By the time they have all joined the others up top, Capricorn has already delivered Pisani to the Rune Knights and returned.
Hercules drops to his knees and hugs Cassiopeia like a child seeking his mother, though he is four times her size.
"He was with Sir Pisani the longest," Cassiopeia tells them. "He has suffered the most by far."
"Fuck, I hate that little rat bastard." Lucy seethes.
"Maybe he'll change one day." Laxus says tentatively.
"Hmph."
"Hey may change, Sir Laxus," Capricorn says, "but he will never have the chance to prove it. The Rune Knights informed me that he is wanted for the murders of at least two other celestial mages. They have been looking for him for a long time, and he will never be released from prison."
"Oh my gosh! Not Yukino, right?" Lucy asks, suddenly in a panic. "I mean, Sting and Rogue would have told me, right? I haven't talked to her for so long! I didn't even think to tell her what was going on! What if he went after her first? What if-!"
"Miss Yukino is perfectly fine, Lady Lucy."
"Oh, phew!" She puts her hand to her heart.
"Don't look like much of a lady right now," Gray teases. Natsu snickers.
"Yeah, yeah, I smell and all that."
"And you're splattered in blood and dirt." Gray reminds her.
Lucy looks down at herself and groans.
"Make my wife feel bad again, and I'll fry you both and feed you to a Vulcan." Laxus growls.
"Yes, sir!" The two chime.
Lucy wraps her arm around Laxus's waist and leans her head against his chest. "Thanks, babe. But they're right."
Laxus kisses the top of her greasy head.
"Capricorn, what did you find out about the Master Gate Key?"
"It is indestructible, Lady Lucy."
"Of course, it is." She sighs. She looks up at Laxus and asks, "What do you think I should do?"
Laxus looks over at the pathetic forms of Hercules and Chiron, and the distressed Cassiopeia. With the Master Gate Key, Lucy could override any command given to a spirit in a similar situation. She could rescue them without a fight, without injury to herself, or even the other mage. Take away a holder-type's magic, and they are forced to listen to reason.
Laxus groans.
How many tyrants have started out with that mentality? The excuse of safety and non-violence as their call to action, but force as their way of accomplishing it. That has never been Lucy's way, despite how she handled Pisani today. She prefers to win others to her side by logic, charm, and heart-felt pleas. If she does decide to keep the key, he isn't worried about her succumbing to it's power, only what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands.
"What if it were warped?" He suddenly asks Capricorn.
"I don't think I follow."
"When I struck you the other night, those gold cuffs around your wrists were bent out of shape. What if I could do the same to the Key? Would that prevent the magic in it from working?"
"It would, but I am afraid gate keys are made from far more durable-and magical-metal than these." Capricorn holds up his wrists, the gold there reflecting the sun brilliantly.
"Good idea, Laxus." Lucy reaches her hands around his neck and pulls him down for a kiss.
"Are you patronizing me?" He asks suspiciously.
"I'm telling you the truth." Lucy kisses his cheek again. "It was a good idea. Do you think Master Makarov will let me keep it beneath Fairy Tail? Where we used to keep Fairy Heart?"
"Lucy, he likes you more than he likes me; he'll do anything you ask." Laxus kisses her, a little deeper this time. "So will I."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Gag!" Natsu shouts. "Let's go! This place is so boooring!"
A few minutes later, Lucy has retrieved the Master Gate Key from the floor of the mine, and given it to Capricorn for safe keeping. As they near the rest of Fairy Tail, they are greeted with a crowd trying not to laugh.
"What?" Lucy demands.
"That's it?" Cana laughs, triggering the rest of the group to start snickering.
"Lucy, that guy was so puny!" Mira giggles.
"Shut up! I never asked all of you to come!" Lucy pouts.
"So tiny!" Cana cackles. Even Natsu starts laughing uncontrollably, latching onto Cana for support.
"Hey!" Levy tries to defend her friend, even through her own fit of giggles. "Lucy was poisoned, remember?"
"And cursed!" Natsu adds in.
"And cursed! Cut them some slack!"
"Thank you, Levy." Lucy gushes.
"Of course, Lu!"
"Bein' too easy on 'em, Shrimp." Gajeel slings his arm around Levy's shoulder. "They should'a taken care of that runt in their sleep."
Laxus slams his fist into Gajeel's face again.
Levy and Lucy gasp.
No one is laughing anymore.
Gajeel gets to his feet, darkness emanating around his body. "That's the second time today, Thunder God."
"What did you do to Lucy?" Laxus demands, lightning sparking around him, forcing everyone to back away. Everyone except Lucy.
Gajeel looks confused, and glances at Lucy in question.
She shakes her head, and steps in front of Laxus. "What are you talking about, babe?"
