Storm Clouds and Starry Skies
Authors Note: Hi this is my first story ever so please have some patience with me. Main pairing will be LaLu. Lucy will not have any sort of major relationship or feelings regarding Natsu throughout this story so if that bothers you then stop reading now, seriously I don't see Natsu as a possible romantic interest for anyone. Major plot changes ahead as well. Bit of warning; I use the mannerisms and terminology from the anime rendition rather than the manga so if that bothers you than congratulations for making it farther than the hardcore NaLu fans. Also there will be some slight Loki bashing. Don't get me wrong, I love Loki as a character, the bashing just kind of fits into my idea for this story, in my head anyways. This story will remain rated T but I might change it in the future; let me know you feel about that. Also I apologize if the fight scenes aren't very good, I'm just gonna describe them as they appear in my head. Lastly, constructive criticism is welcome, flamers and haters are not.
Laxus: Get to the damn story already, you're boring people!
M3RC3R: *smirks deviously* Ooooh someone's excited to meet the new and improved Lucy.
Laxus: *blushes before growing a scowl* STOP STALLING AND START TYPING!
M3RC3R: *starts sweating bullets* AYE SIR!
P.S. For this and all future chapters: I OWN NOTHING.
Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter (yeah I know real original)
It was a beautiful day in the port town of Hardgeon when Lucy Heartfilia found herself in a magic shop haggling over the price of a gate key.
"Now how much did you say it was for that key?" Lucy asked with a cute pout while showing off a generous amount of cleavage. (In this story just picture Lucy wearing Lucy Ashley's outfit minus the tattoo. It's more practical since she'll be taking a more active role in close combat situations)
"I said 20,000 jewel" replied the seemingly unfazed shop clerk.
After being in the store for nearly an hour she managed to get the key for 19,000 jewel.
How the hell could he get a load of all this and not give me a better discount!? She thought while mentally gesturing to her curvaceous figure.
Oh well, it's not like it put that big of a dent in my- her thoughts were cut short by a loud yell consisting of: "IT'S THE THUNDER LEGION!" Followed by "THEY'RE SO COOOOLLLL!" (Wonder who said that?)
Recovering from her daze, Lucy processed what she just heard. The Thunder Legion...AS IN FAIRY TAIL'S THUNDER LEGION!?
She rushed to the crowd of people and while struggling to break through the wall of limbs she caught glimpse the one and only Laxus Dreyar. I have to talk to him. She thought with renewed determination.
Laxus Dreyar was annoyed enough after completing his idea of the most boring mission ever that brought him to Hardgeon in the first place. His team was tired of back to back S-Class missions so they set off to destroy a brand new dark guild that sprung up near the port town, if you could even call them a guild. They were more like a band of punks playing thug life. And now he was being mobbed by fans. Just fucking beautiful. He thought sarcastically.
Suddenly he felt someone bump into him from behind.
Turning angrily he started, "Who the hell just….." He froze when he saw her.
Beautiful was the only word his brain could conjure to describe the girl on the ground before him. From her golden blonde hair to her chocolate colored eyes, with the innocent face of an angel atop a body built for sin. Forget skipping a beat, his heart stopped altogether.
After processing his sudden surge of emotions only two thoughts crossed his mind. Who is this beautiful girl and what the hell has she done to me?
Lucy was sitting on her knees massaging her bruised rump, and her ego, from the fall before she realized who exactly she just ran into. As she looked up, her vision was filled with a six foot five wall of muscle, seriously this guy is built like a brick wall, and he was angry to say the least. Quickly she jumped to her feet, bowed her head, and began profusely apologizing to the irritated man before her.
"I am really really really sorry Mr. Dreyar, I didn't mean to run into you like that, it's just that I saw you there and there was the really thick crowd and I really want to talk to you about something that's really important to me and-" she was cut off when a large hand clamped over her mouth.
"Ok Blondie, first of all, you just said 'really' way too many times, second of all, don't forget to breathe, and lastly what are you some kind of fangirl or something 'cuz I don't have time for that." Laxus stated, mildly less irritated after watching her animated rambling.
"FANGIRL!? Who are you calling fangirl, you overgrown sparkplug!? I happen to be a wizard too." She spat while starring defiantly at him and trying suppress a blush at her close proximity to this god of a man; seriously she was angry not blind.
In the background, Bixlow and Evergreen were struggling to keep Freed from skewering the blonde for disrespecting his 'Laxus-sama'.
