AN: I'm so glad you guys liked the change in the storyline! Part of me was worried about it, even if I was excited to get into the meat of things. As always, thank you so much for your incredibly kind, thoughtful, and funny reviews! They always put a giant smile on my face and I hope you know how much I appreciate each and every one of you.
Last chapter, we got to witness Laxus and Natsumi finally talking to each other! I know, I'm still in shock. This chapter, we get to see what the rest of the world is up to, how they feel about it, and there just might be some fluff thrown in as well.
Enjoy!
While You Were Busy Canoodling, The Rest of the World was Wondering What the Fuck You Were Up To
After that rather informative, on Laxus's part, and lucrative, on Natsumi's part, interlude, the pair lounged around at the bluffs for another few hours, talking about mostly unimportant things, like how far Natsumi could breathe fire in the air from underwater, or how Laxus was most definitely lying about how many monsters he took down on an infestation mission from a few months ago.
Laxus also learned that Natsumi could absolutely not skip meals. At the stroke of three, her stomach began growling, and didn't seem to know limits on time nor volume. Despite being obnoxious in of itself, Natsumi's increasingly whiny complaints about being hungry eventually led Laxus to stand up, pick up the younger girl by the arms, and set her on her feet. After marching her down the slope, he told her—more like ordered her—to go get something to eat, and that he'd see her tomorrow when they sorted things with the guild.
Then, he turned on his heel, walking away without a word, leaving her gaping behind him.
"Hey!" she called at his retreating back as he walked down the cobblestone roads on the outskirts of town. "Don't forget that tomorrow you start taking my orders. You promised!"
She got no response other than the sight of his shoulders slumping as he departed. Huffing, she figured it'd have to do for now, and made her way to her and Lucy's apartment. No doubt the girl would have stocked their fridge. She shuddered at the thought of the interrogation her friend was going to put her through when she got back.
She was right about the interrogation.
Lucy was waiting as Natsumi catapulted herself into the open window to her bedroom, and immediately sprang up from her position at her writing desk to grab hold of the sides of Natsumi's vest, pulling their heads close together.
"What happened?! You guys disappeared for so long! Where'd you go?!" the blonde girl throttled her friend, shaking the shorter one by her lapels.
"Oi, calm down, Luce! It's not a big deal! We went to the bluffs, is all," Natsumi explained, turning a bit green in the face from the motion. "Stop shaking me before I puke on you."
Lucy stopped abruptly, letting go of the pink-haired girl. Leaning back with her hands on her hips, Lucy stared the older girl down, a determined gleam in her eye.
"Spill. It." All the authority of the Heartfilia heiress she'd once been was captured in her voice as she uttered those two words.
Natsumi keened. "But Luce! I'm hungry! I can't explain on an empty stomach, you know!"
"Well you should've thought about that before you disappeared with Laxus for hours without telling anybody where you were going! Now tell me and I won't Lucy Kick you into next week!" the celestial mage yelled with fire in her eyes.
Natsumi shuffled to Lucy's bed, flopping face-first against it, groaning into the duvet. "Fiiiiine," she whined, "but why are you punishing me? You're the one who should be punished for telling Laxus that I liked him before I even knew it! Traitor!"
"I just want to make sure you gave that idiot due punishment. I'm not sure I trust you with it," Lucy explained, completely ignoring her friend's accusations as she came to sit on the bed beside the lump that was Natsumi.
Natsumi sprang up, pushing herself on her arms to look at her friend. "Of course I did! He was awful to everyone! You'll be proud of me, Luce," she smirked. "He's going to apologize to you and Happy and the whole guild! He also agreed to be my slave for two whole days!" she laughed then, a shrill, manic sound. Lucy's eyes widened.
"He agreed to what?" The disbelief was evident in her voice.
"He's going to do whatever I say for two days. I wanted at least a week, but it couldn't be helped."
Lucy looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "Are you sure we're talking about Laxus? Tall, blonde, permanently looks like he's about to headbutt someone?"
"Yeah!" Natsumi smile was bright.
The blonde mage whistled low. "Nat, that's impressive. Are you sure he's going to go through with all that's stuff? I've never met anyone as proud as he is. That's a lot to ask of him, even though he deserves it."
