The two blonde mages silently walked into the almost unbelievable cottage, the older leading the younger. When Lucy entered the house she was in a little mud room where she supposed she should leave her shoes. Silently she bent over and slid her feet out of her knee high brown boots. "Uhh, where should I put these?" She asked quietly. "Dang it! Why am I being so shy now!" She mentally berated herself for her words.

Laxus had his back to her when she'd shyly asked her question. Not knowing what she was asking about he turned around to see her holding up her boots with her head down, looking at her feet. "Mavis! She is too fucking adorable! Snap out of it Laxus!" "Just leave them wherever. You really didn't have to take them off though." He chuckled taking in her completely exposed legs.

Lucy dropped the boots and dejectedly pushed past Laxus walking into the large living room. As soon as she entered the room her breath caught in her throat, and she was entranced by the sheer beauty of this room. Her eyes were fixed on the large wall of square, multi-colored window panes that comprised the entire wall of the house curving up to meet the ceiling. Large wooden beams held up the ceiling, and a curved stair case carved out of a tree that had once grown in the spot it now stood lead upstairs to more rooms. To her right was a stone bar that separated the living room and the kitchen. It had wooden bar stools tucked neatly underneath. Above the kitchen sink was a stained glass window that depicted a lightning storm, full of purples and grays, it was breathtaking. To Lucy's left was a large stone fire place, a lacrima tv hung above it. While a large leather couch was facing it, with two large leather chairs on either side, and in the middle was the most unique glass coffee table. Lucy was in awe. She didn't notice that her eyes were betraying her and tears had started to fall. She also didn't notice that the hulking older mage now stood behind her.

Laxus had heard her heartbeat slow and her breathing stop as she entered the next room. His heart also stopped. He was nervous about what she would think. He had lived with his team until that day he saw her in the guild. It was that day he had begun to build this house, claiming he needed his space, that he couldn't think with them always around him. He had known the perfect spot. To be honest he had only just finished building the home recently, and only the Thunder Legion and his gramps knew where it was. Laxus also wasn't a fool, he had had Freed put up a rune barrier to keep anyone but those people out. He had wanted to include Lucy on that list but that would have been suspicious. He wasn't sure if his team knew of his affections for the guilds celestial mage. He wasn't sure he wanted them to know. His inner dragon wanted him to keep her all to himself and never share her ever. He wasn't sure, well he had an idea, but he didn't want to even entertain that… "Salt?" The thought was cut short when his nose had picked up the distinct aroma of salt in the air. Quietly he walked up to Lucy and turned to study her face from the side. He noticed the tears falling down her face. Usually when a woman cried he felt nothing, but watching the tiny blonde woman cry in the home he'd all but built for her was too much, even for the great Laxus Dreyar. He walked in front of the blonde and gently wiped the tears that were cascading down her face.

Startled by the sudden gesture she looked up at the man in front of her with confusion, studying the look in his eyes. Upon realizing that the look in his eyes held genuine concern she only grew more confused. "Oi, don't cry Blondie. I'm not that bad am I?" He asked quietly.

Lucy just blinked at him for a second before she was laughing uncontrollably. Laxus just stared at the woman in front of him. He was torn between many emotions, the most prominent of those was rage. He began to spark.

"Calm down Sparky. You're going to singe my hair like that!"

Laxus' eyes widened in amazement. This tiny woman wasn't afraid to get shocked, she was only afraid that her hair would be ruined! "Who is this chick!" "You're not afraid to get shocked?"

"Laxus, your hands were on my face! If you were going to shock me, you would have! You didn't want to hurt me, not really. Your eyes give you away!"

"Why you, little! Who do you think you are talking to!" He was practically seething. Who was she to talk to him like this?

"Drop the act Sparky, it's just us. Besides you wanted to be a couple with me, so that's what you're getting, me. Don't like it? You can always take me back to my apartment." She said challengingly.

She was clever, he would have to give her that. Laxus knew that he would have to change the subject because there was no way he would let her go so easily. "Why were you crying then?"

"I wasn't really crying. It's just… well…" She trailed off.