Laxus on the other hand was thoroughly shocked to say the least. She's smokin' hot and feisty; now that's my kinda woman…..Dammit where the hell did that come from!? In actuality, the rumors about Laxus' hit it and quit behavior when it comes to the fairer sex are completely unfounded. They're merely speculation based on the fact that he has a slight tendency to being a total dick ninety-eight percent of the time. Laxus is actually quite particular about the women he lets into his life and so far the blonde before him was 3 for 3 in traits that get his blood pumping: cute face, a body to kill and die for, and fiery attitude that doesn't take shit from anyone. Yes, he would be seriously considering making a move on this girl if he wasn't so stunned at the moment.
The Thunder Legion were currently awaiting to witness the inevitable wrath of their vengeful leader, two out of three of them even felt sorry for the poor girl. That is until they were dumbfounded by the chuckle that left his lips.
"Ha, sparkplug, good one Blondie. I like your attitude. So you said you're a wizard huh? What kind of magic do you use?" Laxus inquired.
"Um…I'm a Celestial Wizard. I have contracts with nine of the twelve zodiac spirits as well as contracts with a few silver key spirits. I can also do a few things that no normal celestial wizard is capable of." She bragged while taking in the amused expression on his face. Wow, he's actually pretty handsome without that scowl or look of total indifference on his face.
"Wow. Not bad blondie. You've got my attention. So, what makes you so unique?" He said while managing to sound amused and mildly impressed at the same time.
"Well I can do what is known as a partial gate opening. Basically I can summon slightly weaker versions of my spirits powers and abilities at the cost of less magic. For example, Partial Gate Opening: Gate of the Golden Bull." After casting the spell a large axe appeared embedded into the ground beside Lucy which she proceeded to lift and then twirl around with seemingly little effort before dispelling it.
"Well damn. Color me impressed Blondie. That must come in handy when fights get up close and personal. If memory serves, that's where celestial wizards usually have the most trouble." He inquired with uncharacteristically genuine interest.
"Yes and no. While it would come in handy, I've actually mastered a different type of combat magic for close combat and other situations when I can't get to my keys." She explained.
"Care to share?" He asked while thinking, did I just rhyme? Lame.
"It's a light element magic known as Regulus. It was actually a gift from the leader of the zodiac for always being respectful to my spirits and not treating them like shields or pets. I don't care what anyone thinks. Any decent celestial wizard treats their spirits like partners and understands that they're living beings too." She stated proudly while gesturing to the gold bands on either of her hands.
". . . ." Laxus was at a loss for words. Seeing her speak with so much fire and passion about her feelings for her spirits made him feel something he couldn't quite understand but was impressed none the less. "You know. You're really something else Blondie. You've got my respect." He admitted contently.
"Oh um thanks that means a lot coming from someone like you." She said while blushing furiously from the look of pure admiration adorning his face. "By the way Sparkplug, my name is Lucy and you're blond too." She deadpanned. "Also I was hoping I could ask you a favor when I first came over here." She asked while shuffling nervously.
"Duly noted but I'm already used to Blondie. As far as the favor though, eh why not? This has been a pretty interesting conversation so shoot." He answered with mild interest.
"Well….I want to come with you back to FairyTail so I can join your guild." She stated with renewed vigor.
"That's surprising. I figured someone as strong as you would already have a guild but if that's what you want then you got yourself a deal, Lucy." He answered with an amused smirk.
Lucy then jumped into the air and flung her arms around Laxus' neck out of sheer happiness. "OH THANK YOU SO MUCH LAXUS! I could kiss you!" Then she jumped back turning five shades of red realizing what she just did and said.
Laxus, refusing to miss the opportunity to mess with his new favorite blonde lean in next to her ear and, in a low and husky voice, said, "I definitely wouldn't complain if you did."
At that moment they were both forced to step back when a bright light erupted from between them. Lucy's look of embarrassment quickly changed to annoyance knowing full well what was about to happen while Laxus just looked confused.
The light quickly faded and in its stead a man appeared. The man was average height with spiky burnt orange hair that vaguely resembled a lion's mane and wore a pair of light blue tinted sunglasses. He also wore a black suit with the jacket unbuttoned, a white dress shirt, a red tie, and the same gold bands as Lucy on either of his hands.
Laxus deduced that this must be one of Lucy's spirits but he didn't see her touch her keys so he was confused as to what this man was doing here.
