AN: Hello, readers! I wrote this story roughly two summers ago, where I copied onto paper before the flash drive I had it on died. Yeah. So, it took me two years of dragging my feet to finally rewrite this, and while it's not my best work, I am still pretty proud of it because it's the first Fairy Tail story I've ever posted. Also, I love this pairing.

One last thing- this story is kind of similar to a one-shot written by Lady Nosila (Who is an AWESOME fanfiction writer that you should all check out if you haven't already), so my apologies about that. I didn't realize it until after it was all written. Oh well…

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this story and feel free to leave a review about your thoughts on it!

A Lucky Encounter

Inspired By Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail

My eyes popped open to greet a bright room lit by the sunlight that flooded through my window. With a smile I sat up, quickly getting out of bed and stretching my stiff limbs before realizing with a delighted hum that there wasn't a single one of my usual guests. Already pleased with how the day was shaping up to be I decided to have a shower. Feeling eager to prepare for the day I quickly grabbed a change of clothes and trotted cheerfully into the bathroom, where I hurriedly washed and changed into the dark blue miniskirt and white tank top I had chosen.

Once I left the bathroom I pulled on white heeled sandals and grabbed a black belt, which I fastened securely around my waist before attaching my whip and celestial keys to it. I then brushed out my short blonde hair and tied it into pigtails before leaving the apartment without applying makeup as I did- I knew- look good even without it.

I left the apartment building and walked easily down the street, springing lightly onto the small brick lining separating the river from the stone paved street as I ignored the usual concerned warnings from the local fishermen floating by on their boats. I hopped off the stone where it ended and grinned as I made my way to my favorite place in the world; Fairy Tail.

It was the place that held all of my closest friends, though I supposed they were closer to family by that point. I had made friends out of almost everybody in the guild, though the closest of which would always be Gray (The stripper), Titania Erza, Levvy (The bookworm), Wendy (The endearing sky dragon slayer), Charle the white cat, Happy the blue cat, and Natsu (The pyro).

As I neared the building I couldn't help but wonder what job Natsu would pick today. Knowing him it'll be something highly dangerous and filled to the brim with fighting… with the bonus of lots of money, of course. I felt myself unconsciously begin to move quicker in anticipation for the day's job and at the thought of spending time with my beloved guild mates.

In no time at all I arrived in front of Fairy Tail, its magnificently built structure rising up to the sky almost defiantly. Despite the pleasure I felt at its sight I couldn't help but feel as if something was missing. It took only a moment for me to realize that the building was suspiciously lacking its usual shakiness and shouts from the regularly occurring fights within. The guild was, at a glance, completely silent and still. That led me to one of two conclusions; either Natsu had finally matured and learned how to behave or he had yet to arrive.

Based on my knowledge of the fire dragon slayer I chose the latter.

Wasting no more time with my internal contemplation I confidently strode to the guild and pushed open its doors, instantly getting a loud, heartfelt greeting from my guild mates that I readily returned. Once everyone had returned to their previous activities I went for Mira at the bar and smoothly slid onto a stool as I beamed at her.

"Hiya, Mira! Can you get me my usual, please?"

"Of course, Lucy! Just hold on a sec." She turned and began to prepare my drink as she continued conversationally over her shoulder, "How are you feeling after your last job? Still sore?"

I automatically slid my hand to my shoulder and winced, remembering how I had hurt it in the first place, "A little. It could be worse, though I still don't understand why Natsu thought fighting a giant salamander in close quarters with me and Gray around was a good idea."

Mira giggled and turned, gently placing my usual drink- a fruit smoothie- on the bar table and sliding it towards me, "He's Natsu; who knows what he thinks- or if he even does, for that matter."

Smiling softly, I nodded, "You're right." I paused, drinking some of my delicious beverage before asking, "Speaking of Natsu, have you seen him yet?"

Mira's bright demeanor darkened a little, "Yes, he came in earlier today."

I frowned, noticing Mira's slight change in expression, "Where is he? It's unusually quiet."

