Thunder To My Lightning

by SwiftDragonfly

A mysterious woman joins Fairy Tail. Her magic is incredible if you get the chance to see it- or more accurately, hear it. Laxus tries to join the dating world with a new outlook on life. A cute love story. Laxusxoc.

1. Chapter 1

Laxus One Shot

Thunder to my Lightning

Seeing his Fairy Tail comrades was strange for Laxus.

Even after what he did, they were smiling and laughing with him, as if nothing had happened. The Thunder Legion was excited at his appearance, which wasn't surprising, but he would have thought that the others would be upset by his arrival. Some glares at the very least.

But no- the only person that seemed mildly annoyed by his presence was his grandfather.

There were even some new faces in the group that he both recognized and didn't. He had to do a double take when he saw Lisanna, since last he had checked, she was dead. Wendy had joined after he left the guild, but he'd known about her by socializing with the Thunder Legion once or twice.

And then there was the new girl approaching him, looking to be about his age with an odd air of familiarity to her. He couldn't place who she was, but he knew he'd seen her somewhere before. Maybe she was a new member when he'd left?

"Your name is Laxus, right?" She asked as she approached him, interrupting the one-sided conversation he'd had with Bickslow. The seith mage turned up and looked at her in surprise, silent for the first time since the blonde had sat down.

"Yeah." He replied, his cold blue eyes meeting her warm brown ones. A grin tugged at her small pink lips, further annoying Laxus, since he couldn't place how he knew her. She wore a tribal looking outfit, with a modern design that complimented her figure; her well toned abdomen was visible and loose harem pants tied off just below her knees.

"It's been a long time." She spoke, and his brows knitted together, still trying to remember how he knew her.

"I'm sorry, how do I know you?"

"I don't blame you for not remembering. My dad implanted the dragonslayer lacrima in you." She said, and finally able to place her in his memory, an uncharacteristic smile tugged at his own lips.

"Eeeeh? Seriously?" Bickslow asked, his babies echoing his surprise.

"Now I remember. You were the girl running around in mud." He said, and she giggled cutely. "Nari, right? How's your dad doing?"

"He died shortly after that."

"I'm sorry to hear. He was a good man."

"Thanks. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. I'm going to be helping Wendy heal everyone." She said awkwardly with a small wave, taking a step back.

"It was nice seeing you again." Laxus said, still smiling at the memory of them as kids. As she walked away, he caught himself staring, and then turned and realized that Bickslow was grinning at him. "What are you smiling at?"

"You liiiiike her." Bickslow teased, his babies joining in the fun. "Like her, like her!"

"Laxus, Elfman did mean things to me while you were gone, are you going to punish him for me?" Evergreen interrupted before he could deny the accusation.

1.

Being reinstated as a member of Fairy Tail was also a strange experience.

Once again, the only person that gave him any judging look was his grandfather. The others looked at him as a long term friend, and although he had missed that look greatly, couldn't help but feel guilty every time he saw it. He was responsible for a lot of pain and suffering, and being brought back to the guild felt like a cop out.

But there was one pair of eyes he didn't mind, and he hated how quickly his team caught onto it. He barely even spoke to the woman, talked about her, or even looked at her, yet his team somehow knew that he was thinking about her. It was a harmless crush, and she wasn't particularly unique compared to his previous crushes, but something about the way she looked at him caused his stomach to flutter.

All he really knew about her was that her dad was a world renowned healer, and that she only used that magic on occasion. Unlike Wendy, she rarely used her healing magic openly, and he'd overheard her telling the young dragonslayer that she couldn't teach her any of her magic. Despite both of them being skilling healing mages, neither of them were open about sharing their magic with others.

Using his reinstatement as a Fairy Tail wizard as an excuse to party, Laxus found himself in the middle of the rowdy group of wizards, mentally preparing himself for the brawl that would inevitably result. Drinks were being passed around, drinking contests were starting, and silly dancing was taking place.

The smell of alcohol stung his nostrils, along with the usual smells of his guild.

His eyes locked with the brunette in the corner of the room, who seemed to be avoiding the crowded part of the small Guild Hall. She was calmly sipping away at her drink while reading a book on the table, seeming uninterested with the party.

A fist landed on Laxus's jaw, forcing his attention away from her as his body smashed into a table. On his way down he had bumped into someone else, and in no time, the fighting had begun.

He smiled.

It had been a long time since he participated in one of his Guild's fights.

Natsu was the first person he hit, not hard enough to knock him out or anything, but enough to get the young dragonslayer 'fired up'.

2.

He stood there for a ridiculously long time, trying to decide whether to approach her or not. It was a nice sunny day, and while some of the mages owere fighting or doing chores to help clean up, most of them were lounging and enjoying the sun. Nari was no different, laying on her stomach with a book open in front of her, comfortable blanket protecting her from the grass. Her long brown hair was tied back in a messy bun, a variety of small braids and beads mixed in.

Feeling like an idiot just standing there and staring, after some three minutes, he resigned to getting a lemonade from Mira and socializing with her for a bit.

He'd never been self-conscious when it came to women, so it was a new feeling, but he was also out of practice. After the Fantasia incident he hadn't been interested in dating or socializing, spending most of his time alone in the forest or traveling. In fact he didn't realize how starved for human interaction he was until he returned, and how out of practice he was at talking to people.

In the past, he would simply walk up to a girl, give them his signature smile and cheesy pick up line. Then he'd joke about how cheesy he was being, and after a few compliments, they were putty in his hand.

But that was the old Laxus.

How did the new Laxus talk to girls?

"Have you tried talking to her?" Mira asked, and the blonde shook his head, turning his attention back to her. He must have spaced out, because he couldn't remember what he'd been talking to her about.

"Who?"

"Nari." She said with a smile, and he frowned at her.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Only to the people that know you well." She giggled, and Laxus relaxed, now taking a seat on one of the bar stools. Almost everyone was outside at the moment, so they were the only ones in the Guild Hall. As she busied herself with cleaning up, he continued talking to her. "Have you asked her out yet?"

"No."

"Why not? She's a nice girl. A bit quiet, but since you got back, so have you."

"What's she like?" He asked curiously, sipping at his glass of lemonade.

"I don't know her too well, honestly. She keeps to herself, does solo missions mostly… I know she uses healing magic, but other than that, her magic is a mystery. She did something to impress the Guild Master since she was selected for the S-Class trials." She spoke, and the blonde listened intently, hoping to find any useful piece of information.

"Her dad was the one that implanted lacrima in me." He said, and her eyebrows raised, surprised at the information.

"So you two are childhood friends?" She asked, and he shrugged.

"Not really. I only met her briefly a couple of times. She grew up in a small village to the north, and her mom was a native. Apparently her dad died a few years ago." He said, relaying pretty much everything he knew about her.

"Sounds like you know more about her than anyone in the guild." Mira commented with a smile, and he grunted, annoyed that she didn't have more information on her. "She seems to like reading. Maybe you can ask her about books?"

He pondered the idea for a second, suddenly glad that he had talked to her about his problem. "That's a good idea. Thanks Mira."

After she nodded and wished him luck, he stood from his chair, drink still in his hand. To his disappointment, as the bright rays of the sun nearly blinded him on his exit from the Guild Hall, he found the brunette and her blanket missing.

His blue eyes searched the field for her, but she was nowhere in sight.

3.

"Have you asked her out yet?" The old man asked casually, causing the blond to shoot him a glare.

"I'm working on it." He replied, and went back to looking at the tribal woman across the room, who remained oblivious to his stares.

"Better work fast. I heard that you have some competition."

"Who?" He asked too quickly, causing the old man to chuckle.

"I overheard that Nab was planning to ask her out."

"Nab? Tch." He dismissed, not needing to look at the overweight man to know that he was no competition. Maybe 7 years ago when he was fit and moderately attractive, but the man had let himself go over the years, and to Laxus's knowledge had no redeeming qualities.

"It's funny that out of all the women, you're interested in her."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked heatedly, a stray line of electricity dancing along his exposed arm.

"She uses thunder magic." Makarov said before taking a sip of his drink, watching his grandson's expression change from angry, to confused, and then amused.

"No shit, seriously?"

"I've only seen her use her magic once, but it was impressive."

"Impressive enough to select her for the S-Class trials." Laxus surmised, and the old man nodded. "Only seeing her magic once convinced you?"

"Well, she's also had an excellent track record, and her father was a good friend of mine. Do you remember him?"

"Yeah, he was a good man." He commented, just before a firey Natsu slammed into him and knocked him out of his seat.

4.

"Hey Nari." Laxus greeted casually, walking up to her. She was currently laying on her blanket and basking in the sun, much like the other day when he first tried to approach her. Her head tilted to peer up at him, squinting against the bright sun.