The man marched toward Laxus either completely ignoring or oblivious to the pointed glare Lucy was sending him. "Loki, will you knock it off I am so sick of this!" Lucy shouted impatiently.
Loki ignored the words of his master and proceeded to address the large lightning mage. "You better get away from my fiancé right now!" He growled.
"Fiancé?" Laxus asked, too stunned to register the threat he was just issued.
Lucy, thoroughly fed up with this situation, roughly grabbed Loki by the collar and jerked him away from Laxus, putting herself between them. "Dammit to hell Loki! How many times do I have to say it before it sinks in? We. Are not. ENGAGED! And you can't just go forcing your gate open every time a guy shows even the slightest bit of interest in me." She ranted while thoroughly pissed.
"Come now my Princess, I know my protective instincts bother you sometimes but there's no need to deny our love." He said pulling a total one-eighty from his previous demeanor.
At this point Laxus decided to step up, he refused to back down from anyone, even if he is one of Blondie's spirits. "The only one that appears to be in denial here is you pal. So why don't you just respect your master's wishes and Back. Off." He growled the last to words because he knew the situation was making Lucy uncomfortable and wanted it end as soon as possible. Why he was feeling so protective of the blonde in front of him, he wasn't sure, he just knew that something in the back of his head was telling him to help her and he was too aggravated by this guy to question it.
Lucy looked at him with a grateful smile, understanding that he was just trying to help.
Loki glared at Laxus. "Why don't you just butt out since this is none of your business?" He snarled.
Laxus was about to let his fist join the conversation but Lucy spoke up first. "Loki, I am sick of this. If you pull another stunt like this and continue making these untrue claims about our partnership, I will be forced to do something about it. Now, Close Gate of the Lion!"
"Lucy wait! Can't we tal-", he was cut off as he was forced back to the spirit world.
"Laxus I am so sorry about him. He can be a serious pain sometimes." She said while bowing deeply.
Laxus just waved it off like he wasn't about to beat Loki to a pulp. "Don't worry about it Blondie. Sorry to say this but I put up with annoying loud mouths on a regular basis and so will you when we get to FairyTail. Let's just say that calling my guild a 'rowdy bunch' is a serious understatement."
Lucy was shocked that Laxus was still willing to take her after Loki's outburst. Geez, where do all these rumors about him being a jerk come from? I mean yeah, he likes pushing peoples buttons but it's he doesn't seem to mean anything by it. If anything he's been really nice about this whole thing. "Wait you mean you're still gonna take me to FairyTail even after all that!?"
Laxus was slightly taken aback by this. "Of course. I'm not a total dick after all."
Lucy just looked up at him with a heartwarming and gentle smile. "Thanks Laxus. I really appreciate this." She said softly.
Laxus looked away to hide his growing blush. Seriously what is this chick doing to me? "Yeah whatever. Let's just get to the train station so we can got outta here."
As the pair of blondes started for the train station they failed to notice the three remaining members of the Thunder Legion standing stock still with horrified looks on their faces, petrified by what they just saw. Laxus Dreyar, the Thunder God of FairyTail and one of the strongest wizards in Fiore, just blushed.
Evergreen was the first to speak. "Did….you….just….see?"
Bixlow followed. "Did the boss just….?"
Freed quickly recovered, however. "We must protect my*cough* our Laxus-sama from that harlot!" He growled. He still hasn't gotten over her outburst of blatant disrespect earlier by unceremoniously dubbing their fearless leader 'sparkplug'.
"Dude calm down, she seems pretty cool to me." Bixlow sweat dropped.
"Yes, all in all, she seems rather pleasant to be around. And Laxus appears to have taken quite a liking to her. Perhaps she'll be good for him, help him open up some." Evergreen stated.
Freed just sulked and started after the blonde duo mumbling something about 'traitors'.
(One Train Ride Later)
The Thunder Legion and their plus one all stood outside the FairyTail guild hall. Lucy was visibly trembling from either excitement or nervousness; no one could tell which. Laxus was simply observing her with an amused expression while the rest of the Thunder Legion stood behind him silently. Freed was still sulking after his declaration of vengeance was brushed off so easily.
"So, you ready for this Blondie?" Laxus asked, still amused by her apparent discomfort.
"I'm not sure Sparkplug. What if I don't fit in?" She asked, clearly distressed that FairyTail might not accept her.
