Author's Note: I can honestly say I struggled with this one a bit. I honestly never planned on any oc bullshit in this story at all, but there was a decision I had to make. If I left it out, this chapter would be lacking. It would be shorter than the others by a long while, and even though I'm still not the happiest with the turnout of this chapter, I would have been even MORE unhappy with it if it fell that short.

So basically, the beginning is just a little tiny bit of filler.

If I combined the next chapter with this one, there would have been too much to one single chapter and it would have felt rushed. If I left this chapter out, there would be a missing link. But if I left it without the beginning portion, it wouldn't be long enough. So let me apologize now for shoving Saveya at you all. I tried to keep it minimal and skim over it as much as possible so you guys didn't get bored of it.

I don't know, I've only ever put my OCs in two stories. I have no idea how y'all can post stories solely about your OCs and be so confident about it. I'm over here apologizing because I think that's what you guys DON'T want... Well, that and I feel like an OC is an extremely personal creation. You put a lot of time and effort into them, so to just post them in a story for everyone to read seems hella exposing. That's just me. Maybe I'm just a paranoid doofus.

So, I'll shut up now. But to make up for that, I'm planning on updating again very soon. Like before Monday soon. I don't know exactly when, but whatever. May, shut up and let them read this ffs.

ONTO THE STORY!

Lucy leaned against the door to the office. Though unsurprised to see Laxus and Freed both inside, she was surprised to see that it was cleaner than the Master's office. The two had gotten back from their mission two days ago, and it had been a little over a week since she and the slayer had their little walk. Her rent was due in three days, but she wouldn't be there to pay it.

"Sorry for the wait, Miss Lucy," Freed apologized.

She smiled and shook her head. "No, it's fine. I waited to give you guys time to recover anyway."

The rune mage smiled back at her. "Well we appreciate it. What can we do for you?"

And that made the lass shrug. "I'm heading to Crocus with Cana and Levy. We're gonna meet up with the Sabers and help with the recovery effort. I wanted to extend an invitation is all."

Laxus stiffened when she mentioned Crocus, though he relaxed just a tad when all was explained. He still didn't like the idea of her being around other slayers, nor did he like the idea of her in Crocus again. He had to swallow his pride, though. She was a free woman and he'd never take that from her. But he did give her a sad look.

"I know I can't. We got back and I let a client know I'd be there to take his job."

"Without us?" Freed asked with a raised brow.

The blond shrugged. "I don't want to overwork you all. There's a few jobs that are a little time sensitive that nobody's taken up yet."

While that much was true, it just wasn't true about the mission he'd taken. Freed knew what he was doing- what he was saving for- but it wasn't his place to call him out in front of his love interest. The green haired man opened his mouth, closed it, then blinked a couple of times. "I also cannot. There's a mage coming to be introduced to the guild and I am the only one she knows here. It would be best if I'm here while she adjusts."

"We're getting a new member?" Lucy asked happily.

He nodded. "She's cut from a similar cloth as you and I."

The blonde cringed at that. "Okay, yeah, you definitely should stay for her. Can I know anything about her before she gets here?"

Freed nodded and stepped away from his desk to sit atop it. "She's from high society as well. Where you came from wealth, my family name has been around for many hundreds of years, and Rufus Lore comes from a politically invested family, she's from nobility."

"Oooh, Baroness? Viscountess or Countess?"

"Her father is the Grand Duke of Pergrande."

Lucy winced at that. "Damn, skipping Marchioness and all. Why the hell is she coming here?"

He reached behind him, grabbed a letter, and passed it to the blonde lass. As her eyes skimmed through and read the written words, Freed verbally explained. "Pergrande isn't known for mages. If anything, they're known for slaughtering their mages. They use things like gladiatorial combat and death as forms of entertainment. Women are nothing but wombs to breed when they so wish. She's taking a rather dangerous journey from her father before he finds out about her magic."

The lass felt her eyes sadden as she read through the scrawlings. "This was from Bosco? So she's already been through Iceberg and Stella… will she be safe getting here?"

"Yeah," Laxus interrupted. "She's got Bicks' old man escorting her himself." He looked between the two and shrugged. "I'm glad she chose Fiore and not like… Minstrel. Having to go through Bellum right now wouldn't be a fun time."

Lucy snorted. "Laxus, hon, you do realize that Bellum literally means War, right?"

He blinked and furrowed his brows. "...Why the hell would you name your kingdom War?"

"Why would you name it Flower?" Freed countered, speaking about their own kingdom.

Lucy snorted and rolled her eyes. Horologium told her, through their bond, that now was time to leave if she wanted to get everything done before getting to Crocus. She sighed. "There's the bell. I've gotta go turn in my rent if I want to ensure it gets paid."

"When is it due?" The lightning mage raised a brow.

"Tuesday, but I'll be in Crocus till Thursday."

The Slayer looked down at what appeared to be a personal timetable… Booklet… Agenda thing. She never knew anyone who actually used those… Yet here he was. Checking his shit. "Damn. I was gonna offer to turn it in for ya, but I'll be gone Tuesday."

