AN: This is my first time contributing to LaLu and I'm hella nervous. This is my entry for Day 1: Trouble. I hope you guys like it, but before you get started there are a few things you should know. This is a high school AU. The setting takes place in Fiore Academy so expect many familiar faces to be making cameos. This one-shot also has some backstory I want to mention hear in case I did a horrible job in covering it throughout this piece.
In this AU Laxus' mother and Lucy's mother were close friends. They went to the same high school and kept contact throughout the years. When Laxus' mother found out Lucy's mother was going to have a girl, she wanted her to be promised to her son because she knew that Layla would raise a wonderful daughter who would be able to stand by her son's side and help him face the trials that would await him when he had to inherit Ivan's company. They both agreed and got their husbands to as well.
Over the years there were many playdates between Lucy and Laxus. They became very close, but all that changed when Laxus mother died and shortly after Laxus was in a car accident that resulted in him falling into a coma. Lucy was forced to leave his side because her mother had fallen ill and so the Heartfilia family relocated to the countryside. When Laxus woke up from his coma he had a severe case of amnesia in which he couldn't remember anything. His grandfather and father tried to help him remember, but they were only able to succeed a little. During that time Lucy's mother passed away and they lost contact. The betrothal between Laxus and Lucy was left forgotten.
Nine years later Laxus has yet to regain most of his memories from his childhood and Jude Heartfilia has learned of his daughter's plan to runaway (In this AU Jude is more aware of his faults as a father and tries to do right by Layla and Lucy). He calls Makarov and Ivan to acknowledge the betrothal once more. He makes plans for Lucy to move into the Dreyar estate and live with Makarov and Laxus and have her attend Fiore Academy with Laxus. Lucy agrees so she can get away from her father and go back to place where she remembered she was happy even if the one that made her happy didn't remember her.
This piece takes place five months after she has moved in and has settled in Fiore Academy.
"I could've chose anybody but I chose you
Help me get better, you pull me right out of the blue
And daddy don't like you, but daddy and I never speak
Every night when I wake up I need you to get back to sleep"
Lucy wiped the sweat from her forehead before she crouched down and lifted a box full of bouquets of red roses.
"Heartfilia!"
There was only one person who would purposely call her that in order to get on her nerves. She stood up to her full height and turned around to see none other than Sting Eucliffe running toward her. A red rose in his grasp.
Why? She thought to herself and questioned whatever higher being was watching over her. Lucy could already hear the whispers from the students around her. If Laxus even caught wind of this she didn't want to think about how he would react.
He wouldn't verbally express his anger instead he'd glare and give her the cold shoulder. It was already taxing enough having to eat breakfast and dinner with him. She didn't need this weighing down on them. The guy could be so frustrating, every time she thought they were making progress he would regress. Their relationship consisted of one step forward and two steps back and she was rapidly growing tired of it.
"What do you want?" She asked through gritted teeth.
"What has you so pissed?" Sting grinned.
"Don't make me kick you." Really the only reason they spoke to one another was because they were close friends with Natsu and Yukino.
"Are you on that time of the month?"
"You bas—"
"Anyway," Sting cut her off. "Have you seen Yukino?"
She glanced at the red rose then back at him. "I thought you said it was a stupid idea."
"I still think it's stupid, but Yukino said it would be nice if she received a red rose." He looked away from Lucy when he felt his face become warm. "So have you seen her?"
They may not get along, but both of them cared for Yukino in their own way. "The last time I saw her she was in the quad." Even so Lucy could not miss an opportunity in teasing him. "I saw Rogue give her a rose." She wasn't going to tell him that Rogue was giving out yellow roses to all of his friends.
"You lie." Sting glared at her.
"Nope, but I'm heading over there right now and you can earn some brownie points with Yukino if she saw you help me carry this box." She lightly tapped the box filled with bouquets of yellow roses with her foot.
"Fine." Sting slid his red rose with the yellow ones and lifted the box. "This changes nothing between us. I'm only doing this for the brownie points."
Even though she was tired Lucy couldn't help smiling as the students ran passed her and Sting. She could hear their laughter and joy. Fiore Academy was always lively, but today it was more so due to it being Valentine's Day.
This year the Fairy Tail club wanted to beat the Sabertooth club in earning the most money for the school. Valentine's Day was one of the days that most of the students were willing to spend money on. Lucy suspected because there was something in air that made them a tad bit more bold and daring when it came to their feelings.
