Lucy stared at the rain that was... well, raining down on Magnolia Town. She really hated rain. Well not exactly; she didn't mind the rain while she was inside, in fact the blonde actually found the small patter of raindrops making contact with windows and the ground outside her house to put her in an inspired mood that really put her muse into work.

But when she is outside? No, that's different.

Whenever Lucy is outside the rain was like her enemy, especially when she doesn't have a coat or umbrella or other item to protect her because she always ends up feeling cold and wet, and her clothes get soggy and stick to her skin and make her even colder.

And to make matters worse, Lucy's clothes wouldn't give her much protection against the rain either. When she came to the guild this morning it was a bright, hot, cloudless sunny day, so of course Lucy came in her usual clothing that didn't cover much, but now there was a huge grey cloud over Magnolia that was as far as the eye can see and raining hell on its streets.

Lucy could call out Horologium and use him to both protect her from the rain and transport her, but today is his day off and he's not really fast while Lucy's home is a distance from the guild; so even if she could use him, she would still have to run through quite a bit of rain before reaching home.

Lucy couldn't stay at the guild either, it was closing time and the only person remaining was Mirajane; and she was only putting everything away and closing up. Lucy had to come to terms with the fact that she would have to brave the elements and go home without anything to protect her from the wet, cold and devious evil of the sky. But Lucy's a Fairy Tail mage, if she could survive both the Alvarez Empire and Acnologia, then she can handle a little rain...

Lucy ran through the streets of Magnolia as fast as her legs could take her, the Celestial Spirit mage's arms were over her head as a makeshift umbrella. God, how she hated the rain.

The wind suddenly picked up, the cold air and colder rain blowing into Lucy's face. The blonde shivered all over as the rain and wind felt like they were trying to turn her skin into ice, her not-so-modest clothing offering as little protection as expected. Black boots splashed into rain-made puddles, the cobblestone roads of Magnolia turning slippery as the rain flooded over it.

In her haste, Lucy wasn't careful or vigilant about her surroundings and as her booted foot landed on a particular stone, her foot swung backwards high in the air with her arms flailing behind her while she was diving face-first towards the ground.

Lucy winced, knowing that she would be unable to move her arms in-front of her head in time, preparing for the hard impact of the ground against her face.

But that didn't happen, Lucy's face never slammed against the ground. Instead someone had grabbed hold of Lucy's left hand and pulled her away from the ground and into a well defined and muscular chest, the bulging arms of Lucy's saviour wrapped around her back tightly enough to keep her in place but not to tightly to crush the blonde. Lucy opened her eyes to see not the soaked cobblestone of Magnolia, but instead a black shirt that showed a bit of the buff chest of whoever saved Lucy from kissing the ground.

Lucy blushed; whoever saved her was definitely someone that took deep care of their body, possessed vast amounts of magical power because she could feel that magical power beating against her (something that only the really strong could do), were tall because not only was her head only up to their chest but their towering figure protected her from most of the wind and rain and they were holding her in a strong and protective embrace.

The blushing blonde looked away from her saviour's chest; while this guy could be the Mr Right she has been looking for, she didn't want to get ahead of herself; there have been many times where Lucy thought that she found the perfect man, only for it to turn out horribly one way or another. Instead Lucy looked at the ground where she would otherwise be laying flat on her face with a bleeding nose or broken tooth.

"Phew." Lucy sighed in relief, her eyes closing as her speeding heart finally slowed to the regular pace of beat. The Celestial Spirit mage turned her head upwards, her eyes starting to open as she looked at the mystery man that saved her. "Thank you... Laxus?!"

Lucy's eyes were as wide as saucers when she found out that her saviour was none other than S-Class mage of Fairy Tail, Laxus Dreyar.

What surprised Lucy the most was that his stormy blue eyes were staring down into her chocolate brown with concern. Lucy didn't know why the Lightning Dragon Slayer was so concerned about her; he's a being on a completely different scale of power than her, he could view her as nothing more but an ant because of how little of a chance she holds against him. Hell, he actually did hold that perspective on her before she even spent half a year at Fairy Tail and constantly threatened that he would kick her out the instant he became guild master.

And yet here he was, the same man that held her friends and herself hostage and threatened to kill both them and her a few years ago, holding and looking at her like she is the most fragile piece of glass in existence.

Laxus' concern turned into a smirk. "You know, you shouldn't be running around when the ground is slippery, Blondie." the 2nd generation Dragon Slayer said, his grip around Lucy loosening albeit remained firm. "What're you in such a rush for anyways?"

"I hate being in the rain." Lucy answered straightforwardly.

Laxus let out a deep chuckle at Lucy's answer, his large frame vibrating slightly and his hands moving to his hips. Luckily for Lucy, Laxus hadn't moved away in the slightest so his towering figure still served as a makeshift shield against the rain and wind for her. "You're really risking a concussion because you hate getting a little wet?"

Lucy shifted under Laxus' gaze. "It was sunny when I entered the guild, so I didn't dress for our current weather. I'm wet and cold, and my clothes are clinging to me uncomfortably." Lucy then sneezed (thankfully away from the guy who could summon lightening and destroy her), snot flying out of her mouth and nose as she did so, hugging herself for warmth as the cold was getting to her. "And if I don't get home or somewhere warm soon, I'm gonna get a cold."

(Lucy was extremely thankful that there wasn't any snot clinging to her nose. If that happened in front of someone like Laxus Dreyar, Lucy would summon Virgo to dig a deep hole so Lucy could crawl in it and die.)

Laxus' smirk turned back in a look of concern, the hulking man crossing his arms over his chest as he closed his eyes, a hum vibrating from his throat. Lucy looked down at the ground, feeling shame that someone so powerful in her own guild was most likely thinking of her as some weakling, like he did back then. He once again saw her as a weak li-

Lucy felt something big fall on her shoulders; something big, warm and surprisingly snug.

Lucy looked at Laxus, only to notice that the Wizard Saint-tier Lightning Dragon Slayer was no longer wearing his otherwise iconic coat. The Celestial Spirit mage noticed that the big thing that was put on her shoulders was a little fluffy at the edges, and had armholes that led to long sleeves that were touching her shoulders. The female looked and felt at the object surrounding her to notice that it was, in fact, Laxus' coat. Lucy's eyes bulged out of their sockets, did thee Laxus Dreyar just put his coat on her!?

Lucy's wide eyes looked up to see Laxus' amused face. "Y'know, Blondie, if you keep making that face it will stay stuck that way." Laxus joked uncharacteristically, causing the surprised (and slightly flushed) Lucy to give him a irritated glare. Laxus just made an amused snort at the expense of the Celestial Spirit mage's glare. "Feeling better, Blondie?"

Lucy huffed in response, which was good enough of an answer for Laxus. She did feel better, the coat and act of kindness from the usually stoic and aloof mage did fill Lucy with a warmth. Then Laxus' Happy-like joke ruined the moment.

"Okay, let's get you home Blondie." Laxus said, his hand hovering over Lucy's back as he started taking her with him to her house.

As Lucy walked alongside the bigger blond (the wind having subsided greatly, even though the rain remained harsh), she noticed that Laxus wasn't wearing anything to stop the rain from drenching him, he wasn't even holding an umbrella.

"What about you?" Lucy asked, earning a confused expression from the Lightning Dragon Slayer that this question was directed towards. Lucy blushed in embarrassment, realising how odd and out of nowhere her question was, before correcting herself. "For the rain, I meant. You gave me your coat, so you have nothing for the rain."

"Don't worry, Blondie." Laxus replied, smirking with his arms outstretched behind his head. "I'm one of the strongest in Fairy Tail, and its Lightning Dragon Slayer, a little rain is no threat for me."

Lucy looked sadly at the ground, feeling insecure and weak about her power; Laxus was taking all this rain like it was nothing, which it is in reality, meanwhile she ran through it like she was being chased by an army of bloodthirsty dark mages. Unbeknownst to Lucy, Laxus had caught notice of his female comrade's melancholy.

"Listen," Laxus said, a sense of sincere regret in his voice and words. "I'm not calling you weak, I stopped being that way a long while ago. It's just that my element is lightning, which is usually with rain, so I've grown used to it. And trust me, you don't have the worst reaction to rain, I've seen people react far worse to drizzles of all things."

Laxus smiled when Lucy let out a cheery giggle at his words, seemingly forgetting her prior melancholy. After Lucy stopped laughing, she looked at Laxus with a raised eyebrow, a question finally arising in her. "Say, why were you out here in the rain anyways?"

Laxus grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. "I felt like taking a walk."

"In the rain?" Lucy laughed.

"Yeah."

The two blonds made it to Lucy's Apartment, which the female of the two was more than eager to enter. The Lightning Dragon Slayer had to suppress a chuckle when he saw Lucy's melodramatics, she was literally kissing the floor. The muscular blond was about to turn into lightning and go home when Lucy suddenly grabbed him be the arm.

"You're drenched." Lucy said, concerned. "I know you said you're used to the rain, but that doesn't mean I can just let you get wet and not help you. I'll run you a hot bath, as a 'Thank you' for saving me in the rain."

Lucy then pulled, trying to get Laxus inside. Unfortunately for her, Laxus was bigger and much stronger than her, so all her pulling was more akin to small tugs of just his arm alone, so Laxus continued to stand in the rain while Lucy pulled as hard as possible to get him in. Although Laxus did, admittedly, find it kinda cute how determined she was to get him out of the rain.

Laxus made an amused snort. "Relax, Blondie, I'm fine." the Lightning Dragon Slayer said, the Celestial Spirit mage that was trying to pull him in having finally stopped her pursuit. "'Sides, I have a bathroom at home. If I need a hot bath or shower, I'll have it at home."

"Oh." Lucy said, looking down at her feet in a sort of disappointment.

Laxus sighed, not really having intended to hurt or offend Lucy. "Tell ya what." he said, a reassuring smile on his face. His words had caused Lucy to look up at him, her brown eyes filled with curiosity, which in turn caused Laxus' smile to widen slightly as the irresistible urge arose. "How about you run me a bath another day? I heard that you always keep your promises."

Lucy's eyes beamed, the general look and way that they lighted up made Laxus want to grab hold of her and... no, he would have to resist. As much as he wanted her, he knew she was something he couldn't have. He had only himself to blame for that... and a certain pink-haired idiot.

"Laxus?" Lucy asked. The Lightning Dragon Slayer noticed that the busty blond was giving him a concerned look. "You okay? You were happy a couple of seconds ago, and then you just sorta... dazed out."

Crap, if he doesn't change the subject soon she will find out. "It's okay, Blondie." Laxus answered, trying to make Lucy dismiss her concerns. "I was just... thinking, 'bout things." Laxus, who was still in the pouring rain, was about to leave until something fluffy was put in his face. Laxus' eyes traced the object to find that it was his coat, which Lucy was giving back to him.

Laxus let out a 'Huh' in surprise, he nearly forgot about his prized coat... that was a first. "Thanks." the bigger blond said as he hung the coat back on his shoulders, giving Lucy a fond smile. "You should probably run a hot bath for yourself, don't want ya to get a cold like you said."

And with that, Laxus disappeared in a bolt of lightning.