Freed raised a brow. "I could turn it in for you, Miss Lucy. I'll still be here."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Freed. I can turn it in early, it won't affect anything-"

"Princess," Virgo said as she appeared before the blonde lass.

Lucy jumped back, startled, and clasped both her hands to her chest. "Dammit, Virgo!"

"Did I scare you, Princess..? Is it Punishment time?"

"No! Ugh, what is it?" The blonde wasn't usually this short with her spirits, but she didn't have a whole helluva lot of time.

The maid bowed to her. "I've taken the liberty to pack for you. If you do not leave now, you will miss your train. Miss McGarden and Miss Alberona are at the station, waiting."

"Shit," Lucy cursed. She reached into her purse and pulled out the ninety thousand jewel she needed for rent and passed it to Freed. "It's-"

"I'll take him there so he knows where to go. You go," Laxus said as he started pushing her out of the room.

She looked up at him with grateful eyes. "Thanks Sparky. I'm outie five thousand!"

As the blonde lass rocketed off, Freed stepped up next to his dearest friend. "...Still looking?"

"Yeah."

"Good luck, my friend," Freed said as he patted the slayer's back. "You're going to need it."

Lucy was actually pretty happy when the trio arrived in Crocus. Despite the manual labor they had to put in, the fairies had a really good time with the Sabers. Sting and Rogue's bickering reminded her of happier times with her own team, the cute romance between Orga and Yukino made her tease the other celestial mage every chance she got, and even Rufus and Minerva were relaxing and cracking jokes of their own.

What interested Lucy most was the flirty teasing between Levy and Sting.

Still, spending almost a week with the Sabers made Lucy feel better about herself. After explaining only once that she and Natsu weren't a team any longer- not even explaining why mind you- none of them pressed the issue. Orga was the only one who 'complained' about how she smelled like Laxus. Complained meaning teased her. Yukino refused to let her go home without a promise that they'll take a mission together sometime soon, and Lucy readily agreed.

Cana was ready to relax, but Lucy and Levy still had a mission to get to… Though when Lucy began telling the others about the new addition to the guild, Levy wanted to see if she'd come along too.

When they got back- sure enough, Laxus was gone, but it didn't look like anyone new was in the building. The blue haired lass and the blonde shared a confused look, but wandered up to the second level to Laxus' office nonetheless. And upon entering, they found what (or, rather, who) they were looking for. The young woman, who looked no older than twenty one, was asleep on the couch in the office.

Lucy looked up at Freed and smiled. "Taking a nap?"

He nodded. "She's a Dream Mage. She sleeps quite a bit."

Lucy laughed lightly, softly.

"May I ask why you've come up?"

"We wanted to see if she wanted to tag along on our mission," Levy answered with a smile.

Freed smiled back. "She's been worried about taking jobs on no experience. This would be a nice way to start."

"What's her name?" Levy asked.

"Saveya," a new effeminate voice said. The three looked to the couch to see the woman yawn and sit up slowly. "My name is Saveya."

Lucy smiled brightly at her. "It's nice to meet you. Welcome to Fairy Tail, I'm Lucy."

"I'm Levy," the short lass replied cheerily. "Welcome to our home away from home!"

The woman was gorgeous to say the least. She had thick, lavender locks that fell to her hips in beachy waves and slight curls. Her eyes were more Eastern than Lucy had seen before in shape, though they shined a violet hue under the Lacrima lighting. Her skin was pale, and it was obvious the woman had muscle. It wasn't the washboard abs style, which is only focused on appearance, but rather the thick kind. Her arms, legs, and core were all thick, but it was obvious this women held actual power. Her lips were thick and pouty, and while she didn't have as large of a chest as Lucy, when she stood, the other two women could see that the woman had a killer ass.

Her smile was gorgeous, too. "It's nice to meet you both."

"We wanted to know if you wanted to tag along on a mission with us?" Levy looked up at the rather tall woman with hopeful eyes.

The Eastern woman looked shocked. "...Really? But… I'm new here…"

"And?" Lucy asked sassily. "We all start somewhere."

The lavender haired lass' smile grew. "Alright, sure!"

"Hell yeah," the blonde cheered. "Come on out to the bar with us, we'll buy you a drink and we'll talk about magic types."

Saveya agreed, but looked to Freed as though she needed permission. Back home, she did. The rune mage only smiled and shooed them along in response. Happy, the three ladies took off for the bar and plopped down. Lucy ordered a virgin strawberry daiquiri as she wasn't ready to drink quite yet, Levy got herself a chocolate milkshake, and Saveya ordered a peach-pineapple smoothie. Once Mira left to make the drinks, Lucy turned to their new guildmate sitting between them.

"So, you use Dream Magic? Is that kind of like Sleep Magic?"

The lavender haired woman shrugged slightly. "It includes sleep magic. Most of my spells are for support, stealth, recon and interrogation… But I do have a means of attack should I need it."

