A/N: Welcome back, everyone! This chapter is a good bit shorter than the last, but I didn't want to overdo it on this one. Quite a few of you were wondering about Laxus' involvement at the orphanage, and what his relationship with Lucy is like because of his father. Here you go.

Erik and Lucy are 5. Laxus is 11.

Requestors: sunkeepsmiling, xiu1299, Kurohana806, FW Wandering, Dragon Queene Layla St Gabriel

Six months had passed since Lucy's first Halloween in the orphanage, and Erik sat down on one end of the bench that he and Macbeth always spent time on while they were outside with the other kids. For the most part, all he did was watch the blonde and his best friend interact. He hadn't forgotten what Macbeth had told him the first night that Lucy had slept in their room, that he should try to open up to her because they had more in common than he really thought in the first place.

Problem was, Erik just didn't want to get to know her. She didn't smile all that much, not that he really blamed her for it, but when she did it was just too happy. Too bright. He didn't want to see how Macbeth would smile right back. And he didn't want to be the only other person that knew that Lucy was the one that somehow helped his friend sleep when nothing else had done it before.

It stung, a lot if he was being honest with himself. Macbeth was supposed to be hisbest friend, not hers. Erik hadn't had any friends before coming to the orphanage, and the crappy therapy sessions that he had to go through with Miss Seilah just made him all the more angry. He wanted to forget what happened in the past, but every week that he went to see her… It would all get pulled right back up. She'd make him talk about it. Or she would talk and he'd pretend to listen. Either way, he didn't think it was doing a whole lot of good for him in the long run.

And it was why he was so angry right then. Macbeth was asleep, since his insomnia had finally decided to let him get some much needed rest. Sorano and the others had decided to go off and play hide and seek with Erza. Erik could have gone with them, but he just didn't want to. He wanted to be inside, locked in his room since no one else was there - and Macbeth didn't really count, since he was going to be asleep for most of the day anyway. He wasn't allowed to do that, though, since Miss Seilah said he shouldn't be alone after a session.

Erik gazed out across the playground, and his eyes narrowed when he caught Freed's blond friend scowling while he towered over Lucy where she was sitting under a tree by the building. She looked scared, and Erik wasn't close enough to hear what was being said, but he decided that he really didn't care.

Lucy's minute smile faded when a large shadow fell over her, and she slowly looked up with wide eyes to see Laxus glaring down at her. She'd been trying to avoid him since coming to the orphanage, and she had made it almost an entire year doing just that. Their fathers had been business partners, and even though he was a few years older than her, Laxus had been someone she could spend time with during when she was actually taken along on business trips. Once her parents were killed though, she knew he blamed her for what happened afterwards.

"It's all your fault, y'know."

She shook her head, and he sneered.

"I had to go live with Gramps because of what you did."

"I-I didn't-"

"Yeah," Laxus spat. "You did. You did everything."

"B-But…" Tears welled in Lucy's eyes when she saw Laxus' hands clenching into fists at his sides. "H-He…"

"He didn't do anything to you," the older blond sneered. Without another moment's hesitation, his hand shot out and gripped Lucy's hair while he pulled her to her feet. "You lied to the cops, and you said my dad did it. He wasn't there! He was at home with me!"

"P-Please," Lucy whimpered. "I didn't…"

"Your dad was an asshole," Laxus hissed. "He was a shitty business partner, and I'm glad he's dead!"

Erik's brow lifted and his head tilted to one side as Lucy's eyes screwed themselves shut, a single sob bursting past her lips. He watched in silence as Lucy instantly crumpled to the ground in tears once Laxus let her hair go, silently making his way closer to find out just what was happening.

"You're gonna tell the cops the truth." Icy blue eyes narrowed at the crying girl's shuddering form. "Someone broke in and killed your parents, and my dad didn't have shit to do with it."

"Laxus," Freed said quietly as he walked up behind the blond. "Is everything alright?"

"No. You remember how I told you… My dad got locked up for some bullshit that he didn't do?"

"Yes."

"She's the one that pointed the damn finger at him. Little crazy bitch. The only person she could think of was my dad, so she blamed it all on him!"