Lucy blinked as she stared at the rain, a warm feeling in her heart as she thought about the smile and general kindness that Laxus showed towards her. With a happy smile, Lucy closed her front door and walked up her stairs; the warmth still resonating from within. Maybe there was a softer side to Fairy Tail's resident grump of a Dragon Slayer. Besides, a hot bath is awesome when you have wet, cold clothes sticking to you like glue.

"Yo, Lucy!" Natsu said, munching on a bunch of crisps. Lucy gave out an expression of exasperation as she found Natsu and Happy in her room, eating her food and getting their crumbs on her bed. And of course the two don't care because they're both inconsiderate jackasses that treat her house like they own the place. "Where have ya been? We started to worry that you were in danger."

Lucy didn't exactly believe her best friend's words when he was now eating a casserole that she was saving for herself while speaking (and while his Exceed from Hell was munching down on her fish at the same time). "You're eating my food and getting my bed messy!"

Natsu raised an eyebrow as he consumed the last of Lucy's casserole. "What kind of reaction is that to when your friends say they were worried about you?" he asked, now eating an entire chicken drumstick whole (bones 'n all). "She's such a weirdo, isn't she Happy?"

"Aye."

Lucy clenched her fist as she tried to stop herself from killing her friends. "Look, my clothes are wet and cold and sticking to my skin, so I'm going to take a nice hot bath." Lucy said, although to her misfortune Natsu wasn't listening as he picked up a peculiar scent. "When I get out I expect my bed to be... w-what are you doing?"

"Sniffing you, of course." Natsu answered as he smelled Lucy. "You kinda smell like Laxus."

Lucy flushed, her heart suddenly running wild at the Fire Dragon Slayer's implications. "N-no I don't, you fire-eating weirdo." Lucy objected, Natsu gave her his usual 'I don't see what's weird about that' look that he gives her whenever she points out his weird habits that are only normal to him.

"Tee-hee." Happy giggled as he flew over Lucy with his Aera Magic. "You liiiiiiiiiiike Laxus~!"

Lucy didn't feel sorry for Natsu and Happy when she sent them flying across Magnolia with a Lucy Kick... not much.

Lucy shivered, hugging herself for warmth as the draught ran its cold fingers across her skin. Magnolia had been suffering from cold winds shortly after the rainy night that almost flooded its streets, so Lucy was now wearing her clothes that completely covered her body and was useful against the cold: her winter clothes.

Lucy was mentally face-palming like crazy; it was meant be entering March, so it should be getting warmer. Then why was it like December all over again?! She swears that Invel is taking petty revenge on them from the war by making it ungodly cold in Magnolia.

One would think that the guild would be a safe haven from the freezing air, but that would be an understatement of how destructive its members are. Earlier ago the guild broke into another brawl, unsurprising since that happens at the drop of a hat (quite literally on one occasion... don't ask), which ended up being more destructive than usual since it ended with one of the doors at the front of the guild being destroyed, along with the guild's rooftop.

And it also left many holes in the guild's walls, there's that too.

And since the mass destruction was barely even an hour ago, and the very few users of Wood Magic that they have were out on missions, reconstruction was barely even underway.

Lucy was, admittedly, jealous of how no one else in the guild was freezing like her. Gray, of course, was unaffected since he is an Ice mage. Evergreen and Lisanna were curling up against Elfman since the former had made him turn into his Weretiger Take Over. Natsu was fine since his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic gave him a temperature that was naturally above that of the average person, so the draught didn't matter to him.

Wendy was snuggling up with Carla since the Exceed's fur was good against the cold air. Romeo and Macao were using the fire created from their magic to keep themselves warm (and Wakaba, Nab, Vijeeter, Max and Warren were also using that magic for warmth). Levy had used a Solid Script spell to wrap herself and Gajeel in a blanket of some sorts.

Erza had used her Requip Magic to change into wool clothing that, according to the redhead, had 'a special magic that completely stopped the cold'. Of course, Lucy asked if Erza had a spare pair, but the Requip mage had sadly (and melodramatically) told her that the one she was wearing was her only pair.

Bickslow was in his usual clothes, which covered him anyways, so he had no troubles with the draught. Laxus was... in his usual attire that wouldn't protect him against the chill winds, and yet he stood with crossed arms and not a damn in the world.

Lucy heard a tap sound next to her, the blond turning her head to see a hot cup of tea with minor steam coming out on the bar table. Lucy looked up to see Mirajane, who was mostly in her regular clothes but with long sleeves, smiling sweetly at her. "You looked cold, so I made this to help you feel warm."

"Thanks Mira." Lucy replied, a warmth already filling her from the kindness of her friend. Lucy lifted up the cup before taking a sip; the warm liquid entering her mouth, its divine flavour filling the inside of her mouth as its warmth was spreading throughout her body. Lucy let out a heavenly sigh, the sound being mostly unheard from everyone else in the guild except for Mirajane and a certain Dragon Slayer.

"You're so cute~." Mirajane cooed, making Lucy giggle. Suddenly the Celestial Spirit mage's eyes went wide and her whole body shook, wherein she took another sip from her tea. Mirajane gave Lucy a sympathetic smile. "Not having a good day, huh?"

"Guess you could say so." Lucy answered, taking another sip from her tea as she felt the draught once again. She could hear the sound of someone's shoes tapping against floorboards, and the slight creak of those floorboards, approaching her but chose to ignore it, assuming that someone was just coming to the bar to get a drink. "For some reason I'm the only one being bothered by the cold."

"Don't worry," Mirajane comforted her Celestial Spirit mage guild mate. "Master contacted Freed earlier ago with a Communication Lacrima. When he comes back from his mission in about an hour, he'll cast runes around the guild to protect it and everyone inside from the draught."

The oldest Strauss sibling suddenly went wide-eyed with curiosity, simultaneously Lucy was shadowed by an unknown (to her at least) figure that towered over her. A familiar big and warm thing was suddenly put on Lucy's shoulders, the texture of it making her reminisce of the night two weeks ago. Lucy was in a juxtaposition; she both surprised and unsurprised to look back to see Laxus without his coat.

"Cold still bothering ya, Blondie?" Laxus asked, a smirk forming on his face as he saw Lucy's face go red.

"Err... no." Lucy replied, pulling the large coat to close it to conceal and protect her entire body apart from her head, her cheeks heating up rapidly especially as the towering man started to smirk. "I'm warm now, thank you Laxus."

"Anytime, Blondie. Anytime." Laxus said as he ruffled Lucy's hair, his smirk having changed into a genuine smile. The Dragon Slayer then walked away, seemingly unfazed by the cold, leaving Lucy with a racing heart and burning cheeks at Laxus' actions of chivalry from both today and two weeks ago. Lucy turned around to look at Mirajane again, the fluttery feelings in her stomach beginning to turn to dread as she saw Mirajane's eyes as hearts, the usual look the Take Over mage has when she sees a 'cute couple'.

"M-Mira..." Lucy stammered, the feeling of dread rising as Mirajane's stare didn't change in the slightest. "It's not what you th-"

"You two look so cute together~!" Mirajane cooed, both of her hands to her chest as she imagined Laxus and Lucy in multiple romantic scenarios. All hopes that Lucy had of deterring her friend were gone. "So when is your first date? When did you two become an item? Why haven't you told me about this before? How many children are you going to have? Can I please be the godmother of them all?"

Lucy waved her hands in-front of Mirajane rapidly. "It's not what you think!" Lucy shouted, becoming embarrassed as almost everyone in the guild looked at her. She intended to only say it, but it came as a shout by accident. Luckily, everyone resumed their previous activities (i.e. keeping warm) shortly thereafter. After Lucy checked for full confirmation that no one was looking at her anymore, she resumed her conversation with Mirajane (who thankfully remained silent when Lucy became the centre of attention). "Look, Laxus and I are not a couple. I repeat: Not. A. Couple. We're friends, guild mates, it's just an act of kindness when he gave me his coat today, and it was an act of kindness when he gave me his coat two weeks a-"

Mirajane closed her mouth shut as she tried to stop her squee, the action interrupting Lucy. "Laxus gave you his coat two weeks ago...!" she whispered excitedly.

"It's not what you think." Lucy whispered back, blushing like crazy. "I was in the rain and I came across Laxus, wherein he put his coat on me. Simple as that."

Mirajane smirked at Lucy. "It isn't 'Simple as that', it's a romance in the making." she said, swooning as her mind once again went to Laxus and Lucy in romantic scenarios, this time with the addition of what their adorable baby would look like. "Soon he'll confess his true feelings, you two will be boyfriend and girlfriend, you'll go on dates until he proposes to you." Mirajane let out a small squeal at the thought. "There'll be a big wedding and you both will have many babies that I will be the godmother of."

Lucy saw one of Bickslow's totems appear behind Mirajane before flying away, most likely back to its owner. Before Lucy could insist, once again, that she and Laxus are only friends, someone else joined in on their conversation.

"I know you will make a good mother for my great grand-babies." Master Makarov spoke, the octogenarian having sneaked onto the barstool next to Lucy. The blond Celestial Spirit mage was taken by surprise when Makarov, who was wearing his Wizard Saint coat that he wears when gets serious (or when he feels cold... like now), made a sudden appearance next to her.

"M-Master!" Lucy stammered, blushing. "I-I'm not-!"

"There, there Lucy." Makarov said, patting Lucy on the back. "I know my grandson used to be a huge ass, and even a bit of one currently, but I know your huge heart full of love will keep him in the right place. Plus, your hips will bear the perfect little blue-eyed, blond-haired great grandbabies." After that comment, Makarov then slapped Lucy on the bottom.

Lucy was surprised. She wasn't really surprised by that action, it definitely wasn't the first or last time the old pervert of a guild master spanked her, and she wasn't surprised by the scowl Mirajane directed towards Makarov. No, what surprised Lucy was the growl she heard from Laxus; one that was seemingly aimed at Makarov.

Lucy looked back to see Laxus, the Lightning Dragon Slayer looked terrifying as he glared darkly towards Lucy's direction, a yellow glow and lightning emitting from his mouth and eyes. Bickslow and Evergreen were trying to calm down Laxus, as lightning was surrounding his entire body, before his lightning could spread anywhere around the rest of the guild.

Erza had used her magic to summon a sword and Lucy could feel the dark power of one of Mirajane's Satan Souls from behind her as the two female S-Class mages prepared to aid the two present members of the Thunder Legion. As the four mages were preparing for the worse, the other occupants of the guild backing away from the furious S-Class mage... except for Natsu, who charged at Laxus wanting a fight.

Unsurprisingly, with his body covered in powerful lighting stemmed from his own magic, Laxus knocked Natsu out with a single pound on the head.

Luckily, pounding Natsu was all that Laxus needed to calm down as the dangerous lightning emitting from his body had stopped. A collective sigh of relief was released in the guild as Laxus was thankfully stopped from going on a rampage, the Fairy Tail mages resuming what they were doing (including Evergreen snuggling against Elfman in his Weretiger Take Over).

Lucy locked eyes with the pacified Laxus; for a moment, time became irrelevant to her, all that she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat as she gazed at his sky blue eyes.

Laxus abruptly looked away, a pink tint appearing on his cheeks.

Lucy turned back around, Mirajane and Makarov were giving her knowing smiles as she cupped her red face in her hands. Behind her, Lucy heard the sound of thunder inside the guild (which of course scared Panther Lily to near death), which was accompanied with the sound of Bickslow screaming in pain, and was then followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

"So what do think of it?" Lucy asked Levy as she read the latest chapter of her new, in progress novel. It was no different to when the petite blue-haired woman read the manuscripts of her first (and so far only) novel, except that Levy was now sitting in the lap of her Iron Dragon Slayer boyfriend.

