A/N- Oh look, more Laxus/Lucy brotp fic. I had started a fic in which Laxus entrusted Lucy with Fairy Law a couple weeks ago, but then the most recent chapter revealed Laxus's little situation and just drove home to me that it would be absolutely realistic for him to want to do everything possible to make sure that Fairy Tail is protected as much as he can possibly ensure.

Plus, Chapter 471 also presented me with Freed and Lucy being Very Concerned Dragonslayer Spouses together, which served as a perfect framing device for the concept. And this is the (shoddy, entirely un-beta'd) result.

Freed's eyes have taken on a bluer cast as he stares down at Natsu's prone form; he grips his elbows, arms clasped across his chest, and as Lucy watches, she ses his fingers tighten convulsively, digging into his skin. It's a telling sign— she doesn't know Freed well, but she's spent enough time with him in company with the rest of the guild that she knows he's generally a very calm, composed individual. There is really only one thing that can really shake that collected front of his… or rather, one person.

On impulse, she reaches up to lay a soothing hand on his shoulder. "It will be alright," she says. "It's Laxus, after all."

He jumps at her touch and looks down at her with startled eyes. "I-I guess you're right," he replies, but his expression says otherwise.

"Why are you so worried about him?" she asks. "I thought you believed in him more than anyone."

With her hand still on his bare shoulder, she can feel Freed's entire body go tense at her question. He glances away, like he can't look her in the eyes.

"I think Laxus might be dying," he says bluntly.

"Hey. Lucy."

She looked up to find Laxus watching her intently. Even from a distance of a few yards, he loomed over her— with his height, he simply couldn't help it.

"Laxus," she greeted, straightening up to face him. "Everything alright?"

Now that he had her attention, he approached. "Listen," he said without preamble, "you need to learn Fairy Law."

Lucy nearly swallowed her tongue in surprise. "W-What?" she choked.

Laxus looked at her steadily. "Right now the only people who have the spell are me and Gramps. I dunno how the First feels about it, but I think… well, Gramps is old, and I'm— anyway, it shouldn't just be us. Someone else should know how to use it. Just in case."

She didn't tell him not to talk like that, because she knew as well as anyone that they might not make it out of this alive. They would need every advantage they could possibly get to even survive what Zeref was bringing down on them, let alone win against his armies. Instead, she asked, "Why me?"

He shrugged. "Why not? You've got plenty of power."

Lucy frowned. That didn't sound like Laxus. Even when she'd first known him, he'd always had more reason for things than that. "Well, maybe," she said, flummoxed, "but there are lots of powerful people in—"

"You've got the heart for it, alright?" he interrupted. "Fairy Law… it's all about heart. Learned that the hard way," he added ruefully.

"So I've heard," she replied, just barely managing to restrain an amused smile at his expense.

"Look, you… how'd Freed put it that time?" He frowned thoughtfully for a moment. "Oh yeah. You've got a little bit of the First's spirit burning in ya."

It was definitely Freed's turn of phrase, and hearing it from Laxus's mouth was both amusing and disquieting. "O-Oh."

"Hell, he's right, ain't he? I've seen how you are. You're tough enough to keep up with Natsu, too. I know you'll protect the guild. Worst comes to worst, you'll take care of our family. Right?" Flint-gray eyes held her gaze intently, demanding her attention and keeping her focus locked in place.

Meeting his steely look with her own determination, Lucy nodded firmly. Defending the home she had found with Fairy Tail was the purpose that guided her when all else was stripped away.

Laxus's mouth twitched upward in that odd little half-smile of his, the one that she always thought looked like there was a bigger smile hiding somewhere behind it, and he answered her nod with one of his own. "Alright then, let's go 'round back and I'll teach you what you need to know."

"W-What?" she sputters. "Dying? What do you mean?"

Freed shakes his head. "I can't say with certainty, of course, because he won't talk to me about it, but he's never really recovered from his battles with Tempester."

Lucy's stomach drops as their previous conversation surges into her mind. "But… but he's Laxus," she says dazedly. The idea of Laxus not being able to take a hit and come back as strong as ever is as baffling as the idea of Natsu failing to do the same. They're a different breed of wizard, these dragonslayers, capable of shrugging off damage that would kill even someone like Erza.

"Yes, but he absorbed so much anti-Ethernano during that first confrontation…" Freed sighs, letting his arms drop to his sides. "It's a miracle that any of us survived that at all— no, it's because of him, because he took all the poison into himself." He sounds choked up, though there are no tears in his eyes. "But it took a toll on him. Laxus… so much of his power comes directly from that dragon lacrima."

Lucy's eyebrows draw together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Freed sighs. "I'm sure Master Makarov has mentioned before that when Laxus was a child he was very frail. He was small, and often ill, sometimes severely. Although his motives for doing so proved to be more selfish, that was the justification Ivan gave to convince Master to let him implant the lacrima in the first place."

"So you're saying that without that lacrima, Laxus wouldn't be—?"

"Precisely. Laxus comes by a potential for great power naturally, it's in his blood. But without that lacrima, I doubt his body would ever have been able to handle the kind of magical strength he's capable of."

Once they had left the ramshackle guild hall and stepped into the open space that Mirajane had suggested rebuilding into a new pool area, Laxus stopped and turned to face her.

"Fairy Law isn't a spell that you can just learn," he said. "Has to be given to you."

"Given—? What do you mean?" she asked.

