Alright before we begin, I want to clear up a question. I have been asked if this story will be doing the whole seven year time skip that occurred in the canon and the answer is no, no it will not. Obviously there will be some time skipping of a few days or months because I have to squeeze in seven years, else this story would be unbelievably lengthy, but there will be no seven year skipping.
I am so sorry that this is so late. Everything in my life has been a freaking free-for-all. My internship is ending and I have to find a new job, I'm moving into a new apartment, I have school five days a week, and my mom fractured her wrist and now cannot use her left arm so I have to manage the house work. Please, please excuse any tardiness on my part. I don't mean to keep you guys waiting for so long.
So this chapter is extra, extra long. I'm talking a whole 17,000 words long. Yeah…I don't know what happened. It just kinda got away from me but then again I didn't really try to control myself. Alright fine, I didn't control myself at all. I hope this kinda makes up for the whole not updating in two months thing. If you hate the length, if you love the length, feel free to drop me a line.
I also want to thank each and every one of you who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. I was whole heartedly blown away by the response. When I first wrote this, I had no idea that so many people would enjoy this story and I am so humbled by the amount of love that this story has gotten. Thank you all so much, I couldn't do it without all of you. I hope to have your continuous support and I would love if you let me know how I'm doing.
Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.
All eyes are on the blonde man in the middle of the entrance to the Fairy Tail guild hall. Jude remains composed as he shifts his eyes over the crowd searching for a very familiar head of blonde hair. He finds her standing near the center of the large building staring wide eyed at him.
Jude clears his throat as he fully steps forward to close the doors behind him. Lucy snaps out of her trance before slowly walking toward her father.
Almost everyone else notices that the newcomer is seeking the resident celestial mage and turns back to their own business. They only people paying attention to the two blondes are Laxus and Master Macao.
Lucy meets her father at the bottom of the steps that lead into the guild. "Uh, hey dad. What are you doing here?" she asks incredulously as she stands before her father.
"I came to see you," he states as he gives his daughter a small smile.
"O-oh of course, silly me," Lucy nervously laughs. Now that she thinks about it her question must have sounded pretty stupid. Why else would he come to the guild hall? "L-let's go somewhere more comfortable," she says as she moves toward the door.
"Actually," Jude stops Lucy, "I need to discuss the matters of a job I have with you so it might be more beneficially if we stayed here."
Lucy's eyebrows shoot into her hairline as she turns her face upwards toward her dad. "A job? For me?" she asks in surprise. Well this is unexpected.
"In that case," a male voice says behind Lucy. Lucy spins her head around to see Master standing a few feet away from her side. "Let's discuss this in my office. I'm the Master of Fairy Tail, Macao Conbolt," Macao smiles as he holds out his hand to Jude.
"Jude Heartfilia. I'm Lucy's father," Jude replies as he firmly grips Macao's hand. Lucy smiles briefly at Macao when he glances at her.
"Please follow me," Master says as he toward the stairs. He waves for Laxus to follow as he passes by the bar. Jude side eyes Laxus as he follows the purple-haired man. Laxus falls into step behind Lucy as she follows her dad up the stairs.
All three blondes get settled into Macao's office. Macao sits behind his desk, Jude and Lucy sit in the two chairs on the other side of the desk, and Laxus leans against the bookcase to right of Lucy.
"Now," Macao says as he interlinks his finger together on the desk, "what is this job you are here for Mr. Heartfilia?"
Jude looks between the three wizards before clearing his throat. "I have recently received a promotion at the Love and Lucky Guild where I am employed," Jude starts. "As my first assignment, I have been assigned the task of estimating the cost of a list of different artifacts from all over Fiore and their relocation. My manager thought it would be a good idea if some mages were hired in order to ensure that no problems happen to the cargo and shipments. Since Lucy is a part of a mage guild I thought I might extend the invitation to Fairy Tail first."
"Well that was very considerate of you," Master says cheerfully. Lucy agrees fully as she nods her head while smiling. "Just so I completely understand what you are saying, you want to hire Lucy to protect some artifacts that you are moving from one place to another. Is that right?"
Jude gives a strong nod. "Yes, that is correct."
"And how long will this job take exactly?" Master asks as he sits back in his chair.
"I'm estimating that the whole job should last for about two and a half months," Jude replies.
"Two and a half months? Why so long?" Lucy asks curiously.
"I have been told that I will need to visit six archeological sites," Jude's eyes shift anxiously between Lucy and the master of Fairy Tail. "There will be multiple artifacts at each location and with traveling time, it should take around two and half months."
"Okay, that makes sense," Lucy smiles slightly.
"You'll be paid two-hundred thousand jewel a month as well as having your food, accommodations, and traveling expenses covered," Jude continues as he watches his daughter with a careful eye. He really is trying his best here.
Lucy's eyes sparkle at her dad's words. "Really?!"
Jude chuckles Lucy's reaction. "That's right. Does that mean you'll take the job?"
Lucy grasps her chin as she carefully considers the offer. It really is quite the job. She will be able to pay her entire month's rent for almost six months as well as getting to see all across Fiore for free. This is just the thing that she has been needing. One little detail keeps bugging her though. "Can Laxus come?" she finally asks hesitantly after a few minutes.
Jude's face partly falls at Lucy's question. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to include the other blonde but if he will if he must. "Of course, Laxus is also welcome to come," Jude meagerly smiles as his eyes fill with slight disappointment.
He seems to have made the right decision to include Laxus because Lucy's face goes from apprehensive to happy in a split second.
"Great!" Lucy cheers with a bright smile. "Then we'll take it! Right Laxus?"
Laxus merely grunts apathetically.
"Don't get too excited there," Lucy says sarcastically as she deadpans at the dragon slayer. She turns back toward her dad and the smile returns to her face. Lucy begins to shoot off technical questions, such as when they are leaving and where they are going first, in her excitement.
None of the blondes see the cringe on Macao's face.
"Um, Lucy?" Master hesitantly calls on the excited petite blonde. "I hate to burst your bubble but Laxus won't be able to go."
"What? Why not?" Lucy asks slightly offended as her face whips around to look surprised at Macao.
Macao sighs tiredly as he wipes a hand over his face. "I have two S-Class jobs that need immediate attention and since Laxus is our only S-class wizard I have no choice but to assign them to him," he explains as he gives Lucy an apologetic look.
"Oh…I see," Lucy sighs sadly as her shoulders slump in dejection.
"Will that be a problem?" Jude asks worriedly.
"Um, well…" Lucy glances at her father through her eyelashes.
It's not that she has a problem with the job itself. It's just…her and Laxus just became partners, their partnership is brand new and still very fragile. Now all of the sudden they will be separated for two and half months and she is afraid that the distance will put a strain on their friendship, one that won't be able to be fixed.
Jude sits in silence as he watches his daughter struggle with her decision. He can feel more and more sadness seep into his soul with every passing moment. This job is supposed to be a way that he and his daughter could start to get to know one another again. Seeing her honestly debate on whether she would choose to be with her father or another man, slightly breaks his heart.
Laxus opens his eyes to stare at the other blonde man in the room. When Laxus heard the shift in Jude's tone when Lucy asked about him joining the job, he thought that Jude is still worried about his and Lucy's relationship but seeing Jude side eye at Lucy briefly every few seconds makes him reconsider his thoughts. It seemed to Laxus that it is not that Jude has a problem with him joining the job so long as Lucy accepts the job. If that's the case then the older blonde man probably just wants to spend some time with his daughter. To bond with her and stuff like that. His suspicions are only confirmed as he watches Jude's face fill with anxiety and sadness at the thought of not having Lucy join him for his journey.
Since that is the true reason for this visit, Laxus can't help but feel like the third wheel. Not to mention, the idea of bonding with a family that isn't his makes him internally cringe. His lack of tact and overuse of crude language doesn't exactly scream "family man". That is why Laxus knows that when it comes to familial bonding, he should be nowhere in fucking premises. The only person that he would hate spending time with more than some stranger is his own father. And that shit ain't happening, not if he has anything to do with it.
"Take the job Lucy," Laxus gruffly speaks.
All three of the room's occupants turn to look startled at the tall blonde man.
"Laxus?" Lucy breathes as her eyebrows furrow together in concern.
Laxus sighs as he straightens up. "There's a job that you are being personally requested for so you should go do it. It'll look bad for the guild if you don't. Same thing goes for me. If that means that we have to split up then we have to split up. It's just the way it goes." Despite the strength in his voice, a strange feeling emerges in his chest that feels like a mixture of reluctance and uneasiness.
Lucy looks at him worriedly. "But our partnership…"
"Will stay the same," Laxus interrupts her with a curt snap of his voice. Under no circumstances will he allow her to think that anything will change between them just because of a single fucking job. He worked separate jobs from the Thunder Legion all the time and those three were attached to his hip. "You just worry about your shit and I'll worry about mine. We can take a job together once you get back."
Lucy nibbles on her bottom lip as she looks for any sign of insincerity. Finding none, she heaves a heavy sigh before turning to look at her father. "Alright, I'll take the job," she says with a small smile.
The anxiety in Jude's chest lifts away into nothing. He returns Lucy's smile with a gentle one of his own. Despite his brusque demeanor and harsh tone, Laxus' words reveal that he is possibly a kinder and more caring person underneath.
"Now that that is settled, you can fill out this form," Macao slips a piece of paper and a pen on the desk in front of Jude, "to put in the official request. Lucy will sign it afterwards and you'll be all set."
