Lucy and Laxus Ship Week: Day Two - Dream
This is fucked up, but the best thing I could come up with. I appear to have been in quite a dark mood lately.
For as long as he had been able to dream, the woman had been there. For as long as the woman had been there, Laxus had been free from the plagues of mankind - healthy in body, mind, and spirit. Laxus never thought much of the woman who was always in his head, whispering sweet nothings behind his eyes until he fell asleep, nor did he think of how much advice he really took from her that he ought not to. Laxus never told anybody how hazy his memory became at times when he allowed the woman to take over because he was unable to cope, nor how intoxicated he was with the feeling of letting go; of having her take the reins on their body. Why, Laxus Dreyar lived a charmed life. Handsome; wealthy; charismatic; an executive at Fairy Tail, the global enterprise of food and mercenaries. For them, for Laxus, life was enchanting.
Except, perfect it was not.
For all that he loved Lucy, the woman in his head, and how perfect she was for him, sometimes she scared him with what she did. Sometimes, when Laxus allowed Lucy control over everything he would wake up in an unknown place, covered in blood other times it would leave him woozy and ill, a nagging feeling in his lungs and arms as he lost all motivation to wash the grime from his skin and explain to those who cared for him what had happened. Though, perhaps the last thing was because he could not remember. For his whole life, this had happened though no word had reached his ears about death and murder, and Laxus still loved the way he was able to let go. With conviction, Laxus prayed to Lucy to stop, though she was never the one to answer his pleas. Sometimes it was Aquarius, others it was Aries. Laxus once had the pleasure of Leo refusing his qualms and longed for the day the man would turn up again with his gentle voice and soothing words.
The others, Lucy had called them the Golden Zodiac and so did Laxus, had shown up a long time after Lucy. Laxus could still remember when he first heard Lucy argue with Aquarius, he had woken up in the bathtub which was stained with blood, and the mirror on the wall had been smashed. The two had been bickering about waking him up, 'release' him was what the cackling woman had said to Lucy. Laxus had been woken by a male, or that was what he remembered, the old man's voice uttering quotes and mottos that Laxus remembered from school about friends and love. And as much as he was scared of her, of all of the voices no one else could hear, Laxus knew that Lucy was the reason he was so feared, so respected, and he knew that she was the reason that Fairy Tail grew the way it did.
Though their transient life was not to last, Fairy Tail was facing trouble from competitors and due to the medication his doctor said he 'needed', Laxus was unable to find Lucy; unable to make her do his work for him. Over the twenty-five years of his life, Laxus had never had to do the work in his office, never had to hold conferences or plan training days because Lucy had always done it for him. The woman had claimed, in her sweet drawling voice, that it had been her payment for his allowing her their body for a moment of their pleasure. The company was failing, and Laxus was powerless to stop it and worse was that everyone blamed him. They had been together from the start, and his old man - the God-damned CEO - was not even trying to do anything about any situation other than drink with their beautiful sales representatives.
October 19th, he had forgotten the year, that was the first and only time Laxus ever met Lucy outside of his dreams; the first time he had seen her face. The woman had sidled into his booth at a coffee shop, blueberry muffin warm beside the fluffy cappuccino her pink manicured nails set on the polished table. Laxus had looked into the deep eyes of the woman, watching as she bit into the muffin with a large smile spread across her face before she sipped at the froth atop her cup, twisting her head to look at the written draft Laxus had scrawled in blue ink, "Ah, employee reports, never did like those much." Her button nose scrunched and her chin disappeared into her beige scarf for a second. Lucy had looked at him with doe eyes, licking the edge of her lips whilst pointing at the silver watch that sat on the edge of the table until Laxus moved it to his pocket, "It's scary out there, in the big bad world," A nod of her head towards the glass had Laxus watching the way her blonde hair shook in its braid. The blonde hair looking a very similar shade to his own, "Very different to your dreams, I'm sure," Lucy had giggled, a knowing look to her eyes as she had taken a gulp of her drink. The man said nothing, his body rigid as he trained his eyes on the fingerless gloves that Lucy had worn, their archaic pattern something he had always admired in museums, "I can make it go away, Laxus," Thin tendrils of breath gasped into his lungs as she had spoken his name, something primal recognising her voice as sugar sweet, "Do you trust me?" Lucy had leant forward, giggling again with clenched eyes and wrinkled nose.
"I don't know who you are," Came thickly from Laxus' lips, heavy with spittle and fear. Laxus' eyes had darted to the side, assessing that the only other people in the café were the wait-staff and an old couple by the doors.
