I had planned to publish this tomorrow but then I thought about it and decided I didn't want to publish this tomorrow so I'm publishing it today. So, enjoy :D

His long legs carried him through the forest, on his way back to Magnolia after a long job, however as relieved and happy as he should have been, he was not. No currently he was eyeing a certain normally sweet, cheerful celestial mage walking not but a meter or so in front of him, confused about what was going on with her. He was sure she should have been as ecstatic as he about successfully completing a job especially with the pay they got, but again this was not the case.

Thinking back to a few months ago when they had taken the job to this moment he thought over everything and the only thing that really stood out was their argument over which job to take as Laxus refused to take anything lower than S-class – he wasn't an S-class mage for nothing. The argument was petty really, he wanted a long job, something to keep him away for more than just a few weeks, giving him an ample break from paperwork and dealing with his grandfather and she – well she wanted something easy because she wasn't an S-class mage and felt more comfortable with something that wouldn't result in a severe injury.

He remembered cringing at the thought of her getting hurt so he relented and looked over the job board again, trying to keep his eyes from going to that particular job when he spotted another lengthy job. It was actually perfect for them. He had taken it off the board and shown her, she smiled brightly at him and gave him a quick hug before running off to get it approved by Mira. They packed up and headed out that day to ensure they got their early the next morning.

Bringing himself to the present he knew he had made up with her for the argument but other than that he couldn't recall anything in particular happening – there were things but nothing he deemed a reason for her to be this angry with him. His brows furrowed trying to go over every moment of the past three months, now recalling there had even been several instances where she seemed colder to him but he still couldn't pinpoint the exact thing that caused her current mood. Letting out a heavy sigh he looked toward the celestial mage and decided he was going to have to face his currently unstable girlfriend, hoping he wasn't about to get Lucy kicked just for speaking to her.

"Hey, cheerleader" He called keeping his fear out of his voice. "Is everything okay? You seem pretty pissed." He swallowed as she halted, feeling a sense of dread begin to fill him but he continued wanting to find out why things were the way they were. "I don't know why you're so angry but if you talk to me, I –"The stellar mage turned on her heel, facing toward him and the look in her chocolate orbs had him wishing he had just stayed silent until she decided to speak to him.

"You don't know?! You don't know?!" She growled out. "You pompous, egotistical, lying, jackass!" She screeched angrily and he stared at the stellar mage wide-eyed, tempted to back away from her, his hands starting to rise hoping to placate her. "Don't sit there and act like you don't know!" She snarled.

He was tempted to blurt that he really didn't but that would probably lead to her being more pissed off at him so instead he eased himself forward, still subconsciously worried she was going to kick the hell out of him. When he stood before her he spoke, keeping his voice calm. "Baby, I really –"

"Don't say you don't know. You and she –"She cut herself off with an irritated growl before turning on her heel to walk away from him.

Laxus sighed now even more confused than before. Quickly catching up with the blonde he grabbed her arm, turning her to him, his stomach uneasy at the sight of tears beginning to gather in her eyes. "What do you mean, she?"

She jerked her arm from his grasp, glaring up at him. The lightning slayer could swear he felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest, from the look she was giving him. "I'm talking about the client's daughter." He opened his mouth to question her when she continued. "I'm talking about the three months we spent escorting that damn hussy." The volume of her voice continued to grow as she spoke, her anger taking over once more. "I'm talking about the three months she spent throwing herself at you, trying to and failing at subtly hinting at the fact that she wanted you to fuck her even though her tart ass has a damn fiancé and the fact that you did nothing but sit there and let her stroke the living hell out of your fucking ego!" She nearly screamed.

It hadn't taken him long to figure out why she was pissed at him and though he knew he hadn't handled the situation with the daughter's client well – wanting to ensure Lucy got the full reward because he knew very well that the daughters of clients had flirted with him and when he hadn't made a move on them they would be pissed and he and his team ended up losing money. His team mates were never bothered by the monetary loss but he worried that maybe it would Lucy seeing as this job was to give her a break from working for a while and they'd lost out because of him.

However instead of staying focused on the fact that his girlfriend was jealous and hurt by his action he couldn't help recall how she had acted when they delivered the client's daughter to her intended. His frustration at the situation and the fact that she was making it seem like he was the only guilty party had him losing his calm.

"Come off it, cheerleader"

"Excuse me?" She looked at him in a mixture of anger and slight disbelief.

"You heard me." He half growled. "You're pissed off at me for what happened with the client's daughter but what about you and the other client? He spent his time eyeing you like a piece of meat while the two of you flirted, up until we left the damn place."

The stellar mage rolled her eyes at him and he felt his brow twitch in annoyance. "For your information Laxus, that is how I grew up. It was common curtesy to sit pretty and smile, being as polite as possible, as is required of a lady." She informed him. "No matter how desperately I wanted to wipe that disgusting smile off the bastard's face and grind my heel into his groin just to watch him squirm, I couldn't." She grumbled out.

He had originally intended to retort about how she was just as guilty as he was even if it was how she grew up when the rest of what she spoke and her tone of voice sank in. Before he could even think to catch himself, laughter escaped him finding her sadism to be amusing, especially since he hadn't really expected it, briefly wondering how much more sadistic she could get. Pushing that aside for later he let his relief flood him now aware that she wasn't interested in the guy and figured he should also apologize for the way the job went.