Levy leaned on the bar. "I've heard that is a form of eye magic?"

The woman nodded. "It's… Think of Bickslow's magic. His Figure Eyes are used in cooperation with his Seith Magic- or how Freed's Dark Écriture is used in conjunction with his Rune magic. It's like that."

The script mage crossed one leg over the other. "So what is it exactly, then?"

Saveya shrugged. "So I excell in sleep magic, targeting the subconscious, illusions, and things like that. If my target is asleep, I can give them nightmares that will affect their physical person or I could give them sweet dreams that restore my magic by leeching off of theirs." She gave a small smile and a bow of her head as thanks when Mira handed her the drink she ordered. "Illusions I make with my eyes, and my eyes trigger the support spells I know, too."

Lucy grinned widely. "That sounds super rad," she complimented.

Levy nodded enthusiastically. "Is the dream thing your form of attack?"

"Oh, no… Dream Magic comes with a side helping Takeover Magic. I have a Dream takeover and a Nightmare takeover. Both do different things. In my Dream Soul, I have stronger defense and agility. It takes less magic to hold, and my spells don't take a lot of magic to use in this soul. But if I use Nightmare Soul, I have a boost in speed, strength, and magic power- not magic amount. So while Nightmare Soul takes more magic to hold and the spells use more magic, it's faster and stronger to use."

"Oooh, interesting," Levy smiled. "I'd love to see one someday."

Lucy nodded. "Me too. But let's talk strategy. If we've got Saveya, Levy's a Solid Script Mage, and I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage, we're probably going to split the workload best if we take a recon or a stealth mission… One where fighting is least required. Myself and Saveya would be our melee fighters."

The lavender haired lass tilted her head. "I thought celestial spirit mages were holder mages?"

"We are," Lucy nodded. "... You'll see on the mission."

Levy snickered. "Our little Lucy is the strongest celestial mage!"

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Levy used to be a Rune Knight. She's amazing at calling the shots and getting intellectual things done in a flash."

The script mage nudged the blonde. "Don't discredit yourself! Miss Fairy Sphere."

Lucy shrugged. "I'm not as fast on my feet as you are."

Saveya giggled at their sudden yet playful bickering. She only smiled more when Lucy was startled by one of Bicklow's totems. Sure enough, where one was? The other wasn't far behind. Or, rather, the other five if you include the other totems and the mage himself. He plopped himself into the seat next to Lucy, laughing loudly as she hit his arm for scaring her.

Those two then broke out into their own playful argument.

"It's like this all the time," Levy commented as she leaned towards the new member. "We've all got our own little quirks, but we embrace each other for them. It's one big, dysfunctional family."

"I'm not used to things like this," she admitted. "In Pergrande, women didn't matter unless it was for producing offspring. We never had calm conversation like this… And Bosco was where nobody was ashamed to be openly sexual. To go from two extremes to this is… It's a weird shift."

Levy smiled sadly. "I like to think Fiore is the best place to just… Be yourself."

"It seems so," she agreed. "The differences in culture from the East and the Main Land to here? It's astonishing how vastly different they can be."

Levy laughed lightly. "Don't worry about forcing yourself to change, alright? You'll find your own path and fit in faster than you think."

The taller lass blushed a bit and bowed her head a bit. "Thank you. You've been very kind."

"That's the Levs for ya," Bickslow commented. "Kind and soothes your soul. Unlike the demon Cosplayer over here."

Lucy scoffed indignantly. "Excuse you!"

The three women took what began as a simple reconnaissance mission: go into enemy territory, retrieve information without being a spy but by staying stealthy enough to plunder for it, return said information to the client. With the skill set presented, it should have been cut and dry. However, the women didn't account for the client selling them out. Just as all was going well, right after they had been paid, the dark mages had them surrounded.

On the bright side, they got to see the takeovers. On the bad side, they were pretty sure Nightmare Soul would haunt their own dreams. Lucy was damned positive Laxus would be there by the time she got back, since the mission was about three days long. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. At all. After his first week gone, with her back in town, Lucy took to hanging out with his team. Ever was a given, yet Freed and Bickslow proved to be amazing company. Saveya, even. They all greeted Lucy with smiles and updates to let her know their leader was still alive. She even got Bickslow to promise her not to tell Laxus she'd been asking.

His second week gone, Lucy was back to holing herself up. Again, she rarely left her apartment. Granted she only managed to make it in the actual guild a good six times since Laxus had asked her if she'd return… Still, this time she just wasn't hanging out or going out to see anyone.

And it killed her inside.

It killed her to know how depressed she so easily got without knowing about his safety. It killed her to know how fast and how hard she fell for his stupid face. It killed her to know that she was fine without him. She could easily get up, get out, go back to the guild, and act like nothing had happened. But, at the same time, it killed her to know that she was willing to wait for him.

She wanted to wait for him.

