Not My Boyfriend

"So, tell me more about this book," Winry began before she took a bite of her grilled chicken melt made with all kinds of health nut stuff Laxus couldn't even pronounce. Really? Who has to go and make a grilled chicken sandwich complicated?

Before he answered, he took a look at her food. She ate very healthy. There was some kind of weird green tea with things floating in it. She had a Caesar side salad that was lightly touched by dressing. Her one unhealthy item was a roasted banana with melted chocolate chips and cinnamon tossed on top.

He took a chunk out of his Philly cheese steak and thought about the book for a second. The job hadn't explained much on it. As a matter of fact, all it said was that it needed to be handled with care and never opened. It was rumored to be cursed, and apparently the owner of the book took the curse very seriously. He mentioned all of that to Winry after swallowing his giant bite.

"Hmm. It reminds me of a book that was delivered to Lancet a few years back. A man had found a book deep inside of an abandoned library when he was looking for wandering spirits to add to his Seith Magic. Instead of finding spirits, he found a book with a lock on it. He never found the key, but after playing with the lock a bit, he got it open. Rumor says it stole his soul then locked itself back afterwards." She took a sip of her green tea from a swirly, girly straw. How anyone could think of this woman as a She-Hulk was beyond Laxus.

He leaned back unceremoniously and kicked Ajax's box when the boy's complaining turned into monotonous yapping thanks to Win's magic. "We gunna feed the dog?" he wondered, still musing on her story.

Winry dabbed at her face with a white napkin then folded it on the table. "Let me see what he wants." Her eyes flared crimson.

Laxus's instinctive reaction was to snap his eyes shut before she took control of his soul, but she didn't use Human Possession. Her head fell at an awkward angle. She looked like she'd died on the spot, but when he heard aggravated barking coming from the crate, Laxus realized she was inside of the box.

After a second, Winry adjusted herself then waved her hand for their waitress to stroll over. "Miss, may I get an order to go?"

"Oh! Is it for the puppy? I wish you'd let me see him," the waitress cooed.

Winry did her cute smile thing that made Laxus want to grin with her. "No, I'm afraid I can't. He bites. Besides, my client doesn't want to risk him getting loose again," Winry lied. She lied straight through her perfect, white teeth, and Laxus cracked a grin.

"Well, I guess since your client doesn't want him to get loose then… So whatcha want, miss?"

Winry's eyes perused the menu, and after settling on something, she read out the order for Ajax. She apparently didn't order what the brat wanted because there was yipping that followed the request. "Oh! I'd also like a green tea to go."

"Of course." The waitress turned to give Laxus a charming grin. It was cute but subpar compared to Winry's sweet smiles. "Anything else for you, sir?"

Laxus gave a glance to his ale then shook his head. With the brat around, the last thing Laxus needed to be was inebriated, especially since he convinced Winry to let him tag along. "No thanks."

She gave a happy nod then be-bopped her way into the main building.

"And, you're positive that it's no problem?" Winry asked about Ajax.

"I'm headed that direction anyway. Besides, with Freed and Catori in the same place, I need an excuse to stay away from the guild for as long as possible. Just let me pick up the book, and we can go." Laxus cast his eyes towards the morning sun. He wondered just how Freed was holding up without Laxus to save him right now…

Freed blinked when he entered the guild. Laxus wasn't here. He saw Adamine, Bickslow, and Evergreen sitting at their usual table. Adamine had her head stuck inside of a comic book that was hot off the press. Bickslow was laughing maniacally at something. Evergreen was examining her new manicure. He took an audible gulp when he caught sight of purple hair then immediately realized what Bickslow's wicked laughter was about.

Catori was sneaking in for the kill.

Hastily, Freed whipped around. The guild was watching eagerly. Mira was even giggling from behind the bar. Makarov was snickering behind his mug. There was no help coming from that direction.

He took a step back as Catori snuck up on him. She stepped closer. He stepped further. When his back finally hit one of the walls of the guild, he gulped one more time. Catori pounced instantly, and right before she took him down for the count, Freed cried, "LAXUS!"

Laxus let loose a random sneeze as soon as they left the sketchy bookstore. Was someone talking about him? Either way, he let his index finger skim across the tip of his nose then straightened his back.

