AN: So for anyone who knows me I've been talking a lot about an AU I've been working on since November and I'm happy to say that I'm officially biting the bullet and putting the first chapter out there. This is my first time really tackling a planned out multi-chapter story so hopefully you're all patient with me. I'm going to try spacing out my chapter releases so that I've got a few chapters written ahead at all times so fingers crossed I can keep up.

Rating: T-M for coarse language, drinking, future scenes of a sexual nature, and mature subject matter.

Warning: This fic will contain homosexuality, and a transexual character as well as address issues that homosexuals face. If this is not something you're interested in consider yourself warned and feel free to hit the back button. Some of the opinions expressed in this fanfiction do not necessarily reflect the views of the author.

Chapter 1: Home for the Holidays

Lyon had forgotten how peaceful the long drive north could be. A soft blanket of snow coated the rolling hills and small thickets of evergreens and leafless trees that sped by. He tapped his fingers in time to the beat as he sung his heart out to the lengthy musicals playlist that Juvia had created for them.

It was an easy drive, with beautiful scenery, and he'd managed to avoid the hardest part of the two day drive because Juvia had insisted on taking the morning driving so he could sleep a little longer.

He'd protested of course, being the gentleman he was, but they both knew Juvia would be up that early anyways and he quickly relented to her logic. Once he'd woken they spent the whole first day and the better part of the morning singing and chatting excitedly.

She'd gone quiet a little after he'd taken over, but a RENT song had come up and she always went quiet for those. He figured she was just feeling a bit tired when she didn't pick back up. Early riser or not; lengthy driving could exhaust even the most energetic of people.

A flash of a green highway sign caught his attention. It stated that Magnolia was fifteen miles away, but it was the town at the bottom that caused his heart to race. Eranthis was a sixty-five miles away. He tried to ignore the sudden wave of anxiety and focused on the road ahead. With a newfound drive he threw himself back into the final lines of Chicago's number one song.

Even as the music faded, Lyon continued to hold the last note of the song. The unease he was feeling only served to highlight Juvia's unnatural silence. Something about it felt wrong, and suddenly he couldn't shake the thoughts that circled in his mind.

He snuck a quick peek at her, finding that she was staring out the window, as she had been every other time he'd glanced at her. Truth be told she didn't seem tired, just deep in thought. He tapped his fingers anxiously against the wheel, and continued to shift his gaze between the road ahead and his best friend. Silently he willed her to notice, but whatever she was thinking about consumed her. He could feel the agitation stirring up inside.

They were an hour away and he couldn't keep ignoring the facts. He was going to be home in one hour. Home for the first time in over two years. Home…

Lyon clenched his fist and exhaled loudly before reaching out and smacking the power button on the stereo. Juvia jolted up at the action and whipped her head around towards him and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Lyon?"

"You doing okay?" He asked, eyes flicking back and forth between her and the road ahead.

"Of course I am. Why would you think otherwise?" He had to chuckle at the cute way her brow furrowed.

"Because instead of singing along with me to Chicago, you're staring out the window looking like we're driving to a funeral."

Juvia bit her lower lip and averted her gaze, yet again staring off into the horizon. The silence stretched between them, and Lyon knew he'd been right. He forced himself to refocus on the road and wait.

Finally he heard her sigh, "What if they don't like me?"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously! I've never done this whole... meet the parents thing. What if I say the wrong thing? What if they think I'm not good enough for you? Or your mom thinks I'm trying to steal her baby boy away from her. What if they hate the gifts I bought them, or don't like the flowers, or the wine..."

Lyon couldn't stifle his laughter any further and it erupted as a loud snort, and continued as a cackle. Which earned him a hard smack on the arm.

"This isn't funny!" He couldn't disagree more, but the distraught look on her face helped sober him, and he managed to reel in his laughter.

Lyon reached out and took one of her hands in his, "Juvia, my parents are going to love you. They manage to love my step brother, and he's a gigantic, self absorbed asshat." He offered her a cocky grin. "Besides, you're showing up with their favourite child, that's like guaranteed good books status."

He caught her smile out of the corner of his eye, and said, "You're showing up with flowers, wine and whiskey, despite me telling you that you didn't need to. That's bound to get you some serious brownie points, even Ultear ought to be pleased."

"So you're not worried about this?"

"About you getting along with my family? No. Not in the slightest. About going back to my stupid, small, redneck home town for two weeks…"

He felt her squeeze his hand. "I'm with you this time, I've got your back."

"You better, I wouldn't be doing this without you."

Finally Juvia giggled, and Lyon felt a bit of relief wash over him. The truth was he hadn't been home since he'd started university and he was running out of excuses not to visit. Besides, even if he hated the town, he missed spending Christmas at home with his family. He just didn't miss the teasing, but at least in high school he'd been dating Sherry. Without a girlfriend he lacked any defense.