Sabertooth for the past two years would hold a kissing and serenade booth. They charged a dollar for a kiss and five dollars if one of the students wanted them to sing to a certain someone. Fairy Tail had tried doing the same thing, but failed horribly. Juvia would not let anyone kiss Gray and it didn't help that Gray and Natsu fought which ended in destroying the booth. To make matter worse the student body preferred Orga signing over Gajeel.
Lucy had not been there because she transferred in the fall, but she heard stories. Nonetheless she wanted things to be different for them this year. She remembered how her father used to buy red roses for her mother during Valentine's Day and the way her mother would put them in a vase with water. How she would take a moment to smell them, but it was the smile on her lips and the adoration in her eyes that Lucy remembered vividly.
She gave them the idea to sell red roses for love. A student can confess their feelings to their crush by simply giving them a red rose and if they were dating then it was a way to remind their special someone how they felt.
Mirajane fell in love with the idea instantly and added her own twist. She wanted the one being confessed to, to have a chance to respond. That's where the yellow roses came in. The one being confessed to would respond back with either a red rose for love or a yellow rose for friendship.
Then Erza came up with the idea of hosting a school dance afterschool. Couples and friends could attend and their fee for entry would be the rose. Natsu was fired up for the idea when it was announced that free snacks and beverage would be served during the dance.
But first they had to get the idea approved by the student body committee, which consisted mostly Fairy Tail club members so that wasn't an issue. The problem came in getting their Headmaster Makarov to offer approval of them being excused from their classes in order to prepare for the sales and dance. In the end Makarov approved and even went a step beyond. He made it a short day for the students. The school day would officially end at twelve and the dance would begin at one thirty, this gave the students an hour and half to get ready. The school dance would officially be over at five, which gave the students a chance to still go out after the event.
To say that the students had been looking forward to Valentine's Day would be an understatement. For the past week Lucy had seen student bring in their dresses and suits. It was the most talked about event since the moment they advertised for it. Even the Sabertooth club was swept by the excitement of it. Rogue had been one of the first student to buy roses and she only saw Orga in the morning when he purchased a red rose from her, but she had yet to see him signing at any of the students. She only had to look at Sting helping her carry the box full of yellow roses to know the Fairy Tail club won this round.
"Lucy!" Ezra called out relieved as she collected the money and handed another red rose to a student. "I was wondering where you went."
"I knew you had to restock on red roses again." The blonde told her friend as she placed the box on the table.
"You're a lifesaver!" Ezra exclaimed and took a moment to hug her friend ignoring the line of students she still had to attend to.
"I don't see Yukino." Sting said as he placed the box of yellow roses next to hers.
"She already left." Ezra stated simply before going back to her job.
"You have screwed me over for the last time Heartifilia." He growled.
"Get over it." Lucy grabbed his red rose from the box and handed it back to him. "You still have time to find her."
"I would have already found her." He glared at her one last time and pivoted.
"Hey Sting!" She called out to him.
"What?" He yelled the question from halfway across the quad.
"They exchanged yellow roses!"
"I knew that!"
They both knew he didn't.
"If I see Natsu and Gray I'll tell them to come over here!"
Lucy watched him go with a smile. Even though they barely tolerated one another she sincerely hoped he would be able to give Yukino his red rose because then it would finally give the girl a chance to tell him how she felt about him as well.
"I see that today was a success for the Fairy Tail club."
Lucy looked up from inspecting the roses for any thorns to see her headmaster standing on the other side of the booth. "Headmaster." She gasped in surprise.
"I was hoping to catch my grandson helping you, but it doesn't seem like he's participating."
"Laxus decided to stick with the disciplinary committee."
"Then let's hope he's having a difficult keeping order." The old man winked at her.
Lucy chuckled. "Then we'll have to deal with his grumpiness during dinner."
Makarov threw back his head as he laughed. "That's very true my darling Lucy, but he's nowhere near as bad as he used to be before you moved in. He likes you in his own way."
"I find that hard to believe especially with his glares and glower. I think he still wants me gone."
"If he wanted you gone then you wouldn't have lasted a week in our home. That boy… nothing can stop him when he has his mind set on something." Makarov frowned. He remembered how his grandson was against the betrothal. The boy had almost gone off the deep end with his late nights drinking and smoking and doing only god knows what. Not even a year calmed him his anger. Then Lucy arrived and Laxus told him that he'll think about it instead of saying no again. Something happened between them and he didn't know what, but it was enough to change Laxus' mind.