Lucy wasn't necessarily upset that Gajeel was now included in Lucy and Levy's moment of the latter reading the former's written work, mostly because he didn't care much about it and kept his opinion to himself. It was just kind of off-putting that he was still the type that tended to glare at... well, everything. And sadly, Lucy was no different.

"Oh it was amazing as usual, Lu~!" Levy replied, her eyes twinkling like the stars in the night sky. "Buuuuuut... you put in a spelling error here, here and here, and you were kind of cheating with how Linus helped Iris defeat the Rock Monster. But it was still amazing as usual."

Lucy wasn't bothered by Levy's little criticism, in fact she was actually happy about it. After some of the criticisms that her last novel suffered, Lucy had confronted Levy about her hiding her criticisms. After that confrontation, Levy had agreed to share her true thoughts on Lucy's writing, both her faults and strengths. After all, how was Lucy supposed to improve as a writer without anyone pointing out her problems?

While Lucy and Levy were talking (with Gajeel as a pseudo third wheel), Gray and Natsu were having their usual loud and destructive brawl, which the two females had learned to tune out (which was more or less a good idea depending on who you ask).

"Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray yelled, multiple lances made of ice shooting out of his hands towards Natsu.

"Your stupid ice lances are no match for my fire! Fire Dragons Roar!" Natsu yelled, a large burst of fire shooting out of his mouth and melting Gray's ice lances instantly. The powerful burst of fire continued heading towards Gray, the aforementioned Ice-Make mage/Ice Devil Slayer jumping out of the way the spell. Unfortunately, neither Gray nor Natsu were aware of where the spell was going... which was towards Levy and Lucy.

Gajeel, who was more aware of the nearby fight between the two idiots, noticed the fire coming towards himself and the others and jumped out of the way with Levy in his arms. The only problem was that it was only Levy in his arms.

Lucy let out a scream of pain from the attack, although it was rather minor as this wasn't the first time Natsu accidently burnt her (and it most likely won't be the last). Nevertheless, her scream had caught the guild's attention, Natsu's eyes widening as he realised that he accidently burnt his best friend (again). "Oh my God, Luce, I'm so sorry. That attack was meant for Icicle Dick."

"Hey!" Gray shouted angrily. "That's not an excuse for hurting Lucy!"

Natsu slammed his forehead against Gray's own forehead, of course the Ice Devil Slayer pushed his own forehead against the one pushing against his own. "Well maybe if you just took the hit or casted one of your crummy ice shields Luce wouldn't be hurt!"

"Guys, calm down. I'm alright." Lucy said as she got back up, having only a few small burnt marks here and there. Although admittedly she did feel kind of... chilly. "Hey, does anyone else feel kind of cold?"

The blonde Celestial Spirit mage began to notice that Natsu and Gray were looking at her with wide eyes and blushes on their faces. Among that, multiple male members of the guild began to give her lecherous and perverted stares. Lucy started to notice that she didn't feel any clothing on her body; while her clothing wasn't really the most modest, she could still feel it covering her body (specifically her private areas). But now she didn't feel anything, like she was naked...

Lucy's eyes widened as she looked down at her body, she is naked.

Lucy let out another scream, this time of embarrassment instead of pain, quickly lowering her body to cover the exposed nipples of her breasts with her legs and knees, her arms wrapping around them to keep them in place.

Some members of the guild let out a groan of disappointment, while others continued to stare and even begin to let out wolf whistles. Lucy looked up at Natsu and Gray, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, the two boys were still staring at her with wide eyes. What the fuck, wasn't Gray now officially in a couple with Juvia?! How unfaithful!

Natsu, Gray and all of the other male members that stared and/or wolf whistled at Lucy were suddenly struck by lightning. Lucy noticed that Laxus was standing next to her, looking just as terrifying, if not more so, as when Makarov spanked her. There was something different about Laxus though; for one, he was shirtless... and bulkier... and had scales around his arms.

Lucy had once heard that while 2nd generation Dragon Slayers can use their Dragon Slayer Magic naturally without any physical change, their arms and hands apparently turn to scales when they use their magic at full power, like a pseudo Dragon Force.

While Laxus was shirtless, his coat was still held in one of his hands until he draped it over Lucy, the large garment covering Lucy's body perfect. "Listen loud and clear, because I'm only saying this once!" Laxus growled, his voice loud and booming, his lightning making crackling sounds as they sparked. "If I see any one of you perverts so much as glance at Blondie, I will personally electrocute you! Got it!?"

A chorus of mumbles were exchanged by the many males of Fairy Tail, whenever they were singeing from the lightning strike by Laxus or not, whenever they even looked in the first place or not. No matter what they were saying, Laxus' ire didn't simmer.

"I said," Laxus growled darkly, the lightning surrounding his body augmenting for a second before returning to their natural (yet still terrifying) frenzy of sparks. "GOT! IT!?" The mumbles were transmuted into hurried acknowledgements of Laxus' threats, the many males of Fairy Tail proceeding to drink their beer or talk or something different than looking at the very sexy and very naked woman in the middle of the room.

With the guild no longer perving on Lucy, Laxus' anger and transformation had subsided; the lightning surrounding the blond disappearing, his extended muscle mass reducing to its regular yet still muscular physique, the scales on his arms becoming absent as he returned to normal.

For some reason, Lucy felt disappointed that Laxus had returned to his regular state. Nevertheless, he did stop the local perverts from getting their eyeful of her private areas. "Thank you, Laxus." Lucy thanked Laxus, picking up the small bag that she kept her keys in while keeping her private areas hidden by Laxus' coat, hopping to summon Virgo to cover in clothes from the Celestial Spirit World. "I feel like I owe both you and your coat a favour in return."

Laxus let a small laugh at Lucy's words. "Don't be so silly, Blondie, you owe us nothing."

"I still feel like it though, we are family and..." Lucy's words died down in her throat when she noticed a wide-eyed Laxus with flushed cheeks. The blonde Celestial Spirit mage raised an eyebrow at his weird shift in mood; Lucy trailed where Laxus' eyes diverted to, her eyes widening upon realization. While the coat had covered her lower body and nipples perfectly, the cleavage between her boobs were still on for display for anyone who stood higher than her, like Laxus for example.

"PERVERT!" Lucy screamed at Laxus, and, in the heat of the moment, kicked him right in the groin. Lucy blinked, realising what she did as she stared down at Laxus, groaning in pain while clutching his hurt balls.

Lucy felt ashamed; all that Laxus did was stop the real perverts of the guild from seeing her naked body (even though he perved on her himself), and she thanked him with a kick to the crotch. Hurriedly, Lucy grabbed Virgo's key as she summoned the aforementioned Celestial Spirit. "Open, gate of the maiden, Virgo."

"Princess," the pink-haired maid said as she appeared in a shower of golden sparkles. "I've noticed that you are in a mood for punishing, have you summoned me to be punished?"

"N-no!" Lucy yelled, her feelings of shame becoming worse; that of which was noticed by the victim of her outburst of rage and the spirit she summoned. "I just summoned you because I need clothes."

"Very well then." Virgo replied, her voice remaining as the same monotone as always; the only time she had ever shown any emotion was excitement whenever she thought she was going to be punished. Virgo held her arms out, clothing from the Celestial Spirit World appearing in her hands with the same sparkle that the Celestial Spirits make when summoned. "I'm going to need Princess to take off the coat to change her clothes."

Lucy squirmed at the thought, already knowing that some men where starting to take a peek in anticipation of her naked body.

"In here." Mirajane said from across the guild, holding the door to the guild's cellar open. "There's no one in here, so you can changed in private." Lucy thanked Mirajane as she rushed into the cellar, Virgo following her. Mirajane closed the door to the Fairy Tail cellar, the same door opening from the other side by Lucy, who was now wearing clothes.

"Lucy...!" Laxus groaned, still in pain from his kick to the nuts, grabbing hold of Lucy's leg as she passed by.

Lucy looked down at Laxus, his eyes showing an emotion akin to... regret? "I-I'm sorry...!" Lucy stuttered, tears in her eyes as she hastily draped Laxus' coat over his body. "P-please forgive me...!" And with that she ran off, tears in her eyes as she ran away from the guild, even as she swears she heard her name get called out urgently.

After the incident where Natsu burned off Lucy's clothing and the blonde kicked Laxus in the nuts for his slight moment of pervertedness, the blonde female avoided Laxus as much as possible.

Whenever the Lightning Dragon Slayer entered the same room as her, she'd come up with an excuse to leave the room or be as far away as possible. It seemed like it was for the best though, because whenever she would come up with an excuse he would look like he was going to go murder someone in pure fury. Luckily, Laxus was out on a S-Class job, so the busty blonde was able to relax with a good book without fear of being struck with lightning in revenge for crushing his nuts.

"Are you excited for the Hanami Festival?" a high-pitched voice asked from Lucy's side.

The blonde looked to her side to see that the owner of the voice was Wendy, the little blue-haired beaming. Of course, Carla was right beside her, although the Exceed was in her human transformation. Lucy's eyes widened as she began to realise that the Hanami Festival was, in fact, less than a week away.

"Ah! How did I forget about the Hanami Festival?!" Lucy shrieked, tossing the book that she was reading high in the air in shock, not that she noticed as she was too preoccupied as she thought about the many times she missed out on the festival. "Lets see here, on the one before my first year at Fairy Tail I was sick because of that avalanche... then there was the seven years in Fairy Sphere... then the guild disbanded and I was living in Crocus while working for Sorcerer Weekly..." the Celestial Spirit mage was silent as she finished counting the times she missed out on the Hanami Festival. "Crap, I missed out on at least nine Hanami Festivals!"

Wendy made a quiet laugh at her older sister figure's hysteric outburst of emotion, meanwhile Carla sweatdropped at Lucy's over the top reaction, although she couldn't deny that she was smiling a little in amusement.

"I'll need to bake cookies, decide what outfit I'm gonna wear and- I'm sorry but I have to go!" Lucy said as she started running out of the guild, a small 'thud' sound happening as the book that she threw into the air made contact with the ground. Lucy wasn't really looking where she was running as she left the guild, being more focused on what she should do for the Hanami Festival instead. So it wasn't much of a surprise when she suddenly slammed into something hard and tough. "Oof!" Lucy said as she walked backwards, the blonde would've mistaken whatever she ran into as a wall if she didn't feel skin and fabric on her face for the split second that she made contact with it.

Lucy looked at whatever it was that she made a face-first collision with, only for her eyes to widen as she realized it was Laxus.

"Uhhh..." Lucy's mouth was agape as she stared at the blond, muscle-bound Dragon Slayer who was staring at her in surprise with an agape mouth of his own. "Sorry,butIhavetogonow,sohowaboutyouandIchatlater,'kay?Good,bye!" she said hurriedly as she attempted to get as far away as possible, not willing to risk whatever revenge the Wizard Saint-tier mage could inflict on her in revenge for crushing his nuts.

"Lucy, wait!" Laxus said, grabbing hold of the female's wrist just as she thought she was in the clear. Lucy was frozen in fear; that's it, she's dead for sure now. Her gravestone will write this:

Here lies Lucy Heartfilia

R.I.P.