After collecting himself he tugged the stellar mage toward him, a grin on his face as he held her tight, pulling away he smiled at her before claiming her lips in a rough kiss, grasping her hand when she attempted to push him away, moving his lips more insistently against hers until she responded. Resting her hand on his shoulder, his fingers tangled in her blonde locks as he forced his tongue into her mouth, reveling in finally getting to taste that strawberry sweetness after so long.

Reeling his desires back in before he took her right there in the forest, Laxus released his hold on the stellar mage, drawing back from her lips, he panted softly, opening his eyes to look into hers. "I'm sorry." He breathed out, seeing a flash of hurt in her orbs. Licking his lips, he stood up and put a little space between them. "I knew what she was doing." He confessed. "And I could have handled the whole situation better but –"He hesitated a moment with his explanation but continued, she should know. "I've done jobs like this before, the women get flirtatious and when I don't respond they get pissed and we'd lose money." Lucy's brows furrowed slightly. "This job was supposed to give you some time to stop stressing about rent and I know it would bother you that we didn't get the full amount so I figured I could at least tolerate her advances"

The celestial spirit mage remained silent, staring at him for what seemed like several long minutes before sighing heavily and shaking her head. "You're a dumbass." She informed him, looking up at him anger lingering in her eyes. "Truthfully I wouldn't have been happy about not getting the full reward but I'd rather not get a full reward than sit there and watch you flirt for three months and of course saying nothing to me in regards to it – I might add – with a woman like that. An explanation earlier would have been nice." He winced slightly at her words knowing full well he probably made her feel insecure about their relationship and it would probably take some time for her to not be. "But, thank you."

He stared at her baffled by her sudden thank you. He was sure she was supposed to still be angry at him. "What?"

Lucy smiled. "I said thank you."

"Really? But why?"

The stellar mage shrugged. "I guess I can just forgive your stupidity easily. I mean you are a dragon slayer. It's in your nature."

"Hey!" He cried out indignantly. "Don't insult dragon slayers."

"Don't be such an idiot then." She quipped. "Keep it up and I'll start lumping, you with Natsu and Sting." She smirked at him before turning around and walking.

"To hell you will." He growled, following her. "I'm nothing like those two idiots." He argued as he closed the distance between them in a few strides, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. His lips curled in amusement upon hearing her soft squeak of surprise, leaning down he met her lips in a chaste kiss. His nose brushed against hers, meeting her eyes. "If we decide to go on a job together again, there'll be no more traveling third parties."

Lucy nodded her head. "Agreed." The duo kissed once more before they continued their walk to Magnolia, her hand held in his and he felt this was much better than the way they were walking before.

"You know I was just thinking about what you had said about the client and maybe you should cut back on hanging out with Cana and Mira so much? I'd really hate to know how much influence they've had on my little strawberry."

Lucy had wanted to laugh because he really didn't know how sadistic she could be but he'll most likely find it out sooner or later especially with how often Natsu and Gray had a tendency to get in trouble and when Erza wasn't available to administer punishment it was up to Lucy. He'd also quickly find out Mira and Cana had very little influence on her there.

Instead of laughing though, Lucy found her face burning and possibly cherry red when Laxus called her his strawberry. It immediately brought to the forefront of her mind why he liked strawberries so much and of course what had happened that date night a few months ago. Wanting to change the topic she was reminded that it had been some time since he and the thunder legion had spent some time together and they probably wanted to go on a job with him.

"S-Speaking of not hanging out, it's been a bit since you and the Raijin were together and I'm sure they miss you and want to go on a job with you." She glanced up at him as he nodded his head.

"Yeah, we'll probably go on a job a few days or so after we get back." He looked down at her. "Did you want to come?"

The celestial mage shook her head, turning her attention to the path in front of her. "No, I'm going to sit this one out." She paused. "In fact I'll probably go on a job with my team mates since they've probably missed me too."

"Sounds like a good idea." Lucy smiled giving a slight nod of her head. "But only after you come over for a date night."

She hesitated briefly, but shook the feelings away. She was being silly about the situation when he hadn't done anything beyond let the woman flirt with him and smile, at her now and again. It was her insecurity and jealousy that caused the argument and she shouldn't have let it get to her so much. Looking up at the man she smiled at him. "Are we cooking dinner again?" She inquired, giggling when his nose scrunched up. "We can cook something easy" She offered.

"That's what you said last time cheerleader." She laughed recalling his pouting face that night before smiling up at him.

"Take out it is." She sighed resting her head on his arm. "Order dinner, watch a few movies and – maybe if you ask nicely, I'll stay the night." Though it was a high probability that she'd end up staying regardless, she really wanted to spend some time wrapped up in his arms.

The lightning mage chuckled, giving her hand a small squeeze making her smile. "Want to come over tonight?" He asked and Lucy let out a burst of laughter, standing up she looked up seeing that familiar look of desire in his stormy blue orbs and her heart fluttered.

"Mind if we stop at my place, so I can grab some clothes? We can clean up together." She suggested, giggling at the smile on his face.

"As long as you don't mind that we'll probably skip out on watching some or all of the movies." Lucy hummed in mock thought then shook her head.

"I don't mind." His smile widened and she squeaked as he lifted her up into his arms, lightning sparked from him and she knew he intended to use his lightning body.

"Then let's get a move on."