A/N: It's been too long since this one was updated! There are probably 2 more chapters to go until it's finished. I hope you enjoy!

"Whaddaya think got his panties in a twist?" Bickslow whispered loudly as he slung an arm over Lucy's shoulder and pulled her in close. When she shrugged and hummed in response, he added, "He's probably just overdue for some good pussy."

Obnoxious snickering filled Laxus' ears, making him walk a little faster. The group of mages was finally nearing the train station to make their way back to Magnolia and he couldn't wait to get there. It had been a painfully long three days since Lucy last spoke to him and he had no idea what to do about it. Everyone else seemed to be back in her good graces but Laxus still hadn't made any progress in apologizing. How could he, though, with Bickslow and Natsu constantly taking up all her attention? As soon as her clock spirit disappeared, one of those two idiots would be at her side talking to her about whatever nonsense they could think up. It didn't take Laxus long to figure out they were trying to keep her away from him.

Their interference pissed him off, but he decided not to say anything about it when it became clear that Lucy wasn't trying to get away from them. She seemed content to make the long journey back without speaking a single word to him, so Laxus would let Bickslow and Natsu have their little victory for now. It wasn't like he planned to apologize in front of them, anyway. His pride always took a big hit any time he felt the need to apologize to someone and it wasn't something he wanted those two idiots witnessing. They'd never stop with the jokes.

"Hey, ya feelin' alright?" Gray asked as he caught up to Laxus. It said a lot about the blond's focus that he didn't notice the other man at his side. When he didn't answer right away, Gray added, "The hair on my arms is standing straight up with all the electricity in the air."

With a loud exhale, Laxus focused on reining in his magic. It wouldn't help his cause with Lucy to accidentally shock the woman into a coma. "Yeah, I'm good. Just need to get away from those two fuckers."

Gray looked back to see Bickslow still slung over Lucy's shoulders with her looking up at him smiling at whatever the clown was saying about Natsu, who was a few feet away shooting dart-shaped flames from his mouth at a flock of birds in the sky. It wasn't hard to figure out why Laxus would be so irritated. Gray just hoped the guy could be patient. "It won't be easy, but if you wait it out, Natsu will get bored and find something else to do."

With a nod, Laxus said, "Figured as much but Bickslow's a different story. Once he's focused on something, he won't give it up until he's done with it. Depending on what his goal is, this might not go so well for me."

"Eh, don't worry about it too much, man. Lucy's not the type to hold a grudge. Just apologize once you get the chance and you'll see. It won't really matter what those two are trying to do."

Not willing to say more incase Natsu was listening in, Laxus just nodded with a grunt and walked the rest of the distance to the train station in silence. The group didn't have to wait long until they were allowed to board. Unsurprisingly, they were all in nearly the same positions as the last time with Bickslow next to Laxus, probably trying to run interference if the blond man tried talking to Lucy, and Natsu curled up in her lap while everyone else spread out to talk or sleep.

Laxus leaned his head back against the wall to avoid watching the pink haired idiot get comfortable, although he couldn't block out the exaggerated groans of pleasure coming from Natsu when Lucy started stroking his scalp. Whatever. He'd just use the last of his self control to hold out until the train started moving and the idiot passed out.

Just as expected, seconds after the train lurched into motion, Natsu was unconscious. What Laxus didn't expect was the small smile Lucy gave him when he opened his eyes. It was the first time she'd made any sort of attempt to communicate with him since they left the job site. He couldn't stop himself from smiling back, even if it quickly turned into a grimace when the train car jolted a bit.

Laxus could feel Bickslow building up to do something ridiculous after witnessing the small exchange, but Laxus was surprised again. Before Bickslow could say anything stupid, Lucy asked, "Hey, Bixy? You mind going up front to get me a snack? Natsu ate the last of mine on the way here and I'm starving."

Hopping up from his seat, the blue haired man said, "Sure. Anything for my favorite Cosplayer." Chuckling at her dramatic eye roll, Bickslow kissed her forehead before leaving the train car.

As soon as the door slid shut, Lucy huffed, "Finally. I thought they'd never leave me alone."

Unable to do much speaking, Laxus settled for raising an eyebrow in question. Understanding, Lucy flicked Natsu's ear as she said, "These two have been attached to my hip for the last three days. The only peace I've gotten is when I'm riding in Horologium."

A small snort of air was the only answer Laxus could give but Lucy was pretty sure that meant he'd noticed, too. Feeling pretty sure he was paying attention even though his eyes were closed, Lucy looked around to make sure no one else was listening in on their conversation before she went on. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted."

That got Laxus fully focused on Lucy. He even lifted his head up and ignored the way his stomach threatened to empty so he could answer. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

Lucy shrugged and looked down to hide her embarrassment, twirling a bit of Natsu's dirty hair in her fingers to distract herself. "I was kind of a bitch after Plu and Canis Major went back to the Celestial Realm. I apologized to everyone else but hadn't gotten a chance to talk to you yet. I know you were just trying to look out for everyone's safety and didn't understand he wasn't really a monster."