"N-No!" Lucy whimpered, a pained cry leaving her when his sneaker connected with her arm. "M-Mister Dreyar showed up! He… I was laying under Daddy, and he…"

"Liar!" Laxus roared. "You're a damn psycho! Watched your parents get murdered, laid in blood for hours… I was at the fucking trial! I saw the pictures!"

"Sh-Shut up," Lucy cried. "Don't… D-Don't talk about it."

"Covered in blood, right? Your mom got her brains blown all over your birthday cake. Happy birthday to Looney Lucy." A cruel grin spread over his face as he laughed. "Looney Lucy. That fits. Did you know that maid… What's her name…"

"St-Stop… Please…"

"Virgo," Laxus nodded. "She's locked in a crazy house now. Just like you should be."

"N-No…" Lucy's arms wound around her stomach and her knees drew up to her chest while bile steadily rose in the back of her throat. She was torn between crying, screaming, running, and puking at that moment. Her eyes wrenched shut as image after image rolled through her head, playing like a little horrific movie that she couldn't turn off. "N-No blood… He's… He's heavy…"

"Laxus," Freed said softly as the girl started mumbling to herself. "Maybe you should leave-"

"Hell no," Laxus sneered. "She's gonna tell me why she lied about it. My dad wasn't there! She's just a psycho and made it all up!" His eyes widened when the next kick he sent flying toward the crying blonde was knocked up into the air, and in the next instant he was lying on the ground with a flurry of fists barreling down on him. "What the hell?!"

"You don't know anything about what happened!" Erik bellowed. With his teeth bared, and his own memories flying through his head of what he'd wanted to do to the men that were trying to sell him before, he reached down and grabbed a handful of dirt then smeared it in Laxus' eyes. He couldn't help it. Any time he got into a fight, the same things would pop up, pushing him to do more. To hurt whoever he was angry at as though they had been the ones to lock him up before.

Freed gasped as the younger, tan boy punched Laxus between the legs as he jumped away. "Laxus. Are you alright?"

"Th-That fucking… kid…"

"Lucy, it's okay," Erik whispered urgently, kneeling before the blonde.

"S-So heavy… Make it stop… Make it…" Lucy's breaths shortened until she was desperately gasping for air.

"Breathe," Erik whispered as his arms wound around her. "Breathe, okay? It's not scary. Just breathe."

Freed helped Laxus stand up, then turned and called out to Sorano while she ran by. "Get Miss Kyouka. Lucy's having a panic attack."

Sorano's eyes went wide and she peered around the two older boys to find Erik holding the new girl while she freaked out over something. "Erik, what are you doing?"

"Now!" Freed yelled, glaring at the silver-haired girl until she rushed away and into the building. Once she was out of sight, he turned back to Laxus. "I'm not sure what this is about, but… You need to go."

"Hell no!" Laxus shouted. "My dad went to prison because of her!" He dropped down and pulled Erik away, throwing the younger boy as far back as possible. His hands wrapped around Lucy's shoulders and he shook her while she continued gasping for air. "Quit faking it! You just don't wanna admit that you lied!"

"Laxus, she can't breathe!" Freed shouted. He dropped to the ground and tried in vain to pull his angered friend away, not noticing the other kids on the playground had started to form a circle around them to see what was going on.

"Admit it!"

Erik looked around and his eyes narrowed when they landed on a rock. Without hesitating, he picked it up and lunged at Laxus, then cracked him over the head with it. "Leave her alone!" Once Laxus was lying on the ground, he took the kid's place and wrapped his arms around Lucy again. "Breathe," he whispered. "It's okay…"

Kyouka and Seilah pushed through the crowded children and finally came to the center as Lucy's eyes locked onto the blood on the ground. Just the sight of the crimson liquid had an unholy shriek of terror ripping itself from her throat.

Erik struggled to keep Lucy in his arms as she started flailing, and he finally pushed her down onto the ground and forced her head against his neck. It didn't matter that she was scratching his arms and probably ripping his shirt. He knew exactly what she was going through. This was the same thing that happened to him when he saw rope, or anything else that reminded him of what he'd gone through before the cops finally found him in that basement. "It's okay," he whispered. "It's okay. I promise… It's okay…"

"What happened?" Seilah asked as she knelt to help Laxus sit up, her fingers lightly prodding at the gash on his face.

