So here is another one and I just want to thank everyone for the reviews they make me want to keep writing ^.^ I looked at the other chapters and realized i left a bunch of spelling mistakes i am sooo sorry but i will do better from here on out!

Once again the characters are not mine so hopefully I do them justice and keep them in character So enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chapter 4: Old Friends

Lucy sat on the train heading back to Magnolia one hand rubbing the back of Laxus's neck the other running gentle fingers over the curves and dips of a new key. She was super excited that she would have a new friend as well as become a bit stronger. Laxus and her had stayed the night in a fairly nice hotel and she had considered signing the contract that night but had decided against it. They were headed back to Magnolia and they would have to go to the guild and undoubtedly Natsu would be there and he still didn't know anything was wrong.

She sighed quietly trying not to bother the sick slayer as she got lost in thought about how to avoid her long-time friend. "You have to talk to him." Her head snapped up and she looked at the man beside her who had his arms resting on his knees and was leaning forward peeking at her from one eye. "How did you know what I was thinking about?" Laxus rolled the one eye he had opened and then closed it continuing his conversation with the blonde and trying not to hurl. "Your heart picked up and you started t frown, not a long jump to the reason why. But you have to talk to him, tell him what you saw. If you ignore it he'll just keep pushing himself on ya without realizing he's hurting you."

Lucy raised an eyebrow then pouted. "Sheesh when did you get so wise, ya geezer." Laxus stiffened and slowly turned his head to stare at her "Geezer is what you call my gramps. I am not old." His face was serious and frightening however his voice held a note of petulance and Lucy had to fight not to smile at the cute tone. Lucy couldn't help a slight giggle. "Of course oh powerful one."

Laxus sighed and put his head back down mumbling to himself. "You know you people use to fear me." Lucy nodded. "Use to but now you're one of us. Your our Nakama and I will treat you as such just as I would Natsu or Gray." She released a suffering sigh coming to the realisation that of course the hulking figure beside her had a point and if she ignored the pink haired mage their friendship could become irreparable. She needed to talk to him and sort out her feelings, just because he didn't love her like the entire guild thought he did, didn't mean he wasn't her Nakama.

/

The two walked in to the guild and Lucy's body stiffened as a head of pink hair shot across the room calling out her name. She braced herself for impact, closing her eyes and flinching. However after a moment with her body not being forced to the ground she peeked her eye open to see a struggling Natsu hanging in front of her face. She let out a sigh of relief and looked up at the tall blonde that was restraining her friend as if he were holding a small puppy. "Not yet flame brain. Lucy has to report to the master and then you can talk to her.

The two younger mages expected him to drop Natsu however his hold on the collar of the pink haired mages shirt stayed and he began carrying him up the stairs to the second floor. Lucy and the entire rest of the guild watching the spectacle, other than Natsu's indignant cries and struggles no one spoke. "You coming Blondie?" She nodded and ran to the stairs to follow them to the master's office.

Laxus deposited Natsu in a different room and pointed at the younger mage. "Sit. Stay. Don't touch anything." He closed the door and grumbled something about how his office better be in one piece when they got back. Lucy smiled and followed him to the master's office where Makarov welcomed them back and delighted over the fact that they hadn't destroyed a small village. "Everything went well?"

Lucy remembered the run in with the mage and bit her lip before nodding. "As well as we expected." Makarov nodded and smiled at the two. "Great" They were dismissed and they turned to walk out the door. Lucy paused before the room they had left Natsu in and bit her lip but Laxus leaned around her, opened the door, and herded her in. He closed the door and leaned against it and they both saw Natsu stop pacing and make his way to the Blonde.

Natsu was a fairly dense man however he didn't miss the way Lucy flinched as he threw his arms around her for a hug. "Lucy what's wrong?" His voice was low and he sounded hurt. Had he done something wrong? Lucy glanced back at Laxus taking comfort in the presence of the man Natsu was ignoring. "Natsu… I… Iloveyou." She spit it out and instantly felt her eyes fill with tears. Natsu looked at her confused. "I love you to Luce. We're Nakama." He grinned and puffed up his chest as if the situation was resolved and Laxus flinched at the lack of tact. He almost felt bad for the female.