Jude briefly nods as he picks up the pen and begins to fill out the details of the job. Meanwhile, the master tells Laxus that he will need to speak with him about the S-Class jobs once Lucy and Jude leave the room.
Fifteen minutes later, Jude shakes Macao's hand in thanks. Lucy has been assigned the task of protecting the cargo and shipments bought by the Love and Lucky Guild during their artifact research. She will be catching a train to Hargeon in the morning where she will meet up with Jude at the docks to embark on a ship.
Jude opens the door for his daughter as the two blondes leave Laxus and the master alone so they can discuss the lightning slayer's jobs. She thanks him and leads him downstairs to the front doors. As she opens her mouth to bid him goodbye, a sharp wail from the center of the guild grabs their attention. Lucy deadpans while Jude's eyebrows furrow in confusion at the sight.
Back at their table, Jet and Droy sob manically over the blue headband. Everyone around them either looks put out, irritated, or concerned over the two's continuous behavior.
"Are they alright?" Jude asks his daughter curiously as he gestures to the two teenagers.
Lucy heaves a heavy sigh as she turns her face toward her father. "Yeah, they're fine. They're just being dramatic," she replies. Guilt fills her chest at the sight and the memory of how she treated them earlier comes to the forefront of her mind. Maybe she should have been more patient with them…
"Do you want to have dinner tonight?" Lucy asks with a small smile.
"I would love to," Jude replies sincerely. "Let's go back to the place we ate last time. I have really been wanting some more of that mackerel."
"Sounds good," Lucy giggles. She waves goodbye to her father as he leaves the Fairy Tail guild hall. Inhaling a deep breath through her nose for confidence, Lucy turns on her heel and marches over to Shadow Gear's table.
An hour later, Laxus and Macao reappear walking down the stairs. Laxus has been briefed on his jobs and will be leaving tomorrow as well. He'll take the second job straight after the first due to the first job not being that difficult. That annoying feeling of uneasiness rises in his chest again and for some strange reason, Laxus feels the need to find his new partner.
Once his eyes land on the subject of his thoughts, a smirk spreads over his lips.
Right in the center of the guild, sits a smiling Lucy with Jet and Droy hugging either side of her body. Their sobbing from earlier has quitted down to a few faint whimpers. They tell Lucy how grateful they are for giving them hope again. Lucy smiles at the orange-haired and black-haired men in agreement which only makes the two members of Shadow Gear tighten their hold on the celestial wizard. Every other member watches the trio with glints of bittersweet happiness in their eyes.
Laxus walks over to the bar to take a seat and orders a beer. While he waits, Kinana updates him on what has been happening in the past hour. Apparently, Lucy wanted to make up how she acted earlier towards the members of Shadow Gear so she went over to their table to try comforting them again. Needless to say Jet and Droy kinda freaked out and almost ran away in fear but with a firm grip on their collars Lucy forced them to remain in their seats.
Once she was sure they weren't going to run away, Lucy calmly told the two how she misses Levy also. How no one could ever replace the book-loving caring girl that they all came to know and love. That there were times in the day or whenever she passed a book store that she would think about Levy's kind personality and how happy she would be if she were alive. She then went on to tell them that even though Levy is gone, they are still here and they can honor her memory by living for her. No more crying, no more feeling sad. Levy would want them to be happy so they should move forward with their lives. Jet and Droy stared wide-eyed at her for most of the story before nodding and grabbing ahold of the blonde woman.
Laxus listened silently to Kinana's story. At the end he glanced over his shoulder at his fellow blonde. By some miracle she has managed to stand up and is now currently trying to convince Jet and Droy to relinquish their hold on her.
The feeling in his chest purrs in bliss as he stares at her. She really is a good, kind person. It amazes him that someone like her would want anything to do with a person like him. He begins to feel a slight tinge of jealously as he watches the two other males refuse to let go of his partner but he turns back toward the bar to push those emotions aside.
After thirty whole minutes, Lucy walks over and sits beside him at the bar. She asks him about his jobs and tells him her plan for having dinner that night with her dad.
Early the next morning, Lucy walks into the guild hall for her breakfast. She wanted to stop by to get something to eat as well as say goodbye to everyone before getting on the train.
At the bar, Macao is standing with his arms crossed in front of the three mages that opposed Laxus' reinitiation into the guild. As Lucy slowly approaches the small group she can hear the three wizards' hushed angry voices overlaying one another.
"You are out of your mind!" the woman spits.
"What are we going to do exactly when he does turn against us?" the man on the right demands harshly.
"This was not a part of the agreement!" the man on the left yells.
Lucy cocks her head in wonder at what the three are talking about.
"Like I was saying before, it has been three months since Laxus has been back and he hasn't caused any problems for anyone. That's why I am allowing him to go," Master says in the sternest voice he can muster. Which isn't saying very much. Laxus can do a whole of a hell lot better in his sleep.
"And once he comes back he is probably going to get back on his high horse and remark how we're all 'pathetic weaklings'," the woman mocks as she does the air quotations.
Realizing what the subject is, Lucy feels her irritation rise.
"Look, I have to let him have some freedom at some point. There are S-Class jobs that need to be done and he will be leaving to go do them. No exceptions," Macao declares with a swipe of his hand.
Pure rage crosses each of the three mage's faces.
"Fine! But we won't be here when you all eat your own words!" one of the men yells. He puts a hand over his guild mark on his shoulder and with some magic, wipes away his guild mark. The other man and the woman quickly follow the first man's lead and wipe away their own marks.
Macao and Lucy's jaws drop open at the sight. They both knew that the three mages between them held deep reservations about Laxus but neither of them ever expected the three mages to feel strongly enough to actually leave the guild.
With three strong "humphs", the three ex-mages sharply turn to march out of the guild hall. They stop in their tracks once they come face to face with a gawking Lucy. All three of them sneer at the celestial mage before stomping past her. The guild doors slam shut and leave a dense silence in their wake.
Macao heaves a heavy sigh as he runs a hand down his face. Lucy turns to look at him in concern.
"Don't worry about it," Macao sighs again as he plops down on the barstool. "Those three have been giving me nothing but a headache ever since I let Laxus back into the guild."
"But still…" Lucy whispers as she raises her hand to her chest. Guilt has begun to seep into her heart. Did they really leave because of Laxus? Was she to blame? She was the one to argue against them after all.
Macao gives her a questioning look before realization strikes him. He walks over and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Like I said, don't worry about it. If they really wanted to stay in the guild they would have. What's done is done," he insists with a calm voice.
Lucy worries her bottom lip for a moment before sighing and nodding her head. Master's right. She can't hold herself responsible for their decisions.
"What are you two doing?" a gruff voice sounds from behind Lucy.
Lucy and Macao look up to see a frowning Laxus watching them curiously. He is holding his satchel over his shoulder with one hand and the other in his pants pocket.
"Oh nothing. Guild stuff," Macao gives him a simple smile as he crosses his arms.
Laxus' eyes slightly narrow at the older man. What is he hiding?
"I wanted to come say goodbye before I left for the train station," Lucy injects and changes the subject.
Laxus turns his stern gaze toward his partner. She smiles up at him innocently and he grunts in dismissal. "When does your train leave?" he asks.
Lucy glances at the clock behind the bar to see that it's about a quarter till 6. "I've got about thirty minutes. When do you leave?" she asks as she eyes the bag slung over his shoulder.
"Right now. Had to come give Macao the heads up," he responds stoically.
"Oh, right. Well, have a safe trip then," Lucy says with a hint of sadness. A part of her is sad that she can't go with him but she knows that they need to take care of their own problems right now.
Laxus grunts at her before doing the same thing to Macao and turning to walk out the guild doors.
Before he leaves though, he stops and turns to look over his shoulder. "Hey Lucy?" Laxus' voice filters back.
"Yeah?" she wonders.
His eyes soften in understanding and reassurance as he gazes at his partner. "Just remember that a family isn't always about blood ties," he says gently.
Lucy blinks in surprise at his cryptic words. Understanding floods her mind and she can't stop the small pink blush that rises to her cheeks as she tenderly smiles at the hulking man. "Thanks Laxus, I'll remember that," she says appreciatively.
He gives her a small nod before turning back toward the street and flashing off in a streak of light and a boom of thunder.
"Yeah Lucy," Master agrees with his only S-Class wizard, "you'll always have a family in us."
Lucy gives him a quick glance before staring at the ground in meek embarrassment. "Thanks Master," she whispers.
"No problem. Better go say goodbye before your train leaves," he laughs happily.
Lucy lifts her head and gives him a bright smile. Lucy stops by the bar and bids Kinana farewell. The purple-haired bartender cheerfully tells Lucy that she will have a strawberry smoothie waiting for her when she gets back. Lucy gives her a broad smile and thanks the kind woman.
She is about to leave the bar when Romeo runs over to her from the request board.
"Hey Lucy, are you leaving?" he asks with a grin.
Lucy gives him a small smile as she nods. "Yep, I got a train to catch."
"Alright. I'll see you when you get back!" he declares with a fist pump.
"It's a promise," Lucy swears as she gives him a wink.
"You make sure to keep in touch now ya hear?" Biska says as she walks up behind Romeo.
"Yeah, we gotta keep a lookout for everyone," Alzack agrees with his girlfriend.
Lucy gives them a big nod of approval. "Sure thing guys. You don't have to worry about me!"
The three give her smiles of their own before walking to the bar to turn in the request they picked out.