Lucy reached across the booth to pat him on the arm, voice light like a Summer breeze, "Course you do, why," The woman had slowed her words, a wicked smile causing her lips to twist as she raised a brow, "I'm Lucy," The woman's face had fallen sadly, eyes bending to the table and back to him with concern, head lolling to the side, "You do remember me, don't you?"
"Where have you been?" Laxus hissed, jaw clicking as he tried to keep his composure, "I needed your help," Laxus sank his teeth into the chocolate he had brought with him, the resistance he met with it distracting him from the creature in front of him - one who did not look bothered by his words.
For a moment, Lucy was impassive but her face quickly fell into one of sorrow and she took her hands into her lap, "I-I've been away, Laxus," Lucy gulped thickly, one hand snaking up to play with the loose curls at the nape of her neck, her eyes settling on somewhere below his collar, "I'm really sorry I couldn't help," Lucy leant forward, her knees pressing against Laxus' below the shining table her fingers slipped across, "I'll help now, anything you ask of me," Lucy shook her head slowly as she spoke, as if his being annoyed with the voice in his head was something she was worried and scared by, "Just please don't be mad," Her breathing quickened, eyes wide and voice tight.
Laxus tightened the balls of his hands, feeling how his knuckles cracked and how it made his shoulders wince, "Take me somewhere else," He said slowly, tongue wetting his stinging lips as he looked at the blurred name on the top page, "Somewhere happy." His voice had been small, meek she had called it in another dream. Laxus shut his eyes, scared of what she would think of him; boys were not supposed to cry, to be soft. Lucy said nothing, but took his hand and helped him rise from across the table. The man vaguely remembered a 'trust me' called in a hissing voice before a warm light enclosed him, and when he awoke Lucy sat beside him on a park bench, children's laughter hot in the air, "Where are we?"
"Why, dear boy, we're dreaming," Laxus looked about the plain park, saw the birds and the other animals but there were no children. The words surprised him, the ethereal woman beside him ad never allowed him to see in his dreams before, only a dark void of nothingness that left him feeling both calm and drained, "We can make it into whatever we want," Lucy leant forward onto her knees and tucked a strand of hair behind her hair as she looked back at him. That was the last memory Laxus had before paralytic fear washed his spine and he fell once more into the quiet, peaceful sleep Lucy had often coerced him into over the years. She loved him, Laxus knew that but he also knew it was more of a need and having met her, having seen how she worked, that scared him enough to faint.
What Laxus awoke from his fainting slumber, Lucy was over him, her hair tickling his nose as she regarded him with worry, "Would you like me to take you somewhere else?" Lucy helped the man to his feet, and ran her fingers over the forearm of his pristine suit, "It's real quiet," Lucy smiled up at him, taking his palm and kissing it just like Laxus remembered his mother doing, "Just down the road," Lucy moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his thick waist
Sadness washed over Laxus, and he dropped to his knees to look up at the woman with blurring eyes that brimmed with tears. This girl, his love, had remained standing with her arms by her sides and as she looked down at Laxus with apathetic eyes that man had broken into hysterical weeping in the path she had created, his life - her life - catching up to him in a way he had never wanted. He had even stopped taking the things the doctors had given him in order to make him more functional. Lucy had gone away, he had only needed her intoxicating presence back but the drugs had made her go away. "Please," Laxus wailed, bodily fluids leaking from his face as she pleaded with the voice, "Make it go away," The man clutched the woman's skirt, her hand resting on his head as he wiped his face into her leg and pulled himself close as though it would stop her should she leave.
"Shh, Laxus, it'll be all right," Lucy said, looking at him over her cheeks a smile leaking onto her face as she peeled him away from her in order to wipe his face, "Take my hand, Laxus," Lucy sank to one knee in front of him, curling her fingers in his hair, breath tickling his nose and lips as she came close, "And we'll go on a happy journey," Rubbing her cheek into his own, Lucy looked behind Laxus to the fuzzy shape that had materialised behind one of the park's trees, "Just you, and me."
"I can't be happy," Laxus said, shoving the woman away with anger and his words came with more sadness than Lucy had thought the man possessed, "I'm not allowed to be," Laxus' lips snarled, and he thrashed at her, taking her in his arms to shake her with his fury, "You're a liar!" A break sounded in his voice, his face prickling with tears as the words drowned out all noise, "You're all liars!" Laxus shouted, holding his most trusted person close in his arms to trap her, "You're going to leave me, just like them."