"Let's hope it never comes to that." She smiled sadly at him.
"I don't think it ever will. Even if he doesn't remember you," He referred to the accident Laxus had been involved in when he was eight. It was shortly after the death of his mother. The one that had him forget everything before he was eight. "The bond that the two of you share is a strong one. Not even the loss of memory can break it."
"How can you be so sure?" Lucy cleared her throat when she heard her voice crack.
"Because when he was finally out of the hospital he spoke of once seeing a little girl with blonde hair sitting by his bed crying. He didn't know how she was, but it hurt him to see her crying. He tried to say something, but he was too tired and fell asleep again. The next time he woke up she was no longer there."
A tear slid down her face. She remembered how scared she was when she saw Laxus on that hospital bed with the right side of his face bandaged and his one visible eye closed. He always seemed so strong and invincible to her. Always grabbing hold of her hand and leading her. The only time she saw him lost was when his mother died and he locked himself in his room. He only let her in when she began to cry and demanded that she stop, but he too had been crying that time.
He never liked seeing her cry and the only time he never said anything was when he was in that hospital bed. They said he might not wake up and so Lucy had cried louder than she ever had before because it hurt. She hoped with her entire heart that it would wake him up and he would tell her to stop. But she never had that chance to see if it did because during those days her mother had fallen ill and her father decided to take them to the countryside. The last time she saw him was still in that hospital bed.
"I'm telling you this because I don't want you to give up on my grandson." He told her gently as he watched her try to wipe her tears away. "I'm sorry for making you cry."
"It's not your fault." Lucy tried to give him a sincere smile. "Today has been a very stressful day." She had been running back and forth for the roses as well as helping Ezra deal with the students who wanted to purchase roses when the line became too long.
"In reality I wanted to see how everything was going and I wanted to buy a rose as well."
She chuckled and handed him a red one. "I wonder if it's for a certain nurse." She said referring to the school nurse Porlyusica.
"It's a secret." Makarov winked at her as he handed her the two dollars. He didn't give her a moment to protest about the money before he left.
"Lucy."
She looked over her shoulder to see Ezra worried.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes." She answered truthfully. Makarov helped her feel more confident about her relationship with Laxus.
It was close to twelve and things seemed to have calm. There was no longer a line for roses and so Lucy encouraged Ezra to go find Jellal because she knew that her friend had held onto a red rose since the morning.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Lucy exclaimed shooing her out of the booth. "Go now!"
"Only if you're certain…"
"I am."
"Thank you Lucy." Ezra smiled at her gratefully before she took off with her red rose.
Lucy took a seat on the empty chair and finally took a moment to relax her feet. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"You still have one."
Her eyes snapped open to see Gajeel standing on the other side of the booth.
"I can't believe the Shrimp gave me a red one." He pulled out his wallet. "Now I'm obligated to get her one."
"You can always give her a yellow one since you're always going on about how the both of you are just friends."
"Just give me the red one." He said through gritted teeth. "Do you know how much trouble I have gone through to get one of these? I waited in line at Mira's booth only for her to run out when it was my turn and there's no way in hell I was going to Levy's booth. If I had known she would have wanted one I would have simply picked it off of someone's front yard."
"That's just being cheap."
"No Bunny Girl, that's being smart." He grinned at her. "I'll see you later. Good luck with Laxus."
"Why would I need luck with Laxus?"
"Natsu said you were planning to give Laxus a rose and with the stunt Minerva pulled—"
"What stunt?" She felt a mixture of dread and anger. Lucy wasn't blind to the looks that Minerva gave Laxus, but she took comfort from the fact that Laxus' did not return them.
"She gave him a red rose."
Lucy swallowed feeling her throat go dry. "Did he accept it?"
"I don't think you should worry about that."
"You didn't answer my question."
"He probably accepted it because he heard Orga and Sting gave you a red rose."
"They never gave me a red rose!" Lucy snapped feeling irritated at those who spread the rumors and at Laxus for believing them. "Sting was looking for Yukino and Orga was having second thoughts about giving his rose to Minerva."
"Gihihi I heard they were confessing their undying love for you."
Lucy was never more tempted than to slam her forehead repeated against the table.
