Hello, everyone! Due to a bet I hadn't won, I am now publishing this story :D Don't get me wrong, I'm not forced to do this or something. This pairing had occupied my mind for a long time already and it just needed a little push (and a lot of winning on the other side) to push this through. I'm still a beginner at these kinds of things, so please go easy on this

This one's unbeta-ed so it might have wrong spellings or grammars. Also, I made a lot of things for this story aside from a few basic facts, so please, please don't murder me.

Enjoy!

A/N: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and I can only fantasize the hot guys from there.

Today is going to be beautiful and perfect day.

That was what Lucy had thought the moment she opened her eyes and saw a glint of sunlight passing through her opened windows. She closed her eyes again, relishing the moment.

The birds singing outside, the cool air coming from the windows…

'Windows… Open..? I'm sure I closed them last night before I went to sleep…'

She suddenly opened her eyes and swiftly stood up from the bed and then heard a distinct snore coming from the other side of her bed. She turned and glared venomously at the salmon-haired boy sleeping quite comfortably on the other side of her bed, with the blue Exceed who is also soundly sleeping above his head.

She held her breath for a minute and then she shouted, "NATSU, YOU BAKAAA! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NOT TO SNEAK INTO MY HOUSE AGAIN!"

Natsu and Happy jolted up awake and sat up in bed, eyes alarmed from the noise and a bit distraught from sleep. When he inspected that nothing was wrong in the room, he yawned, and decided to lie back down, eyes and mind starting to fall back asleep. But before he could do it, the same voice snarled at him furiously, "AND DON'T YOU DARE GO BACK TO SLEEP, YOU BASTARD!?"

He and Happy jolted up again and looked at Lucy, who was standing with her hands folded under her breast and glaring at them so harshly, they cringed.

"G-Good morning, Lucy. N-Nice day today, isn't it?" he asked nervously while scratching his head while Happy dove in at the back of Natsu to hide.

"Don't 'good morning' me, you jerk! I told you not to sneak into my house anymore! By Mavis! You already even have a girlfriend! What would Lisanna think if she ever find out you're sneaking at someone else's house!? To another girl's house, nonetheless! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CAN DO THIS AGAIN, YOU STUPID AIRHEAD!?" Lucy yelled at him, and she's at least sure that her neighbors can hear her right now.

Natsu waved his hand in front of him, face apologetic, "W-Well, Lucy. It's kind of a habit already. Y-You know, going up your house. I'm sorry and I won't do it again!"

"'Won't do it again', my ass! You said that yesterday! And look at where you are right now, in case your mind hasn't cleared that for you yet! It's time you change the house that you're sneaking up RIGHT NOW!" Lucy paced back and forth while reprimanding him.

'Really! This guy knows no limits! Can't he tell that it's not good to sneak in at another girl's houses now that he's in a relationship?!' she thought lividly.

"And you, Happy! You should talk some sense in him if he decided to sneak up at my house!" she added to the little Exceed.

Happy peeked from Natsu's back and said guiltily, "I'm sorry, Lucy. It's just that your bed is so warm and soft I like to sleep on it. Natsu's house is so messy; I don't get to sleep on it at all."

Lucy's glare softened when he heard poor Happy, but hardened her gaze back at Natsu, who was looking everywhere but her.

She told him off, "That's a sign that you should clean your own house, Natsu. I can't believe you haven't cleaned off your house even when you got yourself a girlfriend." Then she leered at him and said but without venom, "I wonder how you got Lisanna to say yes to become your girlfriend, you dork. I don't even know what she sees in you."

"Mou, that hurts, Lucy. And if you really want to know, I—"

"I don't want to hear it", she deadpanned, not really interested in knowing the underhanded tactics he used.

She turned around and started heading towards the bathroom when Natsu whined, "I thought you wanted to know, Lucy", then he looked at her funnily, "Like you know, how I -"

She suddenly turned around and balled her fist for Natsu to see, "You want this to be your breakfast for today?"

Natsu sweat dropped and waved his hands in front of him, silently saying he was just kidding. Then, he looked at her seriously and said in a very serious voice, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something last night back at the guild but you were gone right after dinner."

She halted while her eyes widened a little, expression suddenly nervous and was now sporting a red tint in her cheeks. Then she asked quietly, "W-What about?"

Natsu hummed before speaking thoughtfully, "Now that I think about it, you were pretty much gone for the whole night."

She waved him off uneasily, "W-Well, I was tired after finishing the mission yesterday, s-so I went home early."

Natsu looked at her intently, like he was really trying hard to solve a certain puzzle. Then he asked carefully, "Really? I wanted to follow your scent but the ice prick landed a hit in my head I forgot about it."

Lucy laughed nervously and scratched her head sheepishly, "W-Well, I hope you didn't cause too much of a riot at the guild, Natsu."

Natsu stared at her and asked skeptically, "Really?" Then, he as if a light bulb had lighted in his head, he wiggled his eyebrows and asked knowingly, "You didn't take a detour?"

She fixed him a stare saying Are-you-implying-what-I-think-you're-implyiing-and-you're-seriously-asking-me-that?

Natsu nodded his head vigorously.

She gave him a look that was so devious that he took back his answer right away, "N-N-Never mind, Lucy. A-ha-ha, you probably were just going home, that's all! Hahahaha!"

She made a 360 degree turn by smiling sweetly and patted Natsu by the head while nodded her head affirmatively, "Yes, yes. You should just believe that I had gone home and slept early. Now, what did you want to talk about?"

Natsu paused for a moment and Lucy sat down the bed. Then, he looked at her, eyes and face serious again and spoke, "I decided something during the time when we had our last mission and now that I think about it again, I want to do this one correctly and perfectly so I would really like some help from you."

She looked at Natsu more attentively. He really was serious about something and she only got to see this side of Natsu very rarely. She wondered what it will be. It might be more important than her breakfast...

Natsu took a deep breath, and then dropped the bomb, "I'm going to ask Lisanna to marry me tonight."

She blinked for a minute, not really processing what he just said. But when it did, her eyes gleamed happily and she grinned widely.

"OH MY MAVIS, NATSU! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU! AND I'M PROUD OF YOU TOO!" Lucy screamed joyfully and hugged Natsu.

Then, she added solemnly, still with a smile on her face, "I'm really happy for you, Natsu. You deserve to be happy after everything you've been through. Just remember we're here for you."

Natsu returned the hug and said, "Thanks, Lucy."

She pulled back and spoke, "Now, you know I can't do it alone. Go to the guild and tell Mira and Levy about it. I'm sure they'll help you plan it out. Let me just take a shower and I'll meet you there." Then she hopped out of bed and started going to the bathroom, but she noticed that Natsu hasn't moved an inch. "What's wrong, Natsu?"

Natsu looked up, hesitated for a moment and voiced out, "Do you think Mira and Elfman would agree, Lucy? Do you think Lisanna would say 'yes'?"

Lucy's eyes softened and understood his worries. It is a big step, after all. Even Natsu could feel fear and anxiety for something this important so she gave him a tap on the shoulder and smiled at him reassuringly, saying, "It's alright, Natsu. I know you're worried something might go wrong but you've got nothing to worry about, really. Mira and Elfman will gladly accept you as a part of the family, I'm sure of it. Well, we're one happy family back at the guild so adding another family is something to be grateful of. And about Lisanna, I'm sure she'll say 'yes', Natsu. She's been your friend since you were kids and you know each other very well. I can see that she loves you very much so don't worry about it too much."

Natsu looked at her distractedly, but then his lips broke out into a smile and then he nodded.

"Now, I'm sure you'll be busy the whole day today so you better start walking on the way to the guild and do what you need to do. I'll be there in a moment."

She turned around but was stopped by when Natsu grabbed her wrist. She looked back at him and found him smiling widely at her. He said earnestly, "You're a nice person, Lucy. I'm sure someday, you'll get your happiness too. I'm glad and thankful that you became a part of my family, Lucy."