"Hey Laxus. How's it going?"

"Pretty good. How are you?"

"Pretty good." She replied, waiting for him to continue talking.

"You want to get coffee sometime?" He asked quickly, feeling a wash of relief at finally getting the question out there.

A soft hum vibrated from her, and the sound was so odd that it actually caught him off guard. "Sure, why not?" She said with a smile, and it took him a second to realize that she'd accepted. After blinking at her for a moment, she giggled. "When and where?"

"Uh, tomorrow at noon, The Sunflower Café a few blocks from here?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then?"

"Yeah. See you then." He said with a soft smile, and walked away, internally cheering. Even when someone bumped into his shoulder, he wasn't the slightest upset by it. The other person was, though.

"Oi, watch where you're going, prick." The shorter man stated, turning and grabbing his arm. Laxus looked down at him, like his was an annoying bug, and didn't recognize the older man. He looked to be in his late thirties, black hair slicked back and blue tailored suit. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, and smelled as if he'd bathed in cologne and cigarettes.

The blond raised an eyebrow at him, looking down at the hand just above his elbow.

"Apologize." He stated, and nodded his head towards his men, who were now circling them. They were also in tailored suits and sunglasses, but had military cut hair. There were 10 in total, not including the man on his arm.

"I suggest that you let go of my arm." Laxus spoke, giving him his best threatening look he could muster.

"Uncle Fester, let go of his arm." A female voice spoke behind Laxus, and he internally cringed, recognizing it. Not two minutes after landing a date and he's already made a bad impression on her family.

"Oh, Kaminari, it's so nice to see you!" The suited man said sweetly, immediately releasing the blonde's arm. Laxus turned so that he could face the woman, surprised at the hostile expression she was hosting to the older man that tried to hug her.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked him, freezing the man in his tracks. He immediately put his arms down as if deflated, acting disappointed at not getting to hug her.

"Can't an old man visit his niece? Does there have to be a reason?"

"Yes." She replied coldly, her eyes briefly landing on the men that were now spreading out in their area, obviously ready to attack. Laxus stayed put, also eyeing the men and ready to intervene if necessary.

"Look, I have a friend, and his son is ill. None of the doctors can do anything for him, so I was hoping-"

"If your friend wants to request me for a job, he'll have to go through my guild and request one."

"The boy is on borrowed time, and-"

"Then he better hurry." She told him, and a nervous high-pitched chuckle escaped the man's lips as he loosened his tie. "If he gets passed our background check and my Guild Master thinks it's worth my time to heal your 'friend's' kid, then I'll be happy to take a look at him."

"You see, I don't have that kind of time." He said, glancing at his men. "Are you really willing to let this kid, this 6 year old little boy, die because of protocol? Because you have trust issues with me?"

"I'm not my parents; I'm not going to let your little sob story get me killed. Either make an official request or leave."

"We're not leaving here empty handed." One of the men spoke, stepping forward and easily standing 2 feet taller than her.

"Is that so?" She asked, but as she spoke, all of the men crumbled to their knees holding their ears in pain. "Because I think you are." As she spoke again, they all cringed and yelled out in pain, falling sideways on the grass in fetal position.

Laxus watched them fall curiously, having heard a strange distortion coming from the young woman as she spoke. Since gramps had mentioned that she used thunder magic, he guessed that she controlled sound waves, which was why she sounded so strange.

"Are you going to leave, or do I have to make you leave, uncle?" She asked the man, who was the only suited one to be standing. He was visibly shaking and sweating.

"W-w-we'll m-make an o-o-official r-req-quest." He said, turning to leave. The wounded suits picked themselves up and left as well, cursing all the while and helping guide each other walk.

"Sorry about that." Nari said, redirecting her attention back to Laxus. "My uncle is a jerk."

"We've all got family like that." He said with a shrug, his chest fluttering at the sound of her giggle again. "That was pretty impressive magic you used. I see why gramps chose you for the S-Class trials."

"Thanks." She replied, and after a moment of silence, Laxus started to turn to leave again.

"See you tomorrow." He repeated, and she said the same, walking back to her previous spot. As the blonde made his way back to his team, who had been waiting anxiously the entire time, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"That looked intense." Fried commented, appearing much more awkward than usual.

"More importantly, what'd she say, man?" Bickslow asked, his babies repeating his question fervently while dancing around him. Evergreen was also looking eager to hear his answer, smiling giddily at the lightning man.

"We're having coffee tomorrow." He said with a shrug, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. To his embarrassment, the group staring hollering and cheering in excitement, jumping on him and congratulating him enthusiastically.

His blue eyes briefly glanced back at the girl reading her book, catching her looking at him and watched as she went back to reading, smiling to herself. A subtle blush spread across his cheeks.

5.

After ordering their coffee, Laxus and Nari found themselves sitting comfortably outside at a small table. It was a sunny day and the street was buzzing with life as shoppers entered and exited the various shops.

"You look nice." She complimented. The blond was wearing a shirt that Evergreen had insisted he wear, which was a white button down shirt with a Celtic styled sunflower covering part of his chest and shoulder.

"Thanks. So do you… I like how you did your hair." He complimented, referring to the curls in her hair. Most of her hair was pulled back in a loose braid, but there were a few pieces left framing her face, curling into spirals.

"Thanks."

"So… how's your mom doing?"

"She died a couple years ago."

"I'm sorry, that must be tough."

"It was. How's your dad?" She said, effectively returning the conversation back to him.

"He's off somewhere plotting against my grandfather. I haven't seen him in years."

"What about your mom?"

"She bailed when I was little." He said, and looked up as the waitress brought them their coffee, thanking her before returning his attention to the woman across from him. "I guess neither of us have happy families."

"I guess not."

They both chuckled awkwardly, adding their sugar and cream to their drinks, and then sipping at the warm liquid. "Seen any good movies lately?"

Their conversation continued in that polite fashion, both of them trying to stay clear of talking about family again. By the end they managed to find some common ground in movies and books, and Laxus had managed to set a second date.

However, the announcement awaiting them at the Guild Hall would have to put it on hold.

"'Grand Magic Games'?" He repeated, and his team nodded.

"It's 3 months away, and everyone is making plans for their training. Where do you think we should go?" Bickslow asked, watching his leader's shoulder's slump. "Unless someone wants to stay behind to make out with a certain someone?" He asked with a grin and tongue hanging out.

"Our usual place should work for training." He said, narrowing his eyes at the blue-haired man.

1.

Three months later when he arrived at his team's room, he was surprised at a couple of the people chosen. Namely the thunder magic user that sat on one of the beds, casually reading her book while the others chatted away on the balcony. He was also surprised that Juvia was there, since she had failed the first round of the s-ranked trials.

The Thunder Legion had gone their separate ways on the street, and he suspected that their hotel was nearby.

"Hey Nari, how have you been?" He asked, causing her to look up from her book. She bookmarked the page without looking at it, smiling at his presence.

"I've been good. How'd your training go?"

"It was alright. Not very exciting." He said with a shrug, and noticing that the only bed left was next to her, set his duffel bag on it. "Sorry our date got canceled for it."

"Don't worry about it. We've got another 5 hours until the midnight deadline, if you want to go somewhere?" She asked, a mischievous smirk dancing along her lips. Laxus couldn't help but smile, happy to see her again.

"Sure. Where do you want to go?"

"How about we walk around and see what's interesting?" She suggested, already jumping off of her small bed and linking arms with the taller man. He blushed at the contact and looked away, mumbling a 'sure' under his breath.

2.

The preliminary round had only just started, and Juvia and Gajeel wouldn't shut up. The blue haired woman continued searching for her love interest, babbling about him constantly, while the iron dragonslayer would scold her whenever she almost fell over the edge of the platform they were running on. They bickered like siblings, and the blond man was close to just knocking them out and carrying them the rest of the way.

After an unsuccessful first ten minutes of exploring the large and odd maze, the group stopped to plan their strategy. The place was so large that they hadn't run into anyone else yet, but the group had already decided to take them out if they did. It was a competition, after all.

"If you guys are willing to stay quiet for a few minutes, I can use my thunder magic to locate it." Nari stated, but everyone froze, feeling the ground beneath them starting to move.

"Everyone get to an edge!" Laxus ordered, and while Gajeel and Juvia managed to make it to a side, Mirajane was unlucky to stumble off the side first.

The lightning dragonslayer used his teleportation magic to grab her, reappearing on another surface that was now flat as the entire maze turned on its side. The cries of unlucky wizards rang out, and they saw bodies falling from the giant maze fall one after another.

That included Nari.