"Don't let this get to you Bunny Girl. Just talk to him." He waved at her as he walked away. "You're one of the few he listens to."
"Lucy!" Natsu yelled as he ran toward her with Gray and Juvia behind him. "You guys sold everything."
"Not everything." Lucy glanced at the few remaining yellow roses before glaring at him. "Where have you been?"
"I was selling red roses." Natsu grinned at her.
"More like he was walking around campus holding a box filled with red roses and demanding students to buy them." Gray said as finally reached them with Juvia. "I had to step in."
"Why do I get the feeling that the both of you fought more than you actually sold?" Lucy sighed exasperated.
"We sold an entire box." Natsu said proudly not bothering to deny Lucy's statement as he took out the money from his pocket and placed it on the table. Gray did the same but in a more calmly manner. "Have you given your rose to Laxus?" He asked curiously.
"Not yet. I was going to go look for him once you guys got here."
"Love rival." Juvia looked over Lucy's shoulder. "Where's your rose?"
"It's right over there." Lucy pointed over her shoulder with her thumb at the small vase she specifically placed there to hold her red rose.
"There's no rose there."
"What?" She looked over her shoulder to see the empty vase. "That can't be." She whispered getting up from her seat and ran to the small vase. The water she had filled it with in the morning was there, but no red rose. It was then she remembered that she had been so busy getting the booth ready with Ezra and making sure they didn't run out of roses that she forgot to purchase her own red rose. After all the trouble she went through in order to make sure this event would succeed she forgot to do one of the most important things.
"Did someone take it!?" Natsue exclaimed in outrage.
"No." Lucy shook her head feeling disappointed. "I forgot to buy one."
"If only I had the one Juvia gave me then I could have given you that one." Gray frowned. "But it ended up getting crushed."
"Gray-sama crushed it when he got in a fight with Natsu." Juvia smiled at him adoringly.
"Sorry about that." Gray rubbed that back of his neck feeling self-conscious.
"Juvia doesn't mind because Gray-sama accepted it before it got ruined." She looked at Lucy sympathetically. "Juvia only wishes that the red rose could have survived so we could have given it to my love rival." Even though she called Lucy her love rival she knew that was no longer the case. When the blonde girl had transferred in Juvia had been worried because of how close Gray got to her, but Lucy had reassured her that there was nothing between her and Gray except for friendship. She even went as far as to share the secret of her betrothal to Laxus. No one was aware of it other than the fact that she lived in the Dreyar estate, they were childhood friends and their families were close friends. Their friends were aware of Lucy's feelings for the Laxus, but not of the betrothal.
"He already got a red rose from Minerva." She took a seat on the chair again feeling exhausted. She closed her eyes when she felt them burn with tears of frustration. "Perhaps this is a sign that right now is not the right time."
"Do you know how dumb that sounds?"
Her eyes snapped open and the breath rushed out of her lungs at the sight that greeted her. It was that of an angry Natsu.
"So what if Minerva gave Laxus a red rose! So what if he accepted it! That doesn't mean that he won't accept yours!"
"Natsu." Gray said in warning.
"When is the right time if it's not today!?" Natsu slammed his hands on the table and peered down at her. "Everyone is confessing their love to one another and so should you! Why should a rose stop you from telling him!?"
His words hit her directly in the heart. Why should a simple red rose stop her? Was is it because she felt giving him the rose would be easier than saying the words? Either way she still had to gather the courage to give him that rose. Why not use that courage to tell him verbally? "You're right Natsu." Lucy stood from her seat and pulled her best friend into a hug. "Thank you for not letting me back down." She whispered to him.
"That was beautiful!" They heard Mirajane cry out.
The best friends pulled away to see that the Strauss sisters had joined them along Jet and Droy.
"You're right, but we shouldn't send Lucy emptied handed." Mira stepped up to them. "Natsu you once asked me why did the color of the rose matter."
"You said each other color represented a meaning. Red for love and yellow for friendship."
"That's correct. So the difference in each rose lies in the…"
"Color!" Natsu exclaimed. "It's the color of the petals that matter!" He looked at the floor and then looked up at Lucy grinned. "Red rose petals!"
"What does that—"
"We're surrounded by red rose petals!" He kneeled down and began to gather the scattered red rose petals into a pile. "Red rose petals have the same meaning as a red rose Lucy." He gave her toothily grin.
