Thank you to all of my fabulous reviews, followers, and favoriters! I love you guys so much. This chapter is a bit…weird, in my opinion. So I would greatly appreciate it if you guys tell me what you think of it. Thanks!
Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.
A big eccentric mansion sits on a flat plain of green grass with a forest at its back. It's not as big as Mr. Tweed's mansion but it is still something to be admired…in a different way. The walls are painted a soft pink color with the roof tiles painted a bright yellow. Wacky, colorful, and weird inventions, doohickeys, and thingamabobs stick out of the house and ground in odd places.
Laxus and Lucy look at the place dumbly and double check the address. "Yep, this is the place. Is it just me or does this place look like it came out of a kid's drawing?" Lucy asks incredulously.
"That's a nice way to put it," Laxus doesn't find this situation amusing at all.
"Well our client's name is Mr. …" Lucy brings the paper close and scrunches her eyebrows as she attempts to reads off the name, "Tro-min-bind Mik-milden-didi-nin? Tor-mind-blin Mick-mil-dil-dil-ni? Tor-mo-din-end Micc-mildew- oh I give up. Whatever his name is has two artifacts to show us."
Laxus takes the paper with the client's name on it and frowns at the complicated words. He doesn't even try to say it before they walk up to the seller's front door. The knocker looks like a woodpecker and when used, it looks like it is tapping the front door. A maid answers the door and gestures for the two mages to enter.
If they thought the outside is kooky, the inside is freaking bizarre. Lopsided pictures hang on the walls, the furniture is turned upside down or inside out, busts with a myriad of emotions are displayed around the house, and every wall is painted a different color.
The maid brings them to a large room with a desk at the back and a red velvet couch in front of it. The couch has two small pillows on either end and is just big enough to comfortably fit both Laxus and Lucy. Along the walls are contemporary style paintings, folded tapestries, and tilted furniture. Behind the desk is a fireman's pole that extends from a hole in the ceiling to a platform on the ground.
They walk in front of the couch as they "admire" the room when they hear a man yell from the hole in the ceiling. "Coming down!" A man in a suit slides down the pole and onto the platform. Once he lands he straightens out his suit and walks around the desk and up to the two blondes with a wide smile and his hand held out.
The eccentric middle aged man has brown hair, a big smile, and big, honest, dual-colored eyes. His suit is something to behold. While it is finely pressed and a proper fitting to his average build, every section of it is a different color. The right sleeve is yellow, the left sleeve is blue, the front is pink, the back is white, the left leg is purple, and the right leg is brown.
"Hello! My name is Tormindbind Mickmildididindnin. How may I help you?"
Lucy and Laxus are speechless and they gape at the man in front of them. Lucy unconsciously outstretches her hand. Mick grabs it and shakes it with a vigor that tosses Lucy's whole arm up and down. He moves to shake Laxus' hand but the lightning slayer hasn't moved an inch.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr….Mick-min-dine-don-on," Lucy tries to say his name correctly.
"Mickmildididindnin," the seller says with a smile.
"Mikk-mil-dido-in-din," Lucy says slowly. She gives him a wry smile knowing that she said it wrong.
The seller laughs his head off, "It's alright my dear! Everyone gets my name wrong. You can just call me Mick. And none of that Mr. stuff, goodness knows I don't need to feel any older."
Lucy gives him a small smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mick. My name is Lucy and this is Laxus. Mr. Tweed sent us to look at your objects you have for sale."
"Is that today?! Goodness, I thought that was on Wednesday," Mick says with a half-hearted dazed expression.
"Yesterday?"
"Oh no, no, no, yesterday was Friday," Mick says with a smile.
Lucy tilts her head in confusion, "But tomorrow's Friday."
Mick looks at Lucy surprised, "Really? I could have sworn tomorrow is Thursday. I have an appointment you know."
"You mean our appointment?" Lucy asks slowly with extra emphasis on 'our' .
"Is that what you're here for?! Well then welcome to the estate!" Mick says with enthusiasm.
Lucy sweatdrops at the man, I can't tell if he's kidding or not. Lucy looks up to Laxus as if he will have all of her answers only to find him with a mixture of a confused, bewildered, and annoyed look all over his face.
"Come, come. Let's get right to it then," Mick gestures to the couch. Mick stands in front of his desk and both blondes take their seats on their respective sides; Lucy on the left and Laxus on the right. Mick eyes the handcuffs before looking up with a smile and calling in the maid to bring the first item. A few minutes later the maid returns with a small jewelry box. "Ah, thank you my dear," Mick says as he gently takes the box from the maid. She gives a curt nod before retreating from the room.
