Disclaimer: I do not own the Fairy Tail series or any of the characters.
Summary: Laxus needs to relax, but this isn't what he had in mind.
Knots
"God dammit," Laxus grumbled, "Why'd it have to be you?"
-o-o-o-
Laxus's predicament had started simply enough. He'd gone on a job to take down a dark guild, which should have been a breeze for him. In fact, it had all been going great until he tossed one of the enemy mages at the wall, only to discover mid-throw that the mage was a gravity-magic user. At the moment when Laxus's body was overextended, the mage had gripped Laxus's wrist while tripling his own body weight, adding so much momentum to the arc of Laxus's arm that it had nearly torn his shoulder from its socket.
Unfortunately for the dark guild mages, the pain of pulling every muscle in his arm and back just made Laxus angry, and he'd finished the job with brutal efficiency, collected his pay, and made his way back to the guild, where little Wendy had been more than happy to heal him. No longer injured, but still in a considerable amount of residual pain, he'd gone home to sleep it off, only to wake up this morning barely able to move.
"That's all I can do, Laxus-san," confessed Wendy, after examining the area with her healing powers. "The actual injury is gone, so there's nothing for me to heal. I've eased the pain as much as I can, but it still hurts because the muscles have tightened up. You need to get them to relax."
"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Laxus muttered sarcastically, his voice slightly muffled by the table top. He had his shirt off and was sitting with his upper body bent over the table, his head pillowed on his folded arms. It had been hard to find a resting position that only caused mild agony, and now he thought he might actually be stuck.
"Sorry," Wendy said. "Maybe you could try a hot bath or a massage?"
He'd already tried a bath this morning, to no avail, but the idea of a massage might have some merit. He turned his head and peered at Wendy for a second, but immediately dismissed her as a possibility. Dragon Slayer or not, there was no way that her little hands were strong enough. Besides, if he had to tolerate having somebody's hands all over him, he'd rather it wasn't a thirteen-year-old girl. There were better options.
"Hey, Cana," he called toward the nearest table. "Wanna give me a massage? You know you'd love to run your hands all over this body."
"A massage?" Cana said, clearly not biting. "That sounds suspiciously like work." She clung to her beer barrel. "And my boyfriend might get jealous."
"Fine, fuck you too," he replied. She laughed, not remotely insulted. He raised his voice to shout across the guild hall. "Oi, Mira! Come feel me up!"
He couldn't see Mirajane from his current position, but he could feel her irritated glare radiating in his direction. He snickered to himself. Winding her up by being crude was always entertaining, if risky.
"Laxus-san needs a massage," Wendy explained, causing Mirajane's dangerous aura to fade away.
"Sorry, Laxus, but I'll be busy with the lunch rush for the next few hours," Mira replied.
Her voice came closer until she was standing nearby. A cool, slender hand prodded experimentally at Laxus's shoulder, and he growled.
"That does look painful," Mira continued. "Oh, I know! Just a minute, I need to go talk to someone. I'll send you the best pair of hands in the whole guild. Everyone in Fairy Hills would swear to that!"
Mira's footsteps walked away before Laxus could ask her who she was talking about, and Wendy wandered off as well. Laxus was left to consider the likely candidates. Probably not Lisanna. She seemed like the type who would diligently tend to her friends' aches and pains, but he couldn't imagine that Mirajane was eager to watch her little sister put her hands all over him. Not Evergreen, unless she had some previously hidden talent. He supposed that it could be Juvia; he didn't know much about her skills. Or Erza, maybe? She'd definitely have enough upper body strength for the task. Laxus wondered if she could be convinced to put on that naughty nurse costume she'd briefly worn on Tenrou Island.
Caught up in his thoughts, Laxus hardly noticed the approaching footsteps until a warm set of hands landed on his back and began kneading. He hissed in pain, then relaxed.
"Shit, you really are good at this," he commented, closing his eyes. It hurt, sure, but he was already getting some relief.
"Mira wasn't kidding — you've got some serious knots," the miracle-worker replied. "Man, this is going to take a lot of work."
Laxus's eyes shot open, and he twisted to look at the owner of the voice, causing an excruciating wave of protest from his back muscles.
"Natsu!?"
"What's the matter with you?" Natsu asked, confused. "I thought you needed a massage. Did you change your mind?"
Laxus stared, until the pain in his back became too great to ignore. It was quickly dawning on him that he had two options. He could send Natsu away and continue to suffer, or he could swallow his pride and accept a back rub from the most aggravating member of the guild, who just happened to be a guy.
"God dammit," Laxus grumbled, "Why'd it have to be you?"
But his back was killing him, and Natsu apparently had a real gift. Having the warmest hands in the guild didn't hurt, either.
"Fine," Laxus relented, slumping back over the table. "Keep doing that."
Natsu laughed and went back to work. "Who were you hoping for?"
"Maybe Erza," Laxus muttered into his arms, trying not to sulk.
"You're crazy if you want Erza and her man-hands anywhere near you," Natsu whispered emphatically, clearly afraid of being overheard. "She plays with swords all day; her grip strength is insane! She'd break you."
Laxus hadn't considered that. He'd probably dodged a bullet with that one.
"Seriously, how'd you get so good at this?" he asked. Somehow, Natsu knew how to find every knot, how much pressure to use, where to apply it, when to really dig his thumbs in, and how to avoid causing any more pain than necessary. It was embarrassing to admit just how relaxing it was. It was almost hypnotic.
