Lucy glanced at him back watching him how he had been staring at her, though it made her feel a bit uncomfortable she couldn't take her eyes away, he was handsome sure, she couldn't deny that no one could, but the way he stared at her gave her an odd feeling, not the feeling you would get when someone stares at you in a creepy way but more of a stare that was longing?

"well I'd be wrong if I did not hear you out, so, please… continue." Lucy said allowing herself to avoid on thinking more on that subject, and more on his job offering.

"I've been notified that you are well educated in the terms of business, and I've come to ask if you'd think you could help me out." Laxus did as she told. Still gazing at her, examining every detail her facial expression would make.

"I'd be lying if I told you I didn't," she said, turning her gaze elsewhere before returning it back to him. Her hand on her chin as she thought carefully on what to reply.

"but, I can't guarantee I will be useful to you. Besides at the moment… I… don't think I should be going to the guild unless it's important… I uh… need some time off from there." She replied denying his request almost instantly keeping her eyes on him to see if he would do something she would dislike or get angry at her denial, but to her surprise, he didn't.

He looked at her his eyes a bit hurt by her decline but held his still caring smile to her.

"it's alright, I understand you are going through something, I can feel it but I won't persist." He replied catching her a bit off guard. She stared at him surprised her eyes a bit more open as she stared at him…

"here, if you do change your mind don't hesitate to call me, this lacrima will contact me regardless of where you are." He continued, pulling out a small orb.

She looked at it, interested in the size of it, comparing to other lacrimas' this one was extremely rare. She pulled her hand out an grabbed it, but he quickly places his other hand on top of hers', catching her off guard and making her quickly look at him.

"if you ever need me, call me and ill be here where you are." He said, his smile no longer there only to be replaced with a more serious expression that both surprised her and intrigued her.

Lucy stared at him for a moment trying to understand all these actions that he suddenly gives out. It was confusing, he rarely spoke to her and if he did, he only asked silly questions and small chats about the job, for him to be so… out of character was truly something Lucy couldn't comprehend. So she did what she always knew what to do. Be grateful when someone offered such kindness.

"Thank you, Laxus. I… don't know what to say other than thank you." She replied adding her own spare hand to his. Creating a wall of confidence that made her more radiant to Laxus eyes.

He flinched a bit at her touch but at the same time, he couldn't let go of it. Her hands are soft and delicate, a texture he thought would rip if he holds on it tightly. His face became slightly flushed and his heart began to beat faster.

"…Your welcome…" he said, trying to hold all his sudden emotions down. He removed his hands and allowed her to take the small orb with her, stepping back to avoid encouraging his own feelings to be acted on.

"ahem. Please consider my offer… The Guild really needs your help, and I could always use your assistance.

"don't worry Laxus, ill keep your offer in mind." She replied, taking the orb into her own hands, to stare back at him.

"Alright, I'll see you around." He said.

"Alright, take care." She replied, waving goodbye as he did too with a smile to her, making her smile back at him.

The door closed and her smile vanished almost instantly. She looked at the orb and her eyes slowly narrowed, the sadness had come back and the events that happen played again in her head. She examined the orb while she reminded herself of what had happen, how her light slowly dimmed at the thought of her former friend, and secret crush.

"after all that has happened… I can't blame you…" she spoke to herself, standing in the living room she closed her eyes, reminding her self of the days where both had fun and laughed at sweet memories that have come only to hurt her now.

Lucy sighed sadness overcame her as she moved to her bedroom, finding a small box that once held a ring made out of vines to replace it with the orb that Laxus had given her, and She left in a nightstand next to her bed. She laid there looking at it, and slowly her eyes became heavy, sleep consumed her and darkness welcomed her.

Laxus made his way back to the guild, he walked slowly to give himself time to think about what he could do to ensure Lucy took the position. He didn't want to pressure her, after all it would not work, she was more dedicate to what she liked to do, forcing her would only make thing worse and that's the last thing he wanted.

He walked until he spotted the guild from afar, and from the same road he walked, he noticed Gray coming towards him, a small package on his hand and a bored expression on his face. Gray noticed him and walked up to him.

"yo." Gray greeted with one hand on the air and the other in the bag, only to bring his hand back down to his pants pocket once he had waved his greeting.

"yo," Laxus replied not really interested in having much of a conversation with him, but seeing the bag on his right arm it got the best of him.

"Oh, giving Juvia a chance?" Laxus said a bit surprised.

"haha, nah, it's actually a little something for Lucy, she's a bit down. Gonna pay her a visit to cheer her up." Gray said a smile that Laxus had known too well what it meant.

"I see…" was all Laxus could reply, he tighten his right arm, anger slowly rising on his person, while a soft rumbling sound was trying to escape his throat. He catches himself before it came out and began to cough.

