Hi again. I know it's been nearly a month, I technically did say that I probably wouldn't be uploading for a while. I'm surprised I got this chapter up before a month was up.

I'm not sure if this is still necessary but I'll still put it at the beginning of each chapter anyway.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Fairy Tail which is good because if I did, it would probably be shit since I have next to no imagination.

Chapter 2 – Natsu and Travel Sickness

Following the plans to meet up at the guild in the morning, Lucy had just walked up to the closed doors of the guild when she heard an enraged voice and silence. There was none of the normal drunken laughter (ignoring the fact that it was hardly an appropriate time to be drinking), tell-tale sounds of fights and loud voices. This alone was enough to fuel her worries and prompt her to push open the heavy doors quickly to size up the potentially dangerous situation.

At the sound of the large doors creaking open and footsteps from the entrance of the guild, multiple eyes turned to Lucy, widening as they saw her. The only few eyes that didn't stray from the middle of the hall were those of the ones causing the commotion. In the middle of the silent nameless and not so nameless bodies were Gray and Erza holding back an angry Natsu, with Laxus staring back almost lazily at said angry boy in amusement.

Natsu's eyes finally shifted away from Laxus' when he caught the scent of his partner, wriggling out of the holds of Erza and Gray to run over to her.

"Luce! You're not actually going on a mission with Laxus are you?" Lucy struggled to answer his question, the almost hurt expression on his face making her hesitate and almost deny it.

"Y-yes Natsu. I am." She stuttered, practically having to spit the words out. The sudden anger mixed with sadness that showed on his face surprised her and she jumped, startled when he let out a shout and leaped over to Laxus, fist aflame as he did so.

It was obvious that Laxus was expecting Natsu's reaction as he was already in a fighting stance, his own magic at the ready. As soon as the furious pinkette was in reach, a large muscular arm swung down and squashed him under its weight. Many eyes, including those of Lucy's snapped to Laxus then to the bar when they saw the same startled and confused expression on his face as others had. The blonde Celestial Mage traced the gigantic arm back to the small but undeniably powerful body of Fairy Tail's Master.

"Team Natsu, you will allow Lucy to go on a mission with Laxus and that is final. There is no doubt that she has chosen to do this of her own will and if I am to find out that any of you brats have tried to stop her or follow Laxus and Lucy, you will be punished." Makarov boomed, ignoring the fact that Natsu was still squashed under his hand and couldn't hear his instructions. He was confident that either Erza or Gray would inform the boy of the conditions once he regained consciousness.

"Master?" Lucy questioned quietly, the confusion she felt was evident in her voice.

"Lucy, my child. How are you today?" he cheerfully asked, a smile spread across his face like the last 5 minutes never happened.

"Uhhh, I'm good. How are you Master?"

"I'm great. You and Laxus are going on a mission together and that means I'm getting great-grandchildren soon!" the smile on his face morphed into a lecherous grin and he seemed to go off into his own wonderland, filled with millions of little children and babies with blonde hair and blue or doe brown eyes.

A squeal was heard from the other side of the bar and Lucy didn't even need to look over to know that it came from Mira.

The noise from behind her told her that the rest of the guild was starting to go back to their own activities from before the fuss started and Lucy sighed. It was relieving to know that her family was concerned about what happened in her life though. Well, either that or they were just hungry for some drama.

Laxus came up behind his fellow blonde. "I already grabbed the mission and reported it into Mira, I'll explain it on the way. Now let's go before gramps snaps out of his daydream and we miss the train."

Acknowledging and agreeing with his words, Lucy followed the hulk of a mage out of the guild and to the train station.

When Laxus handed her the mission paper, she noticed that he was looking straight forward, his expression almost blank like it usually was when surrounded by their guild mates. His face was a lot more relaxed and it was easier for her to read his emotions though. The thought of how he acted during Fantasia floated to the front of her mind and she adopted a slight frown, the memory leaving a bad taste in her mouth like it did when she thought of other past fights. She realised however, the difference in the way he acted now, the air of arrogance he had before still there but dulled down.

Lucy shook her head and accepted the mission sheet, ignoring the questioning look on Laxus' face.