They were on the outskirts of Hargeon right now, and they had a couple of days of travel before they got to Crocus to deliver the boy and the book. Now that Laxus thought about it, they should probably let Ajax out of his box.

He set the box on the road then looked up to Win for permission. When she inclined her head, he let her purple ribbon fall off. The boy came ripping out of the crate like a vengeful beast, and when he launched himself at Laxus, the slayer proceeded to wallop the boy on the top of his head.

Ajax's entire body shot to the dirt, but Winry didn't even look phased by Laxus's cruelty. In fact, she put her hands on her hips in the sassiest, cutest way possible. "Now, are you going to behave this time, or do we need to put you back in the crate?" she snapped, all mom-like.

The green haired boy swiped dirt off his face. He looked like he was going to argue but when Laxus raised his fist to say, "You smart off, you get punched again" he just grumbled out, "Sure. Whatever. This guy gunna be with us the whole time?"

"Yes, he is. Is that a problem for you?" Winry warned.

"Wouldn't matter if it was." He turned to kick a rock. The stone shot out to hit a tree then bounced to the dirt. In a lower mutter, he added, "Don't need this shit. Don't need a stupid orphanage. Don't need a stupid escort."

Something soft crossed over Winry's eyes, but she hardly let up. If anything, she just ignored Ajax. Turning to Laxus, she asked, "Should we get a ride to Crocus? I'm sure that if we keep walking this road that someone will come along."

A hint of green crossed Laxus's face to his embarrassment. Immediately, his hand went to the little pill bottle that Wendy had given to him a few days back. The pills were magic, enhanced with the spell Troia for all the dragon slayers. It was a creation by Wendy and Porlyusica after motion sickness became such an obvious problem during the Grand Magic Games. As he tossed the pill bottle around in his pocket, he realized with hidden dread that the bottle was empty. He remembered using his last one on the train ride down here. It had run out midway through the ride, and Laxus had sat alone without the Raijinshuu to take care of him in their discreet manner. It had been awful…

"I don't think that would be a good idea," he mentioned.

Winry gave him a curious look then a wicked, Bickslow-like grin crept up her face ever so slowly. Oh, Mavis, he couldn't keep forgetting they were related. What the hell was she up to?

Winry stepped closer to him. She had her hands behind her back, and after getting up on her tiptoes, she snickered, "You have motion sickness. Don't you, Laxus?"

"No. I don't. I've overcome that."

"Liar."

"Am not."

"Are, too."

"Am not."

"Are, too."

Instead of keeping up this childish argument, Laxus snarled down at her. She just giggled and pulled her hands up to either side of his face. Before Laxus could do a thing about it, she had pressed their foreheads together. Her eyes flashed red then Laxus felt something not uncomfortable going through his body.

It was like he was being caressed from the inside. Light, playful touches perused through his body until Winry pulled her head away from his. "There," she mentioned.

Laxus gave her a droll expression. "What's there?"

"I fixed your motion sickness by implanting a little bit of me in you."

His hand shot to his forehead even though he tried to keep calm. What the hell did she mean by that? Last time someone's soul had gotten in someone else, it had gotten Bickslow permanently connected to Adamine through a Seith Mage process called Soul Mating. Laxus wasn't looking to be permanently anything with someone who had the title of Bickslow's Little Sister.

"My Seith Magic is steeped in all kinds of healing spells. I can heal the soul unlike the rest of my family. Painful memories, sadness, addiction. Those kinds of things are my forte, but I do have a touch of a physical ability. I can get your soul to convince your body that you don't feel motion sickness. The effect is temporary, but as long as a part of me stays inside of you, you won't feel sick." She was still on her tiptoes in front of him, and her hands were still on his face.

When she realized what she was doing her face went to that brilliant scarlet. Great Mavis, she was cute… And, it took a lot for Laxus to say that C word.

Hastily, her hands flew from his face, and she turned towards Ajax. The boy had stuck his finger down his throat in mock throwing up. He grumbled, "Will you two stop being disgusting? It's bad enough that I have to travel with one of you, but the fact that you decided to let your boyfriend tag along makes this even worse."

A fist came and smacked Ajax back on the top of his head at the same time that Winry cried, "He's not my boyfriend!"