Once again he surprised her. She jumped over the table and began to gather the rose petals. They others didn't waste time in helping. After a decent amount were gather they stood in a circle looking at their work.
"Now we need to put in something."
"A plastic bag."
"No idiot. Lucy wants Laxus to be able to see what it is."
"Screw you perv. Why don't you go put on a shirt!?"
"What!?" Gray for the first time noticed he didn't have a shirt on. "When did that happen!?"
"Don't worry Gray-sama." Juvia pulled out his uniform shirt from her schoolbag. "Juvia picked it up for you."
Gray didn't verbally thank her, but everyone in the group caught the small smile he directed at her, the slight contact of eyes, and his fingers brushing against hers when he grabbed his shirt. "Idealistically," he said as he slipped on the shirt, "the container should be see through."
"Like a jar?" Juvia asked Lucy and Mirajane.
"A jar would be perfect." Lucy gaze peered around the quad as she thought about where they could get one.
Mirajane snapped her fingers remembering where she saw some. "The art class has some! We're going to do a project with them next week."
"But wouldn't that be stealing?" Lucy looked at her worried.
"Not at all." Mirajane clasped her hand. "You can use mine. I'll just bring another one to replace it tomorrow."
"Mira… I—"
"You don't have to say anything." Mirajane looked over her shoulder at Jet who nodded at her.
"I'm on it!" He waved at them as he ran toward the main building.
"Bring a small white ribbon as well!" Mirajane yelled after him.
Now all they had to do was wait.
"Where's Levy?" Lisanna asked Droy.
"Gajeel wanted to speak with her."
Lisanna, Mirajane, Juvia, and Lucy shared a knowing look and a secretive smile.
"What are the four of you smiling about?" Natsu asked confused.
"It's best not to know." Gray told him wisely.
"Where's Erza?"
"She went to speak with Jellal."
"Is he in trouble?"
"No."
"Then why did she go speak with him?"
Gray, Droy, and Juvia gave him a disbelieving look, while Lucy shook her with a smile, Lisanna simply patted his head and Mirajane chuckled.
As they continued to wait Lucy went back into the booth and pulled out her bag from under the table. She took out her wallet purse. Her friends pretended not to see her pull out a twenty and put in the small metal box that contained the money they earned from their sales.
When she began to pass out the remaining yellow roses they all pretended to be surprised.
"Love rival," Juvia held the yellow rose to her bosom. "Juvia promises to always treasure this."
"Thanks." Gray told her. "This is the first yellow rose I have ever gotten. It feels nice."
"You're the best Lucy!" Natsu placed his hands on her cheeks and pulled her to him. He planted a big smooch on her forehead.
"Today must be my lucky day." Droy winked at her. "I got two roses from two very beautiful girls." The other girl he referred to was Levy. Both roses were yellow, but they meant a lot to him. "Thank you Lucy."
"You're too sweet." Lisanna said and sniffed her rose. "Thank you so much."
"You didn't have to Lucy." Mirajane said as she took her yellow rose. "I know we're friends."
"I wanted to." Lucy told her simply. She gave her another one. "In case I'm not here when Ezra gets back, can you give her that one?"
"It would be my pleasure." She said and pulled her into a hug. Since the moment Lucy transferred in Mirajane was instantly smitten with her. She was like another younger sister to her.
They didn't wait for long for Jet to return out of breath with a small jar and a white ribbon. Lucy handed him a yellow rose surprising Jet as he handed her the jar. She twisted the lid open and didn't waste time in filling it up with red rose petals. The process was a quick one which was a pleasant surprise since Natsu and Gray had helped her without getting in a fight.
Once she sealed the lid over the jar Mirajane held her hand out for it. Without hesitation Lucy handed it to her and watched as the girl she looked as an older sister tied the white ribbon.
As she wrapped the ribbon around the rim of the lid Mira remembered once asking Lucy what she wanted with Laxus.
"I want to be close to him. I want to be able to stand next to him and hold his hand again."
She tied the ribbon into a knot.
"I want to make him as happy as he made me once."
It was such an innocent thing. Her love for him. She made Droy get her a white ribbon because white meant innocence and pure. The jar she held in her hands was symbol of Lucy's love for Laxus and the white ribbon showed what type of love it was. It was an innocent love.
Her want to be close to him. Her want to hold his hand. Her want to make him happy.
"Here." She handed the jar back to Lucy and watched as the blonde girl held it delicately in her hands. "Go Lucy."