"Shit!" Gajeel cursed as he tried to grab the brunette before she fell, but it was too late- she was already falling off of the edge and headed towards the ground.

The sound of thunder bellowed out, causing those with sensitive hearing to cringe, and the blur of his teammate flying through the air caused him to blink in surprise.

Laxus watched in awe as the woman was sent flying into the air, in fact well above the maze itself and almost into the clouds. He heard her curse as she started to fall, seeming to move in the air in sync with the echo of her thunder, and her eyes were on the platform he was on, appearing to be trying to aim for it. Her face looked panicked as she fell, her cheeks flushed and clothing flapping against the wind.

When she landed on his platform, he held his ears in pain, since her landing was so loud and only a few feet from him.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked, looking around at her teammates. Juvia and Gajeel hopped over to their platform, nodding.

"Did you have to be so loud?" The iron dragonslayer asked, frowning as he picked at his ear. Laxus tried to pretend that it hadn't bothered him in the slightest, but his ears were still ringing, and he couldn't help but mentally curse at the woman.

"Sorry. On the plus side, I found a route to the middle of the maze, and I'm betting that that's where the finish line is." She said with an apologetic grin, and at this news, everyone smiled with renewed determination.

"Oh hell yeah! Lead the way, thunder girl!" Gajeel cheered, already forgetting about being upset with her.

Laxus couldn't help but smirk. She'd make a good addition to the Thunder Legion.

The rest of the preliminary round was a piece of cake. Once they'd made it to the center of the maze, it was easy enough to locate the finish line. Surprisingly they weren't first, but they did land second place, which warranted a round of high fives from the members.

In order to keep the winners of the preliminary rounds secret until the official first day of the games, the teams were given new rooms that were beneath the stadium. Each of the rooms were extremely decorative and large, much nicer than the hotel room they'd been provided with.

Once entering the doorway leading from the maze to the tunnels under the coliseum, they walked down a hallway that intersected with several other corridors, each having a number over it 1-8. In the middle was a large room with several couches and furniture, along with snacks on the center table.

As they entered the purple and green room, another group came in behind them.

Raven Tail.

"The little fairies beat us here." The gothic looking man spoke, glaring at them.

Fairy Tail tensed, sensing the hostility from them, and not yet realizing they'd hurt Wendy.

One of them, completely shrouded in black and a dark cloak, seemed to sniff the air and step closer to Nari. "I didn't think I'd find you so soon." It snickered, and the brunette gave him a questioning look, not knowing who it was. The creature reached its hands to its lips, revealing a strange and unique tattoo, causing her to stiffen.

Noticing the strange exchange, Laxus stepped in front of her protectively when the cloaked man had taken another step forward, arms folded over his chest. The dragonslayer gave one of his infamous glares, freezing the creature in its tracks.

Everyone had managed to find someone to glare at, so for a few minutes, there was only hostile glares and brief insults thrown at each other.

"Each corridor has a number on it. I'm guessing that each corridor is for whatever place the team came in?" Juvia asked, breaking the awkward silence that had enveloped the room.

Laxus was content with sending death glares at the dark figure, but felt a soft hand tug at his arm. He looked down to see the Nari was trying to pull him away, and he noticed that the rest of his team was leaving.

Sending one last threatening glare at them, he scoffed, turning and following them.

"That was intense." Mira spoke after a few minutes of walking, and when they finally came to a room labeled '2nd place', they stopped and entered.

"I didn't think my dad's guild would be competing. I wonder how they managed to be considered a legal guild." Laxus commented, immediately making his way to one of the couches on the side of the room. Nari took a seat on the other side of the couch, looking distracted and lost in her own thoughts.

"I hope my beloved Gray is alright." Juvia cried as she sat on one of the beds, effectively claiming it as her own.

"Hey, apparently we can order room service. Anyone up for pizza?" The iron dragonslayer asked after picking up a piece of paper by the entrance, not feeling tired in the slightest despite the late hour. After their strange encounter with the other guild, and Juvia's worry for her 'beloved', none of them were very tired at that point.

"I'm not very hungry, but I'm not very tired, either." Mira commented as she took a seat on the empty couch across from the couple.

"I'm up for food." Laxus stated.

"Juvia?" Gajeel asked, looking over at the woman that was hugging a pillow and muttering to herself, lost in her own world. Not feeling like yelling at her to get her attention, he simply redirected his gaze to the other person that hadn't voiced their opinion. "Thunder girl?"

She didn't answer, her eyes locked on a potted plant to her left, palm holding up the side of her face and propped against the couch side.

"Nari." Laxus spoke, a bit louder, and got the woman's attention. Her brown eyes turned and locked with his blue ones, and he was surprised by the emotion swirling in them: fear. "Do you want pizza?"

"No thanks." She muttered and then returned her attention to the plant.

"You okay?" He asked, suddenly realizing that her pulse was racing. With his heightened senses he could hear her heart beating wildly, and could see small beads of sweat forming on her flushed skin.

"Yeah." She muttered, still not looking at him. Since their recent two dates, he'd hoped that they'd gotten closer, but obviously not if she was lying to him.

"Who was that guy back there?"

"I dunno." She muttered, unconvincingly.

"That entire group gave me the jeebies." Gajeel announced as he plopped down next to Mira, spreading out and getting comfortable. "Pizza will be here in a half hour."

"They were quite strange." Mira agreed, now eyeing the woman across from her like Laxus, noticing her odd behavior. "Are you sure that you're okay, Nari? You look a bit pale."

"Just tired. I used a lot of my magic during the preliminaries." She said, turning her gaze to the white-haired mage.

"Gray –samaaaaa!" Juvia randomly screamed from her bed, temporarily gaining the attention of her team, before they went back to ignoring her.

"So… anyone know any team building games?" Gajeel asked, looking around at the group.

"Games? Really?" Laxus asked, causing the younger male to glare.

"It was just an idea. We are a team after all."

"Do they have booze here?" The blonde asked, his blue eyes wandering around the extravagant room and eventually landing on a minifridge.

"Do you think that's such a good idea? The first competition is tomorrow." Mirajane asked from her seat, watching the dragonslayer get up excitedly.

"Pfft, we're not going to get wasted. And hell, we beat the first round by getting second place, we deserve to celebrate a little." He rationalized, digging through the assortment of small bottles and snacks.

3.

"Is he normally such a heavy sleeper?" Nari asked the other wizard, and Mira giggled. The two women had been trying to wake up the large male for the past 5 minutes with no avail, using a wide variety of tactics from poking him, yelling at him, and trying to pull him off of the couch.

Nothing was working.

"Let me at him." Gajeel spoke and stepped forward, readying his iron magic. The dragonslayer launched his iron fist at the sleeping man, but when his hand was only inches from his face, screamed in pain at the lightning that struck him.

One of the mage's blue eyes peaked open, wondering what set off his lightning magic. Both of his eyes widened in surprise at the twitching and unconscious male on the floor, recognizing it as his teammate.

"Morning sunshine." Mira giggled, and Laxus looked up groggily at the two women, blushing at the sight of the brunette standing there. She had bags under her eyes and wasn't looking at him, her gaze instead on the twitching male on the ground, a tired and annoyed expression on her face. "We only have a half hour until the games start."

Nari poked the dragonslayer on the ground with her foot, oblivious to the blonde man's stare.

"Did you get any sleep?" Laxus asked the woman, causing her gaze to briefly meet his.

"Everyone is ready to go except for you." She simply said, her voice rather cold and on edge.

He blinked at her, not quite understanding her cold reaction, and then looked around him at the other wizards, his brain slowly beginning to comprehend the situation.

"Laxus isn't a morning person." Mira commented.

"You didn't answer my question." The man stated, and sat up, keeping his tired eyes locked on her tired brown ones.

"No, I didn't get any sleep. Now will you please get ready?" She asked, giving him a pointed look.

A half hour later, the team found themselves in the middle of the field, smirking and standing confidently even as half the crowd 'boo'd at them. The other Fairy Tail team wasn't too happy either, freaking out and being utterly confused by the situation.

Upon seeing Raven Tail, and noticing that the cloaked figure was appearing to be facing Nari while flashing his tattoo at her, Laxus again took his protective stance in front of her, but tried to be more subtle about it this time. Their guild was now also taking credit for the injury of their younger colleague, Wendy, which pissed him off even more.

The blonde's chest tightened, and at the sight of their smug faces, he wanted nothing more than turn all of them to dust. Beneath his fur lined coat his hands balled into fists.

"Nari!" A female voice squealed, and the man turned, surprised when another woman approached Nari. She was from Mermaid Heel, a guild he had never heard of until today, and had a wide smile on her plump face.