"excuse me, I have to go good luck." Laxus excused himself to avoid giving off any kind of vibe of how he was feeling.

"no problem man, have Wendy cheek you out." Was Grays only response before he began to walk away.

Laxus side glance to verify he had gone before he showed his discontent by spitting to the side.

"fucking bastard…" he cursed to himself as he began to move again, his mood had changed from mellow to angry and everyone who came across him could tell his mood by the glare he gave or simply by the vibe he gave.

He made his way towards the guild office, avoiding as many people as possible or to avoid talking to anyone until he arrived at his office... He walked up the stairs and went up to the office, going in and sitting down he began to impatiently tap his foot on the floor.

"fuck… fuck… fuck…" he repeated over and over again till he heard someone approaching the door, he then quiets down and waited for the knocking to begin, to which it immediately did.

"come in…" his voice was serious but remain as neutral as possible.

"It's Wendy." The little Dragon slayer walked in, making his anger vanish slowly.

"what's wrong." He started keeping a forceful eye contact on her.

"came to check on how everything went." She asked almost as if ignoring his whole mood swing.

"not so good… and to top it all off Gray just went to visit her." He replied, anger rising once again. She looked at him and changed her worried face to an almost bored expression.

"I told you. Things won't be easy and you cant simply be angered by every person she comes close too. I know its impossible, but you just can't, you are the current Guild Master of Fairy Tail and such behavior could be dangerous." She told him, coming closer and setting her hand on the table.

"you…think I don't know that?" he replied softly but with a vicious tone. Making Wendy retract her hand back to her body, but did not back down with a reply.

" I know that you know, but look at yourself, look ill go have a talk with her, I can't promise you anything, but I cant at least know what she might want and I can give you that information's for your advantage," Wendy said, looking at Laxus to see if he'd accept that in order to change his mood.

"you…really think she might? Besides Gray is with her at the moment… how do I know she and he are already-" he began before being interrupted.

"listen… Lucy isn't like that, she values Grays Friendship and doubts that she will act on emotions right now if anything the most I can assure you is that she won't think of him in such a way. Your advantage is that she knows you but doesn't entirely know you enough to keep you in a distance like she does with friends… Natsu… well, he was a special occasion I can't lie, but you have to take things and understand he basically saved her in a type of way. Gray doesn't fall so much in that category." She told him before he went to get himself angrier.

"yea, she did find him attractive at first, but with Juvia's constant watch and threatful ways, she won't really bother that relationship with each other." She continued, making Laxus relax a bit, he placed his hand on his head and avoided his eyes to meet hers.

"sorry…I just don't know, its like a rush of emotions that I never thought id experience from such a short time of knowing her again. I didn't find these emotions when I first met her…" he tried to reason with himself as well as try to make Wendy understand his confusion.

"Look, Porlyusica had said that once the mate has been chosen it all depends on the amount of interest and the feelings mix in that cause you to find a mate, of course, the mating ways doesn't simply choose anyone, example, most mates tend to have a similar or an opposite attraction." She said trying to explain things better for him to comprehend since his way of being a Dragon Slayer was more of a horrible act.

"take Romeo's and I, for example, Fire and Wind, In my case its opposites attract, I won't get much into it since I'll be a difficult subject to explain, and then there are others like Gajeel and Levy. His is Steel and hers is pretty much a mixture of his and others, but the mating won't just accept just that, you must have had an interest in order for the urge to even begin to form." She continued making sure he was paying attention by stopping and watching him nod his head with one of his hand on his mouth.

"You are thunder and Lucy has summoning Magic, but not just any mostly Celestial her magic can mingle with everyone, she could be a potential mate for any Dragonslayer, In all honesty, the reason why Natsu did not, is simply because though he's is somehow delayed or perhaps suppressed. I really cant tell, but since he married Lisanna, I don't think he would come close to realizing any of that." She finished looking at Laxus who seems to accept her explanation.

"thanks for explaining it, I can see where some things align" he answered honestly. Removing his hand from his chin and down to the desk, he followed with his head.

"this is exhausting… its like I can't control my self." He said not looking up.

"yea… well it's the type of cost you carry for being a Dragonslayer Laxus, all of us did, but if you see it this way then it might be more interesting for you, once you mate, the amount of power your gain is extremely overwhelming, it helps you and your partner as well as a constant watch of knowing how your partner is doing." She tried to explain.

"yea… 'if' things work out, for all I know she might not be interested." He stated, making himself slightly depressed.

"wow, I've seen many people get shut down and continue… but you simply seem to give up." She said, taunting him to cheer himself up and to not give up.

"who the hell said I was giving up… I just don't know how to make a move from here, and I feel like I'm having my emotions change in every bit of second." He said frustrated, moving his hands almost everywhere.