As she leaves the guild, Lucy waves goodbye to everyone one last time. Bright sunshine hits her face as she turns toward the direction of the train station. She breathes in a big breath of fresh air in preparation for her job. Once she reaches the train station, she will take the train to Hargeon where she will meet her father at the seaside port. For the next two and half months, be it a disaster or a success, she will move forward in her relationship with her dad. It's just like Laxus said, either way she will come back to her family in Fairy Tail.
A week passes for the Fairy Tail guild's beloved celestial mage.
She is currently riding in a carriage with her father on her way to the location of a library. Apparently, a library is where all of the artifacts from the other locations are going to be relocated to for permanent storage. Needless to say, the hopeful author is giddy to see any sort of library.
The job has been uneventful but at the same time, very eventful. No bandits have tried attacking the cargo or stealing the shipments. Nothing has mysteriously gone missing or gotten lost in the transitions between vehicles. Everything has been smooth sailing in terms of job responsibilities. What has kept Lucy busy when she isn't overseeing the movement of everything is getting reacquainted with her father. Jude makes a point to include Lucy in almost everything that he is doing; anything from checking each artifact to filling out paperwork to accessing the value of each piece. He wants to spend as much time with her as possible before the job is complete and he couldn't think of a better way to do it.
At first Lucy found her father's actions a bit smothering and awkward. Yet as the days went by, Lucy realized that her dad is just trying to spend time with her and involve her in his life. The mere thought that he was attempting to involve her in his life so much made the spark of hoping to renew their relationship burn a little brighter in her chest. So what if she didn't really have a say in anything or if she was couldn't say much, she was doing her job and spending time with her dad. And that's what counts.
That's why they have spent nearly every waking moment together over the past week. They worked together, ate together, shopped together, and talked about a lot of different subjects. The only time that she did not see her father was when she went to sleep because she was required to bunk with the other females in the women's cabin.
Lucy learned that her dad loves traveling on ships and wishes to go on an around-the-world cruise someday. Of course he quickly invited her along too. Jude learned that Lucy is trying to become a novelist and that she likes to write on a variety of genres. Lucy even went so far as to introduce him to Plue. Other topics passed between the two and the atmosphere became less awkward with each passing day.
Beautiful green floral passes in the carriage window and allows Lucy to breathe in the fresh woodland scent. The canopy of leaves is so thick that barely any light passes through to shine on the forest floor. Thick ropes of vines string out between the branches to create an intricate web of foliage. The road they are traveling on is hardly a road but more a poorly etched path through the dense forest. Everything has a mystical air that pronounces how untouched all of the trees and landscape are from human influence.
Lucy and Jude have been discussing how every artifact will be organized once it reaches the library when Lucy catches the sight of something from the corner of her eye. She leans over to look out the window and her eyes widen at the sight.
Off to her right, towering above the trees stands an enormously tall black and gray building. The outside appears to swirl around as it extends all the way to the top.
"Wow…" Lucy breathes as she slightly gapes at the monstrosity. This is in no way what she had in mind when she thought of a library.
Lucy couldn't drag her eyes off of the building as the carriage got closer and closer. Soon enough the library was directly in front of them and the driver stops to let the passengers out.
The two blondes exit the carriage and immediate see a man waiting for them at what looks like the entrance to the strange building. The library is as an extremely tall, humongous, cylindrical tower, with a unique design of its outside walls appearing like a group of nested curves, with several brick outlines palatalized along the building. The library's entrance is a circular gate, designed as a one big circle in the center and three other circles on each side of the circle.
As they walk toward the new man Lucy can't help but marvel at her surroundings. Massive trees and vines have grown along the foundation to prove how long the building has been standing there. The green of the trees against the black of the building contrasts so dynamically but at the same time seem to complement each other. Despite the obvious evidence that people once crossed through this forest, everything seems so abandoned and forgotten. Yet that reason makes this structure so much more breathtaking.
"You must be Jude Heartfilia," the man says as he gives a nod in welcoming. "My name is Jean-Luc Neville and I'm with the Archeological Society. Thank you for helping us with our research."
"It is my pleasure," Jude returns the nod with one of his own. "This is my daughter Lucy," Jude introduces the woman to his left.
The sound of her name jolts Lucy out of her sightseeing reverie. Her back straightens as she turns her attention to the man in front of her. "U-uh, it's nice to meet you," she yelps.
The archeologist gives her a small smile before nodding to her as well. "It's amazing, isn't it?" Mr. Neville asks as he turns his attention toward the building behind him.
Lucy blinks in surprise. A smile spreads over her lips as she bends her head back to look at the library's exterior. "Yeah, it's really something," she agrees wholeheartedly.
Jude faintly smiles at his daughter's relaxed face before tuning his gaze toward the front of the building as well.
"This ancient library holds information on every type of magic found in our world," Jean-Luc explains with great wonder as his eyes ghosts over the tall structure. "Everything from how magic works to the legends who once controlled them. We have coined it the Magic Library."
Lucy snaps her gaze away from the amazing building to look curiously at the man. "Every type?" she asks in hushed amazement.
"That's right," Mr. Neville responds proudly.
Both of Lucy's pupils dilate at the new information as she turns back toward the library. Those who control the magic…she wonders to herself. Her eyebrows furrow as her thoughts turn toward her past friends.
The circling swirling door opens to reveal three other men in tan excavator outfits. They gesture for Jean-Luc to join them.
"Ah yes. If you both would follow me, I will show you what we have done with the artifacts so far," Mr. Neville says as he walks toward his colleagues.
Jude follows after the archeologist as Lucy stays rooted in her spot.
Not hearing any footsteps, Jude looks over his shoulder to see his daughter in deep contemplation. "Lucy? Are you alright?" he calls out to her in worry.
Lucy stirs from her thoughts to focus on her immediate surroundings. A smile spreads over her lips as she steps up to her father. "Yep, I'm great," she chirps happily.
Jude study's his daughter's face for a moment. He cannot help but sense the shift in the mood of the celestial mage. A moment ago she was lost in wonder and now…now a bright determination is burning in her eyes. As if there is a hidden goal that her heart, mind, and body all wish to accomplish. The aura makes a strong sense of pride fill his chest at how ambitious his daughter has become.
"Well come on, we don't want to keep everyone waiting!" Lucy cheers as she steps past her father to enter the building. The memory of her friends on Tenrou Island stirs within her again and Lucy's swears she will found out every ounce of information that she can.
Three weeks later, Laxus is dragging his feet through Magnolia. He finished a short job a couple of days ago and is on the way to his house. He is so fucking tired right now that he could practically fall over. Even the very thought of using his magic to transport home makes his head swirl. The stupid feeling in his chest bounces around and he can't help but growl at the sensation.
After walking a short distance through the East Forest he arrives at his home. Opening the door, Laxus sheds his coat from his broad shoulders and throws it onto the top of the coat rack. He haphazardly tosses his bag to the ground before treading slowly up the stairs.
As he enters his room, the thought of taking a shower crosses his mind as Laxus glances at his bathroom door. Exhaustion, however, sweeps through his bones and quickly destroys that idea. All his body wants to do right now is to lie down and sleep for a few days.
Of course he knows damn well that won't happen. He hasn't been able to get a solid five hours sleep in the past week. Not that he hasn't tried because trust him, he's tried. It always begins with him lying awake in bed for an hour or two before he falls asleep, only to wake up a few hours later for seemingly no reason what-so-ever. He attempts to go back to sleep only repeats the process once more.
Laxus strips down to his boxer briefs before falling face first into his mattress. A thick heavy sigh rolls past his lips as the memories of the past month lapse through his mind.
It all started when he left to go on those two S-Class jobs a month ago. He had this dull ache in his chest that grew as he got further away from the guild hall. Once he landed in the middle of Fiore at the job site, the feeling ceased and made Laxus pass it off as being part of the lightning teleportation.
The S-Class jobs went off without a hitch and were finished within a week and a half. As he prepared to return back to Magnolia, Laxus felt the weird sensation again. Except this time it made him feel happy, almost delighted to be going back home.
The feeling never ceased until he arrived back in the guild hall. Once he did arrive though he suddenly felt anxious as he looked around the guild hall. The renegade thought of not seeing Lucy there made the feeling plunge into an oversized knot of sadness. It caught him completely off guard and he unconsciously clenched at his shirt over his heart. The feeling went away as soon as it came and left a very confused Laxus standing in the guild hall doorway with his hand over his heart. He wondered if maybe he was getting sick and hallucinating or something.
The feeling never reappeared after that, instead Laxus began to feel tired. It was mainly due to how he couldn't go to sleep at night. All of his sleep is so incredible light that a pin dropping could wake him up. Plus, his sleeping schedule slowly deteriorated from eight hours to seven hours and then to five hours over the next two weeks.
There were a few times that he had a deep urge to contact his partner. Just to check up on her and make sure everything is going alright. But every time he thought about it, he would shove those thoughts down because he didn't want to seem like he was interfering in her life. Besides, one of the main points of her taking her job was to spend time with her dad and if he calls he could be interrupting. Despite how much he wanted to, he refused to contact the celestial mage.
Everyone in the guild had noticed how the lightning dragon slayer had started to change and a few even offered to get him some medicine. They could tell that something was wrong with the man but had no real idea about what was causing his ailments. He always turned them down and told them not to worry about him.
Laxus took a job the last few days in hopes that whatever is keeping him awake will magically go away if he gets out of town and works.
Of course, that didn't work.
Now he is the most tired he has felt in the past month and he has no idea why. Maybe there really is something wrong with him…
Heaving another heavy tired sigh, Laxus finally relents in his stubbornness and makes a plan to go see the doctor tomorrow. Maybe the doc will be able to tell him what's going on with him.