It wasn't until halfway through the second week that she finally managed to remind herself that waiting for someone didn't have to mean putting her life on hold for theirs. No, she didn't physically see anyone else, but she made a point to go jogging twice a day and called at least one person a night. She didn't have to put her life on hold…. But man, was it boring without a dumb slayer popping up at random with weirdly timed requests. Like walking. Or holding his big, stupid hand.

Gods, she missed him.

Then, a little over four weeks, there was a knock at her door.

Lucy felt her heart skip a beat… But she squashed the feeling. It wasn't Laxus. She'd be able to feel the slight change in the static in the air.

...And that's how you know you've been waiting too long. When you figure out how to tell when someone shows up.

The blonde padded over to the door and cracked it open. In front of her stood a rather handsome delivery man with a bouquet of vibrant red roses.

"Delivery for Lucy Heartfilia?"

She blushed and nodded. "Um… That's me…"

"Here you are. Two dozen red roses and a letter," he handed them over to her and she blinked curiously. Her words were caught in her throat as she stared down at the roses in her arms with a slack jaw. It took a second for her to snap out of it.

"Wait! Who are these-" she looked up to see that the delivery man was long gone. "-...from…"

Lucy sighed and brought them in nonetheless. The blush on her cheeks hadn't quite died down, even by the time she'd managed to put the abundance of flowers into a watered vase on her table. Tomorrow, she'd ask Droy about the best way to keep them alive longer. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and plucked the letter up curiously. What surprised her was the fact that her name was printed on the paper- not written on. Now curious, Lucy opened it to see chicken scratch of handwriting. Well, that explains why her name was printed instead of written.

Dear Lucy,

Two dozen red roses for a woman who looks stunning in red. Meet me at 8 Island at seven.

She blinked.

Then narrowed her eyes.

Who the fuck?

She shook her head and debated on just throwing the damn thing away and keeping the roses. Then again, that seemed too rude. If someone paid for two dozen roses to be sent to her, they must really be an admirer… A small sigh left her and she summoned her two most trusted spirits.

Loke appeared in a flourish, as usual, and Virgo came with a bow and a small smile.

"Yes, Princess?" the maid asked.

Lucy pointed at the table where the flowers sat. "I got those delivered. I don't know who sent them, but they told me to meet them at Yajima's cafe."

Loke seemed confused. "...Why not go..?"

"I don't know who sent them!"

"But princess, isn't Yajima very close with Makarov?"

"Well… Yeah…"

Loke snorted. "It's the safest place for you to meet a stranger at. Besides, only a few people know you address."

Lucy sighed as Loke moved to the table to examine said flowers. Upon seeing the letter, he took it upon himself to read it.

Virgo just smiled. "You're waiting on the lightning mage."

Lucy blushed at her bold statement.

Loke pushed his sunglasses up so she couldn't see his eyes. Because he knew she could read him like a book. "I think you should go."

"But…"

"Think about it. If he misses out, he'll go through hell to make it up to you," Loke coaxed as though nothing would go wrong.

But what if this person asks her on another date..?

"You don't have to go, Princess… But if Big Brother suggests it, I trust his judgement."

The blonde looked at her maid spirit, noting the strange twinkle in her eyes. She could read Loke like a book, but Virgo was a little harder to read since she was so stolid most of the time. The lass wasn't sure if the twinkle was a good or a mischievous thing. But, more than anything, she trusted their judgement. As much as it left a bad taste in her mouth, she trusted them. "...What do I wear..?"

"Red?" The lion offered.

Virgo nodded. "You have the red and white dress from last year still, yes?"

"That? On a date with a stranger?"

"They did say that red was your color…" her lion trailed off as he examined his nails.

Again, the lass sighed, not liking the weirdly tense feeling in her gut. She felt as though doing this was the biggest sin she could ever commit, like every fiber of her being was telling her not to go. Then again, she and Laxus weren't official… Even still, that didn't matter. She was willing to wait…

But she trusted these two.

They wouldn't steer her wrong.

So, she nodded.

Virgo and Loke tended to the blonde the whole time, doting on her and coaxing her along. The dress was a smooth, white dress that fell to her knees. It was a little tight, but made of a very stretchy material that made walking in it a lot easier. The white little number was a boat neck, showing just enough if her cleavage to be flirty yet professional, and the "sleeves" were able an inch and a half thick that wrapped around her upper biceps instead of being tank top straps on her shoulders. The little thing was tight in all the right areas, but breathable and not too tight to leave nothing to the imagination. It was just enough.

But the white was hemmed in a glittery red fabric, complete with a single thick horizontal stripe of the fabric around her midsection. The woman topped it off in a pair of red flats and hung a sterling silver chain necklace on her neck, with a little ruby heart falling just at the little dip in her collar bones.

Her makeup was minimal- mascara, winged liner, and ruby red lipstick.

When she looked in the mirror, all she could do was sigh. The image looking back at her was gorgeous, stunning, and she couldn't even deny it. Even with her hair only in a high bun, it still looked like a perfect blend of classy and sassy. What bothered her was that someone other than her lightning mage would see her in this. As a date.