Lucy was stunned for a moment then she shook her head and said sincerely, "No. I'm the one who should be thankful, Natsu. I'm thankful that I get to meet you and all the people at Fairy Tail. Because of you and the guild, you gave me another family, replacing the ones that I had lost. You accepted me even when I was on my weakest and for that I am grateful."

Natsu's smile widened, "Well, the feelings been met halfway."

He released her wrist and stood up from the bed and walked towards the window. Then, suddenly realizing something was quite amiss, he looked back at the bed and realized that his little Exceed was missing so he voiced out while looking anywhere, "Ne, Lucy? Have you seen Happy? He was here awhile ago when you scolded us then he suddenly disappeared. No wonder it got quite."

Before Lucy could answer Happy popped out from the window near Natsu, with a fish in his hand (or paw). He said, "I'm here! I went outside to have some fish since I got hungry."

Lucy looked at Happy questioningly, "Eh? Didn't you check my refrigerator for any fishes, Happy?"

Happy nodded, fish still in his hands, "I did but there weren't any so I just got myself some fish somewhere."

Lucy smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Happy. I'll buy fish for you next time I go to the market."

Happy exclaimed cheerfully and replied, "Thank you, Lucy! And I'm sorry about not telling Natsu to not go at your house. I promise I'll tell him next time!"

Lucy laughed lightly. "It's okay, Happy. I'm pretty sure that this is going to be the last time."

"Huh?"

Lucy just winked, "You'll see." Then she turned to Natsu and said, "See you at the guild."

Natsu nodded and jumped off and Happy followed after saying "We're leaving!"

Lucy just shook her head and headed towards the bathroom where she took off her clothes, turned on the shower and went under the spray of water.

She was thinking about all the possible things that could be done to help Natsu. She's sure that alongside with Mira, Levy and everyone else who wanted to help, Natsu's plan to propose would be a great success.

She smiled, thinking how Natsu had found his own happiness with Lisanna. When Lisanna came back with them from Edolas, Natsu didn't waste any more time and spent most of his time with her. She knew the moment she saw them together one time that they really love each other, although Natsu was a bit oblivious and mistook it for something else. If it weren't for Lisanna making the first move and giving Natsu a hint, he wouldn't have even realized it.

But now…

It seemed that Natsu had already realized how much Lisanna really mattered to him and by understanding such a thing, he even took matters to his own hands and thought of something so beautiful she wanted the same thing for herself, as selfishly as it sounded.

Then she remembered last night and her smile grew bigger. She really was on her way home last night. They had just successfully finished their mission and fortunately, no one received serious injuries aside from a few scratches and a bit of tired muscles. After Wendy had attended to them all, they immediately celebrated the success of their mission. After all, it was the first time they had finished a mission with so much less of damage, I was considered a record.

She had drunk a little bit and when she felt she couldn't take it anymore, she bid goodbye to everybody. Everybody tried to stop her from going home, saying that the real fun is just going to start, but she wouldn't be deterred. She was tired and she wanted her beauty sleep. She went to find Natsu to say goodbye but she didn't found him so she just went out directly. Before she could take another step further away from the guild, she was stopped by a certain tightening mage.

"You're already going home? It's pretty early."

She turned around and was a bit surprised to see Laxus, gazing at her intently with his coat around his shoulders and arms crossed in his chest.

She looked at him too, cheeks tinted with a bit of red from the alcohol she consumed and from his gaze. She smiled at him warmly and nodded, "I'm kind of tired and I've already had a few drinks. Besides, it isn't like this isn't the first time I'd ditch a party early for a good night sleep. I want to savor my bed before Natsu decided to pick another mission."

He continued to look at her for a moment then he unfolded his arms and walked towards her. When he was already beside her he offered, "I'll walk with you."

She looked at him in disbelief and spluttered out, "I-It's okay, Laxus. I-I can make it to my house on my own. Really, you shouldn't trouble yourself with me and besides, it's just a short walk", then she gave off a nervous laugh.

Laxus frowned, "It's no problem, blondie. I was just on my way home too when you beat me to it. And you're house is just on the way, might as well accompany you."

Lucy answered, "Okay." But then puffed her cheeks and added, "You know, you're blond too, Laxus. The joke doesn't just imply on me."

Laxus smirked in return and then they started walking.

They walked together in silence, but neither felt uncomfortable.

Lucy had talked to him a few times before and had established a friendly relationship with him over the past few months. They could hold a conversation really well without hurling chairs with each other. Although sometimes, they would taunt and mock each other which would result into one of those heated arguments but it was just one of the ways they spend and talk with each other.

Then, one day, she realized that she had developed feelings for the said man. She was scared at first. Who wouldn't be when she's developed a liking over a very powerful and unpredictable man? She tried to ignore her feelings at first, but whenever he's around with her, she gets a very weird but pleasant feeling in her stomach and her heart would beat really fast she's afraid he would hear her. Well, maybe he could hear her fluttering heart, with the super sensitive senses and all but he just hasn't said a word about it.

She broke off her thoughts when he asked her curiously, "So, how was your mission?"

Lucy looked at him. 'He's really handsome', she thought dreamily. Then she shook her head and blushed at the thought, 'This isn't the time to think about that!'

She looked at him again and saw that he was waiting for an answer and said, "It was fine. I'm also glad that we didn't get to pay our money back to the one who asked for the job since we didn't do any drastic damage, aside from a few mistakes."

Laxus thought for a minute and hummed approvingly, "Yeah, I was there at Gramps' office when Erza narrated the contents of your mission. She also said that you found another Celestial Key."

Lucy grinned and answered excitedly, "Yep! Although, this one is a little bit different. It's a black key, like Yukino's Ophiucus. I haven't met it yet since Natsu dragged us all to hurry back home because he said he was feeling really hungry", then she giggled and added a bit playfully, "I bet he just wanted to see Lisanna after not seeing her for four days."

Laxus chuckled lightly and agreed, "Yeah, because instead of asking Mira for some food, he asked where Lisanna was instead."

Lucy just laughed and asked him in return, "What about you? How was the training of being the next guild master with the current Master?"

Laxus grunted and grumbled, "It was fucking tiresome and boring. All Gramps ever did was make me sit in my office to check and deal with the damn papers while he was busy frolicking somewhere with the pretty nice girls."

Lucy laughed again at his predicament while stating thoughtfully, "That's right. It sucks to be stuck with paper works when your own grandfather is somewhere out there, satisfying himself with the many pretty women in Magnolia", she laughed and added contemplatively, "I remembered when I went to my father's office once saw his table filled with towers of papers. It was horrible to look at", then she laughed again.

Laxus glared at her, but without heat and rumbled, "Are you making fun of me and my work?"

Lucy held off her laughs and looked at him seriously, well, as serious as she could get anyway, "Of course not! You are doing a very serious task of doing paper works, Laxus. It's an honorable job." But she couldn't help it, she burst out laughing and later on, Laxus joined her, chuckling.

She looked in front of her and realized they had already reached her house. Time sure passes by quickly when you're rather preoccupied with something…

She turned and smiled at him thankfully, "Thank you for walking me home, Laxus. Would you like to get inside and drink something first before you go home?"

Laxus shook his head and responded, "No, its okay. You're tired so you should get some sleep. I'll see you at the guild tomorrow."

He began to turn around to go but Lucy, feeling rather bold and brave (maybe because of the drinks she had), grabbed his wrist to stop him. He looked back at her inquisitively, silently asking 'What?'

As her answer, she approached him and tiptoed, giving him a kiss in his cheek, then she withdrew and smiled up at him, "Thank you and good night, Laxus."

Laxus was astonished for a minute, then his lips tilted upwards, offering her a small smile. He gazed at her softly, patted her head and replied, "You're welcome, blondie and good night. Have a nice sleep."

She pouted as her response and walked towards her door and answered, "Mou, remember that you're blond too, Laxus."

She turned back to look at him when she reached her door, "Be careful on your way home."