Exhausted from the activities of the day and his self-reflection, Laxus rolls over and falls into a light, fitful slumber.
On the west side of Fiore, in a city named Ubakuchi, stands a very pessimistic lightning dragon slayer in front of a short wide building. He is frowning at the sign that says Dr. Kian Francis, MD on the wooden door directly in front of him. The stupid words seem to taunt the blonde man and his scowl deepens even further.
Over the past two and half weeks, Laxus has been to four different doctors all across Fiore. It has been almost a month and a half since all of his health issues started and they, along with the worthless doctors, have grated his nerves down to the almost nothing.
The morning after he initially resigned himself to his fate, he went to Magnolia hospital. The physician there did the whole standard routine before delivering the news to Laxus that he was perfectly healthy. Laxus was dumbfounded. He spent over an hour debating with the man in the white coat that he was not, in fact, "healthy". Something must be causing his sleep deficiency and he wanted an answer. The doctor simply told Laxus that he might be suffering from stress due to overworking so he should rest as much as possible and to not do anything strenuous for at least a week in order for his body to recuperate.
Laxus wasn't exactly happy that he didn't get an exact answer to his sickness but he did as the doctor ordered and rested for a week. And by rested he means that he drank beer at the guild, listened to his music, and slept at his house. It's a pretty simple and normal routine for when he feels like he's coming down with something. It has always worked in the past and he expected to be over his "sleeping funk" soon enough.
Problem was…he didn't feel any better by the end of the week.
In fact he felt worse. His sleep time decreased from five hours to three hours so he then felt even more exhausted than before.
It completely baffled him. How does resting make a person go from feeling bad to feeling worse? That is when he decided that he needed a second opinion. He remembered Lucy talking about how excellent the doctor in Hargeon was when he helped her with her leg so he paid the guy a visit.
Sadly enough, the man couldn't find anything definitive. He did all of the routine examinations, only to come to the same conclusions as the Magnolia doctor: Laxus is perfectly fine. But the doctor didn't write Laxus completely off; he could tell something was wrong but the problem was just beyond his knowledge set. When Laxus told him about how tired he felt because of his lack of sleep the doctor recommended that Laxus go see a sleep specialist. He gave Laxus a personal recommendation of a female doctor on the west side of Fiore that he attended school with.
Taking the doctor's suggestion, Laxus went to see his third doctor a couple of days later. She was located in a multi-story building that had a multitude of rooms on each level. The woman in the white coat told him that he would need to check into the clinic and remain inside the building for a few days. This would allow her to observe his day-to-day routine and how his sleeping is effected so she can treat him properly. Laxus wasn't too pleased about that news but he begrudgingly accepted.
Over the next three days and three nights, Laxus was watched over by the doctor. The first day he was allowed to act normally while the other two days he had to follow the doctor's instructions of no drinking and no training. Needless to say he was in a particularly grumpy mood the second and third days. His sleep patterns didn't alter over his stay so the doctor witnessed the fitful nights Laxus has to suffer through.
At the end of his observation, the sleep specilist made a startling discovery.
Nothing. There is absolutely fucking nothing wrong with him…at least physically.
According to all of her tests and documentation, Laxus should be able to sleep like a baby. There are no abnormal patterns in his physical daily routine that could contribute to his sleep deficiency. That lead the female doctor to the only conclusion—that whatever is causing Laxus' ailments is not physical but rather something psychological. There is a distinct possibility that an unresolved issue lies in his subconscious and manifests itself when he sleeps.
It greatly surprised the blonde man. He never thought about that possibility. He quickly realized though that he is probably going to have to go see a new doctor with this new development. A wave of exhaustion and irritation seeped into his bones at the thought of seeing yet another doctor. He didn't want to see any more doctors, he was sick of doctors. All he wanted is to feel better and be able to sleep. Was that too much to ask?
Just like what he thought, the sleep specialist told that Laxus go see a psychologist. She gave the lightning slayer the information of the outpatient psychologist that is associated with the sleep clinic.
Laxus saw the guy the following day. It was not a pleasant experience.
Even at the best of times, Laxus is not a talkative person. Especially when he has to speak with strangers or about personal matters, gods forbid both at the same time. So to be in a small room with an elderly man who was asking prying questions about his past put Laxus on edge. Add how absolutely horrible he felt and the fact that he really didn't want to be there only made Laxus feel utter contempt toward the older man. All of his defenses went up as every ounce of his being refused to open up to the man. He was in no mood to talk or doing anything for a matter-of-fact so Laxus had to force himself to remain in the room and answer the doctor's questions to the best of his uncommunicative ability. It took five hours for Laxus to finally give the poor psychologist enough information about himself that the doctor could make his diagnosis. The elderly man said that Laxus is most likely struggling with a form of trauma and, much to Laxus' chagrin, told him to go see a trauma specialist.
Which leads Laxus to his current position: staring at his-fifth-doctor-in-almost-three-weeks' door. Dr. Kian Francis is supposed to be the best trauma specialist in Fiore so Laxus naturally scheduled an appointment. No point in going to a less experienced doctor.
Deep down he hopes that this doctor might just be the one to finally be able to truly help him but he has his reservations that the man will just tell him to go see some other doctor somewhere across Fiore and this whole cycle while continue until he dies an old man plagued by insomnia.
After having his personal staring contest with the inanimate object, Laxus sighs deeply and opens the door to enter the psychologist's office.
Laxus doesn't have to wait long before he's called by the nurse to see the doctor. He walks into a medium-sized room with a middle aged man waiting in the middle of the room. The interior of the Dr. Francis' office is lush and professional with leather bound chairs and couch with a dark wood desk on one side of the room. At least it's better than the last doctor's office.
"Hello Mr. Dreyar, I'm Dr. Kian Francis. It's nice to meet you," the doctor smiles and outstretches his hand in welcome.
Laxus grunts in response and does not return the handshake. He is way too tired and sick to deal with any formalities. The last solid block of sleep he got was at the sleep specialist's clinic and that was for all of four hours. The most sleep he has had lately is short thirty minute naps throughout the day. A few days ago, along with the lack of sleep, he has begun to feel chest pains and his appetite has started to lessen. So all-in-all, Laxus feels pretty fucking horrible.
"Alright," Dr. Francis coughs as he retracts his hand and gestures to one of the chairs, "please have a seat and we'll begin."
The two men head to their respective seats. Laxus plops down onto one of the patient chairs and immediately crosses his arms and legs.
"Why don't we begin with your current state? How do you feel?" Dr Kian suggests as he slowly sits down in his chair.
Laxus' frown deepens as he has to resist the urge to outwardly groan in frustration. Of course the geezer would ask him for his information. The doc can't read the fucking piece of paper in front of him with all of his history in incredible detail or anything. No…that would be too fucking difficult…Fuck he's tired…
"I feel like shit," Laxus announces grouchily with an underlying tone of annoyance.
Dr. Kian faintly smiles before couching to cover it up. "More specifically please."
Laxus sighs as he closes his eyes. "I can't sleep. I have no idea why. Just a few days ago I realized that I'm not as hungry anymore too. No clue about that one either," he replies frankly.
"I see," Dr. Kian nods his head. He lifts up Laxus' medical records and looks over the documents. "When was the last time you had a full night's sleep?" the doctor asks as he puts the file down.
"About a month ago."
"And it has been steadily getting worse since then?"
"Yep."
Dr. Kian crosses his fingers and looks at Laxus thoughtfully. "Have there been any major changes in your life recently? New job? New relationship? Loss of a loved one? Anything of that nature."
Laxus shakes his head in silence. It's been over four months since the whole Tenrou incident so that doesn't really count as "recently".
"Hmmm," the doctor writes down a quick note on his notepad. "Have you experienced any sort of stress or dramatic occurrence recently?"
Laxus is about to shake his head again when an image that he never wanted to remember appears in the front of his mind. The picture of Lucy's lifeless body lying on the ground after he shocked her to death…
He remembers every detail: her dull pupil less eyes staring into the sky, paler complexion, parted pink lips, twitching nerves, golden hair blowing slightly in the breeze…her frozen heart…he recalls it like it happened yesterday. It's as if the imagery is burned into his mind for all of eternity.
This isn't the first time he has remembered the horrible picture. For the first week after the accident, randomly throughout the days the image would just pop up. There were even a couple of nights during the S-Class jobs that he would wake up from nightmares of not being able to revive her during that moment. That he truly killed her. At first it slightly worried him. What if it never went away? What if he was haunted for the rest of his life?
But then he remembered her smile. That broad, soul-lifting smile that spread across her face when they became partners. And as much as he despises it, a smile that he never would have seen if that horrible accident never took place. If he hadn't almost killed her, they never would have talked that night and they never would have begun to move forward from the loss of their teams. She is still his partner and she always will be.
Knowing that he wasn't alone, that she forgave him, and that he had a lot of time to make it up to her helped alleviate some of the guilt but not all of it. He knows that the guilt will never fully go away, just enough so he could move on with his life and not get bogged down by his own emotions.
The moment quickly flashes by however, and Laxus quickly discards the memory to the recesses of his mind as he faces the doctor with an apathetic gaze.
"No, nothing's happened," he states in a level voice.
Laxus' mask of indifference and normalcy slipped as the memory occurred and presented the doctor with a brief glance of Laxus' emotional exposure. The older man could instantly see that something has happened to the younger man.
Dr. Kian studies Laxus for a moment. "Laxus," Dr. Kian says softly but firmly. "Anything you say here is protected by doctor-patient privilege. There will be no judgment or persecution. Anything that is said will be regarded in only the most professional and understanding sense. I wish for you to understand that."