X767 - X792

Died because she kicked Laxus Dreyar in the nuts.

Fairy Tail Mage

Author

Former Reporter and Gravure Model of Sorcerer Weekly

The blonde female winced, preparing for the immense pain when she is struck by lightning and blown to smithereens before being welcomed into the eternal, cold embrace of Death itself. However, she didn't feel any pain in the slightest, not even where Laxus was holding her. Lucy opened her eyes to see the Lightning Dragon Slayer staring down at her, the edges of his mouth turned downward while his brows were turned upwards; his expression reminiscent of that of sadness.

"I forgive you." Laxus said earnestly.

"Huh?" Lucy responded, confused.

"I forgive you." Laxus repeated, his voice just as earnest as when he said it the first time. Laxus easily saw that Lucy was still confused and sighed, had she forgotten about the kick or had she expected something different from him? "The kick. I forgive you for kicking me in the groin a few weeks back when I perved on you."

Lucy stared at Laxus, her mouth agape once again as she blinked at the blond, completely silent.

Laxus sighed again. "I knew that you felt guilty for kicking me in the balls after I stopped everyone from seeing you naked. It was more of my fault, really. I saw your cleavage and didn't look away, and you kicked me in the groin because I was being a pervert like the other guys in the guild. On that note... I'm sorry for being a pervert, I put your trust in me to stop others from looking at you lecherously and I instantly looked at a private area. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." Lucy said, moving both of her hands so they were in the hand that grabbed her wrist. "You just took a peek by accident and I kicked you in a private and sensitive area in the heat of the moment. And after you saved me from being gazed at by the real perverts, nevertheless. If anyone between us should apologise, it's me."

Laxus smiled at Lucy, his expression showing a mixture of amusement and fondness. "How's about we both say we're sorry and forgive each other, 'kay?"

"Okay." Lucy replied, feeling happier. Lucy's eyes suddenly widened as an idea came to mind. "Hey, the Hanami Festival is in a few days... basically everyone in the guild is going. Do you think that you want to... come as well. You are a member of our huge Fairy Tail family."

Laxus pondered; the last time he went to the Hanami Festival was a few months before his deadbeat of a dad was rightfully expulsed from the guild. Since his own grandfather kicked his father out of the guild, Laxus didn't attend anymore Hanami Festivals because he was blinded by the anger of his dad being 'unrightfully' kicked out.

But... Laxus is different now. He actually cares about the other members of the guild and sees them as his family (some more than others) now. Maybe...

The Lightning Dragon Slayer looked into Lucy's eyes, and that was when she had unknowingly trapped him with an offer he couldn't say no to; they weren't puppy dog eyes, they were just Lucy's natural eyes that held absolute power over Laxus without the blonde female even noticing.

"Sure, Blondie." Laxus answered, starring into her eyes with affection and a loving smile on his face. "As long as you're there, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Lucy smiled and, without thinking it through, jumped up and hugged Laxus, her arms wrapping around his neck. "Thank you." Lucy whispered, her voice holding a sense of tranquillity. It was after a few seconds later that Lucy's eyes opened wide as she realised what she was doing, the blonde ended the hug, stepping backwards quickly as she flailed her arms up and down in front of herself while she stuttered. "I-I'm sorry. It's j-just that I g-got really happy an-and I..."

Lucy's words died down in her throat as she saw Laxus staring at her in surprise, his cheeks coloured a blush of pink. Before Lucy could question the Lightning Dragon Slayer's reaction, she gained a sensation that she was being watched; it wasn't exactly the same sensation she felt when watched by an enemy, but it might as well have been.

Lucy looked towards the source of the sensation, finding that it was from Mirajane, Levy and Wendy peeking at her and Laxus from behind the guild doors; the former two looking at the sight with hearts and stars in their eyes respectively.

Mirajane was no surprise, being the residential matchmaker she saw it as her business to make sure that everyone who was single (especially those that are her closest friends) would be in a romantic relationship. Levy wasn't much of a surprise either, ever since she and Gajeel had became girlfriend and boyfriend, the blue-haired gained a Mirajane levelled obsession with Lucy's perpetually bad love life.

Wendy looking at the scene between Lucy and Laxus with captivated interest was a bit of a surprise to the blonde female, but Lucy doesn't really know what goes on in the little girl's head.

"It's not what it looks like!" Lucy protested, already knowing what ideas and thoughts were being conceived inside Mirajane's and Levy's minds, waving her arms up and down in front of herself like she was say 'You don't understand.' via the gesture. "I just got overexcited and hugged Laxus by accident! Laxus and I are just friends, right Laxus?"

The blonde female turned towards the Second Generation Dragon Slayer, only to be surprised by his expression. Laxus looked at Lucy like she just murdered one of his closest friends and he was having trouble comprehending it. Before Lucy could question him, Laxus' hurt expression turned into an almost hate-filled scowl.

"...Right...!" Laxus growled, the hate in his tone of voice being just like his expression. The muscle-bound male then stamped off, a sombre aura surrounding him as he left. Lucy looked at the leaving Lightning Dragon Slayer hurt, he just agreed to being friends with her and yet now it was like she was the one person he hated the most. Lucy reached out an arm towards Laxus, attempting to touch and stop him.

"Lax...!" Lucy said, but her words died in her throat as the blond man turned into lightning and disappeared. Lucy was left there with her mouth wide open with dead words, her arm and hand outstretched towards the empty air where the man once was.

Lucy's open hand clenched into a fist as she brought it took her chest, specifically the area where the heart is, tears running down her face as, for some reason, she felt unusually sad by what happened; spending most of the first and second decade of her life locked up in a giant mansion with the only person that you could say was, with full certainty, your friend being someone who almost tried to kill you half the time, Lucy came to cherish all of her friends, and would be sad and cry whenever she had a serious dispute with one of them.

But, for some reason, Laxus' reaction to her words hurt more than it would if it was any one of her other friends.

Lucy felt a gentle hand being placed on her shoulder, the blonde female looking back to see Mirajane looking at her sympathetically. "There, there." the Take Over mage said soothingly as she brought the Celestial Spirit mage into a gentle, comforting hug. The white-haired stoked her blonde friend's head comfortingly as said blonde friend was crying into her chest. "I know that Laxus will forgive you for your mistake, and I know you will one day realise your true feelings towards him."

Lucy didn't bother arguing with Mirajane's insistence that she and Laxus where in a romantic relationship, that what was between Lucy and Laxus was something more than a platonic friendship.

She just didn't feel the energy to do that as she cried into the Satan Soul's chest.

Brown eyes watched the cherry blossoms float through the air, more and more cherry blossoms joining as the cherry blossom trees bloomed. Lucy smiled as she sat down on the mat placed on the grass solely for this occasion; finally, she would be able to enjoy the Hanami Festival with her friends.

However, a certain feeling of sadness still filled the Celestial Spirit mage's heart. Lucy's mind kept going to Laxus; ever since that little incident where he got mad when she said that they are just friends, because they are just friends, that's what she told herself, she hadn't seen the man in neither the guild or anywhere else. In fact, no one had seen him since that day, not even the Thunder Legion.

Lucy sighed, looking down at her orange mat, covered in some of the cherry blossoms that drifted in the wind. Everyone else in the guild, even the aforementioned Thunder Legion, were enjoying the Hanami Festival without a problem. It was like Laxus' little disappearing act didn't concern them.

Lucy sighed again, running one of her hands through her long blonde hair, removing some cherry blossoms that got entangled in her aforementioned hair in the process. Maybe Laxus went on an S-Class mission that was multiple days long and everyone was aware about it except for her, that could be an explanation for everyone's nonchalant behaviour. Then again, Mira did mention that Laxus hadn't attended the Hanami Festival in a long time; even if you were to exclude the seven years spent in Fairy Sphere.

The busty female should be more like her friends and enjoy the festival without Laxus. Sadly though, the Dragon Slayer's little outburst of sorts had left Lucy with a sense of melancholy; and not even a day like this with her friends could free her of that melancholy, not even for a second.

Lucy suddenly felt static run up her arm, the small, harmless, minor pieces of voltage travelling into her hair; static running through her hair before disappearing. Lucy noticed that her guild mates were looking at her (or more appropriately, near her) in surprise; an exceptionally immense level of magical power emitting from nearby where the blonde was.

Lucy's heart felt warm as her mind went to who the current centre of attention may be; the sudden appearance of static (something electric), the surprised looks from her guild mates (meaning something or someone that was unusual was here... or the reason that they or it was here was unusual) and an exceptionally immense level of magic power (definitely Wizard Saint-tier) appearing out of nowhere. There was only one man that Lucy knew of that would fit all three sudden phenomena at the same time, and she felt exhilarated at the possibility of who she thought it was.

"Laxus." Lucy said excitedly, happy to see that the reason behind the phenomena was the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Laxus was sitting on the same mat as Lucy, cross legged and hunched with his arms crossed over his chest.

Lucy had, for a second, felt a little scared as the aforementioned Dragon Slayer was frowning at her with eyes that weren't so different from what he showed her that last time they met. Laxus continued to look at Lucy with that emotion before looking away, closing his eyes as he hummed. Laxus' eyes then opened again to look at Lucy, the nearer of his arms reaching out to her.

Laxus' facial features softened as he gently patted Lucy on the head. "Told ya I'd be here, Blondie."

Lucy looked at Laxus in surprise before smiling, while some of her guild mates continued to stare at Laxus in surprise for just being there, seeing as it was a long time since he last went to the Hanami Festival.

"It's good to see you here, Laxus!" Makarov shouted excitedly. "Now, without further ado, time for bingo!"

Any guild mates that were still surprised by Laxus' sudden appearance had instantly forgotten their earlier emotion, the area that Fairy Tail was at becoming filled with loud cheers that blocked each other out. Lucy and Laxus, however, were confused by the announcement. "We have bingo?" the Celestial Spirit mage asked.

"I'm just as surprised as you are, Blondie." Laxus responded. "Last time I went to a Hanami Festival, we didn't have any bingo."

"It was something that Master decided to add around two to three years after Ivan was expulsed from Fairy Tail, so of course you would be unaware of it." Erza said, two bingo cards in one hand and one in the other. The Requip mage handed the two bingo cards to Lucy, one for the Celestial Spirit mage, one for Laxus. "Give it a try, there's always an amazing prize." Erza then looked at the bingo card in her hand intently with stars in her eyes. "And I will get the most amazing prize; the first prize. I accept this challenge!"

"I don't really know if bingo is a challenge, but I think I'm better off keeping my mouth shut..." Lucy mumbled, sweat-dropping that even some of her saner Fairy Tail friends had their own levels of craziness. Lucy took one of the bingo cards and held it out towards Laxus. "Do you wanna play?"

Laxus eyed the piece of paper held out in front of him; he wasn't much of a fan of bingo, it sounded like a game that only boring old farts would play when they're too old for anything that's actually fun, but he already made Blondie sad multiple times before, which has led to both self-loathing and his apparent inner dragon chewing him out, so he took the bingo card anyways, merely grunting in response.

Lucy frowned slightly, hoping for more than a grunt, but was happy nevertheless that Laxus still decided to participate.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Mirajane asked, standing in front of the lacrima-powered octagon-shaped device that the guild used for its rare occasions where it plays bingo. The cheers from her fellow guild mates was a definite answer. "Okay then, you may now poke the centre hole open."