Laxus just smirked and turned to walk away, waving his hand above his head as his answer. Her eyes followed him until he became smaller and smaller in her vision and until he was out of her sight completely. Then, she sighed happily and entered her apartment, relishing the thought that she had just kissed Laxus and got away unscarred.

She went out of her shower and wrapped a towel around her body and then her hair. She went out and went to her room to get dressed.

She can say that maybe all this time, Laxus had already had a place in her heart and she just didn't realized it sooner, thinking it was just a simple and fickle infatuation. But the more she spends her time with him, the more it became clear that it wasn't the case.

'I am so turning like Natsu right now: unaware and oblivious', she thought dryly.

But then, she thought, she wasn't like Natsu at all completely. Natsu had the gall to propose to Lisanna while she was just contented with the moments that she could spend her time with Laxus. Although she'd thought earlier that she wanted the same thing too, she just didn't have that enough courage to even say her feelings for him. More so, she highly thought that the feelings weren't mutual, so she'd be making a big fool out of herself if she confessed.

She sighed dejectedly and took a look at herself in the mirror after putting on her clothes. She was a pretty average girl, so who would even want to be with her? After her father died, her attention was basically focused on her friends and her work. She was also preoccupied with making herself stronger so that she wouldn't become a liability towards her team. So, who would want to be with someone so workaholic such as herself?

She closed her eyes and shook her head. It was pretty much easy to focus on other things other than love.

She got her keys and held it for a moment, thinking again. And when her keys rattled and two of them glowed, she knew she would be receiving visitors soon.

Lights appeared behind her and she turned around, just in time for two of her Celestial spirits to materialize before her.

"Punishment time, Hime?"

"Stop asking dear Lucy for punishment, Virgo. You want to be punished by me?"

"I only accept punishments from Princess, Loki."

"My lovely Lucy isn't that kind of person, Virgo. You're asking the wrong person."

Before Virgo could argue back with Loki, Lucy stepped in to halt the impending dispute between the two.

"Good morning, Virgo and Loki!" she exclaimed too cheerfully.

Loki and Virgo stopped and looked at Lucy. Virgo bowed down and replied, "Good morning, Princess."

Loki leaped towards Lucy, knelt down in one knee, held her hand and kissed it and then said seductively, "Good morning, my beautiful Lucy. Do you want to elope and travel the world together to discover new and magnificent things?"

Lucy gave off a laugh, took her hand from Loki and ushered him to stand. She was so used with the same antics of her spirits but she didn't find it annoying so she just gets along with it.

"Well, Loki. I wouldn't mind but the guild will probably be after us", then she looked at Virgo, "And no punishments for you today, Virgo."

"Yes, Hime. As you wish."

"Well, my dear lovely Lucy, we could run off to the Celestial world and they won't be after us! That way, we could live happily ever after!"

"You forgot that I don't have the remaining Gold keys, Loki. They would still find us", Lucy supplied for him.

Loki tried to think for another way, but Virgo butted in monotonously, "The signs mean that you are not to be romantically involved with Princess, Loki. It is best if you divert your attention to someone else."

Loki glared at her and was about to retort when Lucy beat him to it again, "Is there something wrong? Why did you both decided to show up?"

Virgo was the first one to answer her, "Nothing is immensely wrong, Hime. But the new key that you had acquired yesterday asked if she could meet you."

Loki added, "She asked me to ask Lucy, Virgo."

"No, she went to me, Loki."

Lucy went between then and stopped the fight before it got worse, "Okay, okay. Calm down, guys and please no more arguing."

She looked at her ring and picked out the black key that stood out among the Gold and the Silver keys. She studied it for a moment and confirmed that it really was a Black key. She turned to Loki, who was busy glaring at Virgo, and asked, curiosity piqued, "Ne, Loki. I thought there was only one Black key which was Ophiucus. How come there are two?"

Loki stopped glaring at Virgo who was ignoring him and smiled sweetly at Lucy, "There are a lot of Black keys that are scattered around, my Lucy, not just two. The other Celestial mage, Yukino, believed it was a lone key since she couldn't find any articles and books containing information about those kinds of keys. They're pretty rare so it's really surprising that Yukino possessed one, and even more astounding that you found one. Well, considering the place that you found them, I can say that they are pretty well hidden but it doesn't mean that they don't like to be found and owned. It's just that they are really difficult to find, you know what I mean."

Of course, Lucy remembered really well. Who wouldn't when she was dangling from a very dangerous cliff just to get it? They were just passing by when she noticed a glint of light from the cliff. She could have easily dismissed it as a shiny piece of scrap or object but when she really looked at it, she couldn't believe that she had just found another key.

"Of course I remembered it. I could have died for the stunt that I did just to get it."

Loki nodded his head and answered, "Yes, and they are quite powerful too", he stopped for a moment and then, "You should try summoning your new key, Lucy. She's quite adamant to meet you. We'll talk to you later." He turned to Virgo who was now standing in a corner, "And you! I shall give you your punishment!"

Virgo looked him, "As I had said, Loki, I do not like your punishments. They are without taste."

"What did you say!?"

But Virgo didn't pay attention to him anymore, instead she looked at Lucy who getting the key out of the ring and said, "I shall tale my leave now, Hime. Please do summon me when you need me", then she disappeared in a flash of light.

Lucy turned to Loki who was seething, "You should return too, Loki. I'll try to summon you later, okay?"

He suddenly dropped down his seething look and smiled warmly at Lucy, "Yes, my dearest. We shall see each other again for our love will blossom beautifully and will mold our future together! Bye bye, my one and only love!" then he also disappeared.

Lucy just smiled at the space they had occupied, "Really…" She diverted her attention back to her key at hand and said to the key, "Well, let's get this over with", then she cried out, "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, now answer my call and pass through the gate!"

In a flash of light, a beautiful red-haired woman appeared before her. The newly called spirit made a graceful bow to her, stood up and said, "It is a pleasure to finally be able to meet you, Lucy Heartfilia. I am Phoenix, one of the elemental beings in the Celestial World. It would be an honor to work alongside with you. Your name had been the subject of high praises by the spirits."

Lucy bowed down also, "I am pleased to have met you too, Phoenix."

Phoenix looked at her kindly and said, "I know you have done great lengths to acquire my key at such a dangerous place and for that I am deeply sorry for the trouble I have caused you", and then she bowed down again.

Lucy waved her hands in front of her, "N-No, it's no big deal. I was fine after all. So, do you have any days that you don't want to be summoned?"

Phoenix shook her head and answered, "No, I am perfectly fine whenever you need me."

Lucy nodded, keeping it in mind, "Then, I look forward to working with you. I consider my spirits my own friends so I hope we can be friends too."

Phoenix smiled brightly in return, "Yes, the feeling is mutual."

Before Lucy could speak, her stomach growled, making her laugh in embarrassment, "Well, it was nice knowing you, Phoenix. I'll call you when the time comes. You can go back now."

Phoenix giggled softly and said, "Yes, please do not delay your breakfast for me. We shall meet again." She made one last bow and then disappeared.

Lucy sighed and smiled at the key, then returned it to her ring with the other keys. She put them into her hips along with her whip and went out her apartment, locked the door and ran out to head towards the guild.

+0+

The doors at the guild banged against the wall, and the people within the vicinity stared to know who had entered. When they saw it was Lucy, they greeted her with 'Good morning's and Lucy greeted them back.

She made her way towards the counter where Mirajane was wiping a glass. She sat down in one of the chairs when her stomach growled again.

Mira, who noticed Lucy earlier when she entered, set down the glass she was cleaning and smiled at Lucy, "Are you having the usual for today, Lucy?"

Lucy rubbed her stomach as if quelling it down and answered Mira, "Yes, please Mira."

Mira, still smiling, replied back to her, "Alright. Please wait a moment", then turned around to prepare Lucy's breakfast.

Lucy slumped into the counter and her stomach growled again. She rubbed it again and whispered, "Patience, my dear hungry stomach. Your food shall be here in just a few minutes."

Still slumping against the counter, she noticed Cana on her side with a mug of beer in her hands.