"This is my first item," Mick says as he opens the box to show a small ring. It has a singular, large, clear, circular gem in the center of a simple gold band. "This is what I call my Mood Ring," he says as he hands the box to Lucy.
"A mood ring? Like a ring that changes color depending on your mood?" Lucy asks almost hesitantly. If it is anything like the handcuffs, doll, or dice then there is something different about it.
"It's a toy," Laxus quips in.
Mick waves a finger in the air in exception, "But this is no ordinary mood ring! This one does the reverse. When the ring changes color, it changes your attitude."
Lucy and Laxus look surprised and amazed at what the older man just said. "You mean, this thing changes how a person feels just by changing color?" Lucy asks astonished.
"You're right on the money. Here let me show you how it works," Mick moves to take the box from Lucy and pulls the ring out. "Inside of the band are the settings. You can set it to any particular emotion you want or you can even do a randomizing option. It releases magic that feeds into system and changes your emotions. The emotions last for as long as you have the ring on your finger. Would you like to try my dear?" Mick has a childlike grin as he holds out his hand.
"What setting is it on?" Lucy asks.
"I put it on random. That way you can experience the whole range that the ring can produce!"
Lucy looks at ring hesitantly. She doesn't really want to have mood swings but she has to test it. After all, Laxus' fingers are too big for the ring to fit on any of them. Shaking her head, she steels herself and gives Mick her left hand. Mick gently holds her hand while he slips the ring onto Lucy' ring finger. Lucy holds up her hand to admire the ring on her finger before pulling her hand into her lap.
Laxus watches Mick interact with Lucy. It is a given from when Mick shows Lucy the ring that she is the one that is going to be putting it on. Alright, he's fine with that. It's part of the job. Then he watches Lucy agree to the older man and holds out her hand. That's when he starts to feel funny. Laxus watches as Mick takes ahold of her hand like it is the most delicate thing in the world and Laxus suddenly feels angry. Mick has no right to touch Lucy that way. What has he done to deserve that right? Nothing. No one should be allowed to touch her that way, especially if they have not earned it. He can't accept it. He won't accept it
Then there's the damn ring. Seeing that ring makes a hole of burning fire erupt and gnaw away at his chest and stomach. For every fraction of an inch that the object crosses her skin, the hole grows bigger and bigger until it feels like it almost consumes him when the ring sits at the base of Lucy's finger. Just looking at it makes the ache worsen and his hands itch. Every ounce of him wants to rip that offending piece of metal off of her skin and crush it in his palm. When she holds it up to admire it, the pain is almost too great to bear. But the hurt dulls when she puts her hand down and pays no more mind to it. He realizes that she doesn't really care about it and that she probably wants it off too.
Laxus takes a deep breath to calm himself down. What's happening to me? Laxus thinks to himself. He doesn't know what exactly he's feeling or why he feels this way but he wants it to stop. All he knows is that the sooner this part of the job is over, the sooner she takes the ring off, and the sooner he will stop feeling this way. Laxus tears his eyes away from Lucy and opts to glare at Mick instead. Just one hit, that's all it will take, the deeper, instinctual part of him growls. Laxus shoves his innate desire to harm the older man away and tries to focus on the task at hand. He keeps his face looking pointedly away from Lucy and the thing that brings him so much discomfort.
"Alright, when does this thing start?" Lucy says as she notices that the ring hasn't changed color after several minutes.
"It will take about ten minutes before it changes color then it will continuously change colors every five minutes after that. Let's make a game out of this shall we? You have to try to guess which emotion goes to which color!" Mick says in a giddy voice. Laxus scoffs at Mick's idea. He has never been good at knowing what he was feeling and now he is supposed to guess what another person is feeling? To hell with that.
"I'm not sur-" Lucy starts but then she sees the ring change from a clear to an orange color. Immediately, a shot of euphoria strikes her body and spreads from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. The elation, joy, and energy she feels is unbelievable. Lucy's body starts to act on its own accord and a wide smile spreads across her face as she looks at the two men in the room. "This is amazing! I have never felt this good in my life!" she says as she bounces on the couch. The only reason she isn't standing or dancing around the room is because of the handcuffs.
Laxus stares at Lucy surprised after her "transformation". She doesn't stop smiling so she seems incredibly happy; as if there is nothing wrong in the world. According to his past experience with the celestial mage, he should feel happy that she's happy…but he doesn't. He just can't bring himself to look past that this whole expression is brought on by a spell. It's fake and he doesn't do fake. If anything, he feels slightly hurt that an object can bring her as much joy as them talking about music.