"It's just well, what?" He urged her to continue. She said she wasn't crying, yet tears were falling anyway. He knew she wasn't afraid of him, that was clear. This wasn't working. He needed to come up with another way to go about this. Otherwise these next three months would be meaningless. He knew her defenses were up. He took a deep breath and her scent assaulted him. As he was about to groan inwardly he suddenly came up with a brilliant thought. "You know what, don't tell me, not if you don't want to. How about we go into the kitchen? I'll make you a strawberry smoothie we can go in the living room and sit by the fire, maybe talk and get to know each other?" He was hoping the strawberry smoothie bait would work. He had noticed that she had a soft spot for the red berry, it was part of the reason it was always in her scent.

Lucy's ears perked up at the mention of a strawberry smoothie. They were her kryptonite. She 99% more likely to do whatever someone wanted her to do if there was a strawberry anything in it for her. She was so shocked that he would know that all she could do was nod. Laxus took the nod as a good sign and grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen and pulled out a bar stool for her. He then silently began preparing the ingredients. He had his back to her as he heard her melodic voice call out to him. "I don't think I could have ever pictured you in the kitchen." She said giggling.

"Oi, don't go telling anyone about this." Laxus said turning to glare at her, which only caused her to giggle more. "What are you laughing at Blondie?"

She tilted her head to the side and hopped of the stool coming around the bar stopping just in front of him. She lifted her face until her gaze met mine. One of her hands gracefully found his shoulders and he felt her rise up on her tip toes. Never breaking her gaze with him she reached up and ran her thumb across his cheek. She smiled coyly and brought her thumb to her mouth. "Mm, you had a little on your face, Sparky." She turned and walked back to her stool, swinging her hips as she went. Laxus stood dumbstruck as his he felt his pants tighten. "What in Mavis' name was that?!" Did she know what she was doing or was she really that innocent. He could smell no arousal from her. "Innocent after all." He turned and poured the smoothie into two glasses and walked over to set them on the glass table. Laxus threw some logs onto the fire place and zapped them with his lightning causing them to roar to life. He settled on the couch and threw his feet up onto the table.

Lucy just watched as the larger mage settled into his home, her home she supposed for the foreseeable future. She followed him to the large open space and settled into the chair that faced the expansive glass wall. Tucking her feet up underneath her, she sipped the smoothie pleasantly surprised at how delightful it was. She was still rendered breathless the longer she stared at all the intricate glass that filled the little stone cottage. The large glass wall was made of 6x6 squares of blues, purples, greens, yellows, reds, and oranges. She found herself wondering what the sun would look like filtering into the room. She could almost imagine herself curled up in the chair reading a book as a thunderstorm raged on around her. As her eyes trailed down the wall of glass she found herself staring directly at the man she had yet to figure out.

"Like what you see?" He asked cockily.

"Haven't decided what it is I'm staring at yet." She said simply and honestly.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means I haven't figured out what sort of man you are. You pretend to be this cocky arrogant jerk. Don't get me wrong you are all of those things." His eyes dropped and he began to sulk at this, she took little notice and kept right on going. "But then we get here and every now and then you show me this kind, gentle, compassionate side and I'm not sure which one is real."

"Guess we will see." He said it matter-of-factly. "Why did you say yes?" The question had been eating at him and he just had to know.

Lucy studied the man for a moment and chewed on her bottom lip. "Truth?" Laxus just nodded. "Well, I won't sit here and lie and say that you aren't attractive, because we both know that would be a lie. Your striking looks aren't why I agreed. It was your eyes. Not tonight, but the first time I saw you at the guild." Laxus' mind was reeling. Lucy seemed determined to say it all now and pushed forward with her memory. "You were leaning on the railing of the second floor and your team was trying to talk to you and you were looking down to the first floor, obviously not listening because you put your soundpods on almost immediately. When you did there was this look in your eyes, and I don't know what happened to you but it was a look I knew intimately. The look screamed of loneliness despite being surrounded by people. It screamed of desperation for someone to see you, to really see you for who you are after the arrogance, the cocky attitude, the bluster, the bolster, the fear, the anger, everything that you show to the world is stripped away. I saw that look flicker in your eyes before they steeled themselves to everyone once again. In that moment, Laxus, I vowed that if you ever came to me I would befriend you, because that look was one that has haunted me in my own reflection more times than I can count." She had kept his gaze the whole time she said this and could swear she had seen so many emotions fly across his face, for once his mask had fallen.