"Earlier he came in and asked for a job he could do solo with Happy."

"Really?" My eyes widened in surprise, "How soon will they be back?"

"Late in the afternoon, possibly nighttime." Mira slowly admitted.

I sighed, wishing I could have gone with him but knowing that sometimes you just want to go on a job alone… with your cat. My brown eyes studied the guild as I continued to sip my smoothie, noticing other members missing.

My brow furrowed and I asked, "Where's Gray?"

"He went off on a job with Juvia this morning after she begged him. They won't be back until about tomorrow afternoon." Mira replied as she pulled out a damp cloth began to wipe down the table.

"How about Levvy?"

"Gajeel took her on a job with him."

I blinked, "Gajeel? He took Levvy on a job?"

Mira nodded and seemed to perk up as she smiled, "I was surprised too, but not as surprised as Levvy. I think she might have accepted just because she was too shocked to do anything else. He all but dragged her out of the guild with their job flyer."

I gave a light laugh, knowing of my friend's crush on the dragon slayer and mentally wishing her the best before asking Mira another question, "Where are Wendy and Erza?"

"Well…" Mira put away the cloth, finished with its use, before turning to take out a glass to clean, "Erza went on an S-Class job and won't be back for several days, and Wendy went with Charle on a critical job request requiring a mage with healing magic to cure a village being plagued by a horrible illness, so she won't be back for days either."

"An entire village?" I asked, instantly impressed that she could handle such a difficult-sounding mission.

"An entire village." Mira confirmed with a single dip of her head.

As pleased as I was that everyone was getting along so well on their own I felt myself sink lower on the stool, my gaze falling to the floor, "I'm going to be alone for a day."

Mira put her hand on my shoulder sympathetically before pulling it away when I yelped in pain. My hand shot to my shoulder to cradle it protectively as Mira winced and apologized, "Sorry, Lucy. I forgot about the injury." I smiled weakly to show that no harm was done and she continued regretfully, "I'd spend time with you if I could, but I have to tend to the bar."

"It's all right, Mira." I lowered my hand from my shoulder and shot her an enthusiastic grin, "If they're all going to go on jobs by themselves today then I will, too!"

I finished the smoothie and gave the glass to Mira with a thank you before I stood and walked to the request board. My eyes scanned it once and, after not spotting anything of interest right away, I looked it over more thoroughly a second time. Still seeing nothing I studied it once more before promptly collapsing into a rather pathetic-seeming heap on the floor with a groan of frustration.

There was absolutely nothing! Usually I could go on a harder job with someone else, but now that there wasn't anybody to go with I needed to find an easy one I could handle alone. The problem with that was that there wasn't one! There was only a bunch of fight-for-your-life-or-die requests that I would undoubtedly need help with. Why can't there be an easy job where I just have to take care of a few stray bandits? With a despondent sigh I reluctantly realized that there was nothing to do about it, Looks like I'll just have to stay home today.

With a depressed huff I pushed myself to my feet and slowly trudged to the guild's entrance, only stopping when Mira called after me, "Lucy! Don't worry about not having a job today. Just relax a little- you've earned it. And if your shoulder starts to hurt too much I want you to get it checked out, okay?"

Managing a smile I nodded, "Okay. Thanks, Mira."

She grinned back at me and I turned to the doors of Fairy Tail once more, opening them only enough for me to slip out unnoticed.

~oOo~

I groaned when the sun's rays peeked through the window, lighting up the dim room and forcing me awake. Sluggishly I sat up from my slouched position on the table and stretched, my head beginning to pound from all the alcohol I had consumed the night before. It's almost sad, really, I groggily mused, Even after I came back to Fairy Tail I still spent most of my time as I did before I had left in the first place; either on a job or in the bar… the latter being my current location.

With a dull throb in my head and a loud sigh from my lips I stood from my seat and began to leave, the faint recollection of paying the previous night before I had passed out vaguely in my mind. I managed to walk straight despite the pain in my head, though my mind still too fuzzy to think.