"You said something about him 'beating the shit out of you' during the Phantom Lord attack."
"Fuck." Lucy and Gajeel say together.
The whole guild leans forward to hear better.
Gajeel's head slumps forward along with his shoulders. His red eyes stare at the ground, and the darkness around him increases, but is now filled with gloom instead of menacing.
"Whatever I said—." Lucy starts.
"That's exactly what you said."
Lucy sighs. "It's all in the past."
"Why didn't you tell me? Anyone?" Laxus demands.
"Yeah!" Natsu adds angrily.
"We all knew he kidnapped you," Gray says angrily, "but I didn't know he beat you."
"I told the people who needed to know!" She explodes, thunder clapping though there are no clouds in the sky. "Gajeel and I are cool, and no one else gets to have a say in that!"
Gajeel cuts his gaze to Lucy. "It's alright, bunny-girl. Laxus is right."
"No. He. ISN'T!" She and Levy shout together, making everyone back away from them.
Thunder booms again, and Jellal eyes his student with a knowing smirk.
"Fuck! What is wrong with you, two? Just moping around in your pasts, sulking about every little mistake you've ever made like it's an episode of Angel!"
"That broody vampire?" Gajeel is offended.
"Did I stutter, Shoo-be-do-baa?" Lucy glares at him. Gajeel is momentarily shocked, but ultimately grins at her, and gives his signature laugh. She grins back. "That's better."
"Beating up a defenseless woman, even if she is a mage, isn't a little mistake, Lucy." Laxus growls.
Lucy shuts her eyes and takes a couple of deep breathes.
"Laxus," she says in a gentle 'teacher' voice. "Neither is doing nothing to stop it."
"I thought we were passed that?" Laxus's former-self is behind the wheel now.
"So it's okay for me to forgive you, but not Gajeel?" Lucy tries to remain calm.
"I never hit you!"
"He never tried to kill me."
"Why are you defending him?!"
"For the same reason that I always defend you, Laxus: we all belong to Fairy Tail."
Laxus almost retorts, but he looks sharply away from her, grinding his teeth together. He hates this. He hates all of it! He wants to shout and stomp his feet and demand that she listen to him. He wants to beat Gajeel's face until his brains start leaking out of his ears.
He wants to do the same to himself.
Two Months Ago
They talk of little things on their way to the forest, like how Happy is mad at Natsu for eating his fish, and how Evergreen isn't speaking to Bixlow because he insulted her dress. The conversation flows comfortably all the way to the clearing he has prepared, but something doesn't sit right with him. Maybe he just doesn't like small-talk; that's definitely true. Or, maybe he doesn't want to talk about Natsu, or Evergreen, or anyone else; he just wants to talk about Lucy.
"Lucy?" He asks as they sit down on the picnic blanket in the middle of the clearing. Lucy sits facing Laxus, hip against his thigh, resting her hand on the blanket between his knees. Old-Laxus screams about how bad she wants him, but New-Laxus quickly shuts down that little demon.
"Yes?" She looks at him, making him both nervous and delighted that she finds him worthy of giving him her full attention.
"What were you doing behind the guild that day?"
"When you caught that catfish?"
"Yeah."
Lucy grins at him, taking his breath away. "I was looking for you."
"For me?"
"You were always hiding up on the S-Class level, even when your team was downstairs. I caught glimpses of you, though; I could tell you wanted to be part of everything and just didn't know how." She blushes here, and looks away for a minute. "I'm ashamed to say I didn't go after you immediately; I was nervous around you…and, honestly, still a little pissed."
It's Laxus's turn to look away, but Lucy takes both of his hands in hers and waits for him to look back at her. When he does, her brown eyes are unyielding.
"I quickly realized I was being petty and needed to get over myself."
"Lucy, I tried to kill—!"
"Shhh-uhsh!" She squeezes his hands with surprising strength. "That day, I determined to find you and invite you and the Raijinshu to dinner with me and Team Natsu, even if you were in the foulest mood. And if you had said 'no,' I would have just asked again the next day, and as many times as it took until you said 'yes.' If I could feel safe leaving Levy with Gajeel after all he did, I could definitely feel safe with you."
"Lucy." Laxus looks at her in amazement. "How?"
"Fairy Law, Laxus." Lucy shrugs simply. "You cast it, but no one was hurt. Once I remembered that, approaching you was easy."
Laxus has so many emotions flying around his general torso region that he's sure he's going to burst open any second. A ridiculous image of an alien, slimy and slick, crawling out of his torn corpse almost makes him laugh out loud. Instead, he gives Lucy a cocky grin and says, "Admit it: you just wanted to meet the mage powerful enough to cast such a spell."