"So what emotion is it?" Mick asks with a playful smile.
Lucy laughs and giggles at the man's silly question as she throws up her arms, and by extension Laxus' left hand, into the air, "Happiness!"
"Well done, well done!" Mick cheers Lucy's successful answer.
"Alright! What's next? I'm ready!" Lucy says in a lively voice.
The trio doesn't have to wait long before the ring changes to a dark green color. Lucy's demeanor instantly changes to a much more brooding one. She leans back into the sofa as she looks around the room in disgust and contempt. To Laxus, she looks like she just ate a lemon.
A mischievous glint shines in Mick's eyes. "What do you think of my belongings Lucy?"
Lucy rolls her eyes around the room and purses her lips together for a few minutes before she clicks her tongue in Mick's general direction. She didn't want to admit it but his stuff does look kinda nice. "I've seen better." Laxus raises his eyebrows at Lucy. The girl he's used to would never be this rude and he can't help but wonder what this emotion could possibly be.
"You know…this desk is made out of pure, hand-carved mahogany," Mick says as he runs his hand along the top of the desk. Lucy narrows her eyes at him and huffs out of her nose. Mick simply chuckles, "So can you guess what emotion goes with green?"
Lucy's sneer deepens as she looks away from him, "Jealousy?"
"Bingo!"
Before another word is uttered, Lucy's attitude morphs. Now she turns to look wide-eyed at everything and everyone. She pulls her feet onto the couch and hugs her knees to her chest as she starts to shake. Lucy hears a strange noise and starts looking around frantically. "What was that?!" she cries out.
Laxus is confused by the weird question. "What was what?" Laxus asks.
"That sound. Didn't you hear it? You must have heard it, you have really good ears," Lucy looks at Laxus with fear in her eyes.
"No, I didn't hear anyth-"
"There it is again!" Lucy dives under Laxus' arm, pushes her back against his side, pulls his arm over her shoulder and legs for protection from the mystery sound, and stuffs her arm in between her body and legs. She looks around the room in short, quick motions as she continues to shake.
Laxus is tremendously startled by his companion and his body tenses up when she first touches him. "Lucy, what the hell are you doing?" he demands in a shocked voice as Lucy maneuvers herself under his arm. He makes a mental note that the ring has turned a pale yellow tone.
Lucy presses his arm tighter against her body as she turns to look at him like a frightened child. "Everything is so scary. You'll protect me, won't you Laxus?" she whimpers.
Laxus' mouth opens and closes like a fish as he gawks at the overly scared woman. He has absolutely no idea what to do, where to start, or what to say. "Uh, sure. I'll always protect you," Laxus says in a very unsure voice. Lucy's trembling slightly lessens but he can still feel her shivering against his arm. A part of him is enthralled that she would come to him to protect her when she is obviously terrified out of her mind. The other part of him is concerned with how he can handle Lucy's fragile state. This stupid ring and it's damn emotions.
"I bet this one will be pretty easy. What emotion is it?" Mick says.
Lucy jumps at Mick's voice and presses herself further into Laxus' body. When Laxus notices that Lucy is in no shape to answer the stupid question he turns to look at the man and glares at him, "Scared."
"Good job! Yellow means Fearful."
"I think we shoul-" Laxus starts to suggest taking the ring off when he feels Lucy stop trembling. He looks down to see that the ring has turned white.
Lucy takes a deep breath before gently pushing Laxus' arm off of her body and sits up in her seat like normal. She has a small smile on her face and she looks serene. Laxus watches Lucy carefully and looks for any kind of indication of what she might be feeling. But right now she seems perfectly normal. "Lucy?" he asks hesitantly.
"Yes Laxus?" Lucy looks at him with the calmest eyes he has ever seen.
"Are you alright?" Laxus asks in the same hesitant voice.
"I'm fine," Lucy says as she gives him a smile. She turns her attention to her client, "What is this emotion?"
Mick returns her smile, "Guess."
Lucy looks down at her lap in thought. She lifts her face to look at between Laxus and Mick, "I'm not sure how to describe it. It feels like I'm whole. Like everything in the world is perfect right now."
"I've always called it Content. You feel satisfied with everything around you."
"Yes…that's it exactly. So white means Content," Lucy says with a smile.
Laxus relaxes at Lucy's more positive demeanor but he keeps his guard up. Who knows what the next emotion is going to be.