Back up. He wasn't hers.

...But she was okay with calling him hers.

When she stepped into the little cafe, she had to force down the nauseous feeling that crept along her spine. Everything her spirits had said before, she couldn't remember. Why was she here? Why was she doing this? Her brown eyes scanned the area quickly, looking for any sign of who could be waiting for her.

And she hit jackpot.

The nauseous feeling crept along again, but this time it was a good nervous. She could feel the slight charge to the air. There, at a booth in the back, sat an obvious and highly recognizable head of spiked blond hair. His face was in the menu, though. That's when it registered: Loke probably recognized Laxus' writing. She strode over to the table with purpose- to throw him off. If he got to make her nervous, she'd have a right to be a little angry in return.

"You know, I almost didn't come," she said as she approached.

He looked up and she saw his eyes widen significantly. "Holy shit…"

She raised a brow.

"...You're gorgeous."

Okay, not fair. Just because he thought red was her color didn't give him the right to make her blush constantly.

Though the pink flush to her cheeks gave away her slight embarrassment, she rolled her eyes. "If you would have signed your damn name…"

He blinked and tilted his head. "I thought I did?"

"Nope."

"Oh… Surprise?"

"Wonderful surprise," she deadpanned. Outwardly, she was making it seem as though she hadn't been aching for him. She couldn't let him see, or know, that she was over the moon that he was back finally. Or that her heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest. He didn't need to know that.

He nudged her leg with his foot. "Sit. Talk and eat with me."

"Why should I?"

Any reason. Tell me that you're hungry and I'll sit.

He shrugged. "Because I feel like eating with you."

Lucy clearly remembered telling Erza that everything happened because they felt like it. She nodded and sat after that. "Fine, fine. You're paying, though."

"I'll always pay for you," he smirked.

She blushed a little but smiled shyly.

He pouted at this.

"That's no good… You're getting used to me. I gotta try harder for that pretty little blush of yours."

Lucy snorted. "I think you'll live without seeing it as often."

"But I like the way you look in red."

Unspoken: I can't take my eyes off those damned lips.

Lucy smiled a bit. "So I've heard." The woman then flagged down the waiter to order drinks. Once that was done, she leaned towards him. "So how did the missions go?"

He shrugged. "Got a lot done, but didn't find what I was looking for. I'm thinking about saving up."

"Oh?" She tilted her head. "What are you looking for?"

"Something to take someone's breath away," he shrugged. "Not sure yet, but I'll know what it is when I find it."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, don't be so cryptic."

"I'm serious though," he admitted. The look in his eyes spoke clear levels of honesty. "I don't know what I'm looking for."

My life in a nutshell, Lucy mentally commented. "So are you heading out again?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I gotta keep looking, or save up to buy something impressive. One or the other."

"I thought you were well enough off already?"

"Only by about seven million. It's nothing too much."

The blonde nodded. Mentally, though, she wondered how the hell he was able to get even that much on a wizard's 'salary'. She'd seen higher figures than that, sure, but it didn't mean she wasn't impressed. However, a thought soon worked its way into her head. "Speaking of hard cash," she paused.

He motioned for her to continue.

"Do you know anyone willing to high roll on Texas Hold Em?"

Laxus raised a brow at her. "...Define high rolling."

Lucy shrugged. "On a typical poker night for the ladies, we bet ten large."

He let out a low whistle.

"But when Cana and I play with Erza, the three of us us combined can convince the others to roll fifty."

His eyes widened at that. "You will roll fifty on a poker game..?"

She nodded. "Yeah. My nickname isn't Lucky Lucy for shits and giggles."

He snorted at that. "Orga, Bacchus and I usually roll between twenty and thirty… But I can see if they'll roll that much."

Lucy smiled. "That'd be nice. I like our poker nights, but sometimes I want something a little more than the ten pop we get."

"Ever told me you banked on the last game."

She nodded. "Lis pulled back when it got to just us. I got out with thirty eight and eight hundred."

He smirked wildly. "We should spend a day at the casino sometime."

The lass laughed at that. "Maybe. I'm more interested in like.. Aquariums, Zoos, things like that."

As the waiter returned, he winked at her. "I'll take ya when I get back."

The two had a nice dinner where they just… Talked. Nothing important or interesting was spoken about from there, but they just got to know one another better. Lucy's favorite color was gold where his was navy blue. Lucy's birthday was coming up very soon- in a week, actually. July thirteenth. His was in November, also the thirteenth. Both were born on a Friday. Her favorite animal was a river otter, his was a tiger.

After dinner, they kept up with their little date, and the longer she was around him, the easier it was to just… Be around him. Previously, she'd get embarrassed and confused and not know what to do with herself. She'd get lost, return to the real world, and internally freak out. Now, though, the two sat on the edge of the canal in front of her apartment. His arm was around her, holding her waist as she just leaned against him. Nothing was said because nothing needed to be said.