Natsumi shrugged, turning around so she was sitting upright beside Lucy. She fiddled with a bare thread on the duvet beneath her. "I told him I wouldn't forgive him otherwise. I don't really care about the fighting, but he threatened everyone and insulted the guild. And I can't let him go for threatening Happy."
"Still…it is Laxus. He might've agreed to all that, but I'll believe it when I see it. Though it's not like he hasn't taken everyone by surprise before."
"I guess," Natsumi agreed. Standing up and heading for the door, she called, "but I'm starved!"
Lucy squawked as her friend abandoned her. "Hey! Come back here! You still haven't told me what you were doing with him!"
Half an hour and a dozen chicken wings later, Natsumi relayed the major events of the morning, deciding to hold back the discussion of the confusing fluttery feelings she'd discovered. Lucy didn't need to know that yet. At least not until she got it straight in her own head—if she ever did.
"So," Lucy began, resting her chin on her hands as she sat at the small table they had in the kitchen, choosing to ignore the way Natsumi was still picking her teeth, "are you guys like…a thing now?"
Natsumi froze with a finger in her mouth, midway through liberating the last bit of stuck chicken. "Uh," she uttered uselessly.
The blonde frowned. "You're hopeless. You didn't answer him?"
Giving up her fight with the chicken, Natsumi slouched in her chair, crossing her arms in front of her, avoiding Lucy's questioning stare.
"I don't know! It's not like I know what I'm doing, here! And then we got off track and it just sort of never came up again."
"And he just let you drop it? Just like that?" The blonde couldn't fathom her friend's actions. A smaller, petulant part of her wanted to scold Natsumi for mishandling the situation so completely when Lucy herself had yet to attract anyone worth a damn.
Another shrug from the pink-haired girl. "I guess?"
"Wow. I guess I better give the guy credit. He didn't even try to kiss you when he left or anything?"
Natsumi's face turned the color of her hair.
"Wait, he did?! Why didn't you say anything?!" Lucy's hands came slamming down on the tabletop, brown eyes wide.
"No! He didn't!" Natsumi shook her head vigorously, throwing her hands out in front of her in protest. "He just said he'd see me tomorrow and then walked away!"
Lucy's expression didn't change except to raise one fair eyebrow. "Defensive much?"
"I'm not! I'm telling the truth, weirdo," the smaller girl pouted.
"If you say so…" Lucy relented, relaxing against the back of her chair. Then, a gleam ignited in her eyes, which did little to ease the dragon slayer's jumpiness.
"If he didn't kiss you and you're acting like this, then you must have wanted him to," she teased with a knowing look.
Natsumi gasped, her mouth dropping open. "I did not! Stop it!"
"Maybe only because you didn't bother to think about if you wanted to. You obviously like him. It's not like it's a secret anymore. You're just lucky Happy isn't here. He'd be a thousand times worse than I am."
Natsumi looked around, belatedly noticed the cat's absence and immediately felt guilty.
"Where is he? Didn't he come back with you?" She hoped the Exceed hadn't been too upset after being yelled at by Laxus and wasn't mad at her for not checking on him.
"He wanted to stay and greet Wendy and Carla when they came back from their job with Erza. Though I think he just wanted to be the first to spread the word of what happened, the damn cat," her friend explained. "He said not to worry and he'd be back later."
"He wasn't mad, was he?" Natsumi asked, frowning, shrinking further into her chair.
Lucy let out a short laugh. "Of course he wasn't. He was a bit shaken, but you know Happy better than anyone. Five minutes later, he was shouting about how you two liiiiiiked each other," she said, imitating Happy's sing-song voice.
The dragon slayer smiled, though she was still wary. She didn't want anything to come between her and Happy. He was her first and best friend, and she wanted to make sure he knew that no matter what happened with Laxus, she wouldn't abandon him for anything.
As she thought her guilt, another memory came to mind. Clearing her throat, she looked at her friend, suddenly sheepish. "I guess I should say that I'm sorry."
Lucy cocked her head to one side, pigtails swishing. "What? What for?"
Rubbing the back of her neck, Natsumi looked away. "About last night. You were right and I was being dumb, but I didn't know where Laxus was coming from, so I didn't want to deal with…caring about him. And I guess I should thank you, too. For being nosy and telling Laxus not to give up. I don't know if I would have ever understood him if you hadn't."