"That kid's a psycho," he spat.

"That's enough," Kyouka said with narrowed eyes. She turned to the gathered children, and silently watched as they all rushed back to the rest of the playground. Slowly, she looked back at the children still present, and shook her head. Really, it had only been a matter of time before Laxus confronted Lucy, but she had never thought it would be this bad. Especially not so long after his father had been incarcerated. "Laxus, what were you thinking?"

"She's a liar!" he yelled over Lucy's screams. He pushed past Seilah once he was on his feet again, and stalked over to the blonde that was pinned beneath Erik. "She-"

Erik slowly turned his head, making sure Lucy's sobs were still muffled by his neck and shoulder and that she couldn't see the blood pouring down Laxus' face. "Say one more word and I'll rip off your dick and make you eat it," he growled. "Leave her alone."

"Who's gonna make me?" Laxus sneered.

"I am." Kyouka placed a gentle hand on Laxus' arm and pulled him away, her jaw tensing as she fought to keep her anger at bay. "Seilah, please take him down to the infirmary and help get him cleaned up. I think he may need stitches."

"She's a liar," Laxus whispered to the older woman. "I know my dad didn't do it."

"He was convicted on more than just Lucy's testimony," Kyouka said quietly. "I'd like for you to leave and take some time to think about what you just did to her."

"I didn't do anything."

"So you say," Kyouka sighed. "But I think you'll realize it soon. Maybe after a talk with your grandfather."

Freed walked up to the older woman silently, chewing his lower lip as Laxus was led away and into the building. "Miss Kyouka…"

"I won't tell you who you can and can't be friends with, Freed," she sighed. "But I would like it if you would keep an eye on him when he comes around the orphanage. Keep him away from Lucy."

Freed looked back down at the crying blonde, who had finally relaxed enough that she wasn't wildly attacking Erik while he held her. "I wasn't aware that Lucy was…"

Kyouka nodded. "Why don't you go inside, Freed? If Laxus' grandfather will allow it, you can go and spend time with him today. As long as you're back by curfew." Once the young green-haired boy left, she let out a heavy sigh and knelt on the ground next to the last two children. "Erik."

"Go away. She doesn't wanna see you."

"Erik, it's me," she said with a raised brow. "I need to check on Lucy."

His eyes opened, hard and cold as he looked into Miss Kyouka's gentle blue gaze. "Go. Away." Lucy didn't need to see anyone, and he definitely wasn't going to let someone take her away. She was scared, just as scared as he was when he thought too much about his past. Miss Kyouka and Miss Seilah could have all the degrees they wanted, but he knew how Lucy felt from experience. Which meant that he could help her a whole lot better than anyone else. "You're not coming near her."

Kyouka blinked in surprise at the young boy. For months, she'd watched Erik do everything in his power to avoid the blonde, even while she was spending time with Macbeth. So, to suddenly see him protecting her… A gentle smile pulled up the corners of her lips. "I see," she whispered. "Well, when you're able to… Could you take Lucy inside?"

Lucy's eyes opened and she blinked her tears away to find dark flesh and maroon hair in her line of sight, a heavy weight on her body, and thin arms wrapped around her. "E-Erik?"

He nodded to Miss Kyouka, then tightened his grip on Lucy. "I'm right here. It's okay now."

She sniffled loudly and decided to go with her gut, wrapping her arms around the boy on top of her and hugging him as tightly as she could manage. "I-I…"

"It's okay, Bright Eyes," Erik whispered. "You don't gotta talk." His eyes slid closed as his nose nestled in her hair. "I gotcha. You're safe now."

Another sob bubbled up in Lucy's chest, and she clutched herself to Erik as it burst free. It didn't matter to her where they were at. If they were out in the playground, in the library, or his and Macbeth's room. The fact that Erik was there - when she thought he would never want to be her friend to begin with - holding her just like Macbeth did when something was wrong, made it alright for her.

She didn't know about Erik's past, just that he was special like herself and Macbeth. It helped to explain why he was carefully rocking her from side to side. How he knew when to sit up with her and just keep holding her. How he was able to figure out that she wanted to go inside and lay down somewhere.