Lucy's heart was going ninety thousand miles a second, sure, but it wasn't making her nervous anymore. If anything, it felt like a rush of happiness within this falling feeling that now felt like home. He started to feel like home. It hadn't been long- a little over two and a half months since the Wyvern job- but it was long enough for Lucy to know that Laxus was now someone she didn't think she could live without. Few people were even on that list: Cana, Levy, Gray and Erza being the four main people there. She once thought Natsu was there, but that… Was questionable at best now.

Lucy sighed happily, her eyes moving from the canal in front of them to his strong facial features. His eyes met hers and she couldn't help the doofy smile she could feel on her face. He shook his head with a smile on his face and pulled her just a bit closer to him. Just this closeness in the silence, under the stars, seemed so intimate in a way she couldn't explain.

Ding dong. Miss Lucy, it is now Midnight. Please be careful while outside at this hour.

Her eyes widened. "It's already midnight?" She whispered.

Laxus pulled back just a smidge. "It is?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "That's what horologium just told me."

He sighed a bit. "Well… Let's get you inside."

The walk to the door was a little awkward, though probably because their moment was so weirdly interrupted. Still, as she stood there looking at him.. That longing look in his eyes.. Lucy had to face the music. She didn't want him to leave. When he turned around to leave, she felt a little panic rise.

"Wait!"

Laxus looked over his shoulder.

"...Stay tonight."

He tensed up faster than Lucy thought possible. Oh shit. Abort mission! Retreat!

"Um… If… If you want to. You don't have to of course. You're… I mean…"

"Lucy?"

The lass jumped a bit.

"Do you want me to stay..?"

Gods, she thought she was over the whole blushing thing… But she could feel the heat in her face. Unable to trust her voice, she nodded. "Um… My couch has a pullout bed… S-So neither of us will be on a couch… Um…"

He had his arms wrapped around her, her face buried in his chest just beneath his collar bone. "Only if you're comfortable with it. I don't want to make you uncomfortable at your own apartment."

"Oh, so you're fine with making me uncomfortable in other places?"

"Maybe."

"You're insufferable."

"Eh, if I really was, you wouldn't be asking me to stay."

"Maybe I just think you're enough to scare away my morning delivery man."

He barked a laugh. "Of course I am."

She giggled and pulled back to look up at him, wondering how the hell he could help her go from wound up to relaxed with a few teasing words. He could also take her from relaxed to wound up with the right prodding questions, too. It was weird. "So..?"

"Yeah, I'll stay tonight."

Lucy couldn't have been happier.

He was an enigma to her, but he was a little confused with himself. There was a reason he acted the way he did. He was so very closed off to everyone yet so very open with her. He shut everyone out, but let her crawl in. He hated smiling for others, but wanted to see the sparkle in her eye more. He never dated because people only saw him for money or prestige… But he dated her.

He blamed it on the mate thing.

To be fair, when he told her about his money, she didn't even blink. She didn't look at him and see power or prestige or anything like that… As Laxus walked a little further into the apartment, he watched the blonde talk with the maid spirit she just summoned. Something about getting night clothes for him. A smile spread over his features and he leaned against the couch a bit. She really was something. To take care of him in such a small but significant way, to ask him to stay over, to talk to him about things other than training and fighting… It didn't seem very significant, but to Laxus, it meant the world.

Speaking of training…

"Blondie."

She turned to him as her maid spirit disappeared. "Sparky?"

He smirked and shook his head. "How's the training going?"

The blonde lass walked to her kitchen and put the kettle on the stove. "Great, actually. Loke and I were able to do something that… He said he hadn't been able to do in over a thousand years… So hopefully that means something and I can get there with my other spirits, too."

He nodded. "What's that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased. "If I happen to get a shot at S-Class, I can't have you knowing all my secrets. Who knows if we'd end up fighting."

He barked a laugh at that but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the trials are coming up soon, aren't they?"

He watched her hop up to sit on her counter. Her feet dangled off the edge, kicking back and forth childishly. "Late August, yeah."

"Do you want the option?"

"Not really, but if I make it then I'm gonna be trying my hardest."

"Fair point. If things calm down and you need a sparring partner to train, my team and I would love to help."

"You can't speak for them, Sparky."

"No, but with how Freed talks about your magic I'm certain he'd be down for it. And Bickslow has already talked about wanting to fight you again anyway."

She smiled and nodded. "Well… We'll see, then." She looked back at the steam coming from the kettle, knowing it was going to start screeching soon. "I also have a mission with Yukino coming up tomorrow, so I need to focus more on that."

Virgo popped back in to hand Laxus a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt for him. He thanked her, took them, and she left. "What are you two doing?"

"Someone requested two holder mages for a mission to Sabertooth. Sting talked to Master about it, and he cleared me to tag along because we've wanted to take an actual mission with the two of us for a long time now." She shrugged and pulled the kettle off the flame when it started screeching. "It's basically just a retrieve my item I lost mission, so it shouldn't take too long."