But, miraculously, Juvia's usual Christmas tradition of eating takeout all week while binge watching old action and horror movies with her foster brother fell through when Gajeel told her his girlfriend's parents wanted to meet him. Juvia, being Juvia, had insisted he agree to it, but Gajeel was stubborn, doubly so about their weird anti-Christmas tradition. It had quickly escalated into a huge fight, until Lyon had asked if she'd come home with him instead.

He sold it to both of them as the perfect solution to all their problems. Juvia could be his moral support, and she wouldn't have to spend Christmas alone; which meant Gajeel didn't have to feel guilty about going to meet his girlfriend's parents.

He waited a whole week after she'd convinced Gajeel to agree before asking her for the real favour. He'd spent each day buttering her up; bringing her tea between classes, bringing her late night study snacks, daily foot massages. He'd even gotten up and joined her for one of her early morning beach runs. That ended up tipping her off and she'd confronted him about the sudden onslaught of extra favours, leading to him asking her for one of the most cliche, over-done favours in cinematic history. He'd asked her to be his fake girlfriend for the holidays.

It was a testament to their friendship and Juvia's loving nature that she had readily agreed to help, rather than mocking him or trying to talk him out of such a stupid plan. She knew what high school had been like for him, and knew that he wasn't prepared to face that harassment alone. Not when it seemed like people were finally leaving him alone at University.

Juvia gave his hand a little squeeze before removing her hand and reaching forward and turning up the volume on the stereo. The steady beat had both of them both grinning.

And now the six merry murderesses of the crook county jail and their rendition of the cell block tango.

Both of them quickly picked up the lyrics, alternating lines between themselves before bursting out into song as the chorus started. As the car filled once again with song Lyon felt his anxiety wane. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the sign for Magnolia's first exit. One more hour and he'd be home. The thought filled him with nothing but excitement.

As they pulled into the driveway all of Juvia's fears and anxieties came rushing back at her as she stared up at Lyon's childhood home. The huge two story house looked like something out of a cottage magazine, all decked out with decorations on the lawn, and she could see the strings of lights covering the better part of the house. It screamed festive.

"Watch your step, it's icy!" Lyon called out as he exited the car. Juvia followed suit, slipping on her gloves and hat as she exited. She was grateful she'd decided to wear a practical pair of boots as her feet hit the icy pavement. "I'll get the bags, you just grab the stuff in the back."

"I can get my own bag."

"Sure you can, but it would make me a pretty crappy boyfriend if I let you. Just grab the flowers and the drinks, you'll have your hands full with those anyways." He offered her a grin as he popped the trunk.

Opening the back door Juvia reached down and picked up the gift bag from the floor, placing it on the seat, beside the flowers. She carefully rearranged the two bottles within it and began playing with the tissue paper, constantly readjusting it to make it look fluffier.

"You coming?" Juvia peered over her shoulder to find Lyon waiting by the path that lead to the front door. She took a deep breath, and then another, exhaling and watching as it fogged in front of her. Finally she grabbed the bag then carefully picked up the flowers, cradling them in her other arm, before stepping away from the car and closing the door.

All the while Lyon waited patiently, letting her carefully make her way down the driveway to his side.

"So this is the house you grew up in?" she asked, taking another look at place.

"Yep."

"It's huge."

"Not really, you're just use to cities where everything is cramped together. Out here in the country there's actually some space." He teased. Juvia just nodded, they'd grown up in different worlds and to him it was just a regular house, but she knew that even out in the middle of the country a house that size was expensive. She shifted on her feet and wondered if a sweater dress and leggings was appropriate. Too late to worry now.

"Well no point in standing out here. We should head in, so you can finally introduce me to this family of yours." She smiled up at him.

She felt Lyon's hand cup hers through her glove, lifting it and the gift bag up so he could place a kiss on the back of it. He smiled back at her, eyes shining. "Thank you for doing this with me Juvia. You're a wonderful friend and I don't know what I would do without you."

She felt some of the tension that had been building ease up, and she smiled brightly. "Of course. What kind of girlfriend would pass up the chance to meet her boyfriend's family. Besides if I wasn't here, you'd end up meeting your first love, and fall for eachother all over again and then you'd leave me, and well… I just can't allow that."

This time both of them burst out laughing. Cliche plot tropes had become an inside joke in the last few weeks.

"Nope, definitely can't have that." Lyon chuckled, then nudged her forward. "Come on, let's get inside before you turn into a popsicle."

He lead the way to the front door and pulled out his keys, flipping through them to the right one before opening the door and heading inside. Juvia followed, closing the door behind her.