Lucy talks pleasantly with Mick until the ring changes once more. This time, it changes to a dark red hue. Lucy's face goes from being soft and serene to angry and bitter. She crosses her arms and leans back into the couch with a scowl.
Laxus immediately picks up that this one is anger. Now Laxus may not know a lot about some emotions but he knows plenty about this one. Most of his life has been nothing but anger. Anger at his grandfather, anger at his father, anger at the guild, but mainly, anger with himself.
"So Lucy, how do yo-" Mick begins
"Shut the fuck up! I don't want to play your stupid ass game or be in this fucking shit hole you call a house and I most certainly don't want to be talking to a fucking dickhead like you," Lucy barks at Mick.
Mick just smiles while Laxus' jaw drops. Laxus would have never have imagined those words coming out of Lucy's mouth. Nor did he ever want to.
Lucy jumps up from the couch to continue her rant at Mick…or at least she tries to but the handcuffs keep her from going too far away from Laxus. She turns to look at the handcuffs with a murderous look. It takes all but two seconds for her to shift her attention to Laxus. "What are you looking at scar face?! If you got something to say then say it!" Lucy spat at Laxus.
Laxus jaw drops even further at how Lucy talked to him. Scar face? A part of him is offended at what the celestial mage said while the other is confused as to how to handle his partner. Normally, he would either ignore or insult anyone who would say such things to him but he can't do that with Lucy. She is under the effects of a spell and doesn't know what she's saying. If he insults her right now then he knows that he'll regret it once she takes the ring off.
"Well?! Are you going to say something or has all of the lightning fried that peanut you call a brain?" Lucy tries to get Laxus to respond.
"Lucy, you need to calm down…" Laxus tries to reason with his partner. He raises his arms as he starts to reach out to her.
Lucy's face turns demonic, "I NEED TO CALM DOWN?! I NEED TO CALM DOWN?! I AM CALM! WHY DON'T YOU SHUT YOUR GOD DAMN FUCKING MOUTH, YOU PATHETIC, OVERGROWN EXCUSE FOR A LIGHTBULB!" Lucy yells with her fists shaking.
Laxus blinks up at the blonde woman. He is so confused. First, she gets mad at him for not saying something and demands that he say something. Then she gets mad at him for speaking and tells him to shut up and insults him. What should he do? What can he do? This is why he is not good with women.
"I-" Lucy suddenly stops and her face changes to a dreamy look, "love you!" Lucy throws herself into Laxus' lap with her legs curled to one side and her arms around his neck. Laxus freezes with his right arm out to the side, his left hand pulled behind his head, and a panicked and stupefied look on his face. Lucy starts nuzzling into his neck while whispering how much she loves him and how happy she is to be with him. As Laxus tries to wrap his head around what the hell just happened, Mick gives a hearty chuckle.
"Don't worry the ring just changed color; it's pink now," Mick says happily as he watches the duo.
"What the fuck is she doing?" Laxus tries to pull Lucy's arms from around his neck but her arms spring back into place.
"It looks to me like she's hugging you. What, don't you like hugs?" Mick teases.
"This goes beyond a hug," Laxus protests him predicament.
Mick waves him off, "Can you guess what emotion goes with pink?"
"No."
"Oh, come on. Just one little itty-bitty guess?" Mick tries convince Laxus to play his game but Laxus just glares at his host. "You're no fun. This emotion is Romantic. Anyone under this emotion feels extremely attached to someone else."
"How do I get her to stop?" Laxus asks in an annoyed tone.
Mick laughs, "You don't! You have to wait for the ring to change." Laxus scowls at the laughing man.
Lucy curls her body further into Laxus' lap and hugs him tighter. Laxus frowns at all of the sweet nothings she keeps whispering to him. He tries to pull her off of him only to feel a tug on his shirt. He looks down to see that some fraying threads on the front of her shirt have caught a hold of a couple of his buttons on the front of his shirt. "Lucy, please, stop. You don't know what you're doing," Laxus tries to convince Lucy of her ridiculous behavior.
"No. I want to show you how much I love you!" Lucy says happily as she glances up at Laxus.
Laxus can start to feel his annoyance and anger starting to rise. He hates love potions or any kind of spell that imitates love. It's one of the few things that can make him go from completely calm to murderous in a few seconds. He doesn't want any form of affection unless it's real. And what Lucy is doing right now is not real. It's the farthest thing from it, in fact. It isn't fair to him and it's too painful so he refuses to put up with it. "Lucy, I said stop!" Laxus yells as he forcefully shoves her to the other side of the couch. The entwined buttons rip from Laxus' shirt, causing the top half of his shirt to hang open and show more of his broad chest. Lucy's shirt tears down the middle and extends to her navel.
