note: I have been busy, and fighting this chapter a bit, what I had planned and how it came out while I was in a flow are very different. I had to take some time to think about what direction I liked better.
The train pulled into the station after what seemed like an eternity. Juvia gently woke Laxus while whispering, "We're here." As they stood and stretched Laxus cast an adoring look her way and gave her a gentle smirk before pulling her in for a hug. He grabbed up their bags and they stepped from the train into the darkness, "it's so late, I wonder if the inn is close, because I could use a hot cup of tea and a warm bath." Juvia meant every word she said as her muscles ached from sitting in the same position for the entire train ride.
Laxus stepped to the station window and asked the worker if they could point him in the direction of the inn as Juvia glanced around the small town, neither of them had been here other than passing through on train, so she attempted to get her bearings and see where everything was. She spied a small café and a bookstore just down from the train station and the sign for a clothing store peeked from the end of the cross street. Laxus walked back to Juvia and gave her the simple directions to the inn and they headed down the gently sloping street. Within ten minutes they arrived at a brick building with large floral bushes all around the perimeter, a hanging wooden sign stated that it was called the Harty Family Inn. When stepping inside they were immediately greeted by a tall, thin blonde woman who announced that she was the innkeeper Ms. Harty and she grabbed up a key for a room.
The room they were given was incredibly tiny, a queen bed and a rickety inn table were against one wall while a dresser was on the opposite side, the bathroom was barely big enough to fit two people standing in the space between fixtures. Laxus gave a sincere thank you and took the small stack of towels and box of muffins the innkeeper offered. He listened as the woman explained that there was a kitchenette down the hall with basics if they needed anything.
Once the door clicked closed the room was too quiet. Laxus broke the silence by flopping on the bed with a playful look in his eyes, he lightly tossed a pillow knocking the hat from atop Juvia's head. He was rewarded with a giggle as she grabbed up the pillow and threw it back smacking him in the chest. After a few moments of carefree nonsense Laxus leapt forward and snatched Juvia from her feet and pulled her onto the disheveled bed and brushed the hair from her face. They stared into each other's eyes smiling and panting from the pillow fight, lips met with eagerness and a fire spread through Laxus that caused him to pull back despite his body wanting more. Clearing his throat, he snickered, "We'll get ourselves into trouble that way."
Juvia radiated heat from her cheeks as she gathered a few items and ducked into the bathroom to freshen up. She mentally scolded herself for letting herself get sidetracked on what was supposed to be a very serious job, she was here as a stand-in as an S Class and she should act accordingly. The whimsical romantic side of her head, or heart as it were, simply replayed the kiss over and over in her head causing flutters in her heart and a permanent smile to plaster on her face.
Laxus lay on the bed smirking, he never thought he'd get this far. He had played with the idea of asking Juvia out for almost a year. He had watched her from his seat on the second floor, she would flit around the guild talking with Gajeel and Levy, then having tea at the bar, always looking so beautiful and cheery. Then, every time it seemed that she could not shine any brighter Gray would come in and refuse whatever gift she had made him, or shun the compliments she would shower on him, all the while being somehow unaffected by the pain in her eyes as he tore her affections apart. Laxus fought the urge so many times to go down and knock the ice mage's teeth down his throat, but what would that solve?
Now, instead of watching from afar he held her in his arms, she comforted his motion sickness on the train, and then most rewarding off all he kissed her as he always wanted to. But the inkling of impending danger on this job kept him from fully enjoying things, as much as he wanted her here by his side he also worried about what Ivan was planning and what he was capable of.
A cloud of steam released from the bathroom as the door opened and all the thoughts of danger floated away as he saw Juvia walk out with her wavy hair damp and hanging loose, a large shirt and tiny shorts covered her body but somehow made her curves very apparent. She dropped her bathroom items into her bag and crawled onto the bed next to Laxus and settled against him with a content sigh. Laxus felt a rush as he threw the blanket over her and let her drift to sleep, all the while fighting the urge to touch her in all the places his hands were drawn to. Somehow sleep came for him as well, and he night drifted into day.