Laxus was speechless and this time not because of his motion sickness. She felt like she needed to apologize to him? He'd completely overreacted and not listened to her at all, even knowing Celestial Spirits were her specialty. With a deep breath to calm him stomach, he did his best to quickly say, "You don't need to apologize. I was the asshole."

Before he could say more, his face turned a light shade of green, forcing him to let his head fall back against the wall again with his eyes closed. A light thump and the weight of someone settling next to him meant Bickslow was probably back, so he'd have to finish apologizing later. At least he knew Lucy wasn't mad at him anymore.

A light touch on his forearm made Laxus crack one eye open to see why Bickslow would be touching him, but he was surprised to see Lucy sitting next to him. When he motioned over to Natsu with his eyes, Lucy just shrugged and said, "He'll be out for awhile and you look like you could use some help."

Laxus was glad Lucy could read his facial expressions so well when she immediately answered his look of skepticism. "You don't have to lay all over me like he does. Here, just do this."

Lucy leaned her head against Laxus shoulder and pulled his head down to rest against hers. While he got comfortable, she uncrossed his arms and pulled the closest one into her lap. She tucked her trapped arm beneath his and curled that hand around his bicep while her other hand stroked up and down his forearm. Her gentle touch and the scent of her hair immediately calmed the nausea churning in his gut, making him sigh in relief. The pain wasn't gone completely but it was much more bearable. "See, that's better, right?"

He only hummed in response and closed his eyes to fully enjoy the moment of peace. Laxus was so relaxed that he easily ignored Bickslow's return and exclamation of 'what the fuck' when he noticed the position the two blonds were in. He was even able to ignore the way Bickslow reclaimed his seat by squeezing in next to Lucy and smirked at the way she shushed the blue haired man before saying, "Be quiet. He's sleeping."

The hours until the train reached Magnolia were the best six hours Laxus had experience all week. When Natsu finally woke up and begged Lucy to come back to his side of the train car, Erza stepped in saying she would 'assist Natsu in his time of need'. Ignoring Natsu's pleas for mercy, the warrior woman hit him hard enough to knock him out and returned to her seat next to Evergreen. The rest of the ride passed with quiet conversation between all the conscious mages, except Laxus.

When the group stepped out of the train, there was a quick debate about who would be stuck giving the mission report while everyone else went home. Laxus volunteered, feeling responsible as the leader of the group, and Lucy offered to go with him so she could give details about the spirit they'd found. As the pair walked away, no one seemed to notice or care about the way the two seemed closer than before, except Bickslow and Natsu. But they weren't going to let it go. They'd put too much effort into keeping them apart to have it all ruined so easily.

Gray could feel the heat rising from Natsu's irritation and did his best to intervene before the dragon slayer did something stupid. Gray roughly bumped Natsu with his shoulder as he said, "Come on, loser. Let's get out of here before Juvia notices we're back."

Effectively distracted, Natsu whipped his head to face Gray and shouted, "Who you callin' a loser, Ice Prick?"

Bickslow shook his head and started off towards his apartment. He didn't want to be nearby when those two got into one of their brawls or when Erza decided to break it up. Plus, he needed some time to think. How much effort did he want to put into keeping Laxus and Lucy apart? His intention had been to protect Lucy from being Laxus' next fling, but Laxus wasn't treating her like he did most women. Bickslow had never seen him have a casual conversation with a woman beyond flirting that would lead to a bed or back alley. Could Laxus really want a relationship with Cosplayer? Bickslow wasn't sure what he thought anymore. If they were headed towards being together, he wouldn't intentionally ruin his friends' chance at having a good thing.

As Laxus and Lucy took their time walking to the guild, Laxus realized how much he really liked spending time with her. It was a surprising relief that she was a member of Fairy Tail. He never expected to have a relationship with someone from the guild, but it meant she didn't have tons of useless questions like a lot of his fan girls. Having Natsu as a partner meant she also had a lot of knowledge about dragon slayers, so she didn't ask those annoying questions, either. They were able to just talk about whatever came to mind.

"So what will happen to the big, blue snowman now?" Laxus asked curiously. Lucy hadn't gotten another key as far as he could tell, so he had no idea what would happen to the spirit.

"He'll just hang out in the Celestial Realm with the other spirits. He doesn't have a summoning key, so he probably won't be back in Earthland again. That reminds me, I need to find out how he got here in the first place. It wouldn't be good if the spirits without summoning keys started appearing."

"Are there a lot of them?" Laxus didn't even know there were more spirits than he'd seen Lucy and the other Celestial Mage summon at the games. It now seemed a little naive of him to assume he knew anything about it.

"Tons! There's an entire population in the Celestial Realm no one knows about." Lucy's whole face lit up as she went into detail about the spirits she'd met while in the other realm and ones she'd only heard about. Her words started coming out faster as she spoke, giving away how excited she was about the subject. Laxus absently wondered if no one ever asked about it with the way she was suddenly so animated.

When they walked through the guild's doors, Lucy was still talking about her spirit friends with Laxus only occasionally asking a question. He wasn't much for talking, so didn't mind her filling up the conversation. Focusing on her words also made it easier for Laxus to ignore the whispers about the two of them walking together. If their guildmates were this bad, he needed to mentally prepare himself for facing his gramps with an attractive woman at his side. Maybe he would have been better off giving the report on his own.