In order to keep myself from throwing up in a sudden rush of nausea I forced myself to look down at my clothes and the ground, hoping that focusing on something would help ease the urge to vomit. I wore black pants, thick boots, and a warm, fur-lined coat that was draped across my blue-t-shirt-clad shoulders, despite how warm it was. My soundpod was clasped to my ears, as per usual.

As the nausea abated I ran a hand carelessly through my unkempt hair, looking up once more in time for my eyes to immediately zero in on a familiar blonde teen, who was humming and walking on a small stone lining separating the paved street and the river as she swung a shopping bag around haphazardly.

Faintly I realized that I knew her from the guild… My brow furrowed in thought, Lucy? Yeah, that's it. It was amazing I could even remember that much about her considering how hazy my mind felt at the moment. It's probably her figure that's allowing me to remember. I mean, who could forget a body like that? My fuzzy thoughts were interrupted when I heard her yelp. As I watched her swing her bag around- clearly not paying attention- one of her feet landed awkwardly on the stone and made her lose her balance, instantly initiating her rapid descent towards the empty, paved street.

Without thinking I lunged forward.

~oOo~

I wasn't sure how it had happened. One minute I was happily humming a tune and swinging my shopping bag around and the next I was falling hurt-shoulder-first towards the hard ground with a startled yelp. Just as I had become resigned to my fate a strong arm wrapped around my waist without warning and turned me, pulling me into a hard chest. I collided with it face first, happy enough until I realized that we were still falling.

And then, without any further attempt at halting our fall, we landed. To my surprise it was the one that had tried to save me from my tumble that hit the ground first instead of me, as I had feared it was still going to be. Once I was certain that our descent was final I prepared to thank my rescuer for saving me from my problematic fall, only to quickly discover that the problem wasn't the fall itself so much as the position we landed in after the fall.

My rescuer was large and landed flat on his back with his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, securing me to his chest. But it wasn't that that bothered me as much as how my mouth had somehow managed to land on his in a kiss- my first kiss. I should have moved that instant but the shock of the situation wouldn't let me; and even then, it took me a minute to realize through my astonishment from the kiss that the man I had landed on was actually Laxus Dreyer.

My head swam in confusion as my face heated, trying to figure out just what had happened. To begin with, I had fallen off of the stone ridge that I had never fallen off of during the hundreds of times I had walked on it and had a man that couldn't care less about me attempt to save me, only to have us wind up in a scandalous position. Not only that, but I could taste alcohol on his lips. I didn't have to be a genius to know that he was drunk. I was pulled from my thoughts at the sudden feeling of something sliding steadily onto my butt, making my face turn a deeper crimson in embarrassment and fury.

Finally I yanked myself from the kiss that we had landed in and gasped, "Don't touch me you pervert!"

"Says the one sitting on me." He sounded annoyingly lucid, despite his drunken state, as he raised a single blonde eyebrow over a stormy blue eye, "You say I'm a pervert, but you've yet to get off of me and that kiss that you could have stopped at any time lasted quite a while."

"I was in shock! I couldn't move!" I continued to blush.

Laxus snorted, "I was in shock, too."

"You began to feel me up!" I snapped, anger starting to override my mortification.

He grinned, "Shock does funny things to you."

Shooting a vicious glare at him I attempted to stand up, only to find his arms still wrapped around my waist and unmoving. I growled, "Could you let go?"

"I don't know… I'm pretty comfortable with the way we are.

He gave a lazy smirk and I practically shrieked, "Let me go!"

He slowly unwound his arms from me and left me free to go, laughing lowly the whole while. I immediately stood and grabbed my shopping bag from the ground, barely bothering to give him a tight-lipped thank you over my shoulder before I began to stomp away. It wasn't until I was several yards away that I finally stopped, blushing as I remembered his alcohol-tasting lips. With reluctance I glanced back at the man, only to have my eyes widen in surprise as I saw the "great" Laxus Dreyer stagger into a stand, barely taking another step before stumbling. I sighed as I unwillingly acknowledged, I can't just leave him like this. Jerk or not, he's still one of my guild mates and staggering drunk to boot.