Natsumi still looked away from the blonde, so she was surprised when she was nearly bowled over when her friend attacked her in a fierce embrace.
"I'm sorry, too," Lucy said. "For pushing you so hard when I knew it hurt you. But I'm not sorry for talking to Laxus, since it helped you," she laughed, pulling away.
Looking Natsumi in the eye, she smiled. "So I guess what I'm saying is you're welcome. You're my best friend, and we have to have each other's backs, right?"
Laughing, Natsumi nodded. "Right."
The heavy talk over, the two friends hung around the apartment for the rest of the day, discussing future job plans and fellow guild members. Happy flew in several hours later, excitedly chattering about his still-unsuccessful attempts to woo Carla. Laughing, the roommates spent the evening together, happy that the Exceed hadn't suffered any lasting trauma from being threatened by Laxus.
As Natsumi lounged in her hammock that night, the apartment silent save for the distant sound of Lucy's breathing several rooms away, the girl hugged the Exceed closely to her.
"I'm glad you aren't mad at me, Happy," she whispered.
"I'd never be mad at you! You're my best friend in the world!" Happy protested, burrowing further into the thick strands of Natsumi's now syrup-free hair.
She smiled, content, and scratched between the cat's ears, giggling when they twitched against her hand. A lot had happened that day, she knew, but when she closed her eyes, sleep came easily, her worries finally abated.
And if Happy noticed the smile on her sleeping face, he didn't say anything. At least for now.
Natsumi woke up to the sound of the front door slamming. She groggily opened one black eye, groaning as she brought a hand up to rub the sleep crust away. A wiggling near her stomach brought Happy into her foggy awareness. Reaching down to pat his head, he giggled, moving to sit on her.
"Wake up, sleepyhead! Lucy's already gone to the guild!"
She opened her other eye blearily. "What?" she mumbled, mind struggling to make sense of what the cat was saying.
"Gosh, Natsumi. You're always so dumb in the mornings. Maybe if I go get Laxus to come wake you up…" The phrase 'swallowed the canary' was never more fitting for the expression that the cat was sporting.
She flailed, eyes fully opening as she knocked herself out of the hammock, landing flat on her back. Happy floated above her, giggling at her exploits. She glared up at him, but made no move to get off the floor.
"Hehehe," the cat continued, "that sure woke you up."
"Shut up," she grumbled, still on her back.
"Still, don't you want to make the most of today? It's not every day that Laxus agrees to do whatever someone else says. The faster we get to the guild, the faster you can make him get me as many fish as I want!"
Natsumi sat up slowly, pushing her bangs out of her face. "Yeah, yeah," she waved her hand at the cat, acknowledging him. "Let me get dressed and we'll go, 'kay? But the bastard probably won't even show up until the very last minute, knowing him." She stood up, shuffling around the room, gathering her vest and shoes. Once dressed, she shook out her hair, letting it fall down her back in its normal snarl. Deciding she'd have to eat at the guild since Lucy wasn't around to cook, she let Happy perch on her head as she made her way through the door.
And immediately bumped into a wall, knocking her backwards and Happy off her head.
She looked up, surprised to see Laxus poised to knock on the door, looking down at her with an equally startled look, hand still raised in the air.
"Uh," she blurted, stunned at his appearance.
"Hey," He dropped his hand and schooled his expression into his default of casual disinterest.
She stared at him with a blank face. "What are you doing here?"
His eyes narrowed, annoyed. "Hello to you, too, Pinky."
She stuck her tongue out at him, still in her doorway. "What did you want?" She cocked her head to one side.
"I'm not here to see you," he huffed out, eyes sliding past her. "I'm actually here for the cat."
"What?" She was back to confusion.
"Oh my God. Just move, okay?" He gently pushed her back into the doorway, revealing the cat hovering slightly behind her. Laxus looked at the cat, the force of his trademark frown causing the small creature to waver in the air, his wings flapping irregularly.
"Listen, cat. And stop freakin' out," he began. Happy's eyes widened as he righted himself. Natsumi went to go to him, but Laxus held out an arm, silencing the protest that rose within her. "I'm not going to hurt you, so relax. Look," he dropped his eyes, frowning deeper, his posture locking up, "I didn't mean to scare you yesterday. So, yeah, sorry," he finished, staring at the wall with an uncomfortable expression.