"Good morning, Cana. I can see that you have started your morning right," she greeted the resident drunkard with a grin.

Cana looked at her and grinned back, "Good morning, Lucy and of course, you can't keep me long from my beloved alcohol."

Lucy straightened out from her seat and laughed, "Yes, I can see that."

Cana took a swig from her beer before adding, "After all I have the right to celebrate early since your little teammate of a punk decided to do something very big."

Lucy smiled knowingly, "Ah yes. So he did come here."

Cana raised one of her eyebrows and asked, "So you knew already?"

Lucy nodded in affirmative and said, "Of course I know. He slept at my apartment last night, scared the hell out of me since I told him not to sneak into my house again when he already has a girlfriend. Of course, the jerk didn't listen. I was about to kick him out when he spilled the beans. I told him to go to the guild and tell anyone who's willing to help about his plan and I'll follow him after I took a shower."

Cana nodded her head, her face contemplative, as if she was thinking about something before answering, "I see. He looked pretty determined when he entered through those doors and went here. Mira asked if he was looking for Lisanna but he said it was Mira he wanted to talk about something. He's pretty serious so Mira was shocked at first and then they went towards the back. Next thing I knew, Mira was screaming about babies with different hair colors and went back in here. She told me what he told her then I drank my beer with happiness."

"Yeah, I pretty much shouted at him earlier too. I mean, I didn't expect that he could think about something like that. I was pretty sure it would be Lisanna who will pop the question since Natsu's so oblivious and all but he took me by surprise."

Cana nodded again and took another swig at her beer and said after gulping it down, "Yeah, me either. Didn't expect it too but hey, he deserved it."

They both smiled while Lucy answered, "Yes, he does."

Mira returned with her food in her hands and set it down in the counter. She nodded thanks to Mira and dug in her food.

After swallowing a few mouthfuls, she asked Mira who had just returned with her strawberry milkshake in her hands, "So, Mira what are we going to do for tonight?"

Mira set down Lucy's preferred drink in the side of her food before answering, with eyes twinkling, "Well, Natsu wanted to plan about what he wanted to do so I left him with the idea. All we'll ever do is set up his plan and he'll do the rest."

Cana piped out, "Okay. So he's going to it in here?"

Mira shook her head in dismay, "No. he wanted to do it in the woods behind the guild. He thought about doing it at the guild at first but then he changed his mind, saying that the woods would be much better."

Cana nodded and drank her beer while Lucy took another mouthful of food. She looked at around the guild to find Natsu but she couldn't find him so she asked Mira where Natsu was.

Mira crossed one of her arm in her chest while the other was in her face, finger tapping in thought, "Hmm… I don't really know. After he made his stop in here, he went out immediately after he asked me where Elfman was. I told him that maybe he's at Evergreen's place so he ran out. He shouted that he'll be back later to tell us his plan. Well, he better be back early so that we will still have the time to set things."

Lucy chewed and swallowed her food first before she nodded in approval.

Mira went back to cleaning her glasses and Cana went to order another round of beer. Lucy continued to eat her breakfast until she was finished.

She stood up from her seat and said, "I'm going, Mira, Cana. I need to talk to Levy about later."

"Wait, Lucy."

She looked at Mira who was holding a cup of coffee and asked, "Who's that for?"

Mira smiled at her, "It's for Laxus. Could you take it to him upstairs, please? I haven't finished cleaning yet and many people will come around later so I couldn't leave this behind just for a little while."

Lucy beamed and took the cup from her, "Sure, Mira."

Mira smiled gratefully at her, "Thanks, Lucy."

"No problem." She turned around and went up the stairs heading towards the offices upstairs.

When Lucy was out of sight, Cana turned to Mira and smirked at her, "That was cruel. There wouldn't be many people who would be here later and you've been cleaning the same glasses since this early morning."

Mira just snickered mischievously, "It's high time those two move forward as well. All they need is a little push."

Cana sighed in resignation, "You're really devious sometimes."

Mira looked at her and smiled meaningfully, "I am the devil." Then she giggled manically.

Cana just sighed again, "Those poor folks."

+0+

Upstairs, Lucy had just arrived in front of Laxus' office. She knocked on his door and when she heard him gruff an 'Enter', she opened it and went inside.

Laxus looked at her and gave her a smirk, "I thought I heard you."

She gave off a smile and approached him at his table, and then she replied, "Good morning. Mira couldn't come up because she was busy so she asked me to give you your coffee."

Laxus grumbled, "Good morning and thanks", and then he took a sip at his coffee.

Lucy sat herself down on the chair opposite to his table and crossed her legs. Laxus scoffed, "Yes, please make yourself comfortable."

Lucy grinned at him and laughed, "Yes, I shall". She slouched at the chair and closed her eyes.

"You don't have a hangover, right?"

Lucy grumbled negatively.

"So, the twerp's finally thought of something fucking amazing and it's going to happen tonight. Gramps would be ecstatic", he said nonchalantly.

Lucy opened her eyes and looked at him curiously, "Yeah. It took some time but he got around it. How'd you know?" Then, immediately she knew the answer and she groused, "Never mind. Don't answer that. Freaking sensitive hearing."

Laxus smirked arrogantly and said, "Hey, it's my duty to know everything in the guild. I only heard snippets of their conversation and when I heard Mira shouting about brats, it clicked."

Lucy replied with a hum and then she realized something, "Wait, what? You know everything that's been happening in the guild?"

Laxus smirked again and drawled, tone smug, "Yup, every single one of them."

Lucy looked at him in pure terror that he laughed out loud at her expression. He waved his hand and said, "Just kidding." Then he laughed loudly again.

Lucy, realizing it was just a joke, glared at him hatefully, "That wasn't nice!"

Laxus continued to laugh so she stood up and went near him. She flicked his forehead and crossed her arms in under her chest, "It wasn't funny!"

Laxus tried to talk amongst the laughs, "You should have seen your face! It was priceless!" but when she continued to glare down at him, he slowly stopped.

When he finished laughing, he added, "I only hear parts of the conversation when I'm up here, blondie so calm yourself. The loud noises coming from the different people in the guild blocks some of the words coming from anybody who's talking. So, even if I would want to hear your conversation with the blue-haired shrimp about who's the hottest guy in the guild, the reception would be really bad because of fucking disruptions", and then he guffawed again.

Lucy's face became embarrassed and enraged. She pointed her finger at him and seethed at him, "So, you really were listening?! How could eavesdrop when women would have the talk!? That's invasion of privacy, you bastard!?"

Laxus continued to laugh but then defended himself, "Hey! It doesn't mean I do it on purpose. And besides, that's fucking unfair! Am I the only one who's a dragon slayer in here? You seem to forget that you have three of them as your friends. And if you're looking for someone to blame, blame that damn Gajeel Redfox! He's heard all of your conversations with the bookworm when all he's been doing is sitting in the tables for so fucking long!"

"WHAT?!"

Laxus looked at her funny, "What? You think Gajeel is so fucking innocent just because he's fucking quite most of the time when he decided not to sing? I bet he even hears us in here." Then he paused for a minute, "Yep, he fucking heard it."

Lucy looked at the door and shouted, "I'll freaking castrate you when I get down there, Gajeel Redfox!" Then she turned around and glared venomously at him, who was just sitting in his freaking chair as if he had done nothing!

Lucy pointed her finger at him, "And you! I can't believe you'd do that!"

Laxus looked at her, frowning, "As I said, it wasn't intentional."

Lucy didn't believe him, "'Wasn't intentional', my ass!"

"Yup, your ass is very fine."

"What did you say?!"

"You want me to say it again? Your ass is very fucking fine."

"I didn't mean it like that, you jerk!"

"Yeah, you just said so."

Lucy groaned frustratedly in response, still glaring at him. Laxus sighed, raised his hands in surrender and said, "What? I don't do it on purpose, you fiend. I try to tune it out, that's the purpose of the sound pods."