With a grudging huff I turned and made my way back towards the blonde, slipping my unharmed shoulder under his arm with a practiced ease that came from regularly going on jobs with Natsu, "Come on."

Laxus asked with a slight slur to his voice, "Where are we going?"

"To my apartment."

At my response he raised an eyebrow in a silent question, but I remained quiet and tried not to blush. We walked- or rather, staggered- back to my apartment, where I had decided to take him so he could sleep himself sober. After we had reached it and somehow managed to get up the stairs I left him on my couch so I could put away the newest clothes that I got bought in my room. However, I had barely even entered my bedroom when I glanced behind me and found Laxus standing there.

I jumped before instinctively hissing, "Laxus! What are you doing in here?"

"Couch… uncomfortable…" he mumbled before lurching forward and collapsing on my pink comforter-covered bed.

My jaw dropped, "I don't care if you are drunk! You're not sleeping on my bed! Get off and go to the couch!"

I grabbed one of his arms and tugged, only getting him to groan sleepily and grab my arm, pulling me onto the bed with him. My cheeks flaming, I tried unsuccessfully to pull away from him, only managing to make him yank me against his chest as he had done on the street. My whole body was rigid as I flushed and felt my mind feverishly trying to work out a way to escape his grasp.

And then, with nothing but a few murmured words I felt myself relax and stop trying to escape him, "Don't leave… me…"

Wondering if I had heard him correctly I stared at him, realizing as I did that he looked almost like a sick little kid. His blonde hair was unkempt and matted with sweat, his skin flushed and feverish from the alcohol, and his barely opened stormy blue eyes looked dazed and mystified.

With a sigh I wriggled one of my arms from his grasp and raised my hands to his hair to soothingly stroke it. He leaned into my touch and made a sound in his throat that almost seemed like purring. With a soft giggle I continued to stroke his hair and settled as comfortably as I could beside him on the bed. It wasn't long before the combination of my comfortable bed and my hand gently stroking his head made him fall into a peaceful sleep, myself quickly following with one thought.

I suppose that meeting him today was somewhat lucky.

~oOo~

I woke up with a yawn, glancing to my side before blinking several times to make sure I was seeing correctly. Apparently I was, because the form of the blonde girl from yesterday remained curled up against me and sleeping contently. I raised an intrigued eyebrow, wondering what had happened the night before. As both of us were still wearing clothes it was obvious that I hadn't gotten too far with her.

She chose that moment to moan softly and slowly open her eyes, staring blearily at me. Once her eyes focused she blinked at me with the same surprise I had stared at her with before remembrance dawned in her brown eyes. She slowly pushed away from me- my arms that had been clasped around her releasing her- and sat up. The blonde- Lucy, I recalled once more- glanced down at her clothes as if to make sure that they were still as they had been the day before finally returning her attention to me.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably, "Um… you've slept off your drunkenness so you can go home now."

With a nod and sat up, forcing down the mild disappointment I felt at her quick dismissal as I slowly pulled myself out of her bed and stood. With a quick stretch to loosen my stiff muscles I made my way to the door of her apartment, her trailing carefully behind. It wasn't until I was at the entrance, the door wide open and a foot already out into the hallway that I stopped.

"Hey, Chickie…" she turned her face upwards to look at me and I pounced, leaning down and capturing her mouth with mine in a quick kiss before pulling away with a leisurely smirk, "Thank you."

Without waiting a moment more I walked out the door, leaving her gasping, red, and wondering whether I was thanking her for allowing me to stay the night with her while I sobered up or something else entirely. As I walked down the hallway from her apartment I felt a pleasant warmth spread through me- not caused by alcohol, for once- and couldn't stop my mind from coming up with an interesting thought as I left the building.

Who knows; I might get to spend more pleasant nights with her in her apartment in the future…

AN: I hope you all enjoyed the story! Sorry to any of you who want me to continue it, but I'm not planning to. To make up for it I'll just (Probably) make another story (Someday) about Laxus and Lucy that will be a chapter story.

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!