"oh no… how scary…now you know how a woman feels when the daily fairy of the month comes," Wendy said almost as if sarcastically.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN." he yelled at her, but she simply looked a different way.

"it means… you know what... nothing, let me go talk to big sis, you try to relax, go out tonight and try to calm." She said making suggestions to take his mind off the whole ordeal.

"Okay, I got it… thanks, Wendy, sorry for the sudden anger. Just don't know how to deal with it." He said brushing some hairs back to their natural position.

"its okay, but you might want to continue working on them, if she agrees, she will be here almost every day and you need to learn to control those emotions until she actually agrees to be with you." She advised before she bid farewell and left out the room.

She had played asleep for Mavis knows how long, but the sound of knocking got her attention. She rubbed her eyes to remove the nasty eye buggers from her, before moving out. She yawned on her way to the door, but stopped at the sight of Gray, setting up the table for her.

"Gray... if I was in a better mood, and less sleepy, I'd probably kick you for entering without my permission." She said finishing rubbing her eyes, and moving closer to the table.

"haha, sorry, Its kind of a habit. I'll try to keep myself from doing that next time." He apologized, making the chair come out of the table, and motioned her to sit.

"I got you something to eat from the Guild… Mira' asked me to bring it to you." He added as he sat down next to her.

"Thank you, Gray… so… how are things at the guild today." Lucy asked as she grabbed her fork and played a bit with the potatoes that had been cooked with the meat and other veggies.

"it's still going… you know them, always get a chance to celebrate when they get a reason too…" he tried to answer as little as possible about the subject.

"I see…" she replied keeping quiet for a while, she stabbed a piece of broken potato and send it to her mouth as she chewed it and enjoyed the flavor.

Gray could only watch as her eyes suddenly began to water.

"Lucy… you know I'm here for you, so please don't cry." He told her softly, but no matter how sweet or softly he asked her to do so, she couldn't comply.

"It… it…is not so simple…" she replied, tears falling ever so slowly to emphasize the pain she felt. Which only caused Gray to suffer more to see her in this state.

"Lucy...damn….look you have me at the moment, alright, and you have everyone at the guild… come back I promise we can make everything go away." He said, getting up from his seat to go to her side. Crouching in front of her to make her see him.

"we care for you and we only want you to be happy, it hurts me to see you like this really… it does… and I wish I could go and make what hurts you pay for it… but this case… well, I simply can't do that…" he said aggravated that all he can do is stand there and be a crying's person towel.

"Gray… I can't ask you to do that, my feelings are fatal at the moment and I can't simply stop… I can't go to the guild so fast… Natsu is there and I don't wish for him to see me like this… the last thing I need is to see him…" she replied with tearful eyes and soft sobs.

"it's emotional… I'm sorry… really I am but I can't change my feelings so easily…" she continued to say as much as she could before she burst in another frenzy of sobs and sniffles.

Gray reached out and hugged her, which she hugged back, she reached her head on his shoulder so he wouldn't see her ugly face when she cried.

"thank you so much… thank you…" her voice soft enough for him to hear her.

"shh… its okay… ill be here…" he cooed, rubbing her back and holding her tight.

She stood like that for a couple of minutes until her eyes started drying and her sobs had ended. The sound of quiet made Gray relax and feel more happy that he was able to ease her pain if only for a little.

"thank you, Gray, I feel much better… sorry, you had to witness that…" she told him, trying to apologize for her mood.

"no, need. I understand its not something so simple, but you should really try to see everyone else. Being here might make you feel better at the time, but soon you'll be reminded of the guild, if its for Natsu's sake that you don't want to encounter him, then you might find it a bit relaxing to know that he will leave in a couple of days, not sure if its in three or two, but he will leave soon." He told her, giving her some info on Natsu's schedule so she could work around it enough to overcome this sadness.

"oh…" she replied but did not bother to say anything else.

They both remained quiet. She for not being able to say anything else on the matter, and his cause of release of info on Natsu. The silences were beginning to feel uncomfortable until someone began to knock on the door.

"let me get it, stay here." He offered, to which she accepted with a nod.

He walked to the door and opened it. Wendy stood on the other side smiling with Carla who had a small basket of bubbly flavored water and some snacks.

"Oh, Gray? What are you doing here?" she asked knowing full well why he was there.

"Oh, I came to cheer up Lucy she's been in a bad mood lately." He replied as he turned to Lucy who agreed to him.

"he came to check on me, but what brings you here Wendy? Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, no nothing wrong. I was told to bring you some stuff from the guild. Erza sent this basket of goodies, saying something in the lines of sorry for not returning." She replied, with her usual smile on her face.

"Oh, Wendy! You're always so helpful!" Lucy went to hug her small friend who had slowly grown to her like a small sister.