Lucy's back collides with the armrest and she looks up at Laxus with wide eyes. Tears gather on her bottom eyelids before rolling down her cheeks in thick streams. Laxus' face falls and his body goes slack when he sees her start crying. Her lip starts to trembling as she turns away from him, pulls up her legs, and curls into a ball.
Regret, shock, and guilt immediately fill Laxus' heart. Lucy is under a spell that she had no choice but to cast on herself and that he let her be put under. He shouldn't have been so rough. There is no excuse for how he acted. "Lucy…"
"I-I'm sorry. I'm so-sorry. Ple-ple-please don-don't hat-hate me," Lucy sobs into her knees and arm.
Worry makes him unconsciously reach out to the woman, "I would never hate you."
Lucy curls up into a tighter ball, "Y-y-yes yo-you d-do. You h-hate m-me."
"No, I don't," Laxus says gently as he lays his hand on the back of her shoulder. Lucy immediately pulls away and starts to sob harder. Laxus retracts his hand and self-loathing begins to seep into his veins. He made her cry and he hates himself for it.
Mick sees how hurt Laxus looks at Lucy's behavior and decides to intervene. "It's not your fault." Laxus looks up at the man, "The ring changed again. Lucy is currently feeling Sadness because the ring is blue. She would be crying her eyes out even if you didn't do anything wrong."
Laxus looks back to the upset Lucy only to feel disturbed rather than relieved. This isn't right. No one should be forced to be sad. Especially not Lucy. She is the happiest person he knows and she deserves true happiness. Not sadness, forced happiness, anger, jealousy, or any of the other emotions this ring creates. The two men sit in silence as they wait for the next emotion to pop up.
Soon enough, the ring changes to a purplish color and Lucy immediately stops crying and slowly brings her head up. She slouches back into the couch and lazily looks at the men in the room. "How's it goin'?" Lucy says hazily. Laxus suddenly notices Lucy's torn shirt. He makes a mental note that her bra matches her panties as he looks around for something to cover her up. Seeing the couch pillow, he pushes it in front of his partner to hide her semi-nudity.
"Good, good, just chillin'," Mick says with a big grin.
Lucy gives a slow nod, "That's good." Lucy closes her eyes and starts to take deep breaths. Laxus watches his blonde companion but doesn't say anything. She looks overly calm to him and the last thing he needs is for him to say something and screw everything up.
"Sooooo, Lucy. Do you know what this emotion is?" Mick asks in a sing song voice.
Lucy pouts her lips in exaggerated thought before opening her mouth with a popping sound, "Relaxed?"
Mick claps his hands, "Very good, very good, my dear."
"How many more emotions are left?" Laxus asks.
Mick cups his chin in thought, "After this one…two."
Thank fucking god this shit is almost over, Laxus internally cheers. The next few minutes pass calmly with Lucy breathing deeply, Laxus watching silently and on edge for the next emotion to come through, and Mick eager for his game to continue. Both Mick and Laxus watch as the ring turns a bright red.
Lucy lifts her body to sit up straight and she turns her head to look at Laxus. He notices that the look in her eye has changed from a hazy, sleepy look to a fierce, hungry look and he unconsciously backs up further into the couch. Lucy drags her eyes down from his and looks him up and down. A weird feeling of self-consciousness skims through Laxus at how blatantly Lucy is admiring him.
"Oh Laxus, if you didn't like Romantic then you're really not going to like this one," Mick snickers.
Laxus didn't have time to ask what his host meant before Lucy climbs over and straddles his lap. "Lucy?! What the hell?!" Laxus half yells as his eyes go wide. He freezes when he sees the look in her eye. She looks like a starving woman…and he was her favorite entrée.
Lucy pays him no mind as she presses her palms onto the exposed parts of his chest. The rapid pace of his heart under her hands entices her more and she can feel herself become wetter with anticipation. He looks so delicious; his spiky blonde hair, strong features, tight black pants and his simple purple button-down shirt that has a few buttons ripped off to teasingly show his muscled torso. Every hard, chiseled, well-worked muscle that makes up the blonde man sits underneath her just waiting to be touched, licked, and kissed. And she wants to taste every inch of him.