Natsumi stood at his side, floored. He turned to look at her, glaring.
"Oh, close your mouth. I said I'd apologize, alright? Figured I'd get it over with before facing the rest of those fuckers," he grunted.
She nodded, eyes still wide. They both looked at Happy then, who still had yet to say anything, but just floated in front of the pair wearing a shocked expression on his feline face.
"Happy?" Natsumi asked tentatively, not wanting to startle the Exceed further.
It was the pair's turn to be startled as Happy rushed Laxus, laughing as he buried himself on the fur-lined edge of the man's coat.
"Oi, what's your problem?!" The blonde shouted, grabbing the cat by the scruff and holding him in front of his face.
Happy laughed, "It's okay, Laxus, I forgive you!"
"Well don't just go rubbing yourself on people, damn it!"
"But you're always supposed to hug someone when you accept their apology!" the cat proclaimed cheerfully, spreading his arms wide in front of him, completely unaffected by Laxus's pissed off expression.
"What kind of stupid rule is that?" He didn't let the cat go, afraid that Happy would attack him again. Damn thing probably had fleas or something.
Happy frowned. Clearly Laxus was missing the point. "But Natsumi hugged you after you apologized, right? We all saw it!" He flapped his wings happily, beaming.
Laxus turned to Natsumi, but found no comfort in her equally sunny smile. Looking between the two, he sighed, suddenly looking exhausted. He dropped the cat, sending him to the hardwood floor with a sharp yowl. He turned away then, walking out the door, grumbling about he didn't have time for this shit.
Natsumi exchanged a smug look with Happy, and both burst into identical fits of laughter. Picking up the Exceed off the floor and sitting him on her shoulder, she closed the door behind her, running after Laxus.
"Hey, wait up! And that's an order!" His shoulders tensed at her order, but he complied with the command. She laughed at his stiff posture.
"So you didn't forget that you have to do what I say starting today," she remarked as she reached his side.
He refused to look at her, "I swear to God if you make me do anything embarrassing…" he growled out.
She laughed again, grabbing at his sleeve to pull him back into his stride as they headed to the guild. "Why? It's not like anybody would be surprised after yesterday. And you even did that one yourself!" she teased, looking back at him.
"Laxus, you should do what Natsumi says because you looooove her!" Happy added from his perch on the girl's shoulder.
Laxus glared at the two. "Watch it, cat." He didn't make any move to break Natsumi's grip on his wrist, however. He let her lead him down the familiar road by the riverside toward the guild, not bothering to continue the conversation.
As they continued on, Natsumi was preoccupied with watching the familiar scenery pass by. She was used to either walking alone or with Lucy to the guild, where her taller friend would climb up on the barrier between the street in the river and balance along, much to the chagrin of the fisherman on the water. Laxus's presence was definitely a change, but not a bad one, she thought. Especially since the lightning mage's caustic attitude didn't seem to be quite at its usual level.
They passed the local flower and book shops, the smells of old paper and pollen comforting to the tiny dragon slayer. She almost didn't notice Happy touching the side of her face with a paw.
"What's up, buddy?" she asked, turning her head to look at the Exceed.
He nudged her face again, "I'm going to go on ahead, okay? Yesterday Mira said she was expecting a fish delivery this morning, and it's already almost eleven! I want to make sure I get one!"
Natsumi laughed, patting his head with her free hand. "Alright. I'll meet you there in a bit, 'kay?"
"Aye, sir!" Happy shouted as he launched himself into the air, wings materializing once more. She watched him speed down the road with a smile.
She was still smiling when she felt an arm slide around her shoulders.
"Took him long enough. I thought he'd never beat it." Laxus remarked, pulling her closer to his side. She whipped her head to her left, seeing Laxus looking straight ahead, but with a smirk gracing his features rather than his typical annoyed countenance. "That cat has way more subtlety than I thought, though, so I'll give him that."
Natsumi raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? And what are you even doing?"
He mirrored her expression. "What does it look like I'm doing? You make a good arm rest, Pinky."
"You know if you wanted to put your arm around me, you could have just said so, tough guy. You don't need to get all macho about it," she rolled her eyes.