"Is Big Sister Lucy alright? I know Gray said you were doing better." She asked, walking inside and closing the door with Carla who had remained quiet.

"well this place looks way better than her old apartment," Carla commented, a bit snarky on her comment but not really in a hurtful manner.

"thanks, Carla, thank you for coming to visit, I do appreciate it." She said while holding Wendy as if she was a life-size teddy bear.

"your welcome. If you need anything don't be afraid to ask me as well okay!?" Carla said a bit flustered but enough for her to state.

"haha thank you, Carla, I will I promise, I'm feeling a bit better now, thanks to you all, truly." She said a sad smiled played on her face, a smile so easy to uncover that they avoided on pointing it out.

"don't worry Big Sis. We are all here and even Gray is here as well. Don't forget there's many more in the Guild who cherish you as well. I know how you are feeling as well, and I came to let you know Natsu will leave tomorrow with Lisanna on a job, Laxus has accepted his Job request." Wendy said a smile playing on her face to ensure Lucy that her most word was true.

"oh so soon…" Lucy said a bit surprised.

" Well, at least that's one obstacle out the way," Gray stated bluntly.

"Gray!" Lucy objected.

"what? Its true, the idiot is only causing trouble." Gray ended his comment, turning away from them to avoid any second backtracks on his comment.

"he is right you know big sis. Look just take your time to come back to the Guild ill be waiting there as always, I'm sure the guild would love to have you back too." Wendy agreed with Gray as she added a small advice for her Big Sister to consider.

"you are both correct… look ill be alright, just give me some time and before you know it ill be back alright?" Lucy answered, looking to both who only accepted her offer to theirs.

"Alright, you promised if you take longer than we can tolerate ill come back for you myself and drag you out," Gray stated earning himself another agreement with Wendy.

"I'll help too" Carla added in,

"and Carla will tie you," Gray added.

"gosh… you guys are really getting this plan into something and right in front of my face, have you no shame." Lucy interrupted, Wendy still in her hands as she hugged her closer.

"haha, you're silly. None of this will happen if you show up Big sis Lucy." Wendy said, looking up at Lucy as she smiles sweetly.

"Humph! You've gotten pretty rough since you started hanging out with Romeo. Ill have a talk with him when I get back to the guild!" Lucy told Wendy as she tried her best to make a joke.

"what! No! I swear it wasn't him it was Gray he taught me!" Wendy replied. Gray, on the other hand, stared in shock.

"what the hell! I did not! Don't listen to her Lucy! She is lying." Gray stated, avoiding getting the anger of Lucy to head his way.

"Wendy doesn't lie! Rah!" Lucy replied, moving Wendy to the side she lounged towards Gray who only caught her and they all began to laugh.

"well I'm certainly glad you all have made each other laugh but the night will be upon us shortly and Wendy has to make it back home to Porlyusica, you know how she gets when we arrive late at anything," Carla said informing Wendy of her schedule to arrive home.

At hearing the comment made by Carla, Wendy began to get herself ready.

"Thank you for having me Big- Sis Lucy, it really makes me happy to see you better in such a short time, but please take as much time as you need. I'll be back tomorrow to check on you again, but I have to go now, as you know Porlyusica is quite punctual and making her mad is not something id like to achieve any time soon." Wendy told her as she apologized as well for leaving.

"its alright Wendy, thank you for stopping by, it surely did gave me a boost on my mood," Lucy said, smiling kindly back to her dearest friend.

Wendy smiled back and waved her before leaving out the door and into the setting sun. Gray was left in the house as he closed the door behind Wendy.

"well… that was certainly good, it is getting late so ill have to leave. I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea. Will you be alright?" Gray asked as he got closer to Lucy who smiled at his concern for her.

"ill be fine now, thank you so much, Gray, also thank you for keeping your clothes intact, it was relaxing to finally see you contain yourself," Lucy stated, moving closer to him to give him one last hug.

"take care on your way back home, and tell everyone I'm fine now. I might visit sooner than expected, thanks to you all of course." Lucy continued assuring she would visit the guild sooner.

"good, I wouldn't like it any other way. Alright, see ya." Gray hugged back before he walked out the door, leaving her with a small smile to herself.

She summoned Plue, carrying him to the restroom where she began to set her hot bath of the night, after such a stressful day. She walked out of the bathroom and walked to her room, grabbing the required garments for tonight's sleep, and walking back inside the bathroom closing it.

" Oh, Plue… I hope I never go through this pain again…" she said to the shivering snowman like the dog. Sinking her self into the hot bath, she closed her eyes to enjoy her short time bliss of relaxation.

I decided to make it a Lalu fanfiction, but of course, there will be some hint of Nalu and GrayLu to keep the story up and spicy!~