a moment before her eyes landed on his hanging jacket, walking over to lift it up from the chair, coming back to drape it over his sleeping form.

‘Good night, Laxus.’

A soft smile was on her face but it soon slowly fell to a pained frown, removing her hands off his arms and when she walked away from his home, she gave one last glance back over her shoulders until she went on her way.

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