"Here comes the first number, so watch carefully." Makarov said, gesturing his arm to the tiny lacrima that powered the octagon-shaped device, the small, round crystal glowing as the wooden octagon behind it began to spin. The octagon span so fast it began to look like a circle until a tiny ball of light shot out of the lacrima, the aforementioned tiny ball of light turning into a number.

"Number 62." Mirajane said, announcing the number.

Lucy frowned, finding that the number wasn't on her bingo card. Meanwhile, half of her guild mates had the number '62' on their bingo cards, poking the number out on their bingo card.

"Damn, it's the first number and I'm already behind." Lucy mumbled.

"Don't worry, Blondie, you can still win this." Laxus said, trying to cheer up the busty female. "This is just the first number, you still have a high chance of winning."

"You're just saying that because 62 was one your bingo card."

Another ball of light shot out of the lacrima and turned into a number. "37." Makarov announced. Three more rounds happened until a ball of light shot out of the lacrima and turned into a number on Lucy's bingo card. "93."

"Finally." Lucy said, almost squealed, as she poked the number on her card. However, her excitement was kind of taken away as she realised that, while the first prize was still yet to be won, some of her guild mates were close to winning it. The blonde sighed. "I definitely won't be getting the first prize, that's for sure."

The wooden octagon spun around again before another ball of light shot out of the lacrima and turned into a number. "54." Makarov announced.

"BINGO!" Erza shouted excitedly, holding up her bingo card which had a horizontal line of marked off numbers on it. The red-haired Requip mage had a huge smile on her face as her eyes sparkled.

"Congratulations, Erza, you won the first prize." Mirajane congratulated.

"Of course I have, and I have only my training to thank for this?" Erza said as she went to where Makarov and Mirajane were standing.

"How can you 'train' for something that's based around luck and probability?" Laxus asked in a quiet mumble, albeit mostly to himself, slightly incredulous. Laxus didn't really pay much attention to what Erza said she thought the first prize was, but it was enough to make Mirajane and Makarov sweatdrop, though Laxus didn't doubt that it had something to do with strawberry cake.

"I've learnt that it's best to not question her logic when she's excited, especially when she thinks it's a competition..." Lucy mumbled in response to Laxus' question. Whatever the first prize was mustn't have been something that Erza liked, as the red head looked down at the ground in disappointment before walking to Jellal and slumping into her blue-haired boyfriend's chest.

"Uh..." Makarov said, a sweatdrop going down his head at the Titania's reaction to the first prize, whatever it was. "Anyways, onto the second prize."

"This is a prize I picked for those happy couples." Mirajane said cheerfully, a few groans of annoyance being heard in the crowd. Mirajane's usually happy face became an angry face that was akin to a mother's when scolding her children for misbehaving, muttering about the unknown groaners being rude before returning to her happy demeanour. "The second prize is two tickets for three days and two nights at Akane Resort~!"

"Akane Resort!?" multiple Fairy Tail members yelled out in surprise and amazement.

"Huh, so it's still popular." Lucy said calmly in reaction to her guild mates' excited outburst, the Celestial Spirit mage having became jaded to their boisterous behaviour. Lucy smiled as she remembered the wonderful day she had at the tourist spot until Erza's old friends from the Tower of Heaven attacked and kidnapped the aforementioned red-haired female.

"Hmm?" Laxus hummed as he heard Lucy. "You've already been to Akane Resort?"

"Yeah." Lucy replied, letting out a cute little laugh that made Laxus feel like he was in heaven. The little blush on Lucy's face as she laughed didn't help with the tugging of Laxus' heartstrings. "My entire team went there, in fact. However that was back when Jellal was still evil so he sent some of Erza's old friends to kidnap her for his evil scheme."

Laxus looked at the aforementioned blue-haired Heavenly Body mage, who had managed to make his red-haired Requip mage of a girlfriend happy; the Dragon Slayer knows that Jellal is a good guy and has been for the past years, but the new-found information caused an impulse of sorts to happen to him.

(At least it was just a suspicious look, it could have been something much worse.)

"Uh... does it have to be a couple?" a sheepish voice asked from within the group of Fairy Tail mages, the mysterious mage had captured the attention of their guild mates, and yet still managed to remain unknown and unseen. "I mean... Akane Resort isn't a couples-only tourist spot, so does it necessarily have to be a couple that gets the prize?"

"No, it doesn't have to." Mirajane answered sweetly. "I'd just prefer it if it was a happy couple that got the prize."

The octagon-shaped device spun around, a ball of light shooting out of the small spherical lacrima that powered it. The ball of light turned into a number and the bingo game continued.

More rounds of the lacrima shooting out a ball of light that turned into a number happened, and multiple contenders of the bingo game were coming close to winning the second prize, after all Akane Resort isn't known as the most popular tourist spot in Fiore for no reason.

Lucy looked down at her bingo card, only three numbers were poked out, centre hole not accounted for. "Damn, guess all my chances of winning the prize to Akane are down the drain."

"Number 8." Makarov called, multiple murmurs could be heard of guild members saying that they were close to getting the prize, sometimes even saying the number that they need.

"Now I know that a lot of you are one number away from winning the prize." Mirajane said, the lacrima-powered device not activating while the Take Over mage decided to talk. "While I am aware that some of you aren't in an official relationship, I'm sure you all still have your own secret crushes; so if you win and you're not in an official relationship, maybe you can take your crush with you."

Multiple guild members, even those with a crush or in an official relationship, sweat-dropped at Mirajane, who was insistent that whoever went to Akane Resort because of the prize tickets was going to end up in a happy couple if they weren't in one already. Even Lisanna and Elfman sweat-dropped at their older sister's insistence.

Lucy, whilst one of the guild members that sweat-dropped, giggled at Mirajane; it was hard to believe that despite her sweet personality, the fact that she works as a barmaid and only goes on missions if absolutely and explicitly necessary and being the biggest matchmaker in all of Fiore (maybe even in all of Earth Land), Mirajane was actually an incredibly powerful Take Over mage who can turn into multiple different demons, each being incredibly strong and fearsome on their own.

Mirajane gestured a hand towards the tiny lacrima that powered the octagon-shaped device, said lacrima glowing with power as the wooden octagon behind it started to spin, its speed increasing to the point where it looked like a circle.

Laxus muttered something under his breath, his voice so quiet that even Lucy could barely hear it despite being nearby. Lucy looked towards the Lighting Dragon Slayer, as she thought she heard him say something. Laxus muttered the word again and again, like he was trying to make a chant. The blonde Celestial Spirit mage noticed that the blond Dragon Slayer was staring at his bingo card, gripping said card.

"58." Laxus muttered, staring so hardly at his bingo card that Lucy was starting to fear that the veins in his eyes would become visible. "58." the Lightning Dragon Slayer repeated.

Lucy moved to look at Laxus' bingo card and understood why the Dragon Slayer wanted number 58 to be called out; four numbers in a diagonal row were poked out except for one, number 58. "So that's why Laxus wants 58 to be called out." Lucy thought, smiling at the Wizard Saint-tier mage. "If it does, he wins two tickets to Akane Resort."

Lucy's mind began to wander; unless if Laxus really likes Akane, he would only want to win the tickets if he had a crush on someone, or he's in a secret relationship, and take his crush/lover to Akane with him.

Whoever it is that Laxus is, theoretically, in love with must be very lucky considering that Laxus is... well, Laxus. Lucy did feel a little envious; an unbelievably strong Dragon Slayer who is so powerful that some don't even consider him as a human, who is also sexy as all hell and jaw-droopingly muscular, and can be protective of those he cares about; he's almost the ideal lover.

"They must be really lucky." Lucy thought. "Having Laxus as a lover... if only I..."

Lucy realised where her thoughts were going and shook her head from side to side, reminding herself that she and Laxus are only friends; it's not like he would ever return these feelings of hers.

"Number 59." Makarov called out as the number appeared.

"BINGO!" Alzack yelled, holding a bingo card that had a line of poked out numbers. A lot of audible sounds of surprise were heard from the multiple guild members that Alzack managed to be the lucky winner, alongside groans of disappointment of not being the one to win the tickets to Akane Resort.

"Congratulations~!" Mirajane cheered as Alzack approached the Take Over mage, happily giving the Guns mage the tickets to Akane Resort. "I hope that you and Bisca enjoy your three days and two nights at Akane~."

The black-haired male and green-haired female embraced each other in a hug, laughing and crying tears of joy as they thought of the wonderful time they would have at Akane Resort. Suddenly, Bisca's eyes went wide open. "Wait, what about Asuka?" Bisca asked, her husband and herself looking at their daughter, who was smiling innocently.

"There are only two tickets..." Alzack mumbled in realisation that only he and Bisca would be able to go to Akane. "We could get one of our friends to look after her..."

"Yeah... but for three days and two nights...!" Bisca mumbled in response.

"Don't worry, I'll be more than happy to look after your adorable little daughter." Mirajane said, picking up Asuka and bringing her into a hug. "Are you excited, Asuka? You get to be looked after by Aunt Mirajane."

"Yay, Aunt Mirajane~." Asuka responded cheerily.

"Thank you, Mira!" Bisca and Alzack shouted happily, on their knees bowing at Mirajane, tears of joy running out of their eyes again. "For a second I feared that we wouldn't be able to find someone that could or would be able to look after Asuka for three days and two nights; not that our little Asuka is any trouble to look after, she's always a little angel." Alzack added.

"No problem, and you can thank me by making another adorable little angel with each other." Mirajane responded with a wink before the Take Over mage looked at the little girl in her arms. "And I'm sure that Aunt Lisanna and Uncle Elfman will also be more than happy to look after you with me while your parents are away."

"We'll be more than happy to help," Lisanna said, "right, Big Brother Elf?"

"Yeah!" Elfman shouted excitedly. "I'll teach her how to be a real man!"

"Don't...!" Alzack and Bisca warned the Take Over mage darkly, their guns appearing in their hands as they glared darkly at Elfman; Asuka is a well-behaved daughter and they didn't want her to start yelling about things being 'manly' because of Elfman, his endless yelling about things being 'man' and 'manly' was already enough.

"Well there goes Akane." Lucy said, looking down sadly at her bingo card. "Not that I was close."

Lucy heard an angry growl behind her, the blonde looking behind to see Laxus seemingly glaring at his bingo card as lightning surrounded his body. "Dammit." Laxus growled, the lightning surrounding his body moving up his arm towards the bingo card in his hand, said bingo card being burned and destroyed by said lightning. Laxus' eyes widened upon realising what happened, before angrily yelling again. "Dammit!"

Lucy giggled at her guild mate's realisation of his accidental action. "Mad that you couldn't win the tickets for your lover and yourself?"

The Lighting Dragon Slayer looked at Lucy before looking away, a pink blush forming on his cheeks. "Yes..." he answered quietly, so quietly that only Lucy was able to hear him and even then just barely.

Lucy made a small giggle, but on the inside she felt that feeling of envy once again. The bingo game continued as usual, although this time Laxus wasn't participating since he destroyed his card, instead the Lightning Dragon Slayer just decided to watch Lucy since she still had her bingo card; he couldn't help but get a warm feeling whenever Lucy smiled when a number on her card was called out, and he couldn't help but frown when Lucy looked sad whenever someone else managed to when a prize when she wasn't even close.