"Please, after what I've seen so far, you're gonna fit in just fine." He reassured, clearly amused by the return of his nickname.
Lucy felt a small wave of relief wash over her. "Thanks. I needed that. Alright, let's do this!"
As the guild doors burst open, Lucy was greeted by the sight of a typical day in FairyTail. This place is amazing! Everyone is laughing and having a good time. There's a girl drinking straight from a barrel, there's a guy taking his clothes off for some reason, oh and there's a blue cat that appears to be having a conversation with that pink haired guy taking bites out of a fire on a stick…oh and the cat just sprouted wings. . . . IS EVERYONE IN THIS GUILD INSANE!?
Lucy was about to voice her concerns when the pink haired fire eater yelled out from across the room. "LAXUS, YOU'RE BACK! FIGHT MEEE!"
"Knock it off Natsu. I've got something more important to deal with at the moment. We have a new girl looking to join the guild" Laxus stated, unaffected by Natsu's antics.
Natsu, on the other hand was completely unfazed by the news. "Ok then new girl, FIGHT ME!"
Laxus was starting to get annoyed now but was interrupted before he could voice his displeasure.
"Natsu right? As in Natsu the Salamander? Sure I'll fight you." Lucy stated confidently. She then held up her right fist and placed her left hand on her bicep and chanted, "Oh Regulus, Lend me your strength!" Her body began to radiate with a golden light before it focused around her clenched fists as she took up a fighting stance.
Natsu was excited and ready to go. "Oh yeah, I'm all fired up now!" He shouted, his fists wrapped in flames.
"Blondie, are you sure about this? Despite his overconfidence, Natsu is no pushover. And he's too stupid to know when to give up." Laxus asked, his voice betraying the slightest hint of concern in spite of his best effort to sound indifferent.
Lucy just looked to him and smirked. "Don't worry Sparkplug; I can handle this." She stated confidently with a wink.
"Alright but you asked for it." He relented while fighting down a blush at her antics.
"Enough talk. LET'S DO THIS!" Natsu roared as he lunged at Lucy with his fist cocked back.
Lucy knew she couldn't match Natsu's power so she had to beat him with skill. Before Natsu's fist could make contact with her face she ducked just to the side of it, getting inside of his guard. She delivered two lightning fast jabs to his gut before knocking him a few inches off the ground with a vicious uppercut and sending him flying backwards from roundhouse to the side of his head. All of her attacks empowered by Regulus causing much more significant damage.
Natsu groaned standing up; the roundhouse was fairly powerful and left him in a daze. It goes without saying that Lucy's legs weren't just for show.
"Come on. Don't tell me that's all you got Salamander. If it is then the stories give you too much credit." Lucy announced tauntingly, goading him into losing it so she can take him down systematically while he's in a blind fury.
"Grrrr, I'll show you not to mess with me!" Natsu roared preparing for his next attack. "Fire Dragon Roar!" A torrent of flame burst from Natsu's mouth, rocketing at Lucy.
Lucy was prepared, however. "Partial Gate Opening: Gate of the Water Bearer: Giant Vortex" She shouted while aiming Aquarius' key at Natsu's roar. A blue magic circle spawned in front of the key and from it a large cyclone of water burst out on a collision course with the equally large blast of fire. As the two attacks collided, both were negated and replaced by a heavy plume of steam.
Using the steam to her advantage, Lucy slipped into position a few feet behind Natsu using the stealth skills acquired from her training with Loki. (A/N: What? Loki is a lion, lions hunt, hunting requires stealth; it's not that big of a stretch.) However, Natsu's nose quickly found her through the steam.
He reared back his flaming fist and charged in the direction of her scent; little did he know, he was playing directly into her hands. As he saw her silhouette from inside the cloud he failed to notice that she had taken up her original stance from before the fight began. When she came into view he noticed the confident smirk on her face and felt his heart sink at the sudden realization that he fell for something.
"Lion Brilliance!" She cried, blinding Natsu with a bright flash of concentrated light energy. As she gathered her magic for the final blow she was surprised by Natsu blindly following through with his attack instead of stopping like she expected. His flame coated fist grazed her left shoulder leaving a nasty burn. In a last ditch attempt to end the fight before Natsu regained his bearings, Lucy fired off her final spell. Burying her fist in Natsu's gut she roared, "Regulus Impact". Light erupted from Lucy's fist and Natsu was engulfed by the visage of a lion's head made of light before he was sent flying across the guild and crashed into the wall on the far side leaving a sizable crater in the wall from the force of the impact.