Laxus' eyes slightly widen at the doctor's words. He can feel his heart tremble and protest while his mind hesitates in its decision of opening up to the older man. He doesn't want to be vulnerable and admit that he almost killed someone but…it might be the only way he will be able to feel normal again.
"God dammit…" Laxus sighs under his breath and clenches his fists in frustration. He is really not in the mood to do this.
A pregnant silence fills the room as Laxus decides on where to begin. Dr. Kian waits patiently for his patient to organize his thoughts. Laxus heaves another heavy sigh as he sits forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
"It was about a month and a half ago," he starts reluctantly. "Another member of my guild and I were on a job together. During the job I…accidently hurt her. I thought I killed her at first but I resuscitated her so she's alive. She's perfectly fine now. Sometimes I remember how she looked when I thought she was dead. That's all."
"And how does the memory make you feel?" Dr. Kian asks inquisitively.
Laxus scowls at the man. Oh fuck, here we go with the emotional evaluation bullshit…"Guilt mainly. It's a hell of a lot less that I originally felt though."
"And why is that?"
"We talked and figured our shit out," Laxus replies bluntly. No need to go into details. That's between him and Lucy. Not to mention that he hardly has the energy to delve that deep.
Dr. Kian nods as he writes another note. "Do you ever have nightmares of hurting your guildmate?" he says as he turns back toward Laxus.
"Not recently. A few times at first but nothing lately."
The psychologist hums and writes down another note. "Is this guildmate a close friend? Or more of an acquaintance?"
"She's my partner."
"Girlfriend? Wife?" Kian asks curiously.
Laxus scowls and furrows his eyebrows in irritancy. "No," he says boldly. "She's my guild partner."
Dr. Kian nods and writes another note.
The two men continue their conversation for two more hours. Dr. Kian asks a variety of questions on all subjects while Laxus does his best to answer each one without snapping at the man for being so damn nosey. Everything from what exactly happened to Lucy to Laxus' eating habits was covered. Each answer seems to drain a small portion of life out of Laxus so by the end, Laxus is feeling totally exhausted.
Dr. Francis Kian studies his note as he regards Laxus' case after he stops asking his questions. Something that Laxus is internally grateful for. He isn't sure how much more he could take. He isn't sure how much more his own body could take.
Fifteen minutes roll by before Dr. Kian takes off his glasses and lays them down on his desk. "Mr. Dreyar, may I be honest with you?" he asks in a gentle tone as he looks Laxus dead in the eye.
"That's what I'm paying you for," Laxus responds frankly with an underlying tone of sarcasm.
The psychologist nods his head before sitting back in his chair. "There's nothing wrong with you," he states simply and directly.
Laxus furrows his eyebrows in angered confusion as he stares at the doctor like he's a dumbass. "What the fuck do you mean nothing's wrong with me?! I feel like complete shit so how can you say nothing's wrong?!" he demands in a loud harsh growl. Not this again!
"Please allow me to explain," Dr. Kian says soothingly as he presses to continue. Laxus reluctantly holds his tongue as he sits back in his chair and crosses his arms.
"I meant that there's nothing wrong with you psychologically; at least not in regards to the situation in question. Everything you have told me suggests that your mental state, thought processes, emotional condition, and coping mechanisms follow a normal pattern. You have dealt with the scenario of hurting your guildmate just like any typical person would have. That is why I believe that whatever ailment you have, it has nothing to do with your psychology."
"So in other words," Laxus clarifies in irritation, "I'm sick and it's not because of trauma or guilt or depression or something along those lines?"
"Exactly," the psychologist nods his head sagely.
Laxus growls in frustration. "Then what the fuck is wrong with me?!" he exclaims bitterly and angrily. If it's not physical or psychological then what the fuck could it be?! God fucking dammit, something is wrong! There has to be! He doesn't just start feeling like complete shit for absolutely no fucking reason!
Laxus' mind goes around in circles as it tries to figure out its next move. He could try a different psychologist and get a different opinion but deep down he knows that his diagnosis will be the same. Maybe there is some kind medicine he can try? Or some kind of new age healer? Is he allergic to something that he has no idea about?
Dr. Kian is not affected at all by Laxus' little outburst as he continues to regard the upset blonde man quietly. "You are an S-Class wizard from Fairy Tail, correct?" he asks thoughtfully after a few minutes.
Laxus turns away from his thoughts to give the man across from him a hard look. "Yeah, what about it?" he bites out.
"Have you considered that you might be magically sick?" Dr. Kian asks simply.
Laxus' angry expression immediately drops into one of stupor as he blinks at the older man. Magically…? he wonders to himself. That feeling in his chest makes a sudden appearance to swirl around as if confirming the psychologist's words before rapidly disappearing. Laxus completely forgot about that little sensation until now. Why would it pop up now unless it has something to do with it? That alone convinces Laxus that the doc might be onto something.
"I have a theory," Dr. Kian says as he sits up to lean his elbows on his desk, "that something happened to your magical energy during the job that you described. What that is specifically, I don't know. I believe that since you are a wizard with a considerable amount of magical energy, if something were to happen to your magic then your physical health might be affected as a repercussion. It would also explain why I have not been able to find a mental or emotional reason for your ailments. The physicians you have seen probably didn't consider magical influences in their evaluations and that's why they couldn't find anything. This is purely speculation of course. You should go see a healer that specializes in magical diseases if you want any kind of confirmation."
The words "healer that specializes in magical diseases" instantly brings up the image of a cranky, short-tempered, people-hating, old, pink-haired lady that resides in the East Forest outside of Magnolia. Laxus internally groans in frustration. Of course. Of course he would wind up seeing the old bat. He should have just fucking started there.
Laxus tells the psychologist that he knows who he needs to see and thanks the older man for the idea.
A few days later, Laxus is trudging through the East Forest on his journey to see Porlyusica. One of the great things about the old hag is that she hates people so she lives a decent distant away from town. Good news for him because this way no one will hear what's making him so sick.
He finally reaches the old tree that the pink-haired healer calls home. With a resigned sigh he knocks on the front door and waits to be yelled at.
"What is it?!" Porlyusica barks in anger as she flings the door open to glare at the intruder on her front doorstep.
Good thing she hasn't changed, he thinks sarcastically to himself. "I need a check-up," he says blandly as he looks at the elderly woman.
A deep set scowl spreads over her face as she glares coldly at the blonde slayer. "And what makes you think I'll give you one?" she demands harshly.
"Because I'm not leaving until you do so the sooner you start, the sooner I'm out of your hair," he replies with a frown of his own, completely unfazed by her bad attitude.
Porlyusica's frown deepens to a half-sneer but she doesn't argue with the man. She briskly turns on her heel and walks inside of her home. Laxus follows after her to sit down on the bed at the far side of the room.
"What's the matter?" she asks the blonde once he has sat down.
"I can't sleep, I can't eat, and I feel like shit," he explains as he turns his head upwards to look at the healer. "I went to a few doctors and they said nothing is wrong but the most recent doctor thought that something is wrong with my magic."
A sharp tsk escapes Porlyusica's mouth as she walks to Laxus' side and begins to examine him. Stupid humans. No one can do anything right. She has to do everything.
After a few minutes of examination, Porlyusica furrows her eyebrows in confusion as she straightens her back. What is this? she wonders to herself. She stares at him as she contemplates her next move.
She moves over to the work bench on one side of her tree house and pulls out a large wide bowl. She begins to dump various liquids into the bowl and mixes them up until the liquid has turned into a light blue color.
"Come here," she commands Laxus as she moves away from the pan but close enough so she can observe her experiment. "Put your hand in the bowl and channel your magic into the liquid." Laxus does as he is told and puts his whole hand into the weird fluid. He channels just a small amount into his hand and into the liquid.
Within seconds the still liquid starts to ripple out from his hand before turning into violent waves that crash into each other and the sides of the bowl. Laxus immediately stops his magic from uncertainty at seeing the weird movement and looks at Porlyusica with a raised eyebrow. Porlyusica's eyes flick between him and the bowl and silently command him to continue.
Laxus continues to push his magic outwards into the liquid for couple of minutes before Porlyusica tells him to stop. He wipes his hand of with a towel as she studies him with a careful eye.
"So what's wrong with me?" he asks with a gruff tone as he throws the towel on the desk.
The old lady slightly groans as she considers her options. "I don't know what's wrong with you," she finally speaks with a neutral tone.
Laxus is taken aback before crossing his arms over his chest and glaring her. "Then what the hell was that?!" he demands harshly.
"I said that I don't know what's wrong with you, I didn't say that I don't know what's happening to you," she says frankly.
Laxus grunts but otherwise remains silent. Finally! Someone knows something!
"Your dragon slaying magic is fluctuating erratically," she explains. "All magic has a normal steady baseline in which it flows when it is stable. When a person's magic become sickly, the magic can begin to fluctuate and can cause repercussions throughout the body. Yours is a severe cause. I've never seen anything like it."
"What do you mean its fluctuating?" Laxus asks slightly confused.
Porlyusica heavily sighs. "Stupid human," she grumbles. "Think of your magic as a stream of water," she says more clearly. "When your magic is normal then it flows like a calm river. But yours is completely different. Yours is fluctuating so badly that it is similar to a raging rapid."
"So why is that so bad?"
"The fluctuations cause your magic to behave and interact with your body differently. The reason you are feeling sick and can't sleep is because your body is adjusting to accommodate how your magic is flowing."