"Well, when I come back, we'll go to the Aquarium. I should be back by your birthday."

She blushed a bit and nodded, busying herself with making them both a cup of chamomile tea. He took this moment to go change and leave her to her thoughts. When he was done changing, she already had both cups on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"So we'll need to move the coffee table later."

Lucy nodded and scooted over just a bit for him to be able to sit however he wanted on the couch. "Yeah. I bought one of those thick and fluffy memory foam mattresses for this, too, so it's not going to be a shitty experience to sleep on."

He laughed. "Little life favors."

"They go far in the long run."

The two sat around and played a game of monopoly after that, neither managing to get to bed until well after four in the morning. He got to see her business and mathematical mind work wonders as she destroyed him with relative ease despite the dice seeming to screw her over. She wasn't lying when she said she had strong luck, and when she forced him into bankruptcy, he realized that very clearly. Her dice rolls were shitty, at best, but she still easily ripped him a new one.

Laxus praised every deity known to man when she fell asleep on the couch shortly afterwards. Not because he wanted to be rid of her, but rather because he was given another excuse to carry her around like a princess. It was strange, how happy he was to do such a menial thing. It startled him, how much he wanted to do that, but in the same breath… She felt like a breath of fresh air. She felt like the promise of freedom when he was in a jail cell, a breath of air as he was drowning.

She felt like home.

He lifted her in his arms and man, it made him want to stay home instead of taking off for another mission. However, Lucy also had a mission so him staying home wouldn't be productive. There was this nagging feeling that if he were home while she was away, nothing would get done and he'd just be laying around at home, pining for her to get back like some sort of lovesick puppy. In fact, he knew that's exactly what would happen… And he wasn't ready to be the person to do that.

But when he went to lay her in her bed, there came a problem.

She was clinging too tightly to his arms.

If it were his shirt, he'd just take it off and let her have it for the night… But it was his arms. She wasn't letting go, no matter how much he tried to pry at her dainty little fingers. One hand would get free, he'd work on the other hand, and that first hand would reach for him again. While, yes, it made his inner dragon purr in delight, he also wasn't sure how she'd take waking up next to him.

He also wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to keep his hands mostly to himself.

Lucy was a little bombshell and Laxus is a man.

In fact, Laxus is a man who had noticed just how much of a bombshell she was.

He internally groaned, not liking the situation handed to him. Instead, he just carried her back to the couch and laid her atop his chest when he lay back. This way, there wasn't enough room for Laxus to act up or sin, and it looked like they both passed out when she woke. Hopefully. This was the best option he had.

Lucy woke with a start around eleven- a lot later than she ever slept in- because her Lacrima Comm was going off. She leaned up, noticed that no she was not on her bed, and proceeded to feel extremely awkward for the next ten full minuted when she saw that she was laying on top of the man she'd fallen so hard for. They were on the couch, too. But his face looked so very serene, so very peaceful… He looked five years younger because of how soft he looked in that moment. But her lacirma went off again, and she rushed to answer it. He looked like he needed the sleep.

And, no, it didn't escape her that he had a bit of morning wood.

"What's up Yuki?"

The saber rolled her eyes and held her wrist up. "It's eleven thirty and I haven't heard from you. Are we still doing this today?"

"Of course, I just… Slept in. Sorry, sis." Lucy stretched and padded her way to the kitchen for some coffee. "We don't have to be there 'till three, right?"

"Four," the tigress corrected. "But it's an hour train ride from Magnolia."

"Right," she nodded. "So I have time to eat and pack and rush to the station."

"Pretty much," the tigress laughed.

Lucy laughed too. "Thanks for waking me up, babes. I'll see you later."

"Try not to stay up so late. Who knows what you were doing~"

"Well, I did wake up with a man in my bed…"

"WHAT-"

"Tell ya later. Love you!" And Lucy quickly hung up.

It was about thirty minutes later when the slayer groaned and began waking up himself- and it had everything to do with the smell of bacon. He hadn't woke up to the smell of food since Freed and Bicks lived with him years back. Laxus rolled over, but failed to resituate his downstairs situation, and rolled right onto his hardon. This caused him to groan again- this time in pain- and curl up for less than thirty seconds as he tried to save himself from more discomfort.

"How does turkey, cheese, onion and bell pepper omelettes with bacon and hashbrowns sound for breakfast?"

Lucy didn't even turn away from her cooking to look back at him and see his pain. In fact, she didn't even know he was in pain. One look at her, though, and it was like all his problems disappeared. It was such a primal, borderline misogynistic happiness to see her cooking for the two of them, but it was a happiness he was contented with. His pain was now a minor discomfort.

"Sounds like heaven," he managed to say.

She had to force herself to ignore the gravelly quality of his morning voice- otherwise, she would have thought too much on it and he'd smell the swamp her panties would become.

"How late is it?"

"Noon."

"Shit," he cursed.

She laughed. "Yuki woke me up about thirty minutes ago, too… You're not alone."

"Yeah, we both gotta eat, pack, and head out."