She waved at them with a beautiful smile. Her pure love in her hands.
And Mira watched her go with tear filled eyes.
"Mira-nee," Lisanna clasped her older sister's hand. "She'll be okay."
"I know." Mira pulled her younger sister into her arms. "You're not allowed to fall in love and leave me anytime soon."
"Mira-nee you're not making any sense." She protested weakly as she wrapped her arms around her.
"Once you fall in love you're going to get married and then have a family of your own. You won't be by my side anymore. I'm not going to let you go until you're twenty-five!"
Natsu gulped and sweated bullets when Mira glared at him.
Lucy ran into the main building not caring about the attention she attracted. She caught sight of Sting and Yukino. They were both holding red roses and Yukino was laughing at something Sting said.
"Sting! Yukino!"
Yukino turned around, while Sting simply looked over his shoulder and glared at her. "Lucy." Yukino greeted her with a flushed face and a sweet smile.
Lucy could practically see how happy the girl was and how annoyed Sting was getting because she had taken Yukino's attention. Instead of calling him out on it like she usually would she let the matter go. She had something much more important to do. "I'm sorry for interrupting."
"You're not interrupting us." Yukino said quick to reassure her. "Are you okay though?" She asked worried seeing Lucy was almost out of breath.
"I'm fine, but I was wondering if you've seen Laxus."
"I'm sorry Lucy, but I haven't." She looked at Sting who shook his head.
"How about Freed?"
"No," Sting said abruptly, "but Rogue said he saw him patrolling the halls."
"Do you know where Rogue is?"
"He should be in the next building." Yukino told her. "You'll see him once you cross the bridge."
"Thank you!" Lucy shouted at them as she took off running again further down the hall. She pushed through the double doors and crossed the bridge. Yukino had been right. The moment she pushed passed the double doors that led to the next building Rogue was standing there with Wendy.
The hallway was empty except for them and Lucy froze in her tracks when they turned to her. She didn't know who was more shocked, them or her. She had accidently caught them exchanging red roses. Silence settled over them, but was quickly broken by Lucy apologizing to them. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."
"Don't apologize." Wendy was quick to reassure her. She glanced at Rogue who was not helping the situation by remaining silent. "You seem to be in a rush. Is there any way we can help you?" She said trying to take the attention off of her and Rogue.
"I was wondering if either of you have seen Laxus or Freed."
"Unfortunately we haven't seen Laxus," Rogue spoke for the first time, "but we have seen Freed. If you run down the hall and turn a right you should be able to catch up to him."
"Thank you so much!" She ran passed them. It wasn't her place to tell them anything and Lucy personally thought that Wendy couldn't have chosen a nicer guy. Gajeel and Natsu seemed to like him and Lucy knew he was far more polite than Sting and was close friends with Yukino as well. From the entire Sabertooth club he was the second nicest person in there after Yukino.
Lucy followed Rogue's directions and went a step further by yelling Freed's name. The moment she turned a right she collided with a worried Freed. When she was about to fall on her behind, he grabbed her by the arms.
"What's wrong?" he asked as his gaze roamed over her form checking for any sign of injury. The panic he heard in her voice filled him with worry. He feared Laxus' reaction if anyone dared to harm Lucy.
"Laxus." She said once she caught her breath. "I need to find Laxus."
"Is that why you were yelling my na—"
"Have you seen him?" Lucy asked not caring that she was being impolite in cutting him off. She held the jar closer to her chest.
It was then Freed caught sight of the small jar with red rose petals and a white ribbon. "He's on the rooftop." He said letting his hands fall from her arms.
"Thank you." Before she could leave Freed grabbed her arm again.
"Don't let him discourage you."
"I won't." She vowed.
And so Freed let her go. I wish you the best of luck Lucy Heartfilia. A small smile tugged at his lips.
After what felt like eternity Lucy slammed open the door that led to the rooftop and she saw him for the first time that day. She had been forced to skip breakfast to help the Fairy Tail club set up for the day.
He didn't bother to look over his shoulder. His upper body leaned forward with his forearms on the railing and his head was tilted back as he looked at the sky. An unlit cigarette rested between his lips. It wasn't until she was beside him that she saw the red rose with a yellow ribbon tied on the stem clasped in fingertips.
"I thought you quit."
"It's unlit." He said while he held the cigarette between his teeth.