The two women shared a hug, the shorter woman seeming to be more enthusiastic by it than the other. They both wore similar styled clothes, and Laxus quietly wondered if they were from the same village.

"Ris, I didn't expect to see you here." She said with a strained grin.

"After what happened with your mom, I thought you kicked the bucket, too! You couldn't take two seconds to write a damn letter?!" The small woman demanded, now taking a step back with her hands on her hips. "9 years!"

"Sorry." She said awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck.

"Maybe you two can catch up later, when the whole world isn't watching?" Laxus asked, interrupting them. Risley glared at the tall man, but then glanced at the stadium, and nodded. They were just announcing Sabertooth as getting first place in the preliminary round.

"We'll catch up later. You better not run off again." She said, and waved as she walked back to her guild members, who were giving her similar annoyed looks.

"Looks like you have a lot of friends here." Laxus commented, and she scoffed. He was now standing next to her, arms folded over his chest and gaze moving across the faces of their competition.

"The phrase 'facing my demons' comes to mind." She said, and as she locked eyes with the cloaked figure still facing her, she frowned. "Literally and figuratively."

"Don't let them rattle you. We're here to win." He told her, and she sighed, trying to regain her composure.

"That's the plan." She said, and chuckled as she watched the fire dragonslayer argue animatedly with his teammates.

4.

"The last match of the day is… Kamanari Hissori from Fairy Tail B, vs Risley Law from Mermaid Heel!" The announcer spoke, bringing the woman out of her dazed state.

"Risley? Seriously?" She asked, sitting up straight. "This is going to be a short match." She commented, thinking back and unable to recall any magic that the young woman used as a kid. Nari had known the woman since her birth, only a 6 year difference in age, and had grown up with her.

"You two friends or something?" Gajeel asked, watching as she stood up to leave.

"We grew up together. Until today, I hadn't seen her in a couple of years, though." She replied, exchanging a brief look with Laxus.

"Don't go easy on her." He commented, and she nodded, continuing out the door.

"Good luck!" Mira called after her.

Once on the battle field, the two women faced each other, matching determined expressions on their faces.

"When I said we should catch up, I didn't mean like this." Risley joked, standing and ready to fight. Both of the fighters were now waiting for the announcers to finish speaking so that they could begin, antsy to start the match. "Just because we grew up together, doesn't mean that I'm going to go easy on you."

"You know that you don't stand a chance, right? You've seen my true power first hand." Nari asked her, smirking when she saw the younger woman's expression falter for a second. Nari was standing calmly, relaxed with her hands in her pants pockets. Like her competitor she wore a blue top that left her abdomen exposed, and white triangles and symbols along the edges. Unlike her, she wore black harem pants that were tied just below her knees, looking simple compared to her shirt.

"I've learned a lot since we last fought. Don't underestimate me!" Risley exclaimed, now pointing at her. "I'm going to win for my guild!"

"Is that so?" Nari asked, smirking. She was using the conversation so scope out the woman's body, trying to figure out what her magic was, and had discovered early on that it had to do with gravity. As her sound waves had bounced unnoticed around her, she'd felt the distortion tugging her limbs down.

"Thunder magic didn't do your mom any good in the end, and it won't for you, either." She said, and Nari's smirk fell, not expecting such a personal insult.

"Already making dead momma jokes, huh? You must be really desperate to win." Nari commented, and watched the woman's posture shift slightly, visibly awkward from the statement.

"I didn't, I mean… can we start fighting soon?" She asked, shifting her attention back to the announcers, who were still blabbing away. The pumpkin man shook his head at her, indicating that they still had to wait.

"So how's Marla doing?" Nari asked, walking closer to the woman so that they could chat easier.

"She's good. Had her third kid this week."

"Her third? Did she get married?" Nari asked, her composure instantly cheering up at the news. Her nerves seemed to unwind as she continued talking to the woman, surprised at how nice it felt to talk to someone from her village. It had been almost two years for her since she had seen them, and for the rest of the world, 9 years.

"Yeah, she married Devin a year after you left. They had their first kid only 5 months after." She said with a grin, seeming to unwind a bit as well.

"I knew they would hook up! I can't believe I missed their wedding. Marla must have looked gorgeous." Nari gushed animatedly, and the other woman nodded in a similar fashion.

"We have pictures. Mom and I worked night and day on that wedding dress."

"You and your mom always made the most beautiful outfits. I was always so jealous."

"At the wedding reception, we kept a spot at the bridesmaids table open for you." She added, and at those words, Nari's face fell.

Of course that was when they decided to start the match, when Nari felt like an ass hole and Risley felt equally awkward for bringing it up. Since the match was about to begin they created more space between them, trying to get pumped up for the fight again.

"Sorry that this is going to hurt." Nari apologized.

"You're going to be the one in a world of pain, girl."

"Begin!" The pumpkin man spoke, and a roar of applause resounded from the crowd.

"Gravity magic!" Risley yelled, and instantly Naru felt the gravity around her pull her down. Despite the power of the spell, she remained standing, her hair flattened by the magic. She lifted her hand and snapped her fingers, causing a thunderous sound to boom through the field.

Her opponent went flying all the way across the field, her body smashing into the concrete wall and causing it to crack, and then falling to the ground unmoving. After a few seconds Nari was announced the winner, and she pumped her fist into the air victoriously before leaving the field, trying to ignore the pit in her stomach.

5.

It wasn't unusual that Nari keep to herself, especially at the bar that Fairy Tail was using as a temporary Guild Hall, but it irked Laxus that she was so quiet around him now. He'd taken pride in the fact that she had started opening up to him on their two outings, given how anti-social she was, and now for reasons she wouldn't tell him, she closed down.

He tried to reason that it was sleep deprivation that was making her irritable, but he suspected it had more to do with the Raven Tail guy. The more he thought about the symbol on his hand the more he was convinced that he'd seen it somewhere, but couldn't place it. Not to mention the Risley girl had mentioned Nari's disappearance from her village, and their interactions seemed to get mixed reactions from the brunette.

Laxus nudged her foot under the table, sitting across from her with a drink in his hand. She'd been staring sadly at her nearly full glass of beer for some time now, sighing every so often and blowing him off every time he tried to strike a conversation with her.

"What's your deal?" He finally snapped, getting her attention. Similar sad expressions had been plaguing his guild members, since they had lost so many points that day and two of their team members had been critically injured. The only excitement in the lousy bar was Natsu, who was challenging people to fist fights and pummeling them.

"Just tired. Sorry."

"Something else is bugging you." He said, and her gaze went back to her glass.

Another sigh escaped her lips.

"Am I bugging you?"

"My being here is obviously upsetting you. I'm going to head back to the room and get some sleep." She said and stood up, avoiding his gaze. He wanted to walk her to the hotel, but her feet carried her so fast out of the small bar he never got the chance.

He grumbled under his breath and went back to his drink, chugging down the last of it.

His grandfather decided to join him, taking a seat on the table next to him and continuing to nurse his large beverage. Laxus waved down the waitress and asked for a refill.

"How are you holding up?" The old man asked him, and the blond scoffed.

"Fine."

"Must be hard facing against your dad's guild." He commented, and their eyes met briefly.

"It's weird, but it's nothing we can't handle. I can't believe he'd stoop so low to attack Wendy." He said, folding his arms over his chest. The old man nodded, frowning. "How's she doing, by the way?"

"She'll make a full recovery, but she's pretty shaken up. Carla is, too."

"Going after kids…" He trailed off, shaking his head. He nodded to the waitress that refilled his beer, glad for the alcohol to sooth his growing anger. "And that cloaked guy… he's got some kind of history with Nari. She's been freaked ever since she saw him."

Makarov's eyebrows raised, surprised by the information. "My source never mentioned him being in the guild. I have no idea who he is, nor the masked wizard."

"I don't like it." Laxus said simply, and the older man nodded.

As they sat in silence, quietly observing their guild mates and thinking about the games, the sound of thunder caused the bar to still for a moment. Having not sensed a storm earlier that evening, Laxus's gaze drifted towards the door, his brows pursed together in worry.

"I don't recall storm clouds…" Makarov commented, watching as his grandson stood up.

"Neither do I." The blond stated, and without another word, hurried out the door.

His gaze wandered up and down the street for his friend, hoping to find the familiar locks of brown hair nearby. Hoping that she'd made it back to the room and his worry was for naught, he jogged down the street back to the room, keeping an eye out for her along the way. Passerby gave him strange looks, but he ignored it, finally picking up on Nari's scent.

When he arrived at the room, he let out a sigh of relief.

The brunette was sitting on her bed, legs crossed beneath her and back against the headboard. Her head turned briefly in his direction, but she diverted her gaze almost immediately, turning towards the closed balcony.