"Exactly."

As expected, the mission didn't take long. In fact, the only thing that took any amount of significant time on this job was actually getting there. The two celestial mages agreed to focus on the job at hand with minimal distractions, get it out of the way, then head to Gossip City. If all of their responsibilities are taken care of, why not dork off?

Lucy slowly but surely slipped into the hot spring, groaning in relief when the scalding waters caressed all the aches in her limbs. "Stars, I should have come to a hot spring sooner."

Yukino laughed. "Probably. Doesn't Magnolia have one in town?"

Lucy blinked and turned sharply to the 'older' lass. "How the hell can you remember that but I can't?"

"Probably because Wisteria's was made after Magnolia's?"

The blonde shrugged. "Just like Sabertooth's pool was made after Fairy Tail's?"

This earned her a splash of the hot water from the light haired woman. The blonde squeaked at the sudden rush of water, but didn't 'fight back'. "Oh, hush up. We thought we were the first and didn't know anything about Fairy Tail's."

"Mmmmhmmmm," the blonde teased.

Yukino splashed her again. "Enough about all of that. Why did you wake up with a man in your bed?"

"Oh, that," Lucy blushed. "So uh… Laxus."

The tigress snorted, her eyes wide as saucers. "Laxus… Dreyar…?"

She nodded. "Yeah, him."

"Did you just have a one night with your guildmaster's grandson?!"

"No!" Lucy did splash Yukino out of embarrassment this time. "No! We didn't have sex… He stayed over after our date last night. We played Monopoly until dawn and passed out on the couch, I swear."

It was like cat and mouse after that. Catching up with one another proved to be a little more intense than either thought. Orga and Yukino's relationship was blossoming, Laxus had Lucy falling harder than she thought possible, and the situation with Natsu was fully explained. Finally. The tigress didn't pry, but did ask about it- to which the fairy just offered the information. Hell, even after their soak, the two continued their gossip rag as they left for the Sabertooth Guild. The fairy had one final opportunity to head home, but the next train ran at ten thirty. It was the last train of the night, and that didn't give Lucy enough time to go back to Yuki's, gather her things, head to the station, buy a ticket and then board.

So Lucy ended up staying the night with her.

It wasn't a bad circumstance, either. After chatting about damn near everything they could think to gossip about, it only felt right to finish the night with a movie or two and junk food. The morning- this time, the actual morning- was met with a guild breakfast wherein Lucy got to reconnect with the other tigers as well. She got to tease Orga and Yukino both, mess with Sting and Rogue, chat up Minerva to get even closer with the ebony haired woman, and even talked to Rufus... Though, to be fair, she and Rufus mostly talked about the new Fairy and where Saveya came from to where she is now.

They all asked Lucy what would happen during the S-Class trials.

None of them seemed happy about it, considering what happened the last time.

Until Master Makarov said anything or reached out, nobody knew what was going to happen. So, until then, they'd all have to be placated with the fact that the blonde lass truly didn't know. Hell, as far as she knew, they wouldn't have a trial and Makarov might just promote someone. Just because she was technically dating his grandson didn't mean she had insider knowledge to this shit. If she started asking Laxus about it, Lucy felt like it would be akin to someone using her to store their shit in the Celestial Realm. Not there for the person, but you're there for what the person can offer.

Which didn't settle right with her.

Minerva, Yukino and Rufus were the ones to walk her to the train station to see her off. It was a cheesy move, and all three seemed hellbent on making her as embarrassed as possible. Minerva was shouting about how she knew she messed up but that they could work it out and Yukino was 'crying' while 'consoling' the territory mage. Surpisingly, Rufus loudly commented about how if she took off, he'd come after her for child support. That was what made the whole charade break as the ladies all started to laugh.

The ride back home was a long one, but not tiring. If anything, meeting with them and working with Yukino made Lucy all the more adamant about bettering herself. She didn't visit because she had to or because someone on her team made her... She made her own decision, made her own friends, and boy did she feel the happiest she'd ever been in a long while. Maybe someday she'd be able to take joint missions with other guilds, too. Lyon or Chelia, Jura maybe... Maybe even the TriMen. Well, on that one she'd make sure to bring another woman along with her too.

Lost in her thoughts, lost in the sheer possibility of it all, the blonde didn't notice the person sitting on the canal in front of her apartment building. She was too deep, thinking about how she finally had the freedom to choose. Up on cloud nine, Lucy wasn't worried about anything else. If anything, she was contented to just... Go home and sleep. She'd taken so many missions in two months time- one of which was an S-Class mission- that she genuinely didn't have to worry about her rent for at least another three months. On the other hand, she was also debating on just jumping into another one because the busier she stayed and the more money she got, the sooner she could have a place to call her own. No rent, no permissions to make changes...

"Luce."

The blonde froze, her hand on her doorknob while the other hand held the key to unlock said door. She turned around at that familiar voice, her eyes wide when they locked with onyx ones. Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, a breath exhaled out.

"Natsu."