As the bingo game continued, more and more prizes were won until the last prize was also won. "Congratulations," Makarov said as an unimportant Fairy Tail mage with no need for a name in this story won the very last bingo prize, just as the sun was beginning to set. "You won the last prize: an entire basket of fish."

"Uh... thank you...?" The unimportant Fairy Tail mage replied as Mirajane handed him the basket full of fish; the unimportant Fairy Tail mage didn't know what to do with his basket full of fish, he detested seafood.

"Who would want a basket full of fish unless they were Happy?" Lucy asked, albeit mostly to herself, as the final prize was taken. The blonde Celestial Spirit mage looked down at her bingo card and sighed sadly as she actually came close to getting a bingo right before the final prize was taken. "I clearly wasn't Lucky Lucy Heartfilia today..."

Laxus looked at the slightly gloomy blonde and felt anger build up within him; she should never be sad, she deserves to only feel happiness. The Wizard Saint-tier man patted Lucy on the head, the busty female being taken by surprise by the sudden and gentle touch on her head.

"It's okay, Blondie." Laxus said, the corners of his mouth turning up to make a small fond smile as Lucy looked at him. "You always have next year, and you came here to watch the cherry blossoms become rainbow-coloured at night, not to win some bingo game."

Lucy's eyes went wide as she realised/remembered why she came to the Hanami Festival in the first place. "Oh yeah, sorry; I guess I got too caught up in the game that I forgot why I came here... How embarrassing." Lucy replied, blushing in embarrassment. The Celestial Spirit mage then saw the sun setting at the borders of the horizon without a cloud in sight, the sight almost taking her breath away. "Wow... it's so beautiful...!"

Laxus mumbled something quietly under his breath, but it was unnoticed by Lucy.

The sun completely disappeared past the horizon, changing the sky from day to night; the cherry blossoms, on the trees, blooming from the trees, and on the ground or other people, changed from pink to the many colours of the rainbow. Lucy was amazed by the sight, sure she already saw the rainbow cherry blossoms when Natsu uprooted one of the trees and put it on a boat, but seeing it again after such a long time and with her friends made it so much more amazing the second time around.

Many of Lucy's guild mates gasped in amazement at the sight, the rainbow cherry blossoms were a sight that wasn't enough to see once. "And to think that I avoided this because I was blinded by my anger..." Laxus muttered in amazement from near Lucy, the female blonde smiling as a warm feeling welled up within her when she heard the happiness in her friend's voice.

After a while of watching the rainbow cherry blossoms, Lucy's eyes began to feel heavy and she started to have trouble keeping them open. The busty Celestial Spirit mage started to yawn, confirming a suspicion she was starting to have; she was feeling sleepy.

In all fairness, it is rather late and some of the other members of Fairy Tail were starting to look drowsy and some were even asleep. Lucy found herself laying down on her left side, still facing the cherry blossom trees. Lucy still had trouble keeping her eyes open, laying down on her side was probably only making it harder. Maybe if she just closes her eyes for five or ten seconds they will be easier to keep open.

Yeah, just keep her eyes closed for ten seconds...

Yeah, just ten seconds...

...

Lucy opened her eyes to find herself the park with the cherry blossom trees, at daytime.

It seemed as though the Celestial Spirit mage had fallen asleep during the party, albeit it didn't seem like she was the only one; most, if not all, of Lucy's guild mates were asleep on the ground, usually on their mates but some were sleeping on the grass. Luckily both the weather and wildlife were feeling benevolent and decided to leave the Fairy Tail mages completely undisturbed.

Lucy smiled as she saw Juvia snuggled up unto Gray's chest, thankfully the Ice-Make mage had only removed his shirt, and thankfully Juvia only removed her shirt without removing her bra (it was kind of expected that she would pick up Gray's stripping habit). Similarly, Levy was using Gajeel's chest as a pillow and Jellal and Erza were cuddling each other in their sleep.

Lucy felt a little jealous, three of her closest friends, so close they are like siblings to her, managed to find true love without even trying, meanwhile Lucy has been trying over and over again only to fail.

Many of her guild mates had speculated and suggested that she try dating and finding true love with Natsu, but just by watching the Fire Dragon Slayer drool a puddle (almost an actual literal puddle) while rapidly punching the air with a fire-covered fist in his sleep had been enough proof to Lucy that she was better off keeping their relationship to being like siblings.

It started to become apparent to Lucy that the texture of the mat was different yet similar, she already felt it but it definitely wasn't her mat. The blonde then noticed the fur trimming connected to the edge of her 'mat', she was (somehow) sleeping in Laxus' coat. How was the possible? She had fallen asleep on her mat, so how is she now inexplicably sleeping in/on Laxus' coat?

Lucy tried to move, either to get up or change her position, only to be stopped and held in place by big muscular arms that were wrapped around her body. "Lucy..." Laxus murmured into Lucy's ear, the Lightning Dragon Slayer being the one with his arms wrapped around the Celestial Spirit mage, additionally his legs were wrapped around hers. Laxus was asleep, so his words almost sounded slurred. "Please... Don't go...!"

Lucy was left nonplussed, was Laxus Dreyar, incredibly powerful and sexy Lightning Dragon Slayer and second strongest in the guild Laxus Dreyar, spooning her and wanting her to stay in his arms?

The blonde Celestial Spirit mage was left blushing, especially as the sleeping man put his nose in her hair and started to sniff her scent. Lucy knows that she has an attractive body, people were vocal on how attractive they found her body to be and her feminine wiles were useful when she needed some Jewel to be cut from an item when she didn't have enough money because of her destructophile teammates' tendency to make them lose Jewel because of property damage.

But that didn't change that this was Laxus, someone who once prided himself because of his strength (and still to a small extent today), Lucy thought that he would want someone who was strong and hot, not someone who is just hot.

Lucy budged, trying to get out of Laxus' grip. The blonde's actions were proven to be futile, however, as any chance that she had of getting out Laxus' embrace was taken away as he tightened his hold on her. A low rumbling sound came from the sleeping Dragon Slayer's throat, the rumbling sound stopping when Lucy stopped her budging and let Laxus continue wrapping his arms and legs around her form.

Another rumbling sound came from the same Dragon Slayer, though it was different. The rumbling sound from earlier sounded like a growl, but this one sounded like... a purr? "Mine...!" The blond Dragon Slayer murmured as he continued to hold Lucy close.

A shadow loomed over Lucy and the sleeping Dragon Slayer, something which the blonde female noticed quickly. Lucy looked up to see Mirajane as the body behind the shadow, the eldest Strauss sibling smiling fondly at the sight of the two blonds. Lucy knew that even after what happened between the two since before the Hanami Festival, Mirajane's matchmaker eyes saw a couple.

"Don't claim again that you two are just friends," Mirajane said, already knowing what Lucy was going to say. "Laxus' cuddling and the blush on your face definitely tell otherwise." Lucy's eyes widened, the blonde touching her cheeks to find the familiar heat of a blush on them. Lucy tried to get out of the Lightning Dragon Slayer's hold, however as she wriggled he growled in his sleep and tightened his hold on her.

"My Lucy...!" Laxus growled in his sleep, the Dragon Slayer dreaming that someone was trying to take Lucy from him. Mirajane closed her mouth tight as she tried to stifle a squeal that was still relatively audible.

Lucy, on the other hand, reached for Virgo's key. "Virgo, please help me out here." the blonde said, summoning the maid spirit.

"Princess, should I be punished?" Virgo asked.

"N-no, I need you to help me with Laxus." Lucy answered, pointing (as best as she could) to the Dragon Slayer that had his limbs wrapped around her body.

"Should I punish him?"

"No, just get me out of his grip." Lucy said. Virgo merely nodded and grabbed Lucy's arm, the Celestial Spirit and mage disappearing in the same bright, glowing dissolve that usually happened when a Celestial Spirit returned to the Celestial Spirit World. Mirajane stared, wide-eyed in surprise, blinking as she was trying to comprehend what happened when Virgo reappeared, holding Lucy bridal style. Lucy hastily got back onto her feet and started to take deep breathes, having being unable to breathe in the Celestial Spirt World without the Celestial Clothing.

"I knew that Celestial Spirits could bring other beings into their world, but I didn't know they could do it like that." Mirajane said, still taken by surprise with what the pink-haired Celestial Spirit did.

"Neither did I." Lucy said.

"Oh well, at least I still got some pictures." Mirajane said happily, pulling out multiple pictures from God knows where that showed Laxus with his arms and legs wrapped around Lucy. The aforementioned blonde Celestial Spirit mage was once again nonplussed as Mirajane revealed multiple pictures that she took of Laxus and Lucy while the latter wasn't looking or noticing. Then again, she was asleep in some of them... how early did Mirajane wake up? The aforementioned Satan Soul mage held the pictures to her chest as she cooed. "Even in picture form, the sight melts my heart. I can't wait to become the godmother of yours and Laxus' perfect children."

The myriad of sleeping guild mates began to twist and turn in their sleep as they started to wake up, including Laxus. Laxus stared at the empty space in between his arms, the Dragon Slayer silent before letting out a sad sigh and getting back up with his guild mates. Lucy felt a pain in her chest at Laxus' sad expression, but she knew that if she and the Lightning mage ever got together, they wouldn't last.

"I seems that we fell asleep at the festival, my children." Makarov said, the old man holding his head as he was no doubt starting a hangover from all the alcohol he drank last night. "Lets just clean up and head back to the guild."

The Fairy Tail mages did as their guild master said, Lucy kept her distance from Laxus throughout the entire clean up. No one really questioned why Virgo was out and helping the Fairy Tail wizards with the clean up, the Celestial Spirit tended to summon herself so frequently for one reason or another that everyone just stopped questioning her appearance.

Although Mirajane and Lucy knew the true reason why the Maid Spirit was present.

"Thank you for your help, Virgo." Lucy said as the Fairy Tail members were heading back to their guild.

"It was my pleasure, Princess." Virgo said, her poker face and monotone voice unchanging. "Although I have been punished only twice since we became contracted, after you was first taken to the Celestial Spirit World and when I was rewarded for helping with the Eclipse Gate after the Grand Magic Games. Tell me, am I not doing a hard enough job serving you to get punished? Do I need to work harder to receive punishment, Princess?"

"I think it's time for you to go back now." Lucy said as she closed Virgo's gate.

Lucy heard approaching footsteps, the blonde looking to see Laxus approaching her. Lucy's heartbeat rose as the Dragon Slayer neared, was he going to say something? If so was it about what she woke up to and how he got into that position? Lucy felt that on at least a subconscious level she already knew the reason, but found herself unwilling to accept it.

Lucy was brought out of her thoughts as Laxus' shadow casted over her, the blonde looking up to make eye contact with the larger blond. Laxus' face had most of its usual impassiveness, but he also showed some slight... nervousness?!

"Hey, uh, Blondie..." Laxus said nervously, rubbing the back of his head with one of his large hands. Lucy would have raised an eyebrow at Laxus' uncharacteristic moment if it weren't for her own little flurry of nervousness, or that fact the his uncharacteristic behaviour was somewhat common as of late. "When you woke up, was there anything... out of the usual?"