Lucy shook her head and angrily wiped away her tears before they had a chance to fall down her face. "I love you like you love Gray." Natsu's body stiffened and his eyes widened. "I saw you guys Natsu." He nodded slowly suddenly her odd behaviour for the last week made sense. "At Christmas." He didn't ask, he knew in the back of his mind, he knew. He always knew when she was near because she needed to be protected always. He loved her like family and he had memorized her scent. It had been there that night, he should have realised. "Dammit Luce." He sounded mad and the body standing at the door tensed, ready to intervene.

Laxus relaxed again when Natsu gently and carefully pulled the girl in to his arms. Holding her head against his shoulder and nuzzling in to her hair. His hand rubbing up and down her back "I'm so sorry Lucy." He held her as she cried wondering why he couldn't have loved the girl like she wanted. He hated hurting his family. "I'll give you some space if you need it. I promise I won't even climb through your window anymore, not until you tell me it's ok." The tall blonde quirked an eyebrow, he was climbing in to her apartment through her window? No wonder the girl was getting mixed signals. Lucy let out a watery laugh and relished the feeling of his warm muscular arms holding her. "I appreciate that Natsu. But you have to know it will take some time. Right now it hurts too much to see you." The pink haired mage nodded and felt a deep sadness penetrate his heart.

He pulled away from the blonde and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Come find me when you're ready. But keep in mind you will always be my family and I will always be there to protect you and keep you safe." Lucy nodded and Laxus moved away from the door so Natsu could leave. Lucy slumped to the ground and let herself sob at the pain that was lancing through her heart. She knew that Natsu loved Gray and she would never begrudge them their happiness, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

Laxus fidgeted nervously behind her, but he settled back against the door, gifting her this moment. He would wait for her to gather her emotions; surprisingly patience was a virtue he actually did have.

It took Lucy just over half an hour before the body wracking snobs turned in to hiccups and then another ten minutes for them to turn to quite sniffles. Suddenly there was white in front of her eyes and she looked up to see Laxus standing in front of her a tissue in his hand and his head turned so he wasn't looking at her. She appreciated the fact that he was letting her compose herself before being seen even if he had watched the whole thing she still had the illusion of privacy. She thanked the blonde dragon slayer and took the tissue from him wiping her eyes and blowing her nose before standing on shaky legs.

She threw out the tissue and tried to fix her hair and outfit a bit, praying to god that her makeup wasn't completely smeared down her face. When she finally stood and turned towards the door Laxus gave her a look silently asking if she was god to go. She nodded and he opened the door to let her leave. The two made their way silently down the stairs and half way through the hall before they were stopped.

"Gray." Large chocolate brown eyes stared up uncertainly at her friend. He sighed and grabbed her arm pulling her in to a hug. One arm wrapped tight around her shoulders the other holding her head tight against him. "Gray." Her voice wavered as if she was going to cry again and he shook his head. "I am so sorry Lucy. We both love you so much and we never wanted to hurt you." Lucy nodded against his shoulder and gently pulled away. "I know Gray." She tried to give him a smile and then moved past him her head down as she rushed out so no one else could stop her.

Laxus glared at the starring occupants of the room as the spectacle took place then followed Lucy out of the guild.

/

About half way to Lucy's apartment she realised that a hulking figure had been silently following her. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even realised Laxus had been following her. She stopped and looked up at him "Thank you Laxus. I don't know why you stayed with me today but I really appreciate it." He nodded and they looked at each other for a minute before continuing on to Lucy's apartment. Finally they got to the door of her building and she turned to him. "Are you gonna be ok?" Lucy nodded at the question and surprised the other mage by wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. "Thank you for walking me home." He nodded, not joining the embrace but not pushing her away. "I'm going to head home I'll be at the guild tomorrow." He left the sentence there not offering to spend more time with her but offering his location in case she felt the need to seek him out. She smiled gratefully and waved as he walked away.

Reviews are loved and welcomed! and thank you all for taking the time to read this ^.^ 3