She leaned towards him, not minding the insult since he didn't mean it at all and continued to glare at him so he glared right back. They were into a glaring contest and since Laxus was so pro with that, she sighed in defeat. She started to withdraw but was caught off guard when he grasped her wrist and sent her sprawled down in his lap, with her facing him.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she turned beet red from embarrassment. She glowered at him and asked, "W-What do you think you're doing?!"

He just snickered at her, "Nothing. It's so fun to tease you. You react so wildly."

Lucy balled her fist and threw him a punch. But before it could land and make a mark in his face (yeah, her punches are that strong), he seized it and wrapped it around his neck. He also grabbed her other hand, just for precaution and did the same with the other arm.

She gasped in astonishment, blushing more intensely and heart beating so fast in her chest she was now so sure that he could hear it.

She looked at him and opened her mouth to say something but no words had come out. She continued to gape at him while he just smirked at her, glad that he could still render her speechless.

He decided to tease her a little bit, "What, blondie? Cat got your tongue?"

Lucy blushed more (if that were possible) and stuttered, "L-L-Laxus?! L-L-Let go of me!"

She struggled, her hands unwrapped from his neck to push against his chest, but he tightened his hold on her and pulled her closer.

He whispered in her ear, "What, blondie? Can't handle little spaces?" Then he blew air into her ear that created goosebumps in her skin and she shivered, but not from the cold.

She pushed again and tried, "L-Let go of me, Laxus or else…"

Laxus spread his hands at her back then his one hand stroked her back then down to her hips and to her thighs, then back again while his other hand went to her neck, massaging it, seducing his way to her…

He whispered enticingly, "Or else what? What will you do? Hmm, Lucy?"

She gasped small breaths, "I-I..."

Then she whimpered when his lips found the sensitive part of her neck which sent pleasurable currents all over her body. Her hands went to his head, combing his hair to which he grunted softly.

She was feeling hot and getting turned on; she thought when he grazed his lips on her neck, his one hand in her thigh rubbing circles in the skin. She should try to stop him before it gets somewhere they both would regret later on but she didn't had the strength in her. She loved him, she admitted that now. But she knew this would be so wrong in so many ways if they continued without telling him how she felt. If her feelings weren't reciprocated, then at least she had said what she needed to say. But with the additional heartbreak, that is.

So with a newfound courage, she stopped him again, try as she might so she can tell him her feelings first, "L-Laxus, w-w-wait…" then she moaned when he bit her earlobe.

"Hmm?" he answered distractedly, not wanting to stop what he was doing at the moment.

Her hands went down to his chest to stop him and said, "I-I need to tell you s-something first…hhmm…"

"What is it?"

"I…I…" she started, nervous because she was really going to confess now and excited at the same time because he kept doing that with his lips.

"You...?"

"I…"

Laxus noticed her discomfort and stopped to look at her. She was looking anywhere but him and her hands was fondling with his shirt. He took her chin and tipped it for him to see then gazed at her tenderly and coaxed her to say it out, "What were you trying to say. Lucy?"

She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again. She looked at him determinedly yet gently at the same time and began to say, "I… I lo—"

She was interrupted by the knock at the door.

They halted abruptly, both heads simultaneously turning towards the door, where another knock sounded.

She was the first to turn to him and smiled softly, "You should get that. It's probably urgent."

She started to get off him but he prevented her from moving another inch. He looked at her, reading something in her face and said, "No. Finish what you were going to say. What was it?"

She shook her head and smiled again. She touched his face and caressed it while stating, "I'll tell you tonight. I know you'll be busy all day long in here and I'll be in and out the guild to help Natsu and the others set up things for tonight, so I'll find you later this evening."

He continued to look at her, examining her face but she just smiled back reassuringly.

This time, the person on the other side of the door decided to speak out.

"Laxus, you brat! I know you're in there! I can hear you muffling! There's something I want to talk to you about!"

It was the guild master. Laxus groaned in irritation and ruffled his hair. Lucy giggled softly and got off him and stood to which he didn't oppose.

"Fine. I'll find you later. Then, we will talk about this."

"Alright." She turned around but stopped and turned back. Then she leaned down again and gave him a peck in his cheek. She straightened out and said, "I'll see you later."

She walked towards the door, not noticing the small smile in his face and opened it, looking down to see the guildmaster, looking impatient. But when he saw it was Lucy who opened the door, he was a bit shocked to see her.

He looked at his grandson who was sitting behind his table with both his elbows on the table and looked back again at the woman in front of him who was smiling at him. Then he shifted his gaze back at him and back to the woman in front of him.

Before he could comprehend what was going on, Lucy greeted him, "Good morning, guildmaster."

He looked back at her and graced her with his smile, "Why, hello child. I didn't know you had business with Laxus this morning."

Lucy smiled at him as she tried to hide her blush and replied, "Well, I didn't. I just delivered his coffee since Mira couldn't do it. You know, with the big event later on."

That changed the subject. She knew the guildmaster would grill on her for her early presence in his grandson's office and diverting his attention was of utmost importance.

Makarov went inside his grandson's office and announced, "Yes, that's right," then he stared at Laxus accusingly before adding, "I was downstairs, drinking when Cana told me what will likely happen this evening. This is going to be a big event and you're just sitting in your office."

Laxus just shrugged, "Well, you did dump your paper load on me, Gramps. I can't afford to be drinking around when all this mess isn't making any progress."

That was her cue to go out and close the door behind her. After closing it, she sighed in relief. She really came close in saying her feelings earlier. Well, they'll meet tonight, so she'll surely say her feelings later…after witnessing Natsu get down one knee and propose to Lisanna and then throwing him to the pool. She's sure that Gray and Gajeel would be up for it.

She nodded with the afterthought and hummed her way back downstairs, remembering about castrating a certain dragon slayer.

Unbeknownst to her, back at the office, since Makarov hadn't grilled Lucy about information, he grilled his own grandson instead.

"You suck at paper works, my boy. You should have finished this lot by yesterday", Makarov stated, motioning to the towers of paper in his table while standing beside Laxus.

Laxus scowled at his grandfather and said, "I did finish yesterday. But guess what welcomed me when I entered my office? A whole new batch of papers. I wondered who's at fault here."

Makarov ignored his grandson's indication and said instead, "Well, you should finish early today because of the event this evening. There will be a party afterwards!"

"There's always a party every night, Gramps. What's so different about later?"

"Because Natsu's going to get married, you oblivious brat! That's what's different tonight. At least, Natsu had the audacity to ask Lisanna to marry him, what about you? Are you going to continue to fleet around different girls and not give me great grandchildren before I depart from this world?" Makarov asked dramatically.

Laxus groaned. 'Here we go again,' he thought while sagging in his chair and was ready to drone out his grandfather.

Before he could retort a reply, Makarov continued to speak while pacing back and forth, "You know, you really should work hard with matters like this, Laxus. By the time you get started, all the good women will be stolen! A woman like dear Lucy, oh yes, I'm sure she'll be snatched away by someone who puts in a very fast move."

This perked Laxus attention which was noticed by his grandfather. 'Bingo,' he snickered inwardly.

Laxus frowned at him, "What's it got to do with Lucy?"

He pointed a finger at Laxus, "Don't play dumb with me. You've been dancing around each other for these past few months now and I'm getting confused and agitated as to when you're finally going to make the big dip. If you aren't going to make your move, someone's going to steal our beautiful Lucy away!"

Laxus, noting that it's too late to confuse and tell his grandfather that he's wrong, he sighed and ruffed out, "I'm taking it slow, Gramps, taking it slow."

Makarov told him off impatiently, "Well, you're taking your time too slow! Do something about it, or by Mavis, I will step in." Then he walked out of the office.

Just as his grandfather had closed the door, Mavis appeared in his door and added wistfully, "You're grandfather's right, you know. You should plan your strategy very wisely for you want to win Lucy Heartfilia's heart. But do not worry, Laxus Dreyar, you will obtain the outcome that are expecting to happen," then she disappeared.

Left all alone at last, Laxus slumped in his chair, surprised by the sudden turn of events in just one morning.