Laxus suddenly understands what the old lady is trying to tell him. "So what you're saying is that everything that has been happening to me is because my magic is fucked up?"
"Yes."
"Then fix my magic."
"I can't."
He looks at her in slight bewilderment, "What? Why not?"
"Because I have no idea what is causing the fluctuations. Usually there is some indication, poison, another magic, scarring, something, but there is nothing wrong with you. I can't find the source of the problem and if I don't know the root of the problem, I can't fix it."
"You can't give me something to level it out or anything?" Laxus insists rather loudly.
"No," she replies blandly. "This is sort of magical issue can only be solved with removing the thing that is causing the fluctuations. You will have to figure out what is causing it and fix it. There's no medicine I can give you. There's nothing else I can tell you."
Laxus' jaw drops slightly in shock at her declaration. How is he possibly going to figure out what's wrong with him? He's been trying to figure out what's wrong with him for over a month now and he's just now figuring out this much. At this rate, he'll die from insomnia before he discovers what is really bothering him.
He tries to convince Porlyusica to help him find a solution but she declines every attempt. She tells him to get out as she is tired of dealing with smelly rotten humans.
Laxus drags his tired ass back to Fairy Tail as he tries to wrap his mind around his dilemma. Great. Just fucking great. Not only am I sick and tired because of my shitty magic but the only way to fix my fucking problem is to find the nonexistent issue. Just my shitty fucking luck from hell…
There is only thing Laxus can think to do to make him feel better in this situation: drink a shitload of beer.
Two weeks later, a grouchy, grumpy Laxus is at the Fairy Tail guild nursing a beer.
Just as Porlyusica said, he has been searching for the reason for his "issue", as he has started to call it since he isn't creative enough to name it anything else. Yet, despite his best efforts, nothing has been resolved. His health just continues to get worse and his searching has really started to take its toll.
Laxus hardly eats anything anymore and he hasn't been to sleep at all for the past week. Dark bags have appeared under his eyes and his normal grumpy mood has soured even further into a depressed, angry, and bitter disposition. He doesn't mean to be but he can't help it.
Laxus can feel his chest close up as exhaustion seeps into his aching bones. He has never felt this tired and sick in his life. Picking up his own two feet has now started to feel like a massive chore and he has to force his body to cooperate every time he gets out of bed. He tries not to think about it but that's next to impossible when your own body feels like it could fall apart any minute.
The guild doors open and a familiar voice call out over the guild hall. "Hello everyone!" the woman cheers happily.
Laxus' eyes go wide as he turns on his barstool. "Lucy?" he breathes out in surprised wonder as his eyes finally land on the blonde woman. What the hell is she doing here? That annoying feeling in his chest appears suddenly and blooms into a full warm ball of joy at the appearance of his partner. Laxus furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Why…?
"Lucy!" Romeo yells as the said blonde is knocked down by the young boy throwing himself at her as she walks inside the guild hall. Lucy giggles as she hugs Romeo tightly and asks how he is doing.
Other members, mainly Jet, Droy, and Biska, launch themselves at Lucy the exact same way and dog pile on the celestial mage. Welcomes and greetings are mixed together as Lucy becomes smothered with attention.
After Lucy is allowed is breathe again and she has straightened her clothes out, she looks around for her partner and finds him staring at her wide eyed from the bar. She gives him a bright smile and a wave as she walks up to him. "Hey Laxus!" she says happily.
"Hey Lucy," he masks his confusion, exhaustion, pain, and happiness with a smirk. "You're back early." It's true; it's only been two months since she left.
"Yep!" she declares with a big nod. "We made better time then what was expected so I finished two weeks earlier. It's great to be back," she puffs out her chest and sighs happily.
"Lucy! Welcome back!" Master's voice calls from the second floor. "Sit down and tell me what happened!" he says as he gestures to the bar as he walks down the stairs.
"Here you go Lucy!" Kinana chirps happily as she sits down the strawberry smoothie she promised the blonde woman the last time she saw her.
"Thanks Kinana, this looks awesome!" Lucy giggles as she cheerfully takes a seat next to Laxus at the bar.
"Hey Lucy, long time no see," Max says merrily as he and Warren walk up behind the celestial mage.
Everyone crowds around Lucy as they welcome her back or wish to listen to her talk about how her job went.
It was a pretty simple job. Nothing ever really went wrong except for some small incidents that she managed to remedy.
She is in the middle of how a piece cargo flung over the side of the ship during a small storm and was almost lost but she called out Aquarius and had her fetch it when Nab pumps his fist in the air from excitement and accidently sends a whole stein of beer flying onto Jet's head. The speed mage returns the favor with a swift kick which sends the animal soul mage into another guildmate's dinner. That guildmate then gets angry and grabs Nab to throw him a few tables away to hit a woman in the back. She emits a death aura as she flips her entire table, and the surrounding guild members, onto the ground and demands to know who hit her.
Within a few moments, the whole guild begins one of its infamous brawls. Macao flips out and is pathetically yelling for the fighting to stop with Wakaba sighing from the side. Kinana is giggling behind the bar as she expertly dodges a stray chair leg. Lucy is deadpanning at the mess while Laxus has a knowing smirk spread over his lips.
After ten minutes of continuously fighting, Biska and Alzack requip their loudest gun, which just happen to be double-barrel shotguns, and shoots them off into the air to get everyone's attention. Everything comes to a standstill. Vijeeter has his leg twisted around Nab's arm while Nab is in mid-throw as he is lifting Max over his head. Droy is chewing on a disgusted Warren's leg while Jet has him in a headlock. Every other member is in some fighting stance or another as they look around the room. Macao yells how everyone needs to knock it off and to get back to drinking.
Everyone simmers down after that and everything goes back to normal. The only thing different now is that Macao is weeping over how much it's going to cost to repair the guild hall.
"Glad to see nothing has changed while I was gone," Lucy chuckles as she watches Romeo try to console his father. The older purple-haired man's tears dramatically increase to run down his face as the purple-haired boy's face turns into shocked disbelief.
"It never will," Laxus sighs into his drink.
A deep rumbling noise echoes from Laxus' stomach and garners both his and Lucy's attention. She gives him a sly look as she points to his stomach. "Hungry?" she teases.
Laxus looks down at his stomach in confusion as he realizes something. He is starving. As in he-hasn't-eaten-in-a-week hungry.
But why? Why now?
He hasn't felt this way since before his "issue" started. Has his magic been fixed? He hasn't done anything differently. What has changed in the last couple of hours? Was it Lucy? That is the only thing he can think of. It can't be just a coincidence that the day she happens to come back is the day he wants to eat again, right? For fuck's sake, he could hardly eat a fucking cracker a couple of hours ago and now he feels like he could eat an entire damn buffet. Actually, that sounds like a great idea.
"Yeah, let's go to a buffet. I'll pay," he says sternly as he rises from his barstool.
"Sure, I'm starving," Lucy chirps sweetly as she hops off her own barstool. She waves goodbye to all of her friends as her and Laxus leave for the night.
Along the way, Lucy finishes her story of how her job went. Laxus quietly listens as she tells him how her and her dad made great progress in their relationship. They no longer have this super awkward tension between them but rather a more relaxed and open relationship. They still have a long way to go for the best father-daughter award but Lucy can see spending more time with her dad without dreading the possibility.
Laxus is happy for Lucy but he keeps his stoic mask. Seems everything worked out for her. That small feeling in his chest brims with happiness and he scowls. What the fuck? Why do I feel like this? What's happening to me?
"Laxus?" Lucy's concerned voice interjects into his thoughts. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just hungry." He dismisses the feeling and focuses back on Lucy.
Over the next few hours, Lucy and Laxus reach the restaurant and eat till their heart's content. Laxus effectively cleans out the restaurant out and leaves the stressed manager to fret over how to feed the rest of his customers. During dinner Lucy asks how Laxus' jobs fared and listens while he explained that they didn't have any issues. He doesn't tell her about how crappy he's been feeling because he was too busy stuffing his face like a man that just discovered meat for the first time.
At the end of dinner Laxus pays for the massive bill and asks Lucy if she can cook some of her homemade lasagna for him. Before he lost his appetite he was craving the damn dish so much that he literally dreamt about it.
She gives him a huge prideful nod and a bright smile. She promises that she will have it done by tomorrow night and that she'll make it extra tasty.
He gives her a satisfied smirk before a huge wave of exhaustion sweeps through him. He tells her he needs to head home so he can get some rest. She bids him goodnight and tells him that she'll see him tomorrow as he shoots of in a bolt of lightning toward the forest.
"Laxus?" Lucy calls through his house as she opens the door enough to pop her head in. Nothing. Not even a bump or a scratch or anything.
"Laxus!" she yells louder as she fully enters the house. Still nothing.
"Hmmm, where could he be?" she wonders aloud as she begins to search the house. She checks everywhere on the first floor, the kitchen, the backyard, the dining room, the living room but has no luck. Walking up the stairs, she heads straight to the master bedroom.
The second floor has a long hallway with two guest rooms on the left side and the master bedroom on the right side. Only one of the guest rooms is decorated with a bed and two side tables, the other is being used as a makeshift gym. A weightlifting bench, a barbell, dumbbells, and various weights are carefully placed around the room. Between the two rooms is a shared bathroom with a door on either end. The master bedroom has a king sized bed, a dark wood dresser, a table, and a desk on three sides of the room. A window is opposite of the door to the hallway and has black-out curtains covering the glass. The last wall has two doors; one leading to the master bathroom and one leading to the walk-in closet. The bathroom has marble counters and flooring, a large shower, and a large bathtub while the closet has most of Laxus' clothes hanging on the clothes rack.