"Hey, it's me! I'm home!" Lyon called out as he set their suitcases off to the side.

"Ah, my cute little boy is home!" A feminine voice called from down the hall, and suddenly a beautiful older woman with short black hair ran towards them and crushed Lyon in a hug. He hugged her back tightly, smiling like a little kid.

Ur stepped back to look at him. "I've missed you so much! It's about time you finally came back home."

"I missed you too, Mom." Lyon replied, before leaning down to plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey! Lyon, you finally made it!" Juvia's head whipped to the left where a tall dark haired man had appeared. He quickly stepped forward and clapped Lyon on the back before pulling him into a hug. Juvia stood back, watching.

She knew the woman was Ur, and that man must be his step-father Silver. Both were smiling from ear to ear just seeing him and were trapping him in a tight family hug as his Mom gave him a large kiss on the cheek. It was cute to watch as they doted over him, and Lyon was clearly lapping it up.

"Well look who finally decided to come visit! I was starting to forget what you looked like, kid." Juvia stared in awe at the woman who'd followed Silver out. She was just a little taller than Ur, and her black hair hung down past her waist but other than that she looked like an exact replica, and there was no doubt she was Lyon's sister- technically half-sister but Juvia knew Lyon didn't care about that technicality.

Ultear crowded into the foyer with the rest of their family and made her way forward to hug Lyon as well, welcoming him home after so long; but as she did, her eyes locked with Juvia's. Juvia felt a shiver run down her spine as the older woman gave her a quick once over, then suddenly she was smiling and pulling away from Lyon.

"Well I see your social skills still haven't improved, were you planning to introduce us to your friend?" She questioned, and nodded towards Juvia.

Both Ur and Silver's gazes turned towards her as well, and Juvia forced herself to stand straight and smile at them. They seemed a bit surprised at her presence and she briefly wondered if Lyon had failed to tell them he was bringing her. She'd assumed he'd already spoken with them but was beginning to regret not having confirmed that detail.

Lyon turned and smiled brightly at her, and motioned her forward. She slowly inched away from the doorway and towards them.

"Right, this is my girlfriend Juvia! Mom, you remember me telling you about her before right? Her plans ended up getting cancelled and so I asked if she wanted to spend Christmas with us instead! I figured you wouldn't mind. Juvia; this is my mom Ur, my dad Silver, and my sister Ultear." Lyon explained, confirming Juvia's earlier assessments. Not that she really noticed, her heart had stopped when he brushed over the fact that he hadn't asked if she would be welcome.

There was a pregnant pause before Ur spoke up. "Your girlfriend?" She asked, eyes darting from Lyon to Juvia and back. The other two continued to stare and her, and she was certain everything was about to go up in smoke.

Thinking fast, she quickly stepped forward bring herself face to face with Ur, and faked an even bigger smile.

"Yep! I'm really so sorry for intruding. When Lyon asked me to come with him I'd thought he'd already asked for permission." She paused to glare at him, before turning back to his mom. "I would normally never impose like this, but I have to say it's wonderful to finally get to meet you all. Lyon talks about you all the time! And these are for you!"

She carefully offered the flowers towards Ur, and prayed for a miracle. The older woman blinked and then suddenly smiled at her brightly.

"Oh no, don't be silly! You're not intruding at all! This is Lyon's home too and he's welcome to bring home as many people as he wants. I just don't remember him mentioning that you two were dating that's all! But look at you, you're too sweet, bringing me flowers!" Ur had Juvia in a hug before she could comprehend what was happening and she lightly hugged the woman back, unused to such a warm greeting from strangers.

Ur pulled back and quickly took the flowers from her. "I will be right back! I'm just going to go put these in some water. But really dear, this is too much, you didn't have to go through all the trouble!"

"That's what I tried to tell her, but she insisted. Took an extra half hour to get here because of it!" Lyon teased and Juvia shot him a glare in response.

"Good! It's about time someone taught you some manners. I swear, mom lets you get away with murder. You know even Gray brings her something." Ultear interjected and Lyon's expression soured.

"Yeah, well it's about time he showed some appreciation, he certainly gave her a hard enough time growing up." Lyon retorted.

Juvia couldn't help but glance towards Silver nervously. But the man seemed unfazed by Lyon's hostile remark, choosing to laugh at it instead.

"Yeah well, just because you were the good kid growing up doesn't mean you shouldn't show a little appreciation from time to time, especially when you haven't been home in over two years."

Lyon just rolled his eyes and huffed. Before he could think up another retort Juvia presented the gift bag to Ultear. "Really, it's from both of us, and we also brought these."

Ultear looked a little surprised but quickly took the gift and reached in pulling out the whiskey. She grinned and handed it to Silver.