He shrugged. "S'kinda like Fairy Glitter, somebody who's already got the spell has to grant it to you. Like… I dunno, a sorta magic seed or whatever planted in you."

Lucy tilted her head curiously, arms crossed over her chest. She trusted Laxus as implicitly as she did her other teammates these days, but it was hard to forget how he'd been when she first entered the guild.

"How'd you get it, then?" she asked, before it occurred to her that the question was a little blunt, and she colored in embarrassment. "Uh— I mean—"

Laxus's expression didn't change, but from the look in his eye she thought he might be amused by her fumbling. "When I was eighteen, I went alone to Tenrou," he explained. "My deadbeat dad asked me to. Wanted me to try and get my hands on Fairy Glitter for him, since I still had the Fairy Tail guildmark."

"But you ended up with Fairy Law instead?" she asked.

"Guess the First thought I was worthy or somethin'," he said. "Dunno why, but she usually knows what she's doing so I figure she had a reason."

"Master Mavis is pretty smart," Lucy agreed. She bit her lip thoughtfully, and added, "Are you sure it's really alright for you to give me this spell? I mean, if the First Master wanted me to have it, wouldn't she have given it to me herself?"

Laxus made a noncommittal noise. "The First's smart, yeah, but she doesn't know everything," he said. "I'm betting she's never heard Loke talk about you."

Lucy groaned and dropped her head. "You shouldn't believe half of the things he says," she said resignedly. "And since when does he just pop through the gate to have chats with you?"

"He doesn't, but he and Fullbuster talk pretty damn loud and I've got good hearing," he replied, looking downright smug.

She was torn between exasperation and an odd sort of pride, so she settled on shaking her head with a smile and saying, "You pay a lot more attention to what's going on in the guild than people give you credit for, don't you?"

Laxus raised an eyebrow, and appeared to be debating whether he should be offended or not, but he only said, "Natsu's a loudmouthed little brat but he had a point when he said I never tried to be a real member of the guild before."

The I've been trying to fix that went unsaid, but Lucy heard his point loud and clear, and it made her wry smile go soft. "Alright, then," she said. "I guess if you're that certain, you'd better show me how this spell works, then."

"You're normally a holder-type wizard so it might be harder for you," Laxus said, "but there's not actually much to it. Once the spell's in you, it's always there, and you just sort of… shit, I dunno, focus all your magic power into it."

"How is that different from any other spell?" Lucy asked, thoroughly confused by his explanation. Clearly Laxus was not meant to be a teacher.

He ran a hand over his face in mild irritation. "It just is," he said. "You'll understand once the spell's in you. It's kind of alive, somehow. Here, let me just… give me your hand."

He held out a hand to her and as she placed her palm on his, she felt suddenly very small. She'd never really considered herself to be petite— she was about average height— but with Laxus standing a foot taller than her and with his massive hand practically swallowing hers, it was a startling enough contrast in size to catch her off-guard. His hand was easily four or five times the size of hers and it would have scared her if she didn't know just where his strength was aimed these days. But she was pretty sure Laxus would rather die than bring harm to any of his guildmates ever again. He'd grown up a lot, changed a lot, just as they all had, and Lucy felt as nearly everyone else in the guild did, deep down: as long as Laxus was around, she was safe. She would have laughed herself stupid if you'd told her that two (or was it nine, now?) years ago, but it was the truth.

And so despite the moment of astonishment, she placed her hand in his with no fear.

Laxus's hand was very warm and it felt odd, like there was a static charge on his skin, not quite enough to actually shock her, but enough to raise the hair on her arm and put a slight humming in her bones. She wondered if this was why he was always refusing to shake people's hands when his many admirers flocked around him.

When she looked up, he was watching her with that blank intensity of his. Once she made eye contact, he gave a tiny tilt of his head, and she nodded.

His large fingers tightened around hers, and then liquid fire flooded Lucy's veins, the seeds of an ancient spell taking root in her blood and bone.

"So you're saying that Laxus's magic has recovered despite the anti-ethernano poisoning..." Lucy says, trailing away as the implications hit her.

"But his body never has, yes." Freed finishes the thought grimly. "As I said, I can't confirm it. He won't even talk to me about it. Not even me…"

His expression is so sad and it makes Lucy's oft-broken heart ache for him. She glances down at Natsu's pale face and stifles a sigh; she knows the feeling of being so close and yet so far from a beloved one all too well. She decides immediately that she absolutely cannot tell Freed about Laxus's gift to her.

Well, perhaps gift is the wrong word. In light of the news that Laxus's health might be failing him, it feels more like a responsibility. He charged her with protecting their family. For some reason, out of all the members of their guild, she's the one he singled out and chose to be the bearer of one of the three sacred spells. She still doesn't know quite what his reasoning was, but now she understands better why he felt the need to entrust anyone at all with Fairy Law.

But Freed doesn't need to know that. He's worried enough over someone he loves, and she doesn't need to add to his fear. Lucy reaches up and sets a reassuring hand on his shoulder once more.

After all, protecting the guild doesn't just mean warding off outside enemies. Sometimes, protecting her family means sheltering their hearts, as well.

A/N part deux- Can you tell I'm just a bit worried about my static cling trashbag? Ahhh I'm more inclined to think that if Lucy is going to use any of the three grand fairy spells it's going to be because she's the one to wield the power of Lumen Histoire, but this idea just won't leave me alone, so it demanded writing.

Any feedback you have time or inclination to leave would be greatly valued!