Lucy knocks on the master bedroom door. "Laxus?" she says hesitantly through the wood of the door. Hearing no response, Lucy gently opens the door to poke her head into the room. It's dark but she can see the protruding lump under the covers.
She tiptoes forward until she can clearly see the spiky blonde hair lying on top of the pillows. Lucy huffs through her nose as she frowns at the hulk of a sleeping man. Of course he's asleep. She's been worrying for the past two days and he's asleep. The stupid idiot.
She walks over to the curtains and pulls back the fabric to allow the bright afternoon sunshine into the dark room. A painful groan reverberates through the room as she turns to face the blonde man with her hands on her hips.
"The hell?" Laxus grumbles as he blinks in surprise at the sudden light in his eyes.
"Time to wake up Laxus," the annoyed tone in Lucy's voice ringing in his ears.
"Lucy?" he asks confusedly as he begins to sit up. The black sheets slide down his bare chest to pool around his waist. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Lucy scoffs before closing the distance between her and her partner. "I was looking for you. You've been missing for the last two days!" she half yells in irritation.
Laxus is finally able to open his eyes without the light blinding him and looks up at the cross woman. "What?"
A tick forms on Lucy's brow at his simple question. "Don't 'what' me! You were supposed to come over for dinner two days ago and you didn't! Then you don't show up at the guild all yesterday to boot!" she claims angrily.
Just like she promised Lucy made her homemade lasagna for the jerk the day after she got back. That dish takes eight hours to make and what does she get?! Nothing! That's what! The stupid jerk didn't come by her apartment or the guild or anything! She thought something had happened to the guy for crying out loud!
Laxus' eyes widen in shock as he begins to realize what has happened. "It's been two days since I last saw you?" he asks dumbstruck.
Lucy huffs as she crosses her arms under her abundant chest. "Two and a half days to be more precise," she scowls. "The last time I saw you was when you left to go home after we ate at the buffet. You completely blew me off! Where have you been?!"
Laxus looks down at his bed in amazement. "Asleep," he answers in astonishment. He can't believe it. He actually slept. And not only that, he slept for two and a half days. If there was ever any proof that he needed to believe that his "issue" was somehow linked to Lucy, he had it now. There is no way it's a coincidence that he can both eat and sleep the same day she arrives back home. His magic must be fixed now and Lucy, for some fucked up reason, is the cause of it. The question now is: why?
Lucy cocks any eyebrow in disbelief. "You mean you've been asleep this entire time?"
Laxus frowns up at his partner. "Well yeah, I haven't slept in the past month and a half," he drawls out.
"Wait, what?" her face falls into one of surprise. He hasn't been sleeping? Why?
The realization that Lucy knows nothing about his lack of sleep or appetite hits Laxus. He sighs deeply as he closes his eyes.
"Are you sick?" Lucy asks worryingly.
Laxus heaves another sigh as he rests his elbows on his knees. "Don't worry about it," he tries to deter her anxiety.
Lucy's features soften from concern as she gazes at her partner. "Have you seen a doctor?" she asks with a slight tremble in her voice. She doesn't want him to be sick. If she had known that he wasn't feeling well then she would have never been so irate with him.
Laxus' eyes open and drift upwards to look at the worrisome woman. Seeing the glimmer of care shining in her eyes makes his heart clench in guilt. Another sigh passes through his lips. See, this is what he wanted to avoid. He didn't want her to get the impression that he was trying to hide anything from her. He just didn't want to worry her any more than necessary.
"Yeah, I have. Six of them, in fact. Turns out that it had to do with my dragon slaying magic," he explains.
"Your dragon slayer magic?" she gasps in surprise. "What's wrong with it?"
"Just that it was fluctuating or some shit."
Lucy's face scrunches up in confusion. "Fluctuating? What does that mean?"
Laxus gives a lazy shrug and another sigh. "That it was unstable and was causing me to feel sick. The old hag said she's never seen anything like it. Said that I need to figure out what's causing it to get it fixed. Problem is…I haven't got a fucking clue on where to start."
Lucy crosses her arms and hums in thought at his words. There must be something somewhere that can help him—
A lightbulb suddenly appears over her head as a revelation hits her. She snaps her fingers at points at the man in bed. "I know where we can go!" she declares proudly.
Laxus raises an eyebrow in question at this sudden turn of events.
"Here we are!" Lucy cheers in excitement as she puts her hands on her hips.
Laxus leans his head back as he takes in the scenery. Directly in front of him is an extremely tall black and gray swirling building. "What is this place?" he asks with a frown.
Lucy throws him a bright smile before laying her hand on the side of the entrance. She pushes a little bit of her magic through the keyhole and the door uncurls itself from the center to allow the visitors inside. "This is the Magic Library. It holds information on every type of magic available in Earthland. This is where most of the artifacts that my dad was in charge of transporting were taken to be stored. If this place doesn't have a book on what is making your magic sick, nowhere will," she says confidently as she strolls inside.
Laxus gives her a skeptical look but follows the blonde nonetheless.
As they walk inside Laxus immediately looks up and his eyes widen slightly. This is going to take fucking forever…
The interior walls are shaped like a hexagon, with numerous bookshelves at each side arranged in various patterns, holding a vast amount of historic books about every known magic and all its related topics. The floors are linked with each other with what seem to be bridges, serving as a passageway between sporadic flats in the library. The pattern extends past his eye sight to the top of the structure.
"Follow me, I know where the dragon slaying magic section is," Lucy says over her shoulder as she begins to walk up to the second floor. The section with most of the dragon slaying books is on some floor in the middle of the tall tower so the two blondes have a little ways to walk before they reach their destination.
"Why do you know that?" Laxus asks genuinely curious as he frowns at the woman ahead of him.
She stops in her tracks to drops her face toward the floor. Her bangs hang over her eyes as her body slightly trembles. "When I was here with my dad…"she trails off in a hushed voice. A moment passes as she composes herself and looks up at the tall blonde man with eyes that are clouded over by unshed tears. It completely catches Laxus off guard and he cringes in panic. God he hates it when girls cry.
"When I was here with my dad," she speaks a little louder and with more resolve than before, "I spent my free time looking for any information on Achnologia. I-I was hoping that maybe there would be something that could help us locate and defeat him. But all I managed to find was that he is known as the Kind of the Dragons and that he was once a dragon slayer that killed many dragons in the past. There really wasn't any more information than that. I'm sorry," she whispers the last two words.
The name creates an image of a black dragon in Laxus' imagination. He has imagined what Achnologia looks like a hundred times since the day he heard about the damn dragon. A big black dragon that has blue swirls around its chest and shoulders, long black wings that resemble bat wings, and a long tail with spikes along the length…that is what he imagines killing his family.
Laxus scowls and drops his head as he feels anger boil inside of him. His knuckles turn white as he clenches his fists by his side. If there was a way to get revenge against the monster, he would do it in a heartbeat. Not for him…but for everyone that the creature killed. Hate is a kind word for the raging passion he feels against the dragon.
Lucy shakes her head to clear away her watery eyes. "A-anyway," she stammers, "that's why I know where the dragon slayer section is. There are some other books scattered around the library though but I'm sure we can find those too," she gives him a small stressed smile.
Laxus grunts but refuses to lift his eye from the floor.
Lucy's face falls as she sees the pent up anger in Laxus' stance. She realizes how sensitive the subject must be and does not pressure Laxus into confiding in her. He has his own feelings and the right to express them how he sees fit. Plus, she's not that much different. From what she can see, he hates Achnologia. And she does too.
But that is a topic for another day. Right now they have to concentrate on his health.
"Come on," she says as she turns back toward the ramps, "it's somewhere in the middle. The sooner we start, the sooner we find the reason you weren't able to sleep."
Lucy is several steps ahead of him before Laxus begins to follow the woman again. He sharply deters his ire and focuses on the task at hand.
The trek up the tower is made in silence as Lucy focuses on where she is going while Laxus takes note of the sheer immensity of the volume of books, tomes, and papers throughout the vast library.
As they approach a small section of one side of the wall with a few books laid on the floor in front of the bookshelves, Lucy stops and takes a deep breath. "Here it is," she declares proudly as she waves toward the books. "It's not much but there might be something in there about your sickness."
She's not lying. The dragon slayer section composes about one bookshelf worth of books. Laxus can immediate see a wide variety of subtopics of dragon slayers spread amongst the bookshelves; everything from types of magic, to the history of dragon sightings throughout the world, to behavioral studies between dragons and humans.
Fuck, where does he start? Not to mention how long this is going to fucking take…
"And I brought these to help us!" Lucy declares as she brings out and holds up two pairs of galeforce reading glasses.
Laxus glares at Lucy. "I'm not wearing those," he says coldly as his eyes briefly flick over the heart and cloud designed magical tools. Nope, no fucking way.
Lucy frowns as she crosses her arms under her chest. "Unless you want to spend the next year in here doing nothing but reading then yes, you are," she firmly stresses the last words as she holds out both of the glasses for him to select one.
Laxus crosses his own arms over his big chest and continues to glare at the petite woman. He remains silent in his defiance of taking the girly contraptions.
Five hours later, Lucy places another stack of books down between her and Laxus.
The two blondes had an intense staring and an argument for the first hour over the galeforce reading glasses. Eventually they began after Laxus, albeit with extreme reluctance and a threat to turn Lucy to ash if there is every any mention of this after all of this is over, took the cloud glasses. They each pulled out their own pile of books and took their seat on the floor. Laxus placed his coat off to his side as he sat cross legged on the floor by a kneeling Lucy.