"Wow, you're really looking to impress." She stated and then reached in and pulled out the wine turning it to check the label. "Well consider your mission accomplished. You've got good taste in wine!"

Juvia blushed at the praise but smiled back at the older woman. "I'm glad you approve. Lyon mentioned you were the wine connoisseur of the family so if you're happy with the choices then I think the rest of your family should be pleased."

Ultear burst out laughing and wrapped an arm around Juvia. "I like you! You're definitely well mannered! I sincerely doubt Lyon considers me a connoisseur of anything but it's sweet of you to interpret him that way."

Juvia giggled right along with her, which prompted an eye roll from Lyon. "And you were worried... Not even five minutes in the door and already my own sister likes you better than me!"

Silver laughed at that and clapped Lyon on the shoulder. "She brought flowers, wine and whiskey. I think it's safe to say everyone likes her better than you at this point."

"Now don't say that! A mother's love isn't so easily displaced. But really dear you needn't have worried. I assure you we're very friendly people despite what my son might have told you." Ur reassured her.

Juvia was quick to protest. "He's only told me good things about all of you, I swear. Nothing bad at all. I just haven't done this before. Spending Christmas with another family that is..."

"Well we're happy to have you Juvia, so no more worrying. Now you kids should head upstairs and get unpacked before dinner. I'll help you carry the bags up if you'd like." Silver offered with a smile.

"Nah, it's okay I can manage, Dad." Lyon replied, taking the suitcases from Silver's hands and heading up stairs.

Juvia quickly bowed before his family. "Thank you so much for having me. It really is a pleasure to get to meet all of you. You're all as wonderful as he described."

She flashed them a quick smile before turning to follow Lyon up the curved stairs.

When she got to the top there were two doors in front of her and one just a little down and to the left. Instead Lyon turned to right and opened a door that faced the front door. Juvia followed him into the room and peered around.

It was a decent sized room, with beautiful blue walls and dark brown furniture. The queen sized bed was centered in the middle of the wall, opposite the door, and was covered in a patterned grey comforter. Light grey curtains hung from the window behind it. There were a couple pictures on the dresser and the desk beside it was organized and tidy. A few musical posters decorated the walls along with shelves of CD's and records.

Lyon had left their suitcases in front of the closet and proceeded to flop onto his bed.

"It's good to be home." He smiled at her, eyes bright with merriment. "Welcome to Casa de Lyon, come on in and make yourself at home. You can hang things in the closet or take over some of the dresser drawers. Should be lots of room in both."

"Thanks," Juvia made her way over to the bed and sat down beside him. Without any warning she delivered a quick hard smack to his forearm.

"Ow!"

"That's for not telling your parents you were bringing me." She hissed, finally able to properly vent her frustration. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Pfft. We haven't had to ask permission to bring guests home since we started high school, they're happy to have people."

"Lyon, bringing home friends for dinner is one thing. Bringing home your girlfriend to stay with you for two weeks is another thing entirely. A little bit of notice probably would have been appreciated."

"Yeah, probably. Look, honestly I was just worried you might come to your senses and back out on me at the last minute."

Juvia sighed, and placed her hand over his. "You know I wouldn't do that to you."

Lyon looked up at her before moving so he could rest his head on her lap, Juvia removed her hand from his and began to card her fingers through his soft, white locks instead. "I know, you're pretty amazing like that. I was just freaking out. Thanks for having my back anyways."

"Always." Juvia answered, then leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Now, where's the bathroom?"

Lyon chuckled and sat up. "Second door on your right, just across from the stairs."

Juvia got up and walked back into the hallway, and made her way to the second door. She grabbed the doorknob and turned, frowning when it barely budged. She knocked lightly on the door, figuring someone must be using it, and waited for a reply. When she got none, she tried again, this time knocking a little louder. Again she got no reply, she tried the knob again but nothing, and was about to call out to the person inside when she heard a click from the door and felt the knob turning.

She immediately released it and took a step back as the door opened.

"Geez Tear, chill out. I had to wait for you earlier."

Juvia felt her throat run dry as she stared at the man before her. His messy black hair was still dripping and the water droplets were hitting his well defined shoulders and chest and continuing down tracing his abs before being absorbed by the towel around his waist. Juvia jerked her eyes up to meet his, and prayed he hadn't caught her staring.

Pitch black eyes stared back at her intensely. He frowned before giving her a once over of his own and Juvia had to fight with herself to keep her eyes from wandering again. After a moment those eyes locked with hers again. She knew she should say something but it was taking all her effort not to ogle him or worse, jump him right there. After all, chances were good that he was Lyon's super hated stepbrother.

Finally he broke the silence between them. "Who the hell are you?"