It took him a minute to realize what was wrong with the situation. As he caught his breath and closed the door behind him, he realized that it was dark.

Flipping the light switch on, he saw her visibly cringe, shifting her position so that she was now hugging her knees, her expression still facing away from him. Upon further inspection, he noticed that she was shaking, her breathing was erratic, and heart was beating faster than normal.

"I heard thunder, but there's no storm. Weird, huh?" He asked, walking towards her. "Then I remembered that you fight using thunder magic…" He stopped when he heard a soft sob, now only a few feet from her bed. His eyes looked at her form up and down, seeing her fresh tears for the first time and noticing that part of her shirt was torn. No injuries were apparent on her, but given her healing magic, he wouldn't be surprised if she'd healed any visible signs of a struggle.

"I'm f-fine." She croaked, voice cracking. "J-just t-t-tired."

Slowly, he took a seat in front of her, shifting so that he was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the small bed. "You're really bad at lying." He commented, and she choked out a laugh, still unable to meet his gaze.

He wanted her to look at him, and hoped that staring at her would eventually coax her eyes, but she remained staring out the window ignoring him. After a few minutes of watching her cry, each sob that she tried to suppress, and each tear that rolled down her puffy red cheeks, he tried to push his anger down. His stomach was in knots at the sight, and rage bubbled beneath the surface for whoever did this.

"Was it Raven Tail?" He finally asked, his voice low, wishing that she would say something.

Her grip on her legs tightened, pulling them closer to her chest.

Trying to recall how to deal with crying women, Laxus finally remembered that hugging them usually helped. So he rolled onto his knees and crawled to her side, sitting down and then putting an arm around her shoulders, pulling her gently into his side. Not knowing what to say to cheer her up or get her talking, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"You're not alone." He whispered, and placed a small kiss on the top of her head.

6.

Laxus suppressed a growl every time he saw Raven Tail. He'd already informed his grandfather of last night, and his suspicion that they attacked Nari. At this knowledge Makarov ordered both of the Fairy Tail teams to stay in pairs or groups, since it seemed that they were being targeted.

Given how unforthcoming Nari was being, the two men kept her involvement silent as they informed the two teams of the new buddy system taking place. Natsu was so wound up they suspected that he might go ballistic if he heard about the attack- they already had to restrain him after what happened to Wendy and Lucy.

Laxus had a hard enough time holding back, he couldn't imagine how Natsu was coping, considering his personality. The blonde imagined several ways of killing Raven Tail, each new method becoming more gruesome and bloody.

It didn't help that the girl he liked was building so many walls around her, she barely spoke anymore. He could tell that she was in pain and yet he had no idea how to get rid of it.

His jaw clenched.

Two impulses were tugging at him: 1. Kill whoever hurt her. 2. Hug and comfort the hell out of her.

No matter how hard he tried to focus on the games, his thoughts always drifted back to her tears. It barely even registered that Gajeel was losing horribly in the Chariot race, or that the crowd was laughing at Fairy Tail because of the near puking dragonslayers.

The only thing that really caught his attention was the announcement of the last match for the evening, which caused his chest to restrict painfully.

"Did I just hear that?" He asked, looking at his teammates for confirmation, who were sporting equally confused and alarmed expressions. His eyes locked with the brunette's, who looked just as baffled by the announcement.

"Kaminari Hissori of Fairy Tail vs. Kironagi of Raven Tail." The announcer repeated, and Laxus could hear his guild master screaming and ranting from across the stadium.

"But she's already fought! Why would they make her fight again?" Mirajane asked, looking at the sitting woman with wide eyes.

"This is bull shit. These games are rigged." Laxus cursed, his eyes widening when the tribal woman jumped onto the railing he'd been leaning against, and then jumped the 50+ feet fall into the arena.

As she landed, an impressive shock wave rippled from her, effectively breaking the thin layer of dirt across the field and causing dust to rise a few feet in the air. A few waves emanated from her, accompanied by her usual thunder and looking particularly epic.

Fairy Tail cheered from the stadium, and impressed gasps echoed through the audience, excited by her show of power.

"She gets to fight again?!" Natsu shouted in desbelief from the sidelines.

The cloaked man was now dressed more like a ninja, and crawled from his team's observation lounge on the concrete wall, looking like a spider. With each step, Nari sent ripples through the ground, hoping to intimidate the creature that came closer.

"You're definitely stronger than your predecessors." It snickered, raising its hand to his mouth again, showing off his tattooed hand. "Shall we make a wager like the other wizards, hmmmmmmmm?" It hummed creepily, tilting its head at an awkward angle and leaning towards her. "If I win, I get your body."

"Tch, like I'd make a bet with you. If I won, you'd never keep your end of the bargain." She retorted, and the creature cackled loudly, throwing his head back in the laughter. Nari's eyes briefly landed on Laxus, who appeared ready to intervene at any moment. That brought her a small level of comfort.

"You know me so well, little girl. Well, you know parts of me very well." The creature spoke, regaining her attention.

"Go fuck yourself." She sneered, and he chuckled.

"That's no way to speak to your father… or uncle. Or grandfather, great aunt, and great grandmother. MmmMmmmmMmm…."

Nari turned her head slightly, keeping an eye on her opponent, but listening to her friend's voice in the crowd.

"Nari, be careful! He could be the Skin Walker!" Risley yelled. The brunette couldn't help but scoff, returning her attention to the person in front of her.

"Duh." She muttered to herself.

"I like that tattoo on your neck." The creature stated, referring to her Fairy Tail emblem.

"You're not getting it." She said, her eyes narrowing.

"Fighters, are you ready?" The pumpkin man interrupted, jumping at the tense stares he received. "I, uh, you can begin!"

Kironagi launched forward towards the woman, and was met by a powerful scream that sent him hurtling back. As he rolled on his back, landing on his feet, he used the rising dust to his advantage and crawled along the floor nearly invisible.

"If you were human, you'd be dead right now." Nari announced, using extremely lethal and dense energy waves to bounce within the arena and hit her opponent over and over again, vibrating his flesh at such microscopic levels that he should have been deteriorating. In fact, she'd killed his kind before using less magic than this.

She could sense exactly where he was, which was over twenty yards away, which was why she jumped when she felt a hand grab her ankle. When she looked down she saw a decomposing hand emerging from the ground and latching onto her, and next to her other foot, another one was rising.

She turned and broke free of the grasp, only to have several others jump at her, causing her to curse and leap into the air.

That was her biggest mistake.

She could use her magic to move around the air and essentially levitate, but it didn't make her fast enough to dodge the several projectiles thrown her way. Only barely able to nudge the largest spear to keep it from piercing her heart, it still delve into her chest cavity and went all the way through. Several other sharpened bones in the shape of small spears and needles lodged into her legs, arms, stomach and chest, again only narrowly dodging her other vital organs.

Distracted by the pain she didn't feel the rope grab hold of her ankles and drag her down into a trap, where the body parts grabbed hold of her and held her up.

Her thunder magic made the arms clumsy, but they miraculously held up against it. The only theory she had was that he was powered up from his last 'meal'. Which, if he was telling the truth about killing her uncle, that would be pretty recent.

She could sense him throwing more of the small sharpened bone at her, once again only able to avoid them hitting critical areas on her body. The large spear was still lodged in her chest, and deep down, she knew the match was over as soon as it had hit her.

The creature was now running towards her, emerging from the dust cloud with its mutated dagger of a hand hurtling towards her.

"I forfeit the match! I give up!" She screamed loudly, and when the arm was merely inches from her face, lightning stuck in front of her.

To prevent her magic from hurting him, she stopped her thunder and instead pulled at the straining forces. Laxus now stood in front of her, standing between the snarling beast and her bleeding body.

The dust clouds began to disperse, and the crowd gasped, now able to see what was happening.

"I forfeit!" Nari yelled again, in case they hadn't heard her the first time, and tugged futilely against the restraints.

The creature crouched down and hissed, seeming to be merely annoyed by the lightning instead of injured. When it launched himself at Laxus, he struck him with another bolt of lightning.

Although he himself was not damaged, his clothes were, and now his cover had been blown. His demonic eyes and face glared and snarled at the mage. "You're not human." Laxus said in surprise, and sent another bolt of lightning down on him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like a strange development has occurred. Kironagi has been revealed to be some kind of demonic creature, and it looks like Laxus Drayer is defending his teammate from it. If I remember correctly, all participants of the Grand Magic Games have to be human, and if they're not, have to make a case for it."