He took his grandfather's and the first guildmaster's warning to heart, since his words had struck him into something not to his liking. His grandfather had a point; he was taking too much time in making a move at Lucy even the firebreath twerp beat him into proposing Lisanna. Talking about Lucy, he was a bit surprised at what happened earlier.

He was just about to tease her when he pulled her into his lap but it seems his control isn't that absolute when it comes around her.

He'd been with many women in his life, flings and one night stands alike but no serious relationship. He thought he wasn't cut out to be in serious relationships. It was the reason why he settled with flings, less pain in the ass but more fun to be around when you need them. The first time he met Lucy, she didn't strike out much to him. He thought she was just another girl who he could mess with. But when she turned him down, he was a bit surprised but he didn't really pay too much attention on her. Why would he when he could go somewhere and pick out many women as many as he wanted?

Then after many months, then came a few years, with all that's been happening, he cared more and more about the guild that he once loathed. His grandfather, suppose feeling the change in him, decided to train him to take over the position as guildmaster if he decided to retire. He was stuck at his office most of the time, and in some time, he would be together with his team, doing missions. He forgot about her and was placed in the very back of his always occupied mind and even when he could still see her at the hall every once in a while, he didn't take notice of her.

Then one time, as he had remembered, he was once again stuck in his office, doing loads of paper works, when someone knocked and started to enter. He looked up to see who had entered and was about to tell them to fuck off when he couldn't believe who had entered.

It was her, Lucy Heartfilia, with her hands fiddling around which was clearly a mission report to be submitted. He could see that she had changed in some way, with all the months that had passed by. Maybe because of training, he doesn't know but he could say he was really surprised. That was the first time she had set foot in his office and she very rarely submitted mission reports since it was usually Erza who would come up.

He asked her where Erza was and she had replied, rather uncomfortably, that she was still in the infirmary and was being tied up in bed when she attempted to get up after obtaining serious injuries from the mission they had just had. She said that since Erza could not literally get up from the bed, she had asked her to give the report to either the guildmaster or him.

He was curious as to why she didn't just go to his grandfather's office and gave it to him, but Lucy noticed his silent and curious stare and said that the guildmaster told her to give it to him.

Noticing a ploy from his grandfather, he told her to just drop it off at the side table and then she could go. She proceeded to do just that and was about to turn away and go outside when she stopped and turned back at him. He looked at her curiously and asked her if she needed anything else and instead, she had answered him, "I forgave you, you know. But you didn't really do anything wrong so there's nothing to forgive. You only did what you thought was right. Although the way you had used wasn't right, your belief that the guild could be a better place was not erroneous." Then she seemed to remember who she was talking to so she blushed madly and exclaimed, "T-T-That's all! Bye!" then she ran out.

He was rendered frozen for a while after she had said that. He hadn't thought that she would say that to him. They hadn't spoken before after all so she blurting it out like that really surprised him. And at that moment, she had sparked an interest that had been buried very deep within the recesses of his mind.

After that time, they had managed to talk with each other and had developed a bit of a closeness that anyone wouldn't have expected. He hadn't expected it too, but it seems that things happen for a reason and because of that, he had slowly developed serious feelings for her. He just didn't thought that the feeling was mutual, so he kept silent about it.

But because of what happened earlier, he's sure that she felt the same way about him. The way she reacted to his touches was clue enough and now that he remembered, every time he spent with her, he always heard the fast beating of her heart. He'd dismissed it at first with something else, but every time he gets close to her, her heart would beat hard and fast.

He gave off a small smile. He'll tell her tonight, when they're alone. And then, they'll see where their feelings would fucking lead them.

+0+

For the rest of the day, Lucy was busy helping Natsu prepare everything. The moment she had stepped on the last stair, she was yanked by Levy who had already known about the plan. Erza, Gray and Juvia were on a mission but they had already communicated through a lacrima that they were on their way home so they would be present later this evening. Wendy was also on a simple mission along with Carla but she also said that she'll make it later. Levy kept Lisanna out of the guild, preoccupying the unsuspecting girl with shopping and all whaznots.

Lucy was doing errands here and there since his morning and now she's setting up lanterns around the place while thinking about what happened earlier at Laxus' office. She got carried away a little bit earlier, but at least she had stopped him before it got more serious.

She also almost said her feelings to him back there. But the guildmaster came and disrupted her confession which she really couldn't blame him. At least by the way they were interrupted, they could talk more later on. She wasn't really sure about what he was going to say to her, she wasn't even sure if he was serious with her earlier or if he was just joking around, if he really would do what she thought he would do if she hadn't stopped him or if the guildmaster hadn't knocked the door. She was so confused that she was getting scared for later.

It was already two in the afternoon and each passing minute indicated how much it became closer to evening. She was getting anxious, she could tell. How could she not when the man she fell in love with is so unpredictable she couldn't get a proper answer from herself?

She must have looked so troubled because Freed, who was bringing more lanterns, looked at her in concern and asked, "Are you okay, Lucy-san?"

Lucy's thoughts were broken and she looked at the subject of her concern's teammate.

She smiled reassuringly at him, trying to look okay but deep down, she was in a deep turmoil, "I'm fine, Freed, thanks for asking."

Freed smiled back at her and said, "Well, if you have any problems, please don't hesitate to ask me. We are, after all, nakama."

Her smile widened and answered, "Yes, we are."

"Freed! I need your help in here!"

They looked at Cana who was miraculously not drunk after having too many beers since this morning.

Freed looked back at her, "Well, I better go." He turned around and began to walk away but then he remembered something, turned back and called Lucy. When she turned to him he asked, "By the way, Lucy-san, Laxus-sama mentioned about putting ruins around your apartment to keep out unwanted visitors. Would you like to follow Laxus-sama's suggestion? Oh, he also stated that you are mostly going to decline his offer so he told me to tell you, and I quote that 'You are going to do as I say, or there'll be hell to pay'. So what is your decision, Lucy-san?"

Lucy blinked at him momentarily and chuckled lightly, "I'll talk to you about setting up ruins in my apartment tomorrow, Freed. I'm going to have a talk with your leader later, so I'm pretty sure I can change his mind about letting hell pay over something that is so miniscule and insignificant."

Freed nodded, walked away from her but not without saying first, "Laxus-sama was just concerned over how Natsu-san easily sneaked into your apartment, Lucy-san. He said that if the 'prick' could do it, anybody else could. He seemed to think that your apartment is not a safe place."

Lucy's gaze softened even when Freed was gone. She didn't think that he would go to such lengths to keep her safe, even if it was just some kind of a joke. She couldn't even believe that he would ask Freed for help, knowing how arrogant he can be. The way he worried over her put her heart a little bit at ease.

She giggled and said to herself, "Maybe I'm worrying about nothing. Maybe he could love me, even just a little", she giggled again and continued setting up lanterns.

After putting up many lanterns (she knew what Natsu was planning so she didn't complain. Besides, his plan was so brilliant it could probably blind them) all around the place, she went back inside the guild to know if there was anything else she could do. But when she walked towards the counter where Mira was, she saw her talking frantically to a communication lacrima, eyes wide in frenzied panic and fear.

She darted to her, own eyes widened in alarm. When she was near, she asked Mira, "What? What happened?"

Mira looked at her and motioned to the communication lacrima she was holding and her eyes widened in horror; it was Wendy, trying to fend off five grown men on her own.

She yelled at the lacrima, "Wendy! Where are you?!"

Wendy looked back at the lacrima and shouted frantically, "Lucy-san, I need backup! I'm a few miles south away from Magnolia! I've been trying to lose them but they keep coming right back up!"

"Hold on a minute! I'll be right there!" then she tossed the lacrima back to Mira who said, hurriedly, "You need to bring another one with you, Lucy! You can't just go in there alone!"

She searched for the right key in her ring while saying, "I'll go first! You can send the rest after!" then she found it and exclaimed, "Open, Gate of the Fiery Bird, Phoenix!"