Lucy blushed, remembering when she woke up wrapped in Laxus' arms and legs with him talking in his sleep. "No." Lucy lied. "Unless if you count us all waking up here, there was nothing too out of the norm when I woke up."

Before Laxus could ask any more questions, Lucy made a quick beeline to the crowd of leaving Fairy Tail members, disappearing among the sea of magi. Laxus let out another sad sigh, even though the blonde disappeared he still tried to spot her; but in the end he couldn't find her among his many guild mates that he didn't really bother learning the names of.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer looked to the ground, the corners of his mouth turning downwards in a sad expression. He knew that he cuddled up to her when they were asleep, and he knew that she was lying; and that knowledge hurt like a dagger to the heart.

"I guess we weren't meant to be..." Laxus said to himself sadly, putting his hands in his pockets and walking back to the guild with the Thunder Legion.

Ever since the Hanami Festival, Lucy was quiet and to herself. She still smiled and went on jobs with her team, that was something that was unchanged, however it was still noticeable that something was bothering her. Noticeable if you know Lucy.

"Open, Gate of the Canis Minor, Nikora." Lucy said as she held out the silver gate key, the aforementioned key glowing brightly from the tip. A small magic circle appeared in front of the key, on the bar, glowing brightly before making the sound of a doorbell being rung before emitting smoke, a small snowman-like creature appearing from within the smoke.

"Pun, pu-pun." Plue said, doing his little dance.

Lucy giggle slightly as a small smile appeared on her face, petting the 'dog' on the head, his little tail wagging from his master's petting. However, Lucy's petting stopped when she heard the approaching high-pitched humming, and considering who it is that's humming she already knew the individual's intentions.

"So Lucy," Mirajane said sweetly, resting one her arms on the bar and her head on the hand of the other arm as its elbow rested on the same bar, "I still have those pictures and I-"

"Please... just stop it, Mira." Lucy interrupted, her friend's happy face turning into one of surprise, her sadness evident in the tone of her voice. "It... it's nothing."

Mirajane looked at Lucy, feeling pity for the situation that the blonde put herself in. "Why do you keep on denying it?" Mirajane asked softly, her question taking Lucy by surprise as the busty Celestial Spirit mage raised an eyebrow towards the Take Over mage. "I'm talking about your feelings for Laxus. And don't try to deny it any further, I want an honest answer why you keep on denying your feelings for our lightning dragon."

Lucy let out a sigh of defeat. "Okay, so I might have found out that I might have feelings for Laxus a few days before the Hanami Festival and have been convincing myself that I don't have any."

Plue nuzzled against Lucy's head as his paws touched her arm, the little spirit noticing his master's sadness. Mirajane reached from down under the bar, pulling out a lollipop and giving it to Plue. As the snowman-like spirit sucked on the lollipop that was slightly too big for him to fit in his mouth, Mirajane continued her conversation with Lucy.

"So why have you been convincing yourself that you don't have any feelings for Laxus?" Mirajane asked.

"I just thought that we wouldn't be compatible." Lucy answered, looking down at her hands in shame. Mirajane raised an eyebrow in confusion to Lucy's statement, why did she believe that she and Laxus wouldn't work? "And... you saw how much I hurt Laxus back then a few weeks back. I don't want to be in a relationship where all I do is break my lover's heart."

"But Lucy, you saw what he was like at the festival." Mirajane said, leaning down close to Lucy. "I saw that his face softened when he sat next to you. And do you remember when you woke up?" Mirajane pressed her hands together and started fawning as she remembered the moment. "Oh, how he held onto you so protectively and called you his in his sleep. He's so in love with you."

"Yeah, I guess he is." Lucy said, looking sad even though a small smile appeared on her face before turning back into a sad frown. The blonde petted Plue on the head as he was nearly halfway through his lollipop.

"So why won't you tell him your feelings?" Mirajane asked.

Lucy let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know." Lucy answered, looking annoyed with herself. "A part of me wants to be with him, but another part makes me push the thought away. I guess... it's just that I know of the many one-night stands he did in the past, and I had many past relationships that started out like in a love story only to turn out badly."

"I know that your love life hasn't been the best, but there has been something about you that no one else Laxus has had an interest in had." Mirajane said, her blues eyes shining as Lucy looked up in interest. "His coat."

"Laxus' coat?" Lucy asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

"Yes, his coat." Mirajane responded, her light in her eyes brightening. "Lucy, Laxus' coat means more to him than anything else in word; it is an old heirloom that started with his great-grandfather, and the only possession that his father gave him."

"Ivan..." Lucy said darkly and lowly, it had recently became common knowledge of how heartless Makarov's son/Laxus' dad was. Ivan was the estranged member of the Dreyar family tree.

"Yeah, and even then he wasn't quite the kind man when he gave Laxus the only gift meant for him." Mirajane said, feeling sympathy for her guild mate. "Not only was it the closest thing to kindness that Ivan showed him, but it was also originally made to be immune to his element of magic to not be destroyed on accident. Laxus is extremely protective of his coat, not even the Thunder Legion are allowed to use or wear it unless the situation is really dire."

"Really?" Lucy asked.

"Yep, that's the case, Cheerleader." A sudden and rough voice said next to Lucy, startling her temporarily. Lucy looked to her side to see that Bickslow was sitting next to her, the man somehow managing to keep himself quiet and unknown until this moment.

Lucy took a simple breath and calmed down from her initial shock. "Hello, Bickslow, I didn't know you were there." Lucy said.

"Hello to you too, Cheerleader." Bickslow responded, his tongue hanging out. "But yeah, Cheerleader, Laxus definitely has it for ya. I'm one of Laxus' oldest and closest friends, and even I am only allowed to use or wear his coat if it's dire."

Lucy was silent and blushing at the Seith mage's words, said mage grinning and continued pursuing.

"Remember when Laxus put his coat over you when you were cold?" Bickslow asked, Lucy nodding in response. "Well Lax wanted to know if you were blushing and was pleased when Puppu reported back that you were."

Lucy looked back at her hands, her fingers twiddling as the blonde didn't know what to do. "Lucy," Mirajane said, placing her hand on the Celestial Spirit mage's shoulder, looking at her softly, "Do you think you could at least try to sort out these feelings with Laxus?"

Lucy closed her eyes as she quickly thought her answer through before looking at the Satan Soul in the eye. "Where is Laxus?" Lucy asked.

"He's at his house, doing paperwork that Makarov gave him." Mirajane answered, giving Lucy the directions to Laxus' house shortly after, the blonde immediately sprinting to the location. "Godspeed, Lucy." Mirajane said as the running blonde was disappearing from view. "Godspeed."

Lucy put her hands on her knees as she tried to regain her breath, the blonde trying to regain her air from her long run to Laxus' house, just on the outskirts of Magnolia. Lucy looked at the door to Laxus' house, an odd feeling of dread in her stomach. With a tentative sigh, Lucy knocked on the door. After a small while of waiting, the door finally opened, revealing Laxus.

"Lucy?" Laxus said, surprised that the blonde was at his house. The Lightning Dragon Slayer noticed that Lucy was still regaining her breath; instantly checking her body for any cuts or bruises in case she was hurt by something or someone. After checking her, Laxus suddenly and gently put his forehead against Lucy's, eyes closed and concentrating; checking her magic power to sense if there was something wrong with it.

Laxus let out a sigh of relief as he found that there was nothing wrong with Lucy, although Lucy had a raised eyebrow as she was confused by Laxus' actions. Laxus was about to say something, but Lucy spoke before him.

"Do you love me?" Lucy asked.

Laxus was surprised by Lucy's question, though the blood still went to his face while his heartbeat rose. "W-What?" Laxus responded, his cheeks a bright red.

"I heard about how important your coat is to you, that it was the closest thing to a gift that you got from Ivan." Lucy said, noticing the muscles in Laxus' arms tensing although the man allowed her to continue. "So... do you love me?"

Laxus sighed, his blush still prominent, turning around. "Come in." Laxus said calmly as he entered back into his house, Lucy following after him. Laxus sat down onto a large couch, patting the cushion next to him. "Sit."

Lucy sat down next to the second generation Dragon Slayer, the blonde looking at him expecting an answer. "Spill." Lucy ordered.

Laxus sighed again, rubbing his forehead. "Well you sure aren't making this easy, Blondie." Laxus said as he looked at Lucy. "Yes, I love you." Laxus answered, his voice sincere. Lucy's heart broke as she saw the pain in Laxus' eyes as he answered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lucy asked, tears escaping from her eyes as she looked at the Lightning Dragon Slayer, his eyes full of sadness that Lucy knew she was to blame for.

Laxus hated the sight of the tears coming from Lucy's eyes, invoking anger within him. Both Laxus and his inner dragon wanted to hold Lucy and keep her in his arms until she was no longer sad. Laxus hated even thinking about the reason why he didn't tell Lucy, his possessive instincts flaring angrily at the thought. "Because you're already with Natsu." Laxus answered, his voice turning into a bit of a growl at the end. Laxus didn't know when or why, but the massive man had wrapped his arms around Lucy, pressing her against his larger body.

Lucy stared at Laxus, confused by his answer. "I'm not with Natsu." Lucy said, causing Laxus to look confused. "Natsu and I are only just friends, we've never been anything more than that."

"Never?" Laxus asked, holding Lucy closer to his body. Laxus' eyes had widened in curiosity while his inner dragon purred at the new knowledge and the close proximity to its mate.

"No." Lucy answered, turning her head from side to side. "I might have felt attraction towards him in the past, but those feelings are long gone."

While Laxus could feel the blood in his veins beginning to boil from the mention that Lucy had a past attraction towards Natsu, he returned to normal as Lucy said that these feelings for Natsu are long gone. Laxus looked at the blonde, his inner dragon was just urging him to mark the woman that he had wrapped up in his arms. Oh how the Lightning Dragon Slayer wanted to try to claim the blonde sitting in front of him, but he was unsure if she requited these feelings he has towards her. If he marked her as his mate, when she doesn't love him back, she would most likely become furious towards him, probably tell him that she hates him and would probably try to be as far away from him as possible, since he claimed her as his and only his when she is looking for someone else.

And Laxus doesn't know if he can handle even the mere thought of Lucy hating him..

Lucy laid her head down on Laxus' chest, knowing that despite the fact that she could squeeze out from between his arms and body while he is asleep, she would have no chance to escape from his hold while he is awake. Lucy didn't sleep on Laxus' chest when he wrapped his arms around her while she was asleep during the Hanami Festival, he head had instead layed down on his coat. And while Laxus' fur coat was still technically wrapped around her, Lucy didn't really have anywhere else to put her head than the male blond's muscular chest. It was so hard, yet so soft at the same time. The skin and flesh made lay her head down on his chest feel so comfortable, but the strong muscle beneath the skin and flesh provided much resistance. Lucy wanted to snuggle into the chest, it felt like the most comfortable pillow in the world.

Lucy could hear a soft rumble coming from the pillow, the blonde moving her brown eyes to look up at the muscular man that had his arms around her, his blue eyes looking down at her, his cheeks gaining a pink hue. Lucy could easily piece together the pieces; Laxus could feel her rubbing her head against his chest, he was probably enjoying the feeling, this the rumble coming from him was no doubt a purr. Lucy feel herself blush, the blonde wanting to hear more of Laxus' purr.

"B-Blondie...!" Laxus said in a warning tone, though it was clear that regardless he was kind of enjoying the feeling. "If you don't stop that... I don't know if I will be able to control my next action."