"Kironagi is disqualified from the games!" The pumpkin man announced, and as the creature kept trying to attack the blond, he got progressively annoyed. His basic attacks weren't doing anything to it, and he didn't want to use his stronger attacks unless necessary.

He smelled Mirajane behind him, and heard her trying to get Nari out of the grotesque trap she was in.

Laxus was pleasantly surprised when the royal guard came onto the field and helped secure the demonic creature, using anti-magic weapons and the help of a few other wizards. He kept his eyes locked on the creature through the process, ready to protect Nari again if needed.

The sound of an object hitting the ground next to him caught his attention, and he was surprised to glance down and see that it was a blood soaked needle looking object.

"Nari, stop! Have Porlyusica look at it!" Mira spoke, and at her alarmed tone, Laxus turned to see what was happening.

"It doesn't hurt in the slightest." The brunette spoke as she pulled at the large spear in her chest, and the blond nearly had a heart attack as he watched her, both terrified and amazed at the lack of pain on her face.

Her angry gaze was locked on the creature being subdued, which was now being held down by 20+ guards.

After the spear was pulled out, she tossed it on the ground and turned to leave, pulling out the other small ones as she walked.

Laxus and Mirajane exchanged a bewildered look.

"… You should make sure she gets to the infirmary okay." Mirajane spoke after a second. He nodded, and then jogged after the bleeding woman, avoiding the blood trail she was leaving.

"… are you going to say that you're 'okay' again?" Laxus asked as they entered the covered hallway, walking next to her.

"Thanks for saving me." She said, ignoring his question and continuing to pull out the daggers.

"You're welcome… but… how are you not in pain right now?"

"I turned off the pain receptors in my brain. My healing magic is already working on my injuries." She replied, and he silently nodded, feeling slightly less terrified by her. Trying to regain his stoic posture, he ignored the hitch in her breath and crossed his arms. "He would have killed me if you hadn't intervened."

"Yeah." He said simply, and she briefly looked at him, surprised by the silence that followed.

"Why are you so nice to me?" She suddenly asked, stopping in her tracks.

Laxus stopped as well, turning to face the rather bloody woman. She'd taken the last of the needles out by now, and judging by the lack of skin discoloration, he guessed that she wasn't lying about her healing magic. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you so nice to me?" She repeated, not helping him understand.

After a moment of looking into her soft brown eyes, he shrugged, turning away. "I like you. I thought that was obvious by asking you out on dates."

"So you're nice to me because I'm cute?" She asked, and he gave her a confused look, trying to figure out what she was really trying to ask. Although she didn't look as bad as she should be, considering her injuries, she was pale and the bags under her eyes added to her sickly disposition. He pondered just how much her healing magic was working, and how much her words were simply a response to what just happened or actual questions she'd been wondering.

"If that was the only reason, I would have fucked you and dumped you by now." He said simply. "You seemed like a nice person, and I think you're cute, so I wanted to get to know you better. Does that answer your question?"

She sighed, looking away.

Evidently not.

"How about we continue this conversation in the infirmary? You're looking pretty pale."

"I'm fine."

"Clearly." He said sarcastically, watching her chew the side of her mouth in annoyance, but nonetheless start walking again. "I'm not going to let him hurt you again."

She snorted, and he watched her curiously, wondering what was going through her mind.

"You think I'm lying?"

Nari paused for a moment, putting her hands in her pockets and continuing to chew the inside of her cheek nervously. Her feet were beginning to stumble more as they walked, and she nearly bumped into him a couple of times. "I think you could put up a good fight, but ultimately lose."

Laxus frowned. 'Did she just call me weak?' He silently wondered, still staring at her. It had been a long time since someone accused him of being weak, and usually after giving them a face full of lightning, they changed their tune pretty quickly. She'd seen his power, yet she thought he was weak?

The blond thought back to the times she had seen him fight, trying to remember the last time he demonstrated his magic to her. A few minutes ago he'd saved her life, but that was a poor example, since his attacks merely annoyed the creature and barely kept him at bay until help arrived. As he pondered the strange statement, he wondered if she had any idea that he was an s-class wizard, or easily the strongest mage in the guild, on par with Guildarts.

Before he could question her, they reached the infirmary. The cold medicine woman immediately shoved her on a bed and started inspecting/interrogating her, while Wendy and Carla tried to ask what happened and see if she was alright.

The dragonslayer sat in the empty seat by the bed Nari had been forced to lay on, arms crossed over his chest and watching in amusement as the two women bantered. Both of them were skilled healers, and as Laxus watched them, he realized that they both had massive egos when it came to medicine. The brunette's temper was especially fervent at the moment, and had been ever since the fight, so the blond couldn't help but be a little happy by the fact she wasn't just mad at him.

Porlyusica was so annoyed that she tried to inconspicuously drug the younger woman so that she could heal her without her snappy remarks, but Nari was too smart for that.

A couple hours later, when Wendy and Carla were asleep and the old woman had left the room, Laxus looked over at the bandaged woman with a smirk.

"What?" She asked, noticing the look. She was sitting upright, despite the old woman's instruction, and was leaning back against two fluffy pillows that had been propped against the head board.

"I'm just glad you're talking. I also didn't know that you're so passionate about healing magic." He said, and she blushed, looking away. "Why don't you use it more often? You obviously have a knack for it."

"It's complicated." She said simply, still not looking at him.

"You could explain it? I'm curious, and I have nowhere else to be." He said leaning back in his chair, arms still crossed in their usual manner. Despite how small the chair was relative to his body, he still tried to make himself comfortable. Mentally cheering when she looked back at him, he tried to appear slightly more relaxed, emphasizing his lack of wanting to leave.

"… It brings unwanted attention. That skin walker won't be the first to attack me, and it might not be the last, depending on how many are left. Actually, if it turns out that there's more, I might leave Fairy Tail to avoid getting anyone else hurt." She explained, watching his brows furrow in confusion as he tried to piece the information together. She was purposely leaving out huge holes in her story which wasn't helping.

"You're thinking of leaving Fairy Tail?" He asked after a moment.

"It's possible that Kironagi is the last of his kind. If that's the case, and he stays in custody, then I'll stay with Fairy Tail."

"So you're running? That's why you're so secretive and don't use your magic openly?"

She blushed, looking away again.

"If that's the reason, then you shouldn't worry so much. We're strong and can handle ourselves."

"They're not just everyday monsters, Laxus. They're from the book of Zeref. Neither of us could leave a scratch on Kironagi today at the fight, and even though I'm their target, they'd have no qualms in making a snack out of anyone nearby."

"Doesn't matter who they are, or how strong they are. You're family, and we take care of each other." Laxus stated, watching as her hands fidgeted with the sheet bundled on her lap.

He wasn't sure exactly brought on the sudden urge, and he was hesitant to act on it since she had finally opened up to him, but he decided to act on it nonetheless. He stood up, causing her to look up in surprise, and then placed his hand on the side of her face gently. A cute blush rose along her cheeks and deepened when he kissed her, gently touching her lips with his.

Keeping the kiss brief, he pulled away after only a few seconds, and then pecked her red cheek as well. As she simply stared at him with wide and surprised eyes, he returned to his seat, smirking at her.

Old Laxus would have banged her senseless by the end of the first date.

New Laxus was giving her their first kiss after two dates with her.

"Family, huh?" She asked after a moment, smiling at him. It took him a second to realize what she meant, and when he finally remembered his earlier statement, chuckled.

"You know what I meant."

The pink-haired woman walked in again, the usual scowl on her face as she approached them.

7.

Day 3 was Fairy Tail's major comeback in the game.

Laxus stood in his usual stoic pose in the middle of the arena, knocked out opponents spread out on the ground around him. When the illusion spell had worn off, a mix of surprised gasps and whispers took place, but it was less than a minute until all of those turned into a roar of applause.

Out of anyone in the crowd, his eyes were only drawn to one person, though-

Nari.

He couldn't help but smirk at her shocked expression. If this didn't show that he was strong, that he deserved his title as S-Class mage, he didn't know what would. She probably didn't even know that he'd been bothered by her comment, and he thought that he was above petty things like this- but he couldn't help it. Perhaps his ego was getting the better of him, or maybe he was just a 'real man' as Elfman would put it.

'I can protect you.' He thought as he stared into her soft brown eyes. 'And don't you ever think or say otherwise.'

Her shocked expression suddenly turned into a smile, and he wondered if she knew what he was thinking. Having gotten that reaction from her at least, he turned his attention back to the crowd and the pumpkin man standing by him and chatting away.

Later, after he had been congratulated and fawned over by their guild and random passerby as they left the stadium, he found himself standing next to Nari and Risley. They were standing on a street corner, trying to make plans and ignore the random people that would stop and stare.