Lucy giggles, pulling Laxus unconsciously toward her. "Gladly. Your power is part of what makes you attractive. And the fact that you dedicated the time and effort to become powerful."
Laxus has no idea what to do now; he's never flirted with a woman who's so forward before. Usually, he has to jump through hoops just to get them to say something as simple as how they like his eyes. In fact, he's sure that most of the women he's dated resented him for his power, and even tried to punish him for it, and not in any of the fun ways.
"Really?" He asks stupidly.
"Yeah, really. Talent and passion are always attractive. Plus, they usually indicate dedication, which is also attractive."
"That's the third time you've called me attractive." Laxus waggles his eyebrows at her.
"Yeah," Lucy leans in a little, a small smirk on her perfect lips. "So what are you gonna do about it?"
Laxus gives her a smoldering look and leans over her. To his surprise—and delight—she doesn't back away from him. Knowing that she wants him to kiss her makes him happier than he thought possible, but he knows that if he kisses her now, the rest of his plans will be ignored, and he put too much effort into them for that to happen. So he slides to the left at the last second, lips skimming her ear when he says,
"I'm gonna do this."
"Eep!" Lucy looks down at her shoulder, where a red cloud of dust is rising toward the sky. "What the hell?"
"Paintball, Princess." He smirks predatorily.
"Oh, you are goin' down, dragon slayer!" She shouts, getting to her feet with surprising speed and taking off toward the trees with her own picnic basket. "And they're made of chalk, not paint!"
Laxus watches her disappear into the trees with a knot of hunger in his belly; fuck, he loves hunting.
"Laxus." Lucy takes his hands in hers, turning him so that his back is to the crowd.
A couple of angry tears slide down his cheek. Lucy smiles softly up at him.
"I know you're frustrated, Laxus. And I really appreciate that you're sticking up for me."
Laxus lets out a long exhale as though he's releasing poison. His shoulders relax and he can breathe fully again. At least she understands that he's just trying to keep her safe.
"I have a question for you." Lucy looks at him, waiting for a reply. He simply lifts her hand to his lips and kisses her knuckles. "Are you really mad at Gajeel, or is it just easier to beat him up than yourself?"
"How the fuck do you do that?" He asks in wonder.
"I'm magic." Lucy winks at him.
"Better than any kind of magic I've ever seen." He pulls her close, holding her against his chest. He seriously can't believe he's married to this woman! How the hell did he pull this off, and how the hell is he going to make sure she never regrets it?
After a while, Lucy looks up into his eyes and asks,
"Good?"
"Good."
She kisses his chest, then turns them around to face everyone again. Gajeel is whispering in Levy's ear, Wendy in Gray's, and Natsu in Cana's, while the rest look peeved that they don't have their own personal dragon slayer to give them all the gossip.
"Okay, here's how it is, and anyone who dares challenge me will face my wrath!" Lucy only half-jokes. "Phantom Lord Gajeel, and Fantasia Laxus are dead. Oh yeah!" She adds, pointing at Jellal. "That goes for Tower of Heaven Jellal, too."
Jellal gives her a slight bow of thanks.
"No one is allowed to resurrect them, for any reason, ever! Understood?"
Standing there covered in blood, dirt, and grime, the normally-bubbly blonde was actually quite fearsome.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good! Now, let's go home, please!"
Laxus hangs back for a second, an odd feeling of gratitude overcoming him as he watches his guild. Not that long ago, he had no part with them, not even after his membership was reinstated. Now, they all showed up at the drop of a dime to help him. Well, probably to help Lucy.
"Jellal!" She jumps next to the blue-haired man. "Did you hear the thunder?"
"I did." He smiles.
"Laxus said I caused a whole-freaking-storm when I tried to kill him!"
Jellal holds out his fist for Lucy to bump, and says, "I knew you were getting the hang of it."
Laxus grins.
Definitely for Lucy.
I have this headcanon that Lucy never told anyone except Master Makarov about how bad Gajeel really hurt her, just out of some respect for Makarov's decision to allow Gajeel into Fairy Tail. And then, of course, she told Levy once she saw how Levy and Gajeel were spending time together, just to give her fair warning, even though Lucy was sure he would never hurt Levy...again. She also went to Gajeel and hashed things out with him, but ended with the obligatory and not-so-subtle disclaimer that she would kill him painfully if he ever hurt Levy.
So, this brings us to the conclusion of the story! There will be more in this universe, but I make no promises as to when; school, work, life, etc. are a bit demanding of my time right now. I hope y'all've enjoyed the ride, bumpy as it was; I certainly enjoyed writing it! Thank you to all those who left me reviews, and to those who didn't, thanks for reading!
Yes, there is still an epilogue to come, but it's gonna be a few days.
XOXO