Erik led her to his and Macbeth's room, then looked over at the only other boy in the room to see him sprawled out on his bed. "C'mere," he whispered, leading her to his own bed. He pulled the blanket down and sat Lucy down, then sighed in relief as he looked at his shirt. She hadn't actually ripped it. He didn't even have that many scratches on him. "Lay down, 'kay?"

Lucy kicked her shoes off and silently rested her head on the pillow. She wanted to go over and wake Macbeth up, but her gaze cut over to Erik when he spoke again as though he could hear her thoughts.

"Not a good idea. When he falls asleep on his own… He gets really mad when someone tries to wake 'im up." Erik sat down on the edge of the bed after pulling up the blanket over the blonde.

"Why are you being nice to me? I-I thought you-"

"I don't hate ya," Erik whispered. He thought he did, too. Until he found out why Laxus was getting on Lucy's case. And when he saw how scared she was. Macbeth looked like that sometimes. When he woke up from a nightmare.

"But… You always ignore me…"

He sighed and laid down on the bed, keeping his own sneakers on. "I wanna hate you," he finally whispered after several minutes of looking at her in silence. "Macbeth's s'posed to be my friend. But you took him away…"

Lucy's brow furrowed and she shook her head. "No, I wanna hang out with you, too. Midnight just said that you should be the one that comes over, so…" Slowly, she pushed the blanket down from her shoulders and held one of his hands with both of hers. "Will you be my friend, too?"

A small smirk pulled up one corner of his lips. "Maybe."

Lucy smiled through her drying tears. "If you and me are friends too, then we can both spend time with Macbeth. I…" Her face fell and her shoulders sagged slightly. "Macbeth is the first friend I ever had."

"Me too," Erik whispered. When she looked at him in surprise, he shrugged. "These guys stole me from a hospital when I was littler… They sold me to some doctor, and he made my ears like this…"

Lucy slowly reached up to touch the pointed tip of his ear with wide eyes. "Really?"

Erik nodded. "He said something about… Exotic something. Then I was taken to a warehouse. Then a ship. And a butcher shop. Then a basement. And those guys beat me and… They hurt me a lot… Then the cops came."

Tears sprang up in her eyes as she listened to Erik's story. "Th-They hurt you?"

He shrugged again. No way was he going to get upset right then. If he did, then Lucy wouldn't be able to stay there. A slow, cruel smile stretched across his face. "Yeah, but… I got 'em back for it. They never saw it comin'. Made the cops puke everywhere when they found me…"

She nervously nibbled her lower lip while looking into Erik's amethyst eyes. "That sounds like a snake Mama told me about. They come outta nowhere, and nothing can hurt 'em. Really poisonous, too."

"What kind?" he asked. "Snakes are awesome."

She giggled at that, feeling her fear from before slowly trickling away the longer she was with Erik. "A cobra." After a moment, she squeezed his hand. "You're a cobra."

He grinned then. Six months before, he'd been wondering what kind of nickname she would give him, and now he knew. "I kinda like that, Bright Eyes."

"Bright Eyes?"

He nodded and squeezed her hand back as his other closed over it. "Yep. Big, bright, happy eyes. Even when you're sad and stuff, they're all shiny."

"Well, if I'm that, then you're Cobra," she laughed. The way he smiled at her had Lucy's own widening.

"Awesome." Cobra closed his eyes when Lucy's fingers threaded through his hair. "Midnight won't be up for a few hours, so… Whaddya wanna do?"

Lucy shrugged. "This is fine. I wanna get to know my new friend."

His eyes creaked open only slightly, and a small smile split his lips as warmth filled his chest. "Works for me," he whispered. That morning, he'd never thought that he would like Lucy. She was just trying to take his friend away. But now? Now he knew that she really was a just like him. Just like Macbeth. They were special, and they were all messed up in the head.

Talking with Lucy about where he was found was the first time he could remember ever doing it without freaking out. It was weird, but Macbeth had told him that she just made people smile somehow. She made them calm.

Erik liked calm. Almost as much as he liked being called Cobra by his new blonde friend.

And there we have it. I'm still taking requests for what you'd like to see from this universe, so don't hesitate to throw some questions out there. There are still a few more 'prompts' that have Laxus under them, because I couldn't fit all of it in this one instance, so he'll be making an appearance again.