"Then why do you still have them?"
"At times I have the urge to smoke again." He took out his pack of cigarettes from his pocket and slipped the unlit one back in. "I want to see if I will cave in." Laxus slipped the pack back into his pocket. "Bought it two months and I have yet to light one… although I was very tempted to today."
"If you did I wouldn't have blamed you." Lucy sighed. "Today has been a very stressful day."
"And here I was thinking it must have not been so bad for you since I heard you were getting a lot of company."
"You heard wrong." She glanced at him. "The only one that kept me company was Erza. Natsu and Gray had run off. I had to bribe Sting to help me by telling him he would gain brownie points with Yukino if he did. Orga didn't count because he had been our first customer and was still unsure about giving Minerva the red rose he bought. It was only a few minutes ago I was able to see the others."
Laxus remained silent.
"I thought you would come."
"I was busy."
"I heard you were."
The cold tone she used had him glance at her for the first time since she joined him on the rooftop.
"Even though Headmaster Makarov had a busy schedule he still took the time to come to the booth to see how we were doing."
"Like I said. I was busy."
"I know." She sighed feeling exhausted again. The adrenaline that had kicked in when she ran had worn off. "It's funny how you were afraid that I would get a red rose—"
"I never said I was afraid." He hissed the words through clenched teeth.
"And yet it was you that did." She continued as if he hadn't interrupted her. "You also accepted it."
"Fucking Gajeel."
"Don't go cursing him."
"He was the only one there."
"That still doesn't excuse your actions.
"What did you want me to do?" He turned to her pissed. "If I didn't take it you'd look at me like I kicked a puppy. Wasn't the whole point of this stupid event to tell the other person how you felt? To have your feelings acknowledged?"
He had a point, but it didn't make it hurt any less. "Did you respond back?"
"There wasn't a rose that meant 'I don't care', which I'm going to file a complaint about in our next meeting."
"You didn't respond back…"
"I saw no point. The roses were for love or friendship. She's not my lover nor do I hold any kind of love or affection for her and we sure as hell aren't friends. I don't care about her." He told her simply and honestly. It's not that he wanted anything bad to happen to Minerva, but he also didn't want anything good to happen to her. In the grand scheme of his life she wasn't important.
Which was the opposite of the girl that stood beside him. His grandfather told him that they had history, but Laxus was couldn't remember it. He only saw glimpses of it and yet he knew she was important to him when he first saw her in person less than half a year ago.
His grandfather and father had shown him photos of her so he knew how she would look. The night before their first day of fall semester she arrived late. Laxus locked himself in his room and left early to avoid having to cross paths with her. He didn't want to go to school early so he went off grid and by the time he remembered about school he was late.
The gate had been closed so Laxus had to climb over it. Just as he was walking away he heard someone call to him for help.
"Hey! I'm so sorry to bother you, but can you help me?"
He could have ignored her and kept walking, but he was curious about the female student daring enough to ask him for help. He turned around and for the first time he saw Lucy in person. It was very much an embarrassing sight for her since the upper half of her body dangled over the gate and her lower dangled on the other side. Her schoolbag seemed to have slipped from her hands because it was on the dirt.
Laxus knew the moment she recognized him because her eyes widened, a red hue covered her cheeks, and her hand reach out to him as if she knew he would help her. That he wouldn't turn his back on her and he didn't. He proved her right. He couldn't explain why he moved toward her and pulled her gently off the gate. He couldn't explain why he continued to hold her in his hands longer than he should of. She should have been a complete stranger to him and yet she felt familiar.
At that point in time he wanted to laugh and he wanted to run. He wanted her to stay close because he felt that he found something he lost and he wanted her far from him because what she made him feel frightened him. Above all the confusion he knew two things he liked seeing her happy and he disliked seeing her sad.
"What did you do with the rose?" Lucy asked.
"I told Freed to give it to Orga as a response for Minerva."
"And I thought Mirajane was the only matchmaker around."
His response was a glare.
Lucy knew she shouldn't laugh. She should stay mad at him for how he acted. He didn't come see her because of the rumors he heard. Even so… A chuckle slipped passed her lips that soon morphed into a full blown laugh.
He would let her slide this once. It had nothing to with the warmth that filled his chest at the sound of her laughter and the knowledge that he did that. "Tell me Heartfilia, what did you come up here for? I hope it wasn't to simply bask in my presence."