In a white light, Phoenix appeared before her. Before Phoenix could bow down, she asked urgently, "Phoenix, you can fly right?"

Phoenix looked at her quizzically and answered, "Yes."

Lucy nodded and ran towards the doors, with Phoenix gliding behind her, already knowing what was happening. When they reached outside, Phoenix turned into an enormous, blazing bird. Lucy jumped on its back and they hurriedly flew towards Wendy.

They found her shortly and when they were close enough to the ground, she jumped and Phoenix changed back into a woman. They joined Wendy who looked pretty tired and drained from all the fighting she just had.

"Yow, Wendy, you faring alright?"

Wendy perked up, saw her and smiled, "Lucy-san! Thank Mavis you're here!" then she noticed the lady with red clothing and asked, "A new spirit, Lucy-san?"

Before Lucy could respond, one of the men piped up and sneered at them, "Look, gentlemen. Another one came. We're going to have so much fun with you", and emphasized their swords.

The others chuckled darkly.

Lucy stood in a fighting stance and said, "Yeah, now let's finish this so we can witness how Natsu gets smothered by Lisanna."

Wendy nodded and whispered, "They're mages, Lucy-san. Each one of them specializes different weapon, so please be careful."

Lucy nodded and the three of them charged.

Lucy held her keys and shouted, "Open, Gates of the Lion and the Maiden, Loki! Virgo!"

Both of them appeared simultaneously in front of her.

"Punishment, Hime?"

"It is lovely to see you again, my dear Lucy!"

She answered Virgo, "Yeah, but not for you," then she turned to Loki, "Loki, help Wendy! And be careful!"

Virgo and Loki nodded seriously and Loki ran to where Wendy was. Lucy, Virgo and Phoenix faced their opponents.

She turned to both her spirits, "Be careful."

Both of them nodded and then they charged.

She faced the man who spoke earlier. They both took a fighting stance and she was about to attack him when he sneered, "A Celestial mage, huh? Then, I shall spare you. You'll be very valuable. Why don't you just give up and come with us?" then he cackled.

She glared at him, took out her Fleuve d'etioles from her hip and spat, "As if!" then she lunged him.

She whirled her whip at him, but he dodged and slashed his sword at her. She moved, but the man was fast and launched a kick at her. She did a back flip backwards, distancing herself from the man. She whirled her whip at him again and when he dodged, she saw an opening and skidded towards him, toppling his balance. Then she released a kick to his stomach and hit it, making him fall down in one knee. He glared at her angrily and she returned it with a taunting smile. He stood up and he started to slash at his sword at her again. She dodged to her side but the man seemed to know which direction she would move because he leered at her and swung his sword to her side. Her eyes widened, noticing her mistake and tried to move again, but the sword managed to cut through her skin in her stomach and she winced in pain. She staggered backwards and crouched down, hands pressed in her stomach.

The man smirked maliciously at her and said, "Hurts like a bitch, right? It's a fine piece of an art, this sword. The blade emits poison that by just receiving a slightest cut, poison could get into the body's system. But by the looks at your pretty little stomach, I could say that my baby made a pretty nasty cut so you wouldn't last for the day!" he added a cackle before saying, "Too bad. You would have been valuable to us."

She twitched her lip and glanced down at her wound, 'Yep, looks ugly'

She narrowed her eyes at him and was about to start again when a jolt of lightning landed in her side. It seems that Mira sent Laxus and Freed after her. 'This could get easy', she thought smugly, noticing the man had taken a step backward, eyeing on the newcomers.

She looked at Laxus and saw him looking at her wound with narrowed but concerned eyes. He looked up and said gravely, albeit worriedly, "Are you okay, blondie?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at him and said, "I'm fine, Laxus. It's just a scratch."

Laxus' eyes narrowed more (if that's possible) and said, "No, it's not just a scratch," then he glared at the man across her, "Is he the one who did that to you?"

Before Lucy could answer, the man across her beat her to it, "Yeah, asshole. So what if I did?"

Laxus' body thrummed and cackled with lightning and answered instead at Lucy, "I told you there'll be hell to pay," then he turned to Freed, "Freed, go to Wendy. I can handle it from here."

Freed nodded and ran to Wendy who, as she had looked over, was almost done with her fight. She turned back to her own fight and noticing that Laxus had taken over for her.

"Watch out for his sword, Laxus! It's poisoned!" Then she ran to help one of her spirits, despite the fact that she could feel herself burning and getting weaker.

She looked over at Phoenix who was having a bit of trouble defeating her opponent. She looked worn out and exhausted, as well as her opponent who she could see was wielding gun. She charged at his back, which was left open to attacks since he was too focused on the woman in front of him. She skidded downwards, taking the man by surprise, and swung her legs at the man's feet; making him fall and then she stood up and threw a punch at his face, whipping it at the side. Then he fell down and fainted.

She took in deep breaths and cringed at the pain from her injury. She looked down and noticed the area of the wound had now turned into a very ugly color.

She turned to her spirit and managed to croak out, "Thank you for your assistance and good job. You can now go back to the Celestial world and take some rest," before she fell down and cringed in pain, coughing up blood.

Phoenix looked at her in wide eyes, then ran and crouched down to her, "You are wounded and the poison has spread in mostly half of your body."

Lucy coughed up more blood and took in deep, staggering breaths. She could feel herself burning as if she was set aflame. She had been poisoned before but not as severe as this. She didn't realize that the poison could take over her body in just a short period of time.

A cloth appeared in Phoenix' hand and she bandaged her injury, "Please do not take off the cloth. It will remove the poison in your body and will slowly heal your injury, although it will take a few days for your injury to fully heal because of the poison."

Lucy gave off a smile and was about to say her thanks when she noticed the man she had punched out came to consciousness and aimed his gun at her spirit. Out of pure impulse, she pushed herself to push aside Phoenix and took the hit.

She fell down and yelled in great pain, feeling herself burning again and catching the attention of the remaining people in the vicinity.

She could see, in her blurred gaze, that Laxus had froze for second, recognizing the voice and shot his head in her direction. She could see that he quickly finished off his opponent and ran towards her and when she couldn't take it anymore, she began to close her eyes.

"Lucy!"

"Hime!"

"Lucy-san!"

"Lucy-san, wake up! You can't go to sleep yet!"

She tried to open her eyes again and when she managed, she saw them gathered around her.

"H-Hey, g-guys… G-G-Good j-job…"

"Shh… Don't talk, Lucy. Wendy's healing you now, so just keep your eyes open. Don't go to sleep," it was Laxus. He was looking at her in an expression she couldn't decipher because of haziness as he pushed away strands of hair from her face.

She smiled at him and rasped out, "I…suppose…our talk… would… be… postponed for… a while," she tried to give off a laugh but had wheezed and coughed up instead. She began to close her eyes.

"Stop talking! And we will talk! NO! Look at me! Lucy! Look. At. Me! Lucy!"

That was the last thing she heard before she everything went black.

+0+

She was aching all over. Not the good aching kind of thing, but the bad kind of ache.

'I suppose, if I was poisoned and shot I would feel a lot of ache,' she thought as she managed to open her eyes and look at her surroundings.

She was in the infirmary, she could tell. So they made it back and she managed to stay alive despite of everything, based on the bandages in her stomach and in her arms and in her shoulders. She looked at the opened window in her side, and realized it was already dark and wondered how many hours she was out. Then, she remembered. Natsu's proposal!

She tried to get out of the bed but stopped when she heard the door open and then close. She turned to look at who had entered and smiled widely when she saw it was Laxus. She was about to talk him around to help her get out of the bed when he engulfed her into his arms.

She looked surprised for a moment, then she went red and tried to extract herself and when she couldn't, she asked curiously, "Laxus..?"

"Just for a minute, Lucy. Let me hold you like this for just a minute. You nearly gave me heart attack earlier so…," he said, his voice hoarse and his face pressed in her neck.

She stiffened and could feel goosebumps in her skin and but she understood and consoled him, "I'm fine, Laxus. You can see that I'm fine."