Laxus couldn't believe this woman. He had expected her to tell him she thought he was attractive, he knew he was. What he hadn't expected, was for her to tell him his soul, let alone for her to confess that she had seen it. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do it, but before he knew what he was doing he was across the room. He bent down and cupped her face into his hands and gently pressed his lips onto hers. Their lips were slightly parted neither pushing the kiss farther. Laxus just need to convey his feelings to her the best way he knew how. He pulled back. "Sorry. I just couldn't help myself." He muttered as he went back to his seat, his face a deep crimson. He'd expected her to Lucy kick him as he'd heard she'd done to Natsu and Gray often enough. The kick never came and he wasn't sure what he should do now. Lucy wasn't talking. She was red from head to toe. She just sat there wide eyed. "I guess we should go to bed. Come on I'll show you where you can stay." He took her hand and walked up the twisted stair case to the top floor. There were seven doors on the next floor. The stairs came up to a hall way with three doors on each side and one at the very end. The first two he said were other guest rooms. The next door on the right was yet another guest room, while the door to the left was a very large bathroom. The shower was in the far corner, the walls were formed from the same stone as the house with one wall made of the same unique glass as the coffee table. There was no bathtub which Lucy noticed immediately. "There's no tub?" She asked sadly.

"No need for one Blondie. There's a heated pool outside and no one knows where I live so it's safe to bathe out there, but if it's a big deal we can get one." He said trying to make her feel less awkward after that impromptu kiss. He had wanted to wait until he had gotten to know her better, but she had seen into his soul and touched something he didn't even know was still a part of him. He had had to kiss her, he didn't know how to explain what he felt any other way. He only hoped she would forgive him for it.

"You don't have to do that." She stammered. "I had forgotten about the pool outside." She started to turn pink again as she turned to face the older mage. "No I won't think about that kiss until I'm safely in my own room." She thought to herself as she allowed him to take her hand and lead her out of the bathroom and back into the hallway. There were doors left.

"Okay Blondie, the room on the left is mine and the room on the right is the one where you are staying." He said opening the door to her room and leading her inside. Her breath hitched once again as she entered the room. The walls were gray and the windows were a deep crimson that matched the velvet cover on the large sleigh bed that seemed to remind Lucy of an actual tree. There was a matching dresser and desk in the room. She also took notice that the closet was made from the same wood but adorning the door was a full length mirror. "It's beautiful Laxus. I didn't know you had such wonderful tastes."

"Course I do, I chose you didn't I?" Lucy just playfully slapped his arm and rolled her eyes. "Smooth man, real smooth. She probably thinks you are some sort of idiot now." He thought to himself.

"Hey Laxus?" Lucy piped up.

"Yeah Blondie what is it?"

"What's behind the last door?" She stared at him inquisitively.

"That's a secret." He winked at her.

"No fair! I want to know!" She puffed out her cheeks and pouted. Laxus thought she looked adorable and simultaneously reprimanded himself for even thinking the word adorable.

"Nope. You'll just have to wait until I feel like showing you, and don't even think about breaking in. I have the only key, so I guess you'll have to work on earning it. You do like keys don't you Blondie?" He said teasingly.

Lucy groaned. "At least show me your room!"

"No. If you want to see it then you'll have to come and sleep in my bed." He said, reverting back to his cock self.

"Hmph! In your dreams Sparky!" She said turning her back to him, implying that she was done talking to him for the evening.

Laxus chucked and turned heel to exit. "Goodnight Blondie."

She was about to tell him to go to hell when suddenly she realized something. "Wait!"

He stopped dead in his tracks. The urgency in her voice was palpable. "What is it?!" He said alarmed.

"I don't have anything to sleep in. Can I borrow something?" She asked sheepishly.

Laxus decided to take this opportunity to flirt with her a little bit. "What do I get if I give you something?"

Lucy thought about it hard, her mind still reeling from the first kiss, she was sure she wasn't ready for that again. "I'll tell you why I was crying earlier." She hoped that he wanted to know bad enough so that she would not have to do anything more tonight.

Laxus was caught off guard yet again. It was becoming a habit for her to surprise him. She was certainly an enigma. Just when he thought he had her figured out, she would go and do the complete opposite. He walked out the door and into his own before returning a few moments later. "Okay. Keep up your end of the bargain."