Lucy discovered as she began reading that she had no idea what she was looking for. When she asked Laxus what exactly she is looking for, he simply told he to look for anything that talks about his magic fluctuating and him becoming tired and sick because of it. She whined for him to tell her more information but he replied that he didn't know what else he could say. He honestly didn't, he had no idea what the hell he was looking for. It's all just a shoot in the dark at this point.
Currently, they are making good progress in reading all of the books that seem relevant to fluctuations in dragon slaying magic. Some books, mostly historic or lore, were set aside so they could focus on topics such as different magical styles and studies regarding how dragon slaying magic functions. So far they have found nothing that comes close to what Laxus described as his symptoms though.
More hours pass as books are read and set aside for the next one. Pages rapidly flip as words magically lift out of the papers at a swift pace toward the glasses. All of the knowledge from the books is memorized by the mages reading them.
This pattern continues until dinner time before the two Fairy Tail mages call it a night. Lucy cooks them dinner that they packed ahead of time for their trip and eat before they fall asleep in their bedrolls not too far off to the side from all of their books.
The next day after lunch, Laxus and Lucy have made substantial progress. By Lucy's calculations they should be finished with the whole section in two days.
Every now then she sighs in frustration. Reading all of these books and not getting so much as a tiny clue truly is irritating but she persists. There must be something, somewhere that will have their answers.
Lucy finishes her book on dragon's eating habits before putting it in her "completed" pile. Nothing. No help at all.
Laxus watches his fellow blonde stand up and stretch before heading over to the bookshelf for the next round. He scowls as he picks up his next book. It's more of a manuscript than an actual book and reads Emotional, Psychological, and Behavioral Studies in the Effects of Magic: Dragon Slaying.
He has to contain a groan of dread. Almost all of the books in his latest selection have all been some sort of study or medical document with a shitload of technical language. He has effectively learned now that he despises anything sort of scientific papers. He has to reread everything at least two times and reference a dictionary for him to fully understand any of it. It's fucking annoying as shit and gives him an immense headache.
Opening the small manuscript, Laxus rapidly reads through each page.
Acts of Aggression Towards Others…Depression…Chemical Releases…Protective Tendencies…Laxus reads the name of the chapters in his head without paying much attention to much of the content. It is all so pointless. He is at the end of the papers when he sees a sentence detailing the act of magical fluctuations and the repercussions on the physical body. His eyes slightly widen in hope as he stops the galeforce reading glasses and turns to the beginning of the chapter to get a contextual idea of what he is reading about.
Laxus blinks heavily twice as he rereads the title of the chapter. Embarrassment rises in his stomach as that stupid feeling purrs in his chest and warms his insides. Fucking little…
The sound of feet shuffling brings him out of his reverie and he looks up to see Lucy walking back with a new stack of books in her arms. He quickly snaps the pages shut and stuffs the manuscript under his coat.
He glances over at Lucy from the corner of his eye to see her curling her legs under her and picking out a new book. A small sigh of relief echoes in his head. He may have found his answer but he needs to make sure he fully understands it before telling Lucy about it…if he wants to tell her about it. It might be too humiliating after all.
Maintaining his bored composure he selects a grimoire and makes a plan to reread the manuscript once Lucy goes to bed that night.
"Night Laxus," Lucy yawns as she rolls over onto her side.
Laxus watches Lucy until he hears her breathing even out and heart slow down to signal the sound of sleep. He pulls out the small manuscript and inspects the set of papers.
With a calming breath, he opens the study to the chapter he read earlier.
Mating: A Marriage Equivalent
The very title makes him feel tremendously embarrassed. Resigning himself to the awkward contents he is about to read, Laxus pushes aside his unsettling feelings in his determination to find his answers.
Laxus stares at the floor with a deep scowl over his lips as he debates his options. None are good or pleasant and he can't help but be pissed off at himself for digging his stupid ass into this hole.
It has been over an hour since he has finished reading the manuscript. It was a lot of technical and scientific language but after rereading the chapter very carefully five times, and having some major help from the dictionary, he is positive that he understands everything about his "issue".
He is currently going through what is known as "mating".
Every dragon slayer, normal or artificial, inherits a dragon's magic. The magic changes the slayer's body to accommodate the unique traits that the magic possesses. For example, cognitive bodily parts such as the eyes, ears, taste are enhanced in order for the slayer to gain the dragon's superior senses. This phenomenon is also the root cause for the process in which a slayer approaches sexual relationships and creates the structure for a family.
Just like dragons, dragon slayers mate for life. A part of a dragon's selection of their mate, or dragon equivalent of a human spouse, is determined by the compatibility that certain magics have towards others. Slayer's magic continues this trend and is thus always seeking a magic that would be compatible with its own and finding a suitable mate for the respective slayer. This criteria specification heightens the chances of survivability for the slayer, the mate, and their offspring.
There is a whole process that must be completed in order for the slayer to successful "mark" a mate. First, the slayer must concentrate a small portion of their magic into the potential mate in a "magical exchange". The potential mate's body will unconsciously hold onto the slayer's magic and allow the slayer to create a magical bond between the two. The potential mate's body will retain the magic and will build up immunity to the magic. Other magical exchanges are made throughout the courtship until the potential mate's body can easily accommodate a large amount of the slayer's magic. It is then that a final magical exchange that is sealed with a physical bite to conclude the mateship.
If a magical exchange is made but the final marking is not performed, then the potential mate's body will slowly dissipate the slayer's magic from their bodies and into the atmosphere. The bond will slowly fade over time and eventually disappear. The process will need to be reinitiated once more.
Of course, any types of magical bonds like that have its drawbacks. When a slayer puts their magic inside another individual, the slayer is essential placing their magic in two places. The magic will constantly wish to be united with its missing section and can drive the slayer to always be near the potential mate. If the slayer's magic cannot correspond with the magic inside of the mate, the magic inside of the slayer may begin to react. This could potentially cause the slayer's magic to begin fluctuating violently and, in turn, cause the slayer to feel fatigue, irritability, lack of appetite, and decrease in magical ability. It was not recommend that a slayer be away from their mate for a long period of time due to these effects.
Not much more information was given after that due to the study being cut short.
Laxus slowly drags his eyes across the floor to his partner. She is lying on her side with a faint smile over her face as she peacefully slumbers. The air between them is still and calm almost as if to contradict the emotions tumbling over one another inside of his heart.
He has begun the process of being mated to Lucy.
It instantly clicked in his mind as he was reading the manuscript that he must have transferred his magic to her when he accidently electrocuted her and did the "magical exchange". Just fucking perfect…Everything else just fell into place after that. The feelings in his chest, not being able to sleep, not eating, everything. And it's all his fault.
Now what does he do? According to the manuscript, he has no choice but wait for the magic inside of Lucy to slowly fade from her body. Their link should decrease in intensity the lower of the amount of magic that is inside of her. Should he remain close to her? He doesn't really feel any different when he's next to her with the few exceptions of that strange feeling in his chest. On the other hand, staying away from her would make him miserable and sickly.
Guess he's staying close to her. There ain't really any other choice.
Then should he tell her about all of this shit? It might seem weird if he starts hanging around her more without any sort of reason. If he does tell her then she might be understanding and even helpful—
A small content sigh slips past Lucy's lips as she continues to sleep peacefully. Laxus feels his heart clench in guilt as he turns his gaze away from the woman.
He…he can't tell her. He won't tell her.
This isn't her problem, it's his. She shouldn't have to be worried about something that he caused. If he does tell her, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how awkward their relationship will become. That would only end badly for her and for him. He's lost too much already to lose her too.
He swore to her and her old team that he would be her partner and to protect her no matter the dangers or the consequences. Even if that includes him. He made the mistake of accidently electrocuting her and starting this whole mess so he should be the one to deal with it. Even if it causes him great pain and discomfort, he will deal with this alone.
Heaving a heavy reluctant sigh, Laxus moves over to his bedroll to try to get some sleep. It's not surprising to the lightning dragon slayer that he didn't get much sleep that night.
"I can't believe that there wasn't a single bit of help in all of those books!" Lucy protests as she throws her hands up into the air in a fit of frustration.
Laxus remains silent as he keeps his eyes on the road as they weave through the forest.
It's been two days since he found out about his mating issue and two days that he has been hiding his findings from the blonde woman. He made sure to pocket the manuscript in his coat for the duration of their exploration in the library to make sure she didn't find it. He also wanted to keep it just in case he ever needs it for future reading.
Lucy turns and looks expectantly at the taller blonde. "Aren't you upset about this?"
Laxus merely shrugs his shoulders. "Wasn't expecting to find anything," he says flatly. But I found my shitty reasons anyway though, he thinks bitterly.
Lucy huffs and frowns at her partner. "How can you be so nonchalant about this?! What if it happens again and you can't go to sleep for two months? Or three? Or six?!"
"I'll deal with it," he says in complete neutrality. Because it ain't gonna happen…
Lucy's jaw drops as she stops in her tracks to gape at him. Doesn't he care that he could literally wake up tomorrow and his entire magical supply is completely out of whack?!
Laxus stops walking and turns to look over his shoulder at the younger mage. "Don't worry about it. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Now quit your gawking and hurry up. I thought you wanted to take a job together once you got back from your job."
Lucy worries her bottom lip as she debates on her options. Deciding that letting it go for now is the best option she jogs to catch up with him. He may not be right to not worry about his health but he is right about one thing. It's a long walk back to the guild.