"It was not fine."

"Then you want me to be really dead?"

"I mean it like that."

"Hmm."

She left him like that for a moment, stroking his back up and down trying to calm him while her heart was thumping frantically in her chest. And she knew he can hear it, damn it!

She asked later, "By the way, how long was I out?"

He muffled out, still not moving from her neck, "A few hours."

"What happened to Natsu's plan of proposal?"

"He postponed it."

"What!?"

He extracted himself from her and gazed at her and that was when she could finally see it.

He must have cried because his eyes were a bit puffed and red. He looked tired and exhausted, as if he had just endured a long battle in which he was afraid of losing and he was looking at her intensely, different emotions playing in his eyes.

She shivered, gazed at him tenderly and took his face in her hands then said, "I'm fine, Laxus."

He leaned into her hand and closed his eyes and took in a very deep breath and released it. He opened his eyes once again and said, voice raw with emotion, "I love you."

She froze in shock, not expecting to hear the words she'd long to hear ever since she fell in love with him, not expecting that she would hear it so suddenly and after she just woke up.

"What?"

He said it again, "I love you."

She looked at him in disbelief, "You're kidding me."

Laxus gave her a small smile and turned his head to kiss her palm, "I'm not joking and I love you."

She became still for a moment and then her mouth tilted upwards to form a small smile, then into a grin. She hugged him towards her, eyes teary and she whispered fiercely, "I love you. By Mavis, I love you! I wanted to tell you that earlier in your office but we got interrupted. I have loved you a long time already, I just didn't tell you because I got scared you wouldn't feel the same. But I love you. I love you so much it hurts!"

Laxus withdrew from her and wiped the tears that fell from her eyes. She looked at him tenderly, letting him see in her eyes that she truly and really love him. He leaned in and pressed his lips in hers. Happiness shot through her entire body as she pressed herself closer to him, hands caressing in his chest. He darted his tongue in her lip asking for entrance and she granted him access. She moaned when she felt his tongue in her cavern, and engaged her own with a battle she knew she would lose. She was on fire, but this time, this fire is what she would welcome in open arms. It was this kind of fire that she was willing to be burned with.

His kisses turned more passionate and she couldn't help but drown into them. He stroked her back and made his way towards her neck, massaging it… caressing it softly, she shivered and whimpered. His lips parted with hers and grazed her cheeks and made his way towards her ear to which he nibbled it. She moaned softly and tipped her head to the side. Then he made his way towards her neck and sucked in. Her hands made its way towards his neck and winced, forgetting about her injuries.

He noticed her wince but before leaning back off her, he gave nipped her neck and kissed it then withdrew. He looked at her warmly and couldn't help but tease her, "No fucking strenuous activities, Porlyusica said."

She blushed madly and retorted, "Y-You're the one who's doing it."

He leaned into her ear and whispered seductively, "And you love it."

She blushed more, "S-Stop it!" then she remembered something and asked, "What do you mean Natsu postponed?"

Laxus leaned back in her bed and then made her lean back his chest too before answering, "He was at the guild when you were brought back. He said that he wouldn't do it if you're not there."

"Who does he think I am?! His mother?" she asked incredulously.

"Mira and Cana persuaded him to just go with his plan since it's all set already but he didn't want to do it when one of his friends isn't there."

She was about to say something when the infirmary door opened and came in Wendy, Levy, Erza, Gray, Happy and Natsu.

"Lucy!"

"Everyone!"

They crowded into her bed and began to tell her many things.

"Lu-chan! Don't do that again!"

"We were so worried about you. You shouldn't take off on your own, you know."

"No, what Lucy did was very galiant of her."

"Lucy-san, we're glad that you were fine."

"Lucy, you should not die, you know. Who'll feed me with many delicious fishes if you were gone?"

"Lucy's been injured, you baka and that's still what you're thinking?"

She smiled and began to laugh but even that caused her to cringe from pain. Laxus noticed it again and whispered, "You should take it easy."

She turned to look at him defiantly, "I am taking it easy. What? I can't even laugh now?"

Before Laxus could say something back, a tip of a sword was pointed at him that made Lucy jump in shock.

"What are you doing in Lucy's bed, Laxus? And why are you hogging all over her?"

Lucy turned to Erza who glaring at Laxus and was the one who pointed the sword at him.

"E-Erza, Laxus wasn't doing anything bad."

"Then, what is he doing in your bed?"

It was Laxus who spoke, "Can't I fucking hog my girl?"

That sent everybody in silence.

Lucy glared at the man behind her and said indignantly, "Must you do it so bluntly? You could have told them in a proper way!"

"What? Do the fucking 'Lucy's my girlfriend now and I love her so much so you can't do anything about it' thing?

"Well, maybe you should have!"

"I knew it, Lu-chan! I knew you and Laxus would be together!" It was Levy.

"Hmm, it is acceptable. But if you hurt her, Laxus then I shall skin you off."

"Why would I even fucking do that?"

"You make a lot of women cry, that's why!"

Then it began to get noisy again. But she tuned it out and turned to Natsu who was now busy fighting with Gray.

"Natsu! Why'd you postpone your plan of proposal to Lisanna? You know you should have just get in with it," she asked.

Natsu scratched his head embarrassedly and laughed, "W-Well…I already did."

"Really? When?"

Natsu grinned at her, "Earlier. I heard you earlier when Laxus got in here. I knew you were awake already and I prepared everything, so I just get on with it. Sorry for not waiting for you to be running around, Lucy."

She just shook her head, "No, it's all good. But where's Lisanna anyway? I thought she'd be around you every time."

Natsu just continued to grin at her, "Mira and Cana kidnapped her since they were forced to keep silent earlier. Something about planning about the wedding, I think."

"Already?" she asked, tone disbelieving.

"Well, it's Mira we're talking about."

They both laughed (well, she tried anyway) about the fiasco.

Then, Erza spoke up among the racket, "We should go downstairs. There's a party going on," she turned to Lucy, "If you want, Lucy. You can come down or we'll go up and bring the party here."

She motioned to stand while Laxus aided her and replied, "No, I want to go downstairs. I can, right Wendy?" she asked, turning to the blue-haired girl and gave her a pleading look.

Wendy treaded towards her and placed her hands over her, "Well, let me take a look at you for a moment."

Wendy examined her shoulder and stomach and gave her a clearance, "Well, it's okay. But please refrain from doing anything so tiring and you are not allowed to drink alcohol. If you feel tired, you can either go back up here or you can return to your own home. The injury in your stomach and shoulder should be tolerable since Phoenix-san let you drink her medicine. But there's still a mark so please take it easy first."

Lucy nodded, thinking, 'I'll talk to them later.'

"Well, let's go!"

One by one they went downstairs to join the others. Laxus got off the bed and helped her stand and walk. She smiled at him gratefully and apologized, "I'm sorry I'll be a pain in the ass these next few days, Laxus."

Laxus just scoffed and said, "It's fine, blondie and you may become a pain but at least you have a fine ass."

Her eyebrow ticked, "You really are…"

Laxus turned to her, "Hmm… You love me anyway."

She deadpanned, "And you're fully taking advantage of it."

Laxus just chuckled and replied, "Don't worry, I love you too so we're on a stalemate."

When he said that, she recalled something and drawled out, "Soo, who's gonna tell your grandfather about us?"

Laxus just shrugged, "Let him find out on his own. And besides, he's probably already known the moment the twerp set foot on the hall."

She managed a giggle and agreed, "Yeah, I thought so." Then she sobered up and asked shyly, "So, where do we go from here?" indicating their newfound relationship.

Laxus tightened his hold on her hand and said, "We'll see. But as long as you want me around, I'll be here," then he gazed at her and gave off a small smile.

She gazed back at him affectionately and then nodded, "Always."

She wasn't sure where this could lead them, but she hopes that she can have him and be with him for as long as she shall breathe and live.

Him, together with her precious family.

There it is! What do you think?

Please leave a review. Thank you!