Anime One-Shots

Symphony - Laxus Dreyar

      Laxus gazed lazily at the orange-hued sunset that hung drearily over the oceanic horizon.  He lay his head on top of his arms folded over the railing of the balcony, switched on his headphones to the song you had bought for him, and tuned out the rest of the world, focusing solely on the lyrics, just as you had told him to do.  

I've been hearing symphonies

Before, all I heard was silence

A rhapsody for you and me

And every melody is timeless

      An unexpected chuckle escaped his lips, instead of the curt huff he had intended.  This kind of song was so like you, which made it all the more charming, even though it wasn't quite his cup of tea.  He knew you had always liked songs that told a story, and it was no secret what kind of story this one was.

      He remembered the first day you strutted into Fairy Tail, as if you owned the place, and slammed a flyer onto the job board.  You whipped around and bumped into him, accidentally planting your face into his firm, broad chest.  In a split second, your demeanor flipped from overconfident to incurably flustered.

      Laxus chuckled.  You were cute.  That was his first impression of you.

Life was stringing me along

Then you came and you cut me loose

Was solo, singing on my own

Now, I can't find the key without you

      He resolved to take your job alone (Freed had been unusually clingy around that time), which proved to be more troublesome than he had anticipated.  Your crappy drawing of a snake and the broad, "Take care of the snake that has been terrorizing my garden," was all too misleading.  Laxus didn't expect a twenty-foot-long, five-foot-diameter serpentine beast with huge, gaping, deadly, poisonous fangs hiding amongst your vegetables.

      He also didn't expect that garden to be a community garden meant to feed the children in the town who weren't born with all the advantages life had to offer.  He found himself visiting every month to check in on you and the kids and make a donation or two, even though he didn't like children at all.

And now your song is on repeat

And I'm dancing on to your heartbeat

And when you're gone, I feel incomplete

So if you want the truth

      It took him by surprise when he walked in on you playing the old grand piano in the modest village theater.  Laxus was more into classic rock 'n roll, but as he watched you perform, the passion, the expression, the joy, the musicality -- three minutes on a well-worn stage spoke volumes of you.  He started listening to ballads in private, making absolute certain that no one caught him.  If Cana had found him singing, "So I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you," word would have circulated around the guild in a split second, leading to embarrassing nicknames and uncomfortable questions.

      The lyrics of every song he heard brought him back to the image of you. He had to shake himself out it whenever your face popped into his head because he couldn't be bothered, not right then.  He was too busy with guild work and money management and attending events and training and making excuses.