Author's Note: No major revisions. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
It was sunny out, a perfect day to laze about and just drift away in your own thoughts. Lucy was laying peacefully on the lush grass of a meadow, dressed in a simple white summer dress and her hands tracing the shapes of clouds that breezed by.
She traced a cat, then a bunny, and finally a lotus flower. She smiled as the clouds danced around each other, the bunny being chased wildly by the cat as the flower seemed to bend and twist happily in the air.
Her relaxation was soon interrupted as grey clouds rolled into her view, the sky beginning to darken quickly and the shapes of the bunny, cat, and flower beginning to fade. The wind blew fiercely, her face turning ice cold and body shivering.
The girl stood to her feet, her immediate reaction wasn't to run away, but instead run towards the approaching storm. She took off running, her dress flowing freely behind her. It felt like she was floating on air.
The storm was above her now, the looming clouds promising misfortune on anything in its path. The meadow was replaced, everything encased in a veil of darkness as the storm stood out in all its terrifying glory. Lightning crashed, striking the ground just feet behind her.
Now she wished she could have been a normal person and just escaped when she had the chance. A series of thunder and lightning revolved around her, making it nearly impossible to make her get away. The yellow light highlighted her horror-stricken features and outlining two additional shadowy figures behind the girl.
A hand reached out for the girl's back. Her heart was beating erratically, her mind jumbled with panic and fright. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and that's when she let out an ear splitting scream.
Lucy shot out of bed, her body now a crumpled heap on the floor. Her hair was a tousled mess, blonde locks sticking out in directions that seemed to defy gravity, breath caught in her throat, and brown orbs searching the room frantically for anything out of place. A dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach kept her on edge, a feeling strong enough to disturb her sleep. She clutched the sheets to her chest and blindly searched above her for the lamp resting on the nightstand.
With a flick of a switch, the room lit up, her vision adjusting to the lighting and revealing no sign of threat. Wendy and Carla were still fast asleep, cuddled together snugly and obviously not at all bothered by Lucy's boisterous moment of panic. Lucy gave out an audible sigh, grateful that the young girl and feline were such heavy sleepers.
Sweeping the stray hairs back into place, Lucy stood from the floor and unceremoniously tossed the sheets onto her bed. Her heartbeat slowed to a normal rate and the loud thumping in her chest finally began to subside. Her skin felt ice cold, the modest black pajama shorts and plain white t-shirt not enough to keep her warm. Lucy opened a drawer from the jet-black nightstand and pulled out a grey hoodie. Mindful not to forget her keys, Lucy grabbed those as well and strapped them to their usual place at her hip, adding her room key to mix.
Now satisfied with her warmer attire, Lucy turned off the lamp and crossed the room, careful not to wake her slumbering teammates. She shuffled into her shoes and twisted the door knob slowly. She slowly pulled on the door handle and slipped out of the room swiftly.
Lucy looked left and right down the deserted hallway, slightly on alert before finally walking to the stairs. She started her slow descent, her footstep ringing loudly on the metal steps and echoing against the walls. It was just a matter of minutes when she reached the final set of stairs. She jogged down the last few steps and