"Do you want to join us for drinks, Laxus?" Nari asked, having just been invited to drink with her old friend. The blond looked over to Risley.

"I don't want to intrude,"

"Nonsense! I'd love to have a drink with the most popular man in Fiore!" She said with a grin, smiling up at the man twice her size. "There's a cool little place a few blocks from here. The bartender is a fan of Mermaid Heel, so I get drinks for cheap there."

"Lead the way, home girl." The brunette said with a smile.

As they maneuvered through the crowded streets, they had to hold hands to not lose each other. Laxus would be hard to lose, given his height, but the girls were slightly shorter than the average person, making it easier for them to disappear in the chaos.

When they finally reached the small bar, Laxus's sensitive nose was assaulted with stale cigar smoke and tequila. It was slightly less crowded than the other bars, some of which had lines leading out the door, but it was also a bit rundown and unkempt.

Risley led them to the back of the bar, where they found a small empty table with several bar stools. It was far enough away from the other customers that they'd be able to talk.

"Bar wench! Get us some shots!" Risley yelled to the bartender, who at first turned and glared at the name, only to smirk when she realized who it was.

"If you want drinks, you're gonna have to get off your fat ass to get it." The bartender replied. The short woman smirked, removing her gravity magic to make her grow taller and thinner, and then walked over to the bar.

Nari giggled, noticing that there were several people openly staring at Laxus. There was even a crowd forming outside.

"You're popular today." She commented, and he glanced in the direction she was looking, grunting in response. He looked over to Risley, who was getting the drinks, and overheard the bartender say the first round was free, and then wink at him.

"What did you think of my match today?" The blond asked, turning to the bandaged woman.

"I think you were pretty bad ass." She replied, and then turned her attention to her friend that approached. "What kind of shots?"

"Tequilaaaaa~" The young woman sang, taking a seat in the empty bar stool. They all took one of the shots and clinked them together. "To drunken shenanigans!"

Afterwards they slammed their shot glasses down.

"I can't wait to get you drunk." Risley told the woman, who merely chuckled awkwardly.

"I don't think I've ever seen you drunk before." Laxus commented. "Have I seen you drink at all?"

"I don't plan on getting drunk tonight."

"Like hell you're not! I may have been too young to party with you 9 years ago, but I sure as hell am not missing out again! You are the party legend!" Risley yelled. "I'll even pay for all of your drinks!"

"You'll probably be disappointed, Ris. I haven't drank since I left the village." Nari stated, but the woman simply held a shot glass up to her, indicating their second round of shots. They clinked their glasses together and downed it like before.

"Damn, I forgot chasers! What do you guys want?" Risley asked, turning to the woman across from her.

"Mango juice. If they don't have it, OJ."

"Same." Laxus said simply, noticing the grin on his companion's face. He couldn't recall seeing her so happy before, and he caught himself being mesmerized by the joyful glint in her eyes.

"Do I have something on my face?" She asked suddenly, and he blinked, continuing to stare at her.

"Uh, no. I just like your smile." He said awkwardly, and she grinned, a small blush spreading along her tan cheeks. "So you're a party animal, huh?"

"I used to be." She said with a shrug, and returned her attention to her friend as she set the glasses in front of them.

"Isn't that your guild master?" Risley suddenly asked, causing the wizards to turn and look at what she was staring at. Laxus groaned, wondering what the old man was doing there, and whether it had anything to do with him.

Makarov turned to the small group, and upon finding them, headed their way. He hopped onto a nearby bar stool, ignoring the blonde's sour expression. "I need you for an important mission." The old man stated.

"Well I'm busy. Can't you find someone else to do it?"

"Mavis requested both of us specifically." He stated, and the blond frowned. If it was just the old geezer requesting his presence, he'd have no problem saying no. The first guild master, on the other hand…

Laxus sighed, turning to his companions. "Sorry ladies." He said with an apologetic smile, but before he stood to leave, he took another shot. As he stood up he pulled out a twenty to help pay for drinks, but Risley shook her head.

"Drinks are on me." She told him. The man shrugged, putting the money back in his pocket.

"Sorry girls." Makarov apologized, understanding his grandson's reluctance to leave the beautiful women. Despite the bandages on Nari's limbs, she was still quite the catch, and her friend was quite attractive when her gravity magic wasn't pulling her down.

As the two men left, they waved goodbye, silently wishing that Laxus's coat wasn't so long.

"He's cute." Risley commented after they'd left, a quarter of the bar folk disappearing with them.

"Yeah he is." She said with a grin, and they clinked their shot glasses together. "To cute guys!"

8.

Laxus quietly moped by the pool, his head held up lazily by his arm propped on his knee. His feet were in the water, but his mind was elsewhere, wondering what his girl was up to. Now that he knew she was much more social with drinking, he was determined to take her bar hopping on their next date.

His grandfather sat nearby with his legs criss-crossed, eyes closed as he quietly meditated. Mavis was having a blast in the water, playing and splashing with his teammates that enjoyed acting childishly with her. Bickslow's babies were especially active, which surprised Laxus since he usually doesn't bring them to social events, but the first guild master seemed extremely entertained by them. The small totems flew around, splashed in the water, and even served as floaties on occasion.

If he'd known that they were going to a water park, he would have invited Nari and her friend to join him. There was a bar nearby that they could have continued their shots, and even if Laxus couldn't join them in drinks, he could at least take shifts with gramps and take small breaks with them.

As his gaze lazily surveyed his surroundings, he froze, eyes widening at who he saw.

The two women in question were walking to the bar, swaying slightly as they did so, and clad in bikinis. Despite only just arriving, both of them already had men walking up to them or ogling them, offering to buy them drinks. Laxus gave his coldest glare to the men, who although didn't realize his was glaring at them, visibly stiffened and looked around paranoid, feeling his gaze.

Nari still had bandages on her in places, but a good chunk of her legs and arms were visible. On the skin of her thigh that was exposed, Laxus could see an intricate tattoo that looked to be covering half her leg. Most of it was covered by the bandages, but he couldn't help but be curious about the markings, wanting to see all of it.

As he was busy looking at her, he didn't realize what she was actually doing until a burst of flame erupted from her mouth. It startled the men around her and several others in the area, as the flame took on a life of its own and formed the shape of their Fairy Tail emblem, flying high into the air and eventually dissipating. The impressive fire had been extremely large, taking up maybe 20 feet in width and large enough for everyone in the park to see.

Screams and cheers rang out from members of Fairy Tail, and some non Fairy Tail guests that simply cheered for the fun of it. His team and himself were no exception. Mavis was especially impressed by the show, laughing and smiling.

"Another pyromaniac in the guild?" Makarov grumbled, and Laxus couldn't help but laugh.

Risley seemed especially entertained, laughing at the expressions of the scared people around them. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" She exclaimed, and Nari gave a proud grin before returning a lighter to the bartender.

"A round of shots on me!" Bacchus exclaimed, coming out of nowhere and slinging his arms around the two women. "Cuz we like it wild!" He yelled, causing his group in the pool to yell 'wild!' in response. Kana joined them for the shot, and after chugging it down, the two drunkards jumped back into the pool.

Risley and Nari stayed by the bar chatting, and even though he knew it was wrong, Laxus couldn't help but eavesdrop. They were so loud that he could have heard them without his heightened hearing, so he didn't feel too bad.

"So only 2 years have passed for you?" Risley asked, and Nari nodded.

"Dude, we should get French fries. Drinks dude, can we get fries?" Nari asked excitedly, causing the bartender to smile and laugh as he went to get some for them.

"What have you been doing since you left our village?" The woman asked, trying to get her friend back on topic. Despite the alcohol she was pretty sure that the brunette was avoiding the topic, but she was determined to pursue it.

"This and that. Joined Blue Pegasis for a year or so, and then left to join Fairy Tail."

"Date any cute guys? Other than the hunk by the pool, I mean." She asked, causing the woman to give her a confused look. Risley nudged her head in Laxus's direction, who was pretending to be distracted by watching his team playing in the pool.

"Laxus!" Nari yelled, gaining his attention. She waved to him, and he awkwardly waved back. She gave him a questioning look, silently asking why he was there, and he pointed to Mavis in the pool. Without another word she nodded sympathetically and went back to her drinking companion.

"So who else have you dated?" Risley asked, going back to her original question.

"I haven't." The brunette said awkwardly, turning to her glass of water. The other woman frowned, staring at her friend. "For the most part I've been working, reading, and pretty antisocial."

"But you were the party goddess! You slept with who you wanted, when you wanted, caught things on fire and danced like the thunder goddess you are. You were my role model!"

The thunder woman laughed loudly, her voice booming through the water park.