Sliding her hands down, she feels the smooth skin over his toned muscles until she reaches the first unbroken button. Her tongue darts out over her lips before she nibbles on her lower lip as her fingers caress the button. Without hesitation she nimbly pushes the button through its loop before moving down to the next one. She pushes the next button through with as much ease as the first. Lucy curves her left hand under his shirt and around his side while the other treads up and follows the deep line in the center of his chest.
Lucy leans forward and gives an tentative lick to the hollow of Laxus' throat. Laxus sucks in a ragged breath of air and that turns Lucy on even more. She presses her body against his and begins to slowly kiss his throat. She feels him swallow and start taking heavier breaths. Moans slip past her lips as she enjoys the taste of rain, fresh cut green grass, and limes.
Laxus breaks out of his trance and his heart rate skyrockets when Lucy places her hands on the center of his chest. He tries to take a moment to get his bearings but his mind gets stuck on the greatest view he has ever seen. Her arms push her tremendous amount of cleavage together to make her look like she could burst out of her black, lacy bra at any second. Then her thin waist leads down into her wide hips which sit perfectly on top of his. The erotic sight and the feel of her hands makes his blood run south. The deeper, instinctive part of him claws at his insides and demands for him to touch her. He knows he needs stop her and he almost does until he sees her lick and bite her lips. All coherent thoughts of stopping her gets shoved aside and he can only stare at her plump lips as she starts to undress him. His instincts purr in delight as he openly lets her feel his flesh and he has to bite back a groan.
Laxus sucks in a ragged breath when he feels her lean forward and gently lick his neck. The air between them is heavily coated in her arousal and the breath he took floods his senses with the overwhelming smell and taste. It is the most unbelievable thing that he has ever had the honor of smelling and it makes his mouth water. Lucy begins to kiss the center of his throat and he gulps and starts breathing heavy as his mind goes into a haze of lust. His dick hardens from how tightly her body is pressed against his own, how well he can feel all of her stupendous curves, and the ever thickening smell of her excitement. His instincts scream at him to leave this god forsaken place and take her somewhere more private to dominate her. To pound into her until she is hoarse from screaming his name and her legs are too sore to walk.
Lucy grinds herself down against his hard on and that motion shocks Laxus out of his daze. No. No, he won't do this. His instincts protest his sudden change of attitude and urge him to focus on the girl in his lap but Laxus refuses to give in to himself. This is so fucking unfair…Laxus moans internally. This is the kind of shit he dreams about and now that he is in a position to feel her, she has to be under a spell. He would never take advantage of Lucy, no matter how badly he wants her. Shaking his head, Laxus grabs Lucy's wrists and pulls them behind her back. Pulling her arms back, Lucy is forced backwards and off of Laxus' torso. Lucy tries to lean forward to continue kissing and touching his throat and chest but is prohibited by Laxus' firm grip. A loud laugh reminds Laxus that Mick has been in the room the entire time.
"Now what is she doing?!" Laxus yells breathlessly at Mick over Lucy's shoulder.
"Can't you guess what emotion this is?" Mick says as he wiggles his eyebrows at the dragon slayer.
"I don't care about your fucking game, now tell me what's wrong with her!"
Mick gives a small pout before resigning to Laxus' demands. "If it isn't obvious already, this is Sensual. She gets very…touchy-feely during this emotion."
Lucy starts to thrash in his hold but the lightning slayer is determined to not let her continue her caressing. He can't let her continue if he wants any hope of keeping his sanity intact. He is about to tell at her to quit squirming when Lucy's struggling suddenly stops. He snaps his eyes back to Lucy's face and finds her with a vacant look.
"Lucy?" Laxus asks hesitantly. She still has her shirt open and her breasts are about to overflow from her scantily covering bra. Laxus has to force his eyes not to drop below Lucy's chin.
Lucy doesn't answer and continues to stare at him with dead eyes and slightly parted lips. "Lucy, are you okay?" Laxus asks in a worried tone as he releases his hold on her wrists. Lucy still doesn't answer him and remains perfectly still. Worry and pain bloom in his chest from her unresponsiveness and the look in her eye. It's as if there is no more life left in her body. No happiness, no sadness, no pain, no anything. Just…nothing. It unnerves and hurts Laxus far more than he thought possible to see her this way.
Laxus grabs Lucy's upper arms and shakes her. "Answer me," he says in a firm voice but Lucy only continues to stare into empty space. Laxus wants to panic; he wants to shake or yell at her until she snaps out of whatever trance like state she's in. Anything, as long as she comes back to him.
He opens his mouth when he is stopped by Mick. "She's alright Laxus. She is just in the last emotion."