Lucy dropped to one knee as a wave of exhaustion hit her. She had not completely mastered the use of Regulus Impact and as such needed a small window of time in order to prepare the magic necessary to cast the spell properly. Natsu had blown her concentration when his blind attack grazed her so when she cast the spell it used up considerably more magic than it would if she had had more time to prepare.
(Natsu POV)
Natsu groaned as he tried to get up. To say that the hit he just took knocked the wind out of him was an understatement. He was surprised he hadn't lost his lunch. As he tried to get up a sharp pain shot through his gut. She had probably bruised some of his internal organs as well as cracked a few ribs. Even Natsu knew it was time to call it quits, he knew that one wrong move could land him in the infirmary if he took a hit in the wrong spot so reluctantly he stayed down.
(Normal POV)
Lucy was relieved to see that Natsu was staying down while Laxus was surprised that he was smart enough to not get back up. She wasn't sure that she could keep going after wasting so much magic on that last attack. As she tried to get up she stumbled. She braced herself for when she hit the floor only to realize that she wasn't falling. When she opened her eyes she saw Laxus looking down at her with a bored look on his face, though she noticed the worried look in his eyes, and his arm snaked around her waist. "Are you ok?" He asked, desperately trying to sound indifferent. She smiled up at him with a light blush on her cheeks, "Yeah, I'm just tired. Thanks for catching me." She responded softly. He helped steady her on her feet before letting go. She could have sworn she had heard him mumble 'Anytime' under his breath before he stepped back but brushed it off as her imagination. Why would he like me? We just met this morning. And besides he probably has women fawning over him all the time anyways. She was brought out of her musings when a young girl with long blue hair followed by a flying white cat similar to the blue one she saw earlier came running up to her with a concerned expression. Seriously what's with the flying cats? "Excuse me miss but I've already finished healing Natsu. Would you like me to tend to your burns as well?" She asked timidly, wary of the woman who just beat up her surrogate big brother. "Yes, thank you . . ." Lucy paused waiting for the girl's name. "Wendy, Wendy Marvell. I'm FairyTail's Sky Dragon Slayer and designated healer." She replied with a little more confidence.
Lucy looked over to where Natsu landed and saw him standing, good as new. He was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head while being scolded by a girl with short white hair and blue eyes for picking a fight with the new girl. She turned back to Wendy and thought, guess this girl really can use healing magic. And she's adorable, who could say no to such cute little girl . . . plus my shoulder reeeeally hurts.
"Yes please, I would really appreciate that Wendy. By the way I'm Lucy." She stated warmly. Wendy finished healing her shoulder before speaking again. "There, all better. It was very nice meeting you Miss Lucy." Wendy said with a shy smile.
Lucy, letting go of any semblance of self-control, scooped Wendy up in tight hug. "You are just the cutest thing in the whole world Wendy!" Lucy exclaimed happily before the white cat from earlier interrupted. "PUT HER DOWN THIS INSTANT YOU HOOLIGAN! Wendy is a young girl, not some doll you can pick up and play with!" She scolded as Lucy put Wendy down, both looking mildly embarrassed. "Carla, it's ok. I'm fine, see?" Wendy sighed, wondering if her best friend was ever going to let go of the whole 'overbearing mother' routine. Lucy stepped in. "No, it's my fault Wendy. You're just so adorable, I couldn't help myself." She stated with a sheepish smile. Wendy just blushed and quietly mumbled 'thank you' while Carla continued, "Just be more thoughtful next time." Then they both turned and walked away (or flew in Carla's case).
"Well that was fun but let's go. You need to speak with the Master." Laxus said, with an amused smirk, clearly entertained by the antics of his new favorite blonde. Why do I get so soft around her? And better yet why doesn't it bother me that I do? He mused to himself.
"What's the rush? Trying to get me marked as soon as possible so I have to stick around? I must say, I'm flattered you care so much, Sparkplug." She said playfully, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
'Marked', that word caused Laxus' member to twitch and stirred something inside of him he had never felt before. In that moment he knew that he wanted, no, had to make this girl his. He leaned in close to her and with his face right next to her ear, he spoke softly, "Yeah, something like that." He then turned and started towards the master's office. Leaving a very red faced Lucy to restart her brain before following after him. He didn't know what this girl had done to him but in that moment, he couldn't bring himself to care.