Lucy thinned her lips, bit the inside of her mouth. The Celestial Spirit mage tried to sit up, thankfully Laxus had loosened the his arms' grip around her, allowing her to move her head off his chest. Lucy moved back slightly, sitting back down on the cushion next to Laxus. "So... how long have you been in love with me?" Lucy asked uncertainly. It almost scared her, but she wanted to know, to know how long Laxus has had these feeling for her, for how long she was leaving him with an aching heart. She knew that she would feel guilt, but she felt like she needed to know.

"I... I'm not quite sure." Laxus answered, looking away from Lucy slightly - almost like it was done in shame - the blush along his cheeks keeping a faded appearance. "I did find you attractive and I cared for you for a while, there were a few times when I wanted to get you in my pants, but there was usually nothing beyond that. Then Fairy Tail and the rest of Fiore were celebrating in our party over our victory against Alvarez... I still think it was weird that he let Alvarez citizens party with us, especially those that were members of the Shield of Spriggan. They did try to kill us and all."

"If we didn't forgive people that tried to kill us in the past, I would be despising you right now." Lucy said, seemingly on the defence of Alvarez's elite squad. "Besides, they have changed their ways. Some of them are now completely different people from who they used to be."

"Well, nevertheless..." Laxus said. "While you were hanging out with that mass-manipulating woman, I just suddenly saw you in a golden light. It was weird. I always though you were beautiful, but the weird golden light that surrounded you made you look like an angel. And then I realised that you were my mate, and that I am in love with you, and that nothing could make me stop loving you. Sadly, I though that you were already with Natsu. God, how I wanted to fill that pink-haired annoyance with a couple thousand volts of lightning, but I knew that it would permanently destroy any and all chances I have of ever being with you. So you are my mate, I found out that I have an inner dragon. And I found out that my inner dragon is an annoying and persistent little fuck that would never let me be even a few feet away from you without giving me the urge to pounce you down and do god knows what to you."

"Oh God, that was a few months ago." Lucy said, putting her hands on her forehead as she looked down at her legs in shame. "I can't believe that I have been hurting you were fricking months now and I didn't even know it."

"It's my fault, Blondie." Laxus said. The Lightning Dragon Slayer knew that there was certain truth to his statement, but he mostly said it because he didn't want her to cry. If Lucy cried and it was Laxus' fault, it would be like knives to his heart. "I... I shouldn't have fallen for someone that I thought was with someone else, that is inexcusable. And I should have told you about these feeling anyways, maybe even ask you if you felt for Natsu the way I though you felt for him. You shouldn't feel guilty, Lucy. If anything, you should be feeling mad, at me."

"Still, I'm sorry for what I made you go through." Lucy said, unexpectedly hugging Laxus, the Dragon Slayer being reasonably surprised, though he quickly gave in and hugged back. Oh how he loved the hug, feeling a powerful warmth coming from his heart, his inner dragon purring like a gang of happy cats. However, he knew that there was a question that needed to be asked, to know if it was truly fate, that he could live happily with his dragon's mate.

"Lucy..." Laxus said, a certain uncertainness in his voice. The blonde star summoner moved back, looking up at the muscular and handsome man, wondering what he had to say to her. Laxus was uncertain about fully asking Lucy his question, it was the make or break of if he could be with the woman that he was certain was his mate. "Do you... do you love me back?"

Lucy had almost felt herself stiffen from nervousness. "Yeah, I love you." Lucy answered, looking down nervously, knowing that her cheeks were going hot with blood and her heart was pounding the inside of her chest like a wild Vulcan. Laxus could hear the earnestness in Lucy's voice, knowing that she truly did feel the same feelings towards him, that she loves him greatly.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer couldn't control himself anymore, quickly picking Lucy up and planting his lips against her own, a deep and intimate kiss starting between them. Laxus' and Lucy's tongues began to dance with each other, wrapping and dancing around each other. The two blondes began to heat up, Laxus pushed Lucy's back against one of the walls of his house. His pants began to grow tight, every part of him wanted Lucy, needed her. They desperately needed air, reluctantly separating their mouths to regain their oxygen. Lucy's brown eyes and Laxus' blue eyes connected, both of them knew what they wanted.

"Lucy...!" Laxus whispered, lowering the aforementioned female slightly.

"Laxus...!" Lucy whispered back, feeling a hard bulge between her legs as Laxus lowered her down.

Lucy took deep breaths as it felt like all of the air in her body was taken away, her hair matted and in every which way, including on Laxus' face, not that he minded; it allowed him to smell so much of her heavenly scent. The two blonde Fairy Tail mages were lying down, Laxus with his back on the floor and Lucy on her side on top of Laxus, their clothes lying on the ground near their naked bodies; Laxus' fur coat was the only thing that covered them as it was put over them like a blanket.

"Damn, Lucy, you were amazing." Laxus breathed, stroking his mate's back with one of his hands, his other large and muscular arm wrapped around her slim body. Laxus kissed Lucy on the forehead, his inner dragon was spiritually wrapping around their mate. "I already know that I love you greatly, but I think you just made me love you more now that I know you're so good at sex."

"I aim to please." Lucy joked, quickly looking exhausted again. "But I must admit that I wasn't prepared for you, though. I never expected you to be so big and so skilled, I think I might need some rest."

Laxus smiled lovingly at his mate, the Lightning Dragon Slayer wrapped his mate up in his large coat, cocooning her in it. "You can take a rest, Lucy, you deserved it." Laxus said as he put his boxers and pants back on, bending down on one knee and kissing the blonde beauty that he was more than happy to call his. Finally his, he can't describe how happy he is now that they are a couple. "I still have a ton of paperwork to do, 'cause Gramps keeps on dumping his responsibilities so he can drink while his liver can still handle alcohol. But I promise you, once I'm finally done, I will have you back in my arms again."

"Don't take too long..." Lucy whispered towards Laxus adoringly, closing her brown eyes as she finally fell asleep. Laxus had gently picked his mate up, holding her bridal style, walking towards his couch and placing her down on it, making sure that she was comfy.

Though he was reluctant to leave his mate's side, Laxus knew that his Gramps would annoy him endlessly if he didn't have the paperwork done by tomorrow. With a sigh, Laxus ignored the protests of his inner dragon and walked upstairs to the little office he had in his house, grimacing as he saw the stacks of papers that he still needed to sign and fill.

Some cuddling with his mate will really be needed when he is done with that bullshit.

"So, are you nervous?" Laxus asked his mate as they walked down the streets of Magnolia, hand in hand. It was the day after Laxus and Lucy had confessed their feelings and made nooky, and neither had seen nor spoken to any of their guildmates since. It was relatively late in the morning, in fact it was nearly noon, and they had agreed to go to Fairy Tail - together - and announce their relationship to the guild. They were certain that they were going to get shocked and surprised reactions from their friends, as even passers-by were gasping and looking at them with wide open mouths.

"Maybe a little." Lucy answered, biting her bottom lip nervously. Laxus found the sight to be adorable, the Dragon Slayer having to resist the urge to kiss his blonde beauty on the cheek. "You know that everyone will be making a big deal out of us being a couple. Especially my team, they will either be congratulating us the most or they will be trying to kill you. They might even end up doing both, but I don't know which one they will do first."

"But isn't us being together kind of a big deal?" Laxus asked, still keeping his eyes on his busty mate. "I mean I'm one of Fairy Tail's strongest and most famous mages, and you're our well-known Light of Fairy Tail, wouldn't us becoming a couple be a big deal to say the least."

"I'm not dismissing our relationship as unimportant, Laxus. I'm sorry if I sounded like that and if I hurt you." Lucy said, moving closer to her mate until she was practically leaning against one of his large arms. A soft, low purr came from Laxus' large frame as he felt his girlfriend against him. "I know that we are going to become a well-known and famous couple, and I already know that I can't be any more happier than with you, but I don't know if we need most of our guildmates whooping at the tops of their voices and more than half of them passing out drunk because they decided to drink more than twice their weight in alcohol. Our guild sure likes to have big parties that involve a lot of drinking."

Laxus let out a soft laugh in response to his mate. "I have basically been in Fairy Tail ever since I was born, I can confirm that that is indeed the case." The Lightning Dragon Slayer, causing his mate to let out the most adorable little laugh he has ever heard. He just couldn't resist looking down at his mate lovingly. However, to Laxus' surprise, he then began to feel his inner dragon growl angrily. Laxus looked away from his mate, seeing three men in their late teens staring at his mate, specifically her two jiggly breasts. Laxus, much like his inner dragon, began to growl angrily at them men. Laxus moved the arm that Lucy was leaning against, wrapping it around her and pressing her against his body, lightning surrounding him and his mate harmlessly. "Fuck off, she's mine!"

The three men screamed in fear and bolted away, knowing not to incur the wrath of someone as tremendously powerful as Laxus Dreyar. Lucy watched with wide-eyed surprise as the three men, that were apparently looking at her suggestively, ran away in fear. Lucy looked up at her Laxus, his lips curled back as he continued to growl, the iris and pupil of his eyes fading in and out of existence, making it constantly look like he only had the sclera of his eyes. Lucy giggled lovingly at her Dragon Slayer, loving how protective he could be of her. Lucy stood up on her toes, giving Laxus a peck on the cheek.

The feeling of his mate's lips on his cheek had calmed Laxus down, the blond-haired man looking at his woman. Laxus smiled, the muscular man wrapping his other arm around Lucy and giving her a kiss on the lips. There kiss was filler with passion, but there was no sexual heat in it; they both knew better than to make love in public in broad daylight, when a lot of people, including children, could easily hear and see them.

Lucy and Laxus broke up from their kiss, the former landing back on the soles of her feet. Hopefully she can learn to get used to having such a tall boyfriend. They held hands again and continued walking down Magnolia's streets until they finally arrived at Fairy Tail, the wooden guild looking greatly large and imposing. Lucy let out an uncertain sigh, suddenly feeling shaky and nervous about announcing her relationship to the guild. Laxus noticed his mate's unease, gently squeezing her hands.

"It's okay, Blondie." Laxus said softly, soothing his mate. "I know you're nervous now, and that's okay. Just know that I will always be with you no matter what; I will always be yours and you will always be mine."

Lucy took a deep breath before finally exhaling, seemingly relieving her of her distress. The blonde looked up at Laxus, smiling up at her mate. "I'm ready now, Laxus." Lucy said before she turned back to the guild doors and opened them up. The guild was its usual self of boisterous mages that were either punching each other or drinking and eating their time away. Of course there was still the other members that did something different than the aforementioned actions, but they weren't part of the majority. But that didn't change that the sight of Laxus and Lucy holding hands intimately became noticed by the guild, eventually everyone was looking at the two blondes in silence, waiting for an explanation behind the unusual sight. Lucy smiled nervously at her guildmates. "Hi, everyone. Guess what, Laxus and I are now a couple."

The resounding squeal that Mirajane let out was so loud that they could hear it in Crocus.

Author's Note: This was going to originally be part of a one-shot collection series (not that this would be any shorter because of that), but I decided to abandon that idea and have this fanfic (and all the other ones planned for the collection series) just be like any other regular one-shot.

Might be a bit too long, I can admit that. Oh well, maybe it's still good enough for you fellow LaLu fans out there.