Laxus looks at the ring to find it black. "What is this?"
"I've always called it Hollow. When a person is under this emotion, they don't feel any emotion. They are completely numb to whatever is happening around them. Like a comatose state. It's sorta the opposite of Content, if you will."
"This is the last one?"
"Yep, this is the last emotion."
"Then I'm going to take the ring off," Laxus says sternly. Mick doesn't argue and holds up his hands in mock surrender. Laxus gently grabs Lucy's left hand and pulls on the ring with as little force as possible. The ring doesn't budge so Laxus applies some more force but it still doesn't move. He tries twisting and pulling to no avail. The ring just doesn't want to come off. "Oh fuck," Laxus hisses between his teeth.
"What's the matter?" Mick asks curiously.
Laxus glares up at his host, "It's stuck."
Mick tilts his head to the side, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it's stuck. It won't come off," Laxus growls at the man.
"Here, let me try," Mick says as he moves to try to remove the ring.
Seeing the older man come closer makes Laxus wrap his free arm around Lucy's waist and pull her into his chest. "Not until her shirt is fixed," Laxus says.
Mick frowns at his company but relents. He immediately calls in the maid from earlier and asks her to pin Lucy's shirt up. The maid takes out three bobby pins from her pocket and moves to fasten Lucy's shirt together. The second she reaches forward, Lucy bolts up and looks around the room.
Lucy sees the pointy end of bobby pins and freaks out. She shrieks at the top of her lungs and jumps up from Laxus' lap to run away. The handcuffs stop her retreat though and yank her back onto the couch. The poor maid tries to calm Lucy down but she keeps screaming and trying to run away. Laxus finally grabs Lucy from behind and pulls her to his chest. Lucy struggles in his hold and begs him to let her go.
After struggling with the thrashing blonde, the maid is barely able to pin Lucy's shirt together. Laxus looks down at his partner. Even though her shirt is pinned together, anyone can still see parts of her bra and skin but it will have to do for now. Him and Lucy can get her shirt properly repaired later. Right now, he needs to get rid of this stupid ring.
The maid steps back and Mick steps up to grab the ring. Lucy stops screaming and deeply relaxes against Laxus' chest. Laxus doesn't let go of her though as him and Lucy watch Mick trying to pull the ring off. Every tug on Lucy's hand yanks her forward in Laxus' arms but he never slackens his hold. After several minutes of twisting, pulling, and tugging, Mick gives up.
He tells the maid the bring some butter and to call the butler in. Lucy changes emotions again and instantly becomes the most bubbly and happy person on the face of the planet. She tries jump up but Laxus refuses to let go.
The maid comes back in with the butter and the butler. Mick, the butler, and the maid try to slather some of the slippery substance on Lucy's hand but Lucy keeps flailing her arm around and making it difficult for the trio to work.
That is how the next hour proceeds. Mick, the maid, and the butler all try to pull the ring off that in coated with butter while Laxus holds the extremely mood-swingy Lucy. The whole process would have been a lot of easier if Lucy wasn't either screaming, hitting everyone, trying hug Laxus, or crying at some point or another.
Finally, with a hard tug on her finger the ring slips off and the maid, butler, and Mick go tumbling onto floor with a plop. Lucy and Laxus are propelled backwards into the soft cushions of the couch. Lucy has her back pressed into Laxus' chest with his arms tightly wrapped around her as her head spins from the release of the spell. "Oh my god…" Lucy murmurs as she slumps against Laxus' chest. Laxus loosens his hold on her enough to give her some breathing room and wills himself not to look down her shirt.
During the spell her mind retained its thoughts and free thinking but her body automatically followed whatever emotion surged through it. It was like her body was completely separated from her mind and there was nothing she could have done to manipulate her body. Now that the ring is off, she starts to regain control of her body but she feels faint.
After a while Lucy's head stops swirling around and she is able to control her own body once more. Lucy notices her position and badly pinned shirt and looks up at Laxus. Everything she did while under the spell of the ring comes flooding back to her and her face turns redder and hotter than a molten magma. She panics and slides out of his hold and over to her side of the couch to put as much distance between them. She grabs the couch pillow, hugs it close to her chest, and buries her face in the soft fabric. A small blush creeps over Laxus cheeks as he fixes his shirt.
"Alright! Now for our second item!" Mick yells happily. The maid and the butler walk out of the room and after ten minutes, wheel in a cart with five male busts on top of it. They stop in front of the desk and go to stand off to the side. Mick hops up on his desk and lets his feet swing and hang. "These are my Singing Busts! They are altered magically to be able to sing certain songs! Let's have a demonstration! First off is 'Life Will Get You in the End'."