"Says the girl that girl that once threatened to fight Jura Neekis and meant it," he countered.
Natsumi puffed out her cheeks and blew out a burst of air, exasperated. "Point is, no one thinks you're cool anyway, so you might as well own it." She paused, then her eyes lit up, looking up at him. "Actually," she started, "that's an order. No tough guy shit today, 'kay? It's illegal."
"Like hell I'm going act all sappy around you. Plus, I'm a Fairy Tail wizard. Rules don't mean shit," he glared at her.
She narrowed her eyes in challenge. "They do if you gave your word."
The little shit. She had him there.
He grunted, not saying anything, knowing she'd get the picture.
"Anyway," she said, voice light once more, "no one said you had to act mushy. That'd be creepy. But just stop making excuses for doing stuff you want to do, yeah? You're not fooling anyone anymore."
"Ugh, okay. God, you're so pushy."
"Maybe, but you don't have a choice today," she said, smugly pushing her nose in the air.
That may be true, he thought. But there wasn't a damn thing she could do to make him happy about it, no matter how cute she looked smiling at herself.
They walked together the rest of the way to the guild, with Natsumi oblivious to the odd looks they got from passersby. The townspeople stared, confused, because was that Laxus Dreyar with the Salamander and was that his arm around her? One pointed look from the lightning mage, however, would have them quickly averting their questioning gaze, hurrying on their way. And if anyone noticed that the man looked marginally less pissy than usual, well then, they saw no reason to make a fuss over it, especially within earshot of one of Fairy Tail's strongest.
The mood between the duo grew colder as the guild hall came into view, and Natsumi felt Laxus's arm tighten around her. They slowed their pace as they walked through the portcullis and into the courtyard, stopping in front of the huge double doors. He heaved a sigh, knowing that it was probably best to get it over with and face whatever came head on. He moved to take his arm from its spot around her, but to his surprise, she stopped him, her hand coming to grab his, squeezing it in reassurance. She moved in front of him, looking up at him with a bright smile on her face.
"It'll be fine," she promised. "Just stay by me."
"For what? I thought you said this wasn't about protection," he said, wrapping his other arm around her.
He smile grew, a feat he didn't think was possible.
"I'm not going to protect you, stupid. I want to stay with you, and you can't stop me today." She pointed up at him with an accusing finger, as if daring him to contradict her.
"Yeah?" he asked, cracking a slight smile, the first real one she'd seen on him today.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Plus, you would never have asked me to stay on your own, even though you want me to." His smile faltered, but didn't fade entirely at her words. He brought one of his hands to her neck, catching his fingers in the pink strands. "I thought you were supposed to be emotionally stupid," he said, tugging her hair gently.
She leaned forward, knocking him in the chest slightly with her head. "I can learn, you know! And I'm right, so admit it!" she said, leaning back away to face him again. "It's hard to face people after you've done something wrong. I used to hate being scolded by Igneel, and Gramps, too. But it's better if you have back up," she finished, winking at him.
His eyes widened, surprised at how she'd managed to cut to the heart of the matter. He opened his mouth for a sarcastic retort, but stopped himself. Looking at her bright eyes, how she looked at him with such confidence, he found himself not wanting to ruin it again with another snide comment, even if it was almost too easy. He smiled instead.
"You're really something, Nat," he said, detangling his hand from her hair, but keeping one arm around her. He walked them the last few steps to the guild hall doors, pressing a hand against them, readying himself to open them. "Thanks," he finished lamely, not sure what else to say.
She looked radiant, genuinely pleased at his thanks. "Don't worry about it. I doubt there's even that many people there, anyway. It's not even eleven." She put a hand on the other door in a show of solidarity, confident that there would be a limited number of people there to greet them. Somehow, he doubted that.
Pushing down the pit in his stomach, they gave the guild doors a sharp push, sending them open to meet his inevitable punishment.
Note: Cue ominous Jaws music.
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Next Chapter Preview: The Consequences of Being a Huge Tool
"Fuckers really came out of the woodwork for this, didn't they?" he mumbled to himself.
He'd already decided the best approach would be to just own it and get it over with as quickly as possible. He may have fucked up in front of these people, but he refused to cower under the weight of their gazes. No matter how sorry he was, he wasn't about to be weak in front of them again.