She playfully shoved his arm. "Don't be getting so full yourself."
"I'm just stating facts." He smirked.
"There's something I want to tell you."
The smirk fell from his lips when he saw Lucy turn to face him. In her hands was a small jar filled with red rose petals and white ribbon tied around the rim of the lid. That same red hue he saw on her cheeks the first time he saw her was back and her gaze held his again.
Her mouth opened and she uttered the three words that he wasn't able to hear because at that exact moment the school bell rang signaling the end of the school day. Even though he didn't hear them he knew what they were as she held out the small jar to him.
"I can't say those words back to you, but I accept your feelings." He quickly grabbed the jar from her hands because a part of him feared that she would take it back after his words. He didn't want her to take it back. "This is my response." He held out his rose.
Lucy took the red rose with a yellow ribbon tied on the stem.
"I don't want to say the words until I'm certain." He owed it to her. She was always honest to him when it came to her feelings. He wanted do the same for her. "It didn't seem right to give you a yellow rose because you mean more than a friend, but I didn't want to deceive you by simply giving you a red rose."
Now she understood what the yellow ribbon was for. Her finger pressed against the silk material as she brought the red rose up to her nose and inhaled the scent. A smile graced her lips. His words didn't hurt because he was being honest. He was opening up about how he felt about her.
"I would like you to remain by my side until I figure all this out."
She brought the rose down to her bosom. "I would like that as well."
"Now that this is out of the way we can go home."
Her heart skipped a beat at his words. Her hand reached out to him, her fingers almost grabbed hold of his uniform shirt, but at the last most the tips of them brushed lightly over the material as her hand fell away from him.
He felt the ghost of her touch and looked over his shoulder to see her hand begin to fall back to her side. Without thinking he turned slightly and caught her hand. "What is it?" He asked not knowing how he knew that she wanted to say something.
"What about the dance?"
"I thought you were exhausted and would like to come home with me."
Lucy felt her face become warm again. He said 'home' again instead of saying 'my home'. This was the first time he wasn't reminding her that she was a guest in his and his grandfather's home. He made it seem like she belonged there with them.
"But if you want to go to the dance… I guess we can stay."
"No." She shook her head. "Let's go home."
This moment made all the trouble she went through earlier that day worth it and she would gladly go through it all again if it meant this would be the end result.
His hand held hers as he led her down the stairs.
"Please tell me that I won't regret letting you choose the movie." Laxus said from his spot on the couch.
"You'll like it." Lucy said as she took a seat beside him and draped a blanket over her legs as the movie loaded on to the lacrima screen. She grabbed the remote along with her bowl of popcorn from the coffee table. "It's a musical."
"You're asking me not to let you choose anymore movies." He snatched some of her popcorn.
"Hey, make your own popcorn." She protested and moved the bowl further from him. "I'll have you know that my preference in movies is perfectly fine."
"I never said there was something wrong with your preference in movies. You said that." He ran a hand through his spiky hair. "I'm simply not a fan of musicals."
"That's not a surprised." She mumbled before popping a popcorn into her mouth.
"I don't have to make my popcorn because half of the popcorn in that bowl is mine just like half of this estate is yours. I'll even go as far as to say this entire estate is yours just like all that of popcorn is mine."
"You know that whole thing of 'what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine' only applies if we were married."
"Lucy," he leaned toward her. His lips brushed against the shell of her ear as he whispered, "That is a small detail that will be rectified in a few years." His hand latched on to the bowl.
Lucy was helpless to stop him as he took the bowl of popcorn from right under her nore. His voice husky and low in her ear sent her heart beating rapidly against her chest. His lips and warm breath against her skin sent a shiver down her spine. She was always aware of his presence, but this time it was different. Her entire body seemed to come to life in those few seconds. A part of her wanted more. She glanced at him to see him smirking and she knew that he knew exactly what he had done to her.
Laxus Dreyar would be the end of her. She was as certain of this as the heart that beat within her chest.
"Smells like roses to me
Two young lovers at see
Taste so bitter, so sweet"
-Roses (James Arthur ft. Emeli Sandé)
AN: Oh wow this ended up being a lot longer than I had planned. I'm thinking about expanding on this universe, but I don't know if I should. I apologize if there any grammatical errors, nonetheless I hope you guys liked it. Please don't hesitate to leave a review telling me what you think. I would greatly appreciate it! =D