Chords of a guitar strum through the air around the trio. Laxus and Lucy look around the room to try to find where the sound is coming from. It sounds as if there really is a person playing a guitar right beside them but there is no one. But all thought of how the music is playing ceases once the busts start singing.
Life will get you in the end,
On this one thing, you can depend.
When you're on the bridge of death,
Don't hold your final breath,
Cause life will get you in the end.
A life can drive you around the bend,
You think it's never gonna end.
Then somebody comes along,
And reminds you in a song,
That life will get you in the end.
Rattling 'round the universe,
As a human being, while it could be worse.
Life's a gift, it's not a curse,
So live your blimey...
Life will get you in the end,
And so farewell to you my friend.
One final thing to try,
Is bend and kiss your ass goodbye.
Cause life will get you in the end.
Mick gives a round of applause as Lucy and Laxus stare dumbfounded at the statues. Is that supposed to make us feel better?! the two blondes think simultaneously. Two people who have been cursed by luck dice and have been through a series of unfortunate events in the past twenty-four hours do not want to hear that life will get them in the end.
"This next song is called the 'Penis Song'," Mick says with enthusiasm. Lucy and Laxus' eyes go wide and they look taken aback. Few piano keys sound and then the statues all start in sync.
Isn't it awfully nice to have a penis?
Isn't it frightfully good to have a dong?
It's swell to have a stiffy.
It's divine to own a dick,
From the tiniest little tadger
To the world's biggest prick.
So, three cheers for your Willy or John Thomas.
Hooray for your one-eyed trouser snake,
Your piece of pork, your wife's best friend,
Your Percy, or your cock.
You can wrap it up in ribbons.
You can slip it in your sock,
But don't take it out in public,
Or they will stick you in the dock,
And you won't come back.
Lucy and Laxus are mortified, embarrassed, and stupefied at what they just heard. After the third verse Lucy covered her bright red face in her hands and buried her face in her pillow once again. Halfway through, Laxus closed his eyes and imagined himself anywhere but there.
"Now the third so-"
"No!" Lucy snaps up head up that it looks like it almost broke her neck. "No, no, and no! They work, we'll take them, end of story," she finishes in one breath. Her face is darker than Erza's hair and she doesn't need any more embarrassment than what she has already had to endure today.
Mick's eyebrows rise into his hair at the young lady's sudden outburst but he doesn't argue. He shrugs his shoulders and has the statues sent away. "Well," Mick claps his hands together and hops off his desk, "that's all I have for you today! Unless you want to stay for some tea of course!"
"No, thank you. We have another appointment we have to be at," Lucy says as her and Laxus stand up to leave. They want to get the hell out of there. This whole encounter has been traumatic enough. Mick escorts the two blondes to the front door. He gives them a hearty goodbye before shutting the door.
The two mages walk in silence to the gate. Neither one knowing what could possibly be said after that experience.
As they reach the gate, Lucy stops and turns to Laxus but keeps her eyes down. "Laxus…I'm really, really sorry about what happened."
"Forget it. You were under a spell and didn't know what you were doing so I can't hold it against you. I'm sorry about your shirt," Laxus sighs.
"It's okay, it was my fault," Lucy unconsciously wraps her arms around her breasts to cover them up.
Even Laxus can see how horribly embarrassed Lucy is about what happened. He shrugs off his coat and drapes the fabric over her shoulders. Lucy is startled by the sudden movement and looks up at Laxus with a shocked expression when she notices the coat. "You can wear it until your shirt gets fixed," he says as he pulls it tighter around her body.
Lucy's heart swells and is left speechless at the kind gesture. A light blush creeps over her cheeks from how gentle and caring he's being towards her. Even after everything she did and how much she embarrassed both of them while she was under that spell, he still tries to make her feel better. "Thank you Laxus," she whispers with small smile as she snuggles into his big, comfy coat. Laxus can't help but feel proud that he helped her.
"Come on, we need to see our next client. Where is the next address?"
Lucy pulls out the address list from her pocket and reads it off. Mr. Tweed told them that it should be located somewhere in the forest. The two mages decide that they'll ask someone in town for directions.
I just want to give credit where credit is due. Both of the songs mentioned earlier belong to the creators of Monty Python and Eric Idle. If anyone is interested, please check out these YouTube videos to hear the songs. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fabulous day!
watch?v=vEuml93HPCQ
watch?v=nGRPFUYUUdQ