"Of course you are," Lucy crooned in his ear, brows furrowed as she looked to her strong friend, "Ya just gotta," Lucy shuddered, tears trickling from her own eyes, "You have to take my hand," Pressing her palms against his stomach Lucy kissed the corner of his jaw, drawing in the heady scent that traced his brow, "I'll make it go away," Laxus let the woman go, taking her hand and following her along the path to his happiness.
Later that day, or was perhaps it was year, Laxus sat with Lucy atop a cliff, their hands joined as they watched the orange sky turn purple with the dying sun. After following his love into the happiness, Laxus had woken in his apartment alone and with a letter promising that she was real. That she loved him, and that she would never go away again. And Lucy had kept that promise, staying with him until he recovered enough that the doctors stopped trying to give him medication and Fairy Tail was saved, Lucy stayed with him and sometimes Laxus even heard her in his head, "I have to stop dreaming about you, Lucy," Laxus said sadly, pulling his hand from the others with the realisation that he had been asleep for far too long, for far too vividly for him to have been healthy outside his - their - own little world, "It'd be best for the both of us," Laxus watched as Lucy stared at the falling sun for a few more moments before she looked to him.
"But," Lucy's heart broke, her plan for their life falling apart before her eyes, "But if you got rid of me," Lucy turned her body, the whole of her right leg hanging precariously over the edge of the cliff as she leant towards him, "I'd be all on my own," Lucy tried to kiss the man, to hold him close against her but he pushed her away, "You can't do that to me Laxus," Lucy's voice broke, and for a moment Laxus was back in that park staring at a version of himself, "You can't leave me on my own," Her breathing was fast, face pale and desperate as she clawed at him. "I need you."
"You have the other's," Laxus smiled, standing, knowing that she would never truly be gone, "You'll be fine," He laughed, holding a hand out for her to take. "You'll still be there, you'll always be a part of me."
"I," Lucy shook her head, a watery smile on her face, "No," A bitter laugh rose in her throat as she glared up at him, "You can't, Laxus," Lucy took his hand, pulling herself up and close to him, "I love you." Lucy pawed at his chest, pulling him closer as he moved away for the fear of her manipulation was returning; Laxus was remembering why he wanted her gone, why he had asked the doctors to make the voices go away, "Don't you think I'm pretty?" Lucy cried, her fingers leaving him to unbutton her shirt, her fingers stopping and her eyes hopeful when he touched her hands.
At the time, it felt as though his heart had stopped and he shook as his body cool and sweat poured from him as it only did when he was scared, "No." Laxus would have said more if not for how her face became plain, the features returning to a neutral expression to study his face and when she side Laxus rushed to move away, something in his heart telling him he ought to run. He could not listen to his mind, it was telling him to move closer to the danger. Lucy lashed out quickly, and as he fell with pain Lucy stood above him with the broken bottle of wine, "What was that for?" The man pushed his palm against the wound, for although it was a dream there was still some memory.
Lucy had gotten their body stabbed before when he was asleep, and sixteen.
"You said you'd leave me," Lucy shrugged, as though that was the simplest thing that could have possibly happened, "You don't get to do that," Lucy frowned, face contorting until it was a harsh sneer, "I leave you, not the other way around." Laxus gazed up at his love, at the only person he could trust and still felt his love for her run deep, the man knew he could never live without her, and he had thought she was real enough that he would not have to dream, "Remember?" Lucy hissed, fist tightening around the pointed shard. "I own you, you belong to me."
"Shit," Laxus gasped at the wet feeling on his fingers, and when he pulled the hand away from his side the man gawked at how red with blood it was, "Wait," the man's breathing was short, and he inched towards Lucy who watched the blood pump rhythmically from his side in a pulsing waterfall, "How am I bleeding?" Laxus had never felt anything in his dreams before, never felt what it was like to bleed in reality neither because Lucy always took it from him. Lucy felt as though she were looking down at a child as Laxus spoke, and perhaps she was for all that had denied him over the years, "Why does it hurt?" Laxus begged at the woman's feet, needing his love to tell him something good. Laxus needed them to dream, needed her to take over until he was all better. "Make it go away, Lucy, make it stop hurting."
"Oh," Genuine sadness filled Lucy as she looked down at her love, at her prize and her greatest work of art, but a manic smile filled her face as laughter shook her torso, "You actually thought this was a dream."