"You made people happy, girl. I don't get why you gave that up."

"Hey, we are here to catch up and have fun, not mope about shit."

"Alright, just tell me one thing and then we can move on."

"Fine, what?"

"What happened to your mom? Was it the demon that killed her?" Risley asked, watching her friend's gaze avert to the French fries put in front of them and a superficial smile graze her lips. "Come on, you've got to give me something. Your house was practically demolished, your mom dead, you were gone." As she spoke, her voice lowered so that the surrounding passerby couldn't hear. "We figured that the demon had eaten you and just didn't leave any remains."

"That is their style." The brunette commented, popping one of the fries into her mouth. After a moment of staring off into space, she finally answered. "My mom fought until the end. She was a warrior through and through. She distracted the demon until I got away, sacrificing herself in the process."

Two more shots were set in front of them.

Risley picked one up, "To your mom. One hell of a fighter." Their glasses clinked together. After they drank, they slammed their glasses on the table. "So that demon you fought yesterday. Was that the same one?"

"I thought that was your last question? I'd rather talk about that boy you're thinking about asking out, to be honest." The brunette said with a mischievous grin, watching her friend's cheeks light up. "What's his name? What does he look like?"

"I'm not going to tell you his name, but he has the cutest butt ever." Risley said, and the girls started giggling and laughing. "He likes astronomy. He and I went stargazing together a few weeks ago, and I think he likes me."

"Who couldn't like you? You're a hot momma." The woman stated, causing Risley to blush and grin.

"I missed you."

"I miss you, too. It's so weird to see you all grown up. How old are you now?"

"24."

"Shit, you're older than me?"

"Am I?" She asked, blinking in surprise, but then smirking. "Aw hell ya!" She suddenly screamed, throwing her hands in the air.

"Congratulations, old hag." Nari snickered, causing the woman to pause and glare.

"Hey, I'm a sexy 'hot momma', remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't let it go to your head." She said, munching away on her fries.

"So was the demon today the one that attacked you 9 years ago?"

"Goddamn you are not going to let that go, are you?"

"Oh come on, can you blame me for being curious? My idol, who I thought was dead, reappears from the grave and for mysterious reasons become a nun. What happened to you, man? Your teenage shenanigans are so legendary that they've turned into campfire stories."

"Maybe I grew up." She said with a shrug, and then ordered a mojito from the bartender. "And I don't know if it was the same demon. I do know that the demon I fought yesterday ate my dad's corpse, since he had his tattoo. The demon claimed to have most of my family, but I'm more inclined to believe it was lying."

"It killed your dad?!" She asked exasperatedly, and by the pool, Laxus looked up at the information.

"More likely it happened across him when it was eating the dead from Deliora's attack. My uncle said that debris fell on my dad and that's what killed him. The reason my attacks didn't do shit against the demon yesterday was because he still had the healing magic from my dad."

"Shit. Did you know that before the match yesterday?"

She shrugged. "I thought I could handle it."

"It killed your parents and you didn't bother telling anyone?"

"I only know it ate my dad. I don't know about my mom."

"Still."

"Demon's in custody, no one was hurt- everything worked out. Oh hell yeah." She said, getting distracted by the giant drink the size of her head being handed to her.

"Compliments of the older man over there." The bartender stated, and both women peered over their shoulders to look, seeing none other than Ichiya standing there. Natsu was standing by him, appearing to be clueless to the nature of the drink, but nonetheless smiled and waved.

"Is this a mojito on steroids?" Nari asked.

"Something like that. I'm making one for you as well." The bartender answered, and winked at Risley.

"I'm so glad you're not dating another seith mage." Risley randomly stated, and at the mention of his magic, Bickslow looked up. The momentary distraction proved against his favor, as Fried used the opportunity to tackle him into the water.

"What's wrong with seith mages?"

"Do you not remember the last time you dated one?" She asked, and the woman pondered for a moment, looking at the ceiling.

"I thought she was pretty awesome. Cute as a button. I love conversations with seith mages. It's like they're communicating directly to your soul, and it's the most personal and awesome conversations ever."

"Until they possess you into walking off a cliff. Do you seriously not remember that?" Risley asked, watching her friend search her brain for the memory.

"Oh yeah… I don't remember much from those few weeks. I probably deserved it."

"Do you even remember what set her off?"

"Not really. Did I cheat on her or something?"

"You got her the wrong kind of flowers, so she soul possessed you into walking off a 100 foot cliff. You were lucky to survive."

"Really?" She asked, scratching the back of her head before taking another sip of her drink.

"Apparently it wasn't the first time, either. She was crazy."

"Really? She had the most beautiful eyes. So did Carlos! I love seith mage eyes."

"Carlos?"

"Gay as a ken doll, but goddamn, his accent combined with those eyes led to the most beautiful heart to heart conversations. Or, I suppose, soul to soul conversations. He was only in the village for a few weeks, and most people avoided him because of his magic, but he had the coolest stories and sweetest soul."

"Isn't there a seith mage at Fairy Tail? Why haven't you hooked up with him? Not that I'm encouraging it."

She shrugged. "He wears that visor so often. I also never intended to date anyone, so I wasn't really looking."

"So why'd you go out with Laxus?"

"I dunno. I had planned to say 'no' when I overheard him talking to his friends about me, but something about him was so sweet when he asked, I couldn't help but say yes."

"Man, you've changed so much. It's weird." Risley said as she shook her head. Suddenly both women looked up, hearing screams and yells from the 'love love slide', watching the chaotic scene unfolding. They both sipped at their drinks, watching the couples go down the slide screaming while poor Natsu was motion sick on the weird heart shaped object. "Is that Natsu?"

"That's my guild for you. Better drink up, this entire place is going to be rubble soon." She said, and began drinking her beverage quickly.

Not five minutes later her prediction came true. Ice replaced the water in the pools, and a pissed off Natsu was hurtling towards the ice with his fire magic. The resulting explosion took out most of the park, though Nari used her thunder magic to protect her and her friend from any damage. Instead, they continued sitting on their stools like nothing happened, completely unscathed.

Risley cracked up laughing, entertained by the antics of Fairy Tail.

After they finished their drinks and noticed that their guild mates were trying to gather in their respective groups, they gave each other hugs and went their separate ways, promising to hang out more in the future.

"Have fun?" Laxus asked as she approached him, grinning stupidly and stumbling as she walked.

"I don't even know where I am right now." She giggled, and looked around. "Enjoy eavesdropping?" She asked, turning back to the blond man. A light blush tinted his cheeks, definitely not expecting to be caught, especially since she was so drunk.

"Sorry."

"It's a'right. I didn't say anything I wasn't okay with you hearing." She said, swaying and almost falling over, had he not reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "I don't even remember the last time I drank this much. Dude, when did you get that bad ass scar?" Nari asked, suddenly reaching forward and trying to touch his scar, and instead almost poking his eye.

In the background, there was a mix of crying, angry yelling, and embarrassed panicked yelling, most of which was Fairy Tail wizards.

Makarov was especially livid, thinking about the repairs they'd have to pay for and yelling at the laughing Natsu.

"So you have a thing for seith mages?" Laxus asked, making sure his teammate was far enough away to not hear the conversation.

Nari snickered, grinning at him. "I used to. According to Ris one of them gave me brain damage, though."

"If it makes you feel better, I'd kill Bickslow if he did that to you." He said, and she snickered. Feeling her body sway whenever his grip loosened, he opted to put his arm around her and pull her to his side, beginning to walk towards the exit. Her feet were unsteady beneath her, but he managed to stay stable enough for the both of them.

Her hand reached behind him, wrapping her arm around his waist for extra support. In the background Laxus heard a few disappointed sighs.

"I'm sorry about your mom." Laxus stated after they had left the crowded water park, now walking down the equally crowded street.

"Thanks." She replied, distracted by the feel of his taught muscles. He was still just in swim trunks, allowing quite a bit of skin-on-skin contact. Nari rested the side of her face against his shoulder, sighing at how nice it felt to be so close to someone, and moved her thumb ever so slightly with her hand on his hip.

Laxus blushed at the contact. Being touched by a woman was hardly new to him, but dating was, and the subtle gesture got his brain working a mile a minute.

'She's drunk. There's nothing to think about. And even if she wasn't, you were going to touch eventually.' He thought to himself, frowning. 'It's not like you haven't thought about it…. Extensively.'

"Whatchya thinkin' bout?" She slurred, bringing the dragonslayer out of his thoughts.

"Nothing."

"Just nothin'?" She asked, looking up at him with wide brown eyes, her cute freckled nose having a small green spot on it.

"You have-" Before he could finish his statement, he bumped into someone, derailing his train of thought.