Lucy took a deep breath, she was a little embarrassed to admit why she had been crying, but she was a woman of her word. "Well, when I came into that room, it was so open and free. The stained glass was breathtaking and how do I say this. It was so beautiful that I was moved to tears." She finished and turned bright red staring at her feet. If she had held his gaze she would have noticed how red he had gotten.

"Well goodnight Blondie." With that he was out of the door as fast as his feet would carry him. Lucy couldn't even get out a goodbye before he was out the door. Suddenly she was very alone in a new, strange, and beautiful place. "I think a shower would be a great idea about now." She thought to herself as she noticed the layer of dust staining her outfit. She took the shirt Laxus had given her and went to the bathroom. She stripped down and stepped into the shower. When she turned the water on she was pleasantly surprised that the water fell as if it were rain. As she stood under the warm spray she thought about all that had happened today. "What a strange day today has been. At least the guild is safe. I still have to deal with my father though. What a jackass he is. Well Laxus doesn't seem so bad. Even if he did steal my first kiss without asking. Why did he kiss me? I can't say that it was bad. In fact as far as first kisses go I'd say I'm pretty lucky. He was gentle about it and he didn't try to force his tongue down my throat. He tasted like a summer rain. Mmm. Get a hold of yourself Luce. He practically forced you to be his girlfriend. Though he has been very nice so far, almost in some instances sweet. Maybe he really likes me." At this thought Lucy wondered why she was so excited at the prospect of him liking her. She stepped out of the shower and toweled off. She decided that everything she had on was dirty and just slipped on Laxus' tee shirt. It was a deep purple and came to Lucy's mid-thigh. As she walked out of the bathroom she ran into a solid wall of man and began to fall backward. She braced for an impact that never came. A muscular arm was wrapped tightly around her as she was pressed tightly to a bare chest, a dark tattoo staring her in the face. "Oi, watch where you're going." He said gruffly.

Lucy backed out of his embrace. "Sorry Laxus." She backed up and he took in her appearance. When he saw how she looked in his tee shirt he groaned. He was suddenly glad that he was wearing sweatpants, so that his growth went unnoticed "If you wanted to see me shirtless you could have just asked." He said smirking.

"Oh you!" She said as she slapped his chest playfully. She went to push past him to go to bed when he stopped her once again. "What are you doing?"

"You can't go to bed with wet hair." He said pulling her over to the sink standing behind her he used just a little of his electricity to dry her hair as he ran the brush through it.

"You didn't have to do this. I was going to call Cancer to dry it before bed." He was a little hurt and tried to not let it show through. "I'm glad you did, thank you Laxus." She said as she turned and hugged the larger mage around the waist. He was taken aback no one ever hugged him. It was truly an odd sensation. He didn't hug her back and just as quickly as she had hugged him she had stopped and skipped off to her room for the night. "Good night Laxus." She whispered into the night. "I'm glad it was you." She added, not knowing that he had heard her.

He smiled widely and knew that it could not be ruined. He went off to his own room and climbed into his bed. With one arm under his head, he began to ponder all that had happened. However he tried to think of anything else his mind always turned back to their brief but deeply intimate kiss, and the a of her in nothing but his shirt. He knew she wasn't wearing anything underneath that shirt. A point that was only made more painfully obvious when she pressed herself to him in that hug. He wasn't sure why he'd dried her hair. He had never done that for anyone besides himself. "Damn! That was the best kiss I've ever had. I tried to make it at least gentle. I know it was her first. I heard her tell Mira the other day that she had never had one before. I hope she liked it. Mavis! Her legs looked amazing poking out of my shirt and the way it clung to her slightly damp form." Laxus groaned and knew he was going to have to take care of this himself if he expected to get any sleep. He began to vigorously rid himself of his pent up frustration and as he felt the pressure lessen he sighed deeply. He cleaned up and drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep he had not experienced in some time. Not knowing what hurdles lay in the day ahead.

· I do not own Fairy Tail.

· This chapter is surprisingly long and totally spontaneous. I can't wait for you guys to see what I'm cooking up. Hopefully you like this adventure as much as I do.

· Sorry if you think I'm doing Laxus wrong. I just think there is so much more underneath that is barely touched.

· Please let me know what you think I want to hear your thoughts!