"When we were kids, Erza discovered that she felt better a lot faster if she ordered me to give her a massage when she had muscle strain from too much training, or after fighting with Mirajane. Word spread that I was good at it," Natsu said. "Plus, all the girls get me to help with their backaches. I've got a lot of practice just from that."
"Backaches?" Laxus asked, wincing as Natsu's fingers coaxed a particularly painful knot to untangle.
"Yeah, they get them a lot," Natsu said. "I think it's because of their boobs."
"Their boobs?" Laxus repeated, amazed that Natsu had even realized that women had breasts, let alone that he'd spent any amount of time thinking about them.
"Well, yeah," Natsu answered. "Didn't you ever notice? They're huge!"
Laxus let out a startled laugh before he could stop himself. Apparently, Natsu really had been looking!
"Well, except for Levy," Natsu amended. "She just has bad posture when she's reading. Ouch! What was that for?"
"I heard you!" shrieked Levy's voice. "You shut up about my chest!"
"Don't throw books at me!" complained Natsu.
This was all hilarious to Laxus, but Levy's attack had forced Natsu to stop massaging Laxus's back in order to defend himself, so the showdown would have to wait. Priorities, people! Jeez!
"Go away, Levy," Laxus ordered, without lifting his head. "You can kill Natsu later. Don't interrupt him when he's being useful."
Levy made an infuriated noise and stomped away. Natsu resumed his work, moving on to Laxus's shoulder and arm, where the worst of the damage had been. The stiff muscles slowly began to loosen up.
"I'm not sure why she's upset," Natsu muttered quietly, sounding confused. "If I was a girl, I wouldn't want big boobs. They seem like way too much trouble. Although Lucy uses hers to get discounts, sometimes. She's so weird." There was affection in his tone.
Laxus usually didn't like people rambling on about nothing, but Natsu's musings were funny, and sort of soothing. He listened with half an ear as Natsu wondered aloud if Lucy's temper was due to backaches, because that time when Lucy and Gray had swapped bodies, Gray wouldn't shut up about how heavy Lucy's boobs were, and maybe the next time Natsu broke into her apartment if he offered her a back rub it might make her less inclined to kick him in the face...
-o-o-o-
Laxus woke up from what might be the best nap he'd ever had. Shit, how much stress had he been carrying around lately if he couldn't even remember the last time he'd felt so refreshed?
He sat up slowly, casting his bleary gaze around the guild hall. It was late afternoon, judging from the angle of the sunlight. He was a little embarrassed over the fact that he'd been so relaxed by the massage that he'd actually fallen asleep in front of everyone, but no one seemed to be teasing him about it. The guild members were going about their business as usual, although maybe being slightly quieter about it than they normally were.
Laxus stretched, cautiously testing his body for pain, but not finding any worth noticing. He rubbed at his eyes, scrubbed his hands through his hair to fluff it back into its usual spiky style, and then reached for his shirt. He was just fastening the last button when Natsu strolled up.
"Feeling better?" he asked with a grin. "You were sleeping like a log. You didn't even notice all the noise when Gildarts stopped by."
"Gildarts is back?" Laxus asked.
He looked around the guild hall for the older man, but didn't see him. He was mildly disappointed to have missed him. The guild's top mage had always been a sort of father figure to Laxus, compared to his shitty real dad and his ever busy grandfather. Sure, Gildarts was gone on jobs a lot, but he'd always made time for Laxus whenever he was in town.
"Yeah, he left you something before he went home," Natsu said, pointing out a square of paper near Laxus's elbow. "Sorry, but it's not like anyone could really stop him."
Laxus was instantly suspicious. Snatching up the thick paper, he read the scrawled note.
Dear Laxus, it read, How adorable! You still sleep just as soundly as you did when you were little. I couldn't resist taking a picture to capture the moment. Here's your copy. Love and kisses, Gildarts.
Filled with dread at the teasing tone, Laxus flipped the note over to reveal the front of the photograph. It was himself, fast asleep, with drawings on his face in what he suspected was likely permanent ink. Gildarts was behind him in the picture, leaning over to get into frame while giving the camera a big grin and a thumbs-up.
The guild hall was silent while Laxus studied the picture. Finally he looked up and gave Natsu a pleasant smile that seemed to make him very nervous.
"Thanks for your help with my back, Natsu," Laxus said cheerfully. "I'll spar with you sometime instead of knocking you out with the first punch. Just my way of expressing my appreciation. Sound like fun? Great!"
Without waiting for Natsu to answer, Laxus continued. "I've got to go murder Gildarts now. Actually, I think I'll take you with me." Laxus slung an arm over Natsu's shoulders and started dragging his protesting form toward the doors, still speaking in the same bright tone. "You see, there's a chance I might let Gildarts live, and if I do, he'll be needing your assistance if he ever wants to walk again. And if I kill him, you can help me hide the body."
And Laxus walked out of the guild hall, paying no attention to his guildmates' laughter, Natsu's struggles, or the stares he received from passers-by who got a look at the artwork on his face. He ignored it all, because he was relaxed, dammit! And he wasn't going to let anything spoil his day.
-owari-
A/N – I guess this one speaks for itself! Written and edited in just two days, too. Maybe I'm finally getting my inspiration back!