It seemed like a fairly simple mission. Go to Shirotsume Town and defeat a bunch of Wyvern in the woods behind the city, and it was 150,000 jewels! Enough to pay off her month's rent even if they split the money evenly. Although if there was one thing that Lucy learnt while going on missions with Team Natsu, it was that there was always something that can go wrong. In the past, no matter who she was with, something happened. Every. Single. Time.

Still, it was the type of mission that Team Natsu would usually go on and that put her slightly at ease.

She refused to let her thoughts linger and focused on the task at hand, getting to the train station. Handing the paper back to Laxus, Lucy decided to call out Plue, letting out a soft smile when her eyes landed on the small, shivering figure. She scooped the spirit up into her arms while talking quietly to him, pulling a lollipop from her pocket which she then handed it to him.

Laxus' sight flickered to the girl beside him, giggling cutely at her little friend (thing) in her arms. The almost constant smirk on his face faded into something less and his eyes softened slightly, the change in his expression undetected by any watching passers-by and Lucy. So much time passed that by the time Laxus realised he was staring at her, the whole trip to the train station had passed and he was looking at the building, starting to regret picking a mission that required them to leave Magnolia.

When he felt a pair of eyes drilling a hole in his side, his eyesight flicked back to the blonde next to him and he kept walking, figuring that she had realised he was just standing there for the past minute. He refused to acknowledge the curious expression on her face when she no doubt saw the blood drain from his, knowing that she would be able to determine the reason for his reluctance to catch a train soon enough.

The pair bought their tickets and boarded the train, entering an empty booth and sitting on opposite sides, Lucy eager to get to Shirotsume Town and Laxus dreading the moment the train started moving.

Laxus noticed that the small snowman (no way was that thing a dog) was no longer in his temporary partner's arms and felt relieved for a moment, until he felt the train lurch to life. Sweat starting dripping down his forehead and he felt his complexion get paler, if that was even possible. It was when he felt his life be doomed to hell for the duration of the trip that he heard the muffled giggle from across the small booth.

The quiet groan that Laxus unknowingly let out was what alerted Lucy to his travel sickness. She had heard the same noise come from Natsu too many times before, just a lot louder, but still the same nonetheless. A small giggle escaped her lips without her permission, prompting the currently motion sick Dragon Slayer to look up at her, another groan filling the silent space between them.

Smiling at the man across from her, Lucy tilted her head to the side in a motion not unlike a puppy would. "Motion sickness?" she asked, earning a nod in return. Patting the spot next to her, she put the book she had starting reading sometime since getting on the train away.

"Come over here. I sometimes do this for Natsu when he gets sick. I'm not sure if it will help but it always seems to calm his stomach down so it's worth a short." A light blush lit up her cheeks which didn't escape Laxus and he got up slowly then crossed the space and sat beside Lucy. Timidly, she lifted her arms and softly pulled Laxus down until his head lay on her lap. The position she had arranged him in left him with his face towards her stomach and he raised an eyebrow that she couldn't see. The confusion he felt disappeared immediately the moment he felt fingers running through his hair, the tightening in his stomach fading and most of the nausea replaced by a sense of calm. Struggling to get into a more comfortable position, he ended up with his nose nuzzled in her shirt and his large arms wrapped around her slim waist, his legs curled up on the bench so that he could fit.

Secretly pleased that the man was letting himself get comfortable, Lucy smiled wilder and continued to run her fingers through soft blonde hair with one hand, picking up her abandoned book with the other and continued to read from where she left off.

It wasn't long before Laxus' chest was slowly rising and falling in time with his deep breaths in sleep, his mouth slightly open and expression almost completely relaxed, his face still hidden in her shirt.

I apologise, I know this chapter was really short after nearly a month but I'm still a lazy shit. Hoping that's gonna change but it probably won't to be honest.

On the bright side, summer holidays have just started because I live in Australia (yay aussies! ignoring that I'm technically asian) so I may upload quicker and make the chapters longer but again, probably won't. I'm trying to get a job now as well so if I do, then my free time will probably decrease. I'll do my best though. ^_^

Oh, and I know that Laxus is really OOC in the end of this chapter but I just love the idea of him cuddling up to Lucy.