The next morning Laxus awoke with a beautiful bluenette using him as a pillow and his arms were wrapped securely around her body. He inhaled her scent and committed it to memory, he made a mental note to do this again sometime when they didn't have a job to do. He then decided to wake Juvia up the best way he could think of and began pressing his lips against her head, he face, her neck, and her lips. She made a soft moaning sound as she pressed against the kiss on her lips and pushed her hands up through his hair. "Good morning bright eyes, time to get moving," he whispered to her.
After getting dressed and packing up for the day they headed out with the intention of finding someone local that had seen Ivan, but they needed to grab some breakfast first, luckily Juvia noticed the café when they first arrived and it turned out that there was a large amount of foot traffic near the outdoor seating. Figuring this was the best place to scout for people while coming up with a plan they grabbed some food and sat at the table closest to a low wall bordering the walkway.
Laxus made a bit of small talk to pass the time and help them appear more natural while watching the passersby. He told Juvia about the little known relationship gang he seemed to be caught up in, it turned out that all three members of the Thunder God Tribe were seeing the Strauss siblings. Evergreen and Elfman, Bixlow and Lisanna, and Freed and Mira. Juvia dribbled tea down her chin when she heard that Mira and Freed were in fact expecting their first child, she had heard the rumor that Mira was pregnant since even Sorcerer Weekly had speculated it, but everyone always claimed the baby belonged to Laxus. There was also a rumor about Laxus and Freed having a fling, but it turns out in both the cases of Mira and Freed it stemmed from people seeing Laxus with each of them while they were attempting to keep their relationship under wraps. There was a lot about that group that was not public knowledge and Juvia felt like she didn't know her guild mates at all after learning these facts.
Laxus stood with such force that the table almost flipped, Juvia jumped from the chair and spun to see what put him under such high alert. "We've been spotted!" he shouted as he flung Juvia by her arm behind the stone wall just as a cloud of smoke engulfed the area and pedestrians took off for clean air. "Stay down for a second," he instructed as he tossed the smoke mage into a wall and shot a bolt of lightning into an alleyway resulting in a pained sound from whomever it hit. "Let's go," he spat.
A third mage popped into view seemingly from nowhere and began to pull Juvia back into the void with him before glancing at her and screaming to his comrades "It's the wrong girl!" and disappearing. Juvia fell to her back and rolled over to quickly get back to her feet. Laxus saw the first mage, who clouded the area with smoke once more, take off away from them as the man in the alley attempted to leave out the other end. Juvia jumped forth and cast her water lock on the man in the alley keeping him from escaping. Laxus tapped her shoulder and motioned to the ground, taking the hint she released the new foe from her lock. The man sputtered and gasped as he attempted to catch his breath, Laxus grabbed him up by the shirt, "Who are you and what are you after?"
"I ain't telling you anything," the man said while trying to wrench his shirt out of his strong grasp.
Laxus sent a shot of lightening into the air as a warning and leaned forward and asked again with a menacing tone. "Who are you looking for?"
Seeming to understand he was about to get a body full of lightening the man answered with a timid tone, "The fairy-demon girl, but she ain't with you." The man wiggled and stretched his toes toward the ground even though he was not going to reach as long as he was held there.
Laxus took a breath to stabilize his fury which threatened to release on the peon in his hands, "Who are you working for and why do you want her?" as he dropped one hand to his side Juvia saw sparks jumping between his fingertips.
"Ivan says the girl is carrying his grandkid and he is going to replace what was taken from him when you betrayed him by becoming a Fairy Tail member. He says the child has to be powerful with the demon and a Dreyer as parents." The man seemed to be praising Ivan for such a genius plan, completely unaware that the baby was not Laxus's.
Laxus took that as the end of the explanation and leaned closer to the man, "tell Ivan that the kid ain't mine, but it doesn't matter, it's part of Fairy Tail and this plan is not going to happen." Then sent a massive shock sending the man flying into the trash in the alleyway. He turned to Juvia and said, "Looks like it's a race back to Fairy Tail. Mira is in danger"