"My boy! I'm surprised to see you back already!" Makarov shouted while glancing between the two blonds in what he thought was a discreet manner.

Laxus closed the door once Lucy was inside as he answered, "It didn't take long to take care of the problem once we made it into the forest. Lucy can explain most of that."

While Lucy gave a very watered down version of the events that took place on the job, Laxus couldn't help but admire her. She spoke eloquently and clearly, including details Laxus hadn't been aware of that led her to the conclusion the giant monster was actually a stranded spirit from the Celestial Realm. It was clear there was much more to her than just a beautiful face and body he'd always noticed, but he'd never taken the time to really get to know her before. Lucy was smart, maybe even as smart as Freed, and had such a caring heart. The way her eyes danced with excitement as she went into detail about the spirit's interaction with her spirit, Plu, made Laxus heart do a little flip. As soon as he realized he'd been staring, Laxus averted his gaze to the other side of the room, but it was too late. He'd been caught by his grandfather. The old man would never let this go.

"Sounds like Laxus made the right choice in bringing you along, dear. I'm glad to hear Canis Major made it home safely and peacefully." Master Makarov sounded proud of the group as he spoke, but Laxus wondered how differently he would have sounded if Lucy told the entire truth about their attempt to fight the spirit.

Just as they were about to say their goodbyes, Master shot Laxus a glance that could only mean trouble as he said, "If you two have the time, can you help an old man out? I have an order of office supplies ready for pick up at the store. I'd get it myself, but these old knees aren't what they used to be."

Laxus rolled his eyes but Lucy smiled brightly before saying, "Sure! I don't mind at all. Do you, Laxus?"

He looked away from her bright smile and started walking towards the door to avoid showing how much it flustered him when she looked at him that way. "Let's get it over with now so we can get back to the guild before Mira runs out of the roasted meat I can smell cooking."

It didn't take long for them to make it outside and away from the guild. They walked a few blocks in silence before Laxus finally asked the question plaguing his mind. "Why didn't you tell gramps about us attacking the spirit?"

Lucy shrugged saying, "Didn't really seem important." Laxus could tell she wasn't done talking, so he waited. A few steps later, Lucy added, "I was pretty pissed at first and probably would have told Master everything out of spite if we'd gotten back the same day, but telling him really wouldn't change anything. Everything worked out in the end and you guys were only doing what you thought was best."

Laxus nodded and eventually said, "Thanks. I don't want gramps to think my team is like we used to be."

He was surprised to feel a light touch on his upper arm and turned to look over at Lucy. She stopped walking and waited until he was facing her to say, "Laxus, no one thinks your team is the way it used to be. Everyone can tell you're all different now."

The genuine look of acceptance in her big, brown eyes took his breath away. No one had ever acknowledged the way his team changed. Yeah, everyone accepted them in the guild and didn't talk about the past anymore, but it was totally different to hear that forgiveness out loud. He couldn't find the right words to express how much he appreciated her or how much he was starting to care for her. Laxus knew he wasn't always the best with communication, so he hoped whatever was about to come out of his mouth would be enough.

"Lucy, I-" Before Laxus could get any further, an annoying voice cut him off.

"Luce! Hey! I finally found you!" The moment was completely ruined when the pair turned to see Natsu running down the street towards them. He didn't even acknowledge Laxus as he ran straight into Lucy, wrapping his arms around her and spinning her around in a hug.

"Natsu!" Lucy shrieked, "Put me down! You're squeezing the life out of me."

With a huge grin on his face, Natsu put Lucy down and patted her head as he said, "Sorry, sorry. I've been looking all over for you. You just abandoned me to deal with the Ice Princess and Erza all by myself while you ran off with the Lightning Rod."

"Seriously, Natsu?" Lucy huffed with one hand resting on a cocked hip. "We told everyone we were heading to the guild to report to Master."

"Well, what are ya doin' all the way over here? The guild is that way." Natsu said while pointing in the direction they'd just come from.

Before Lucy could say anything else, Laxus cut in, "We were already there and now we're doing something for gramps." He put a hand on Lucy's shoulder, hoping to get her moving in the right direction again and away from her annoying partner.

"I'll help, too!" Natsu exclaimed while slinging an arm over Lucy's shoulder, successfully swatting Laxus' hand away. Oblivious to the two males' interaction, Lucy just rolled her eyes and started walking as she said, "Alright. We might need the extra hands to carry stuff back."

Laxus swallowed down his frustration and put a damper on the urge to shock Natsu until he couldn't walk. He knew it wouldn't get him anywhere with Lucy to treat her best friend that way, even if the guy deserved it. There was no way Natsu didn't know what he was doing, especially with the way he was staring at Laxus over the top of Lucy's head with his eyes narrowed and an annoying smirk on his face. Laxus would just have to bide his time until the guy found something else that interested him.

To make matters worse, the errand gramps sent them on was definitely just a ruse to keep Laxus and Lucy together for awhile longer. There's no way the old man thought Laxus would need help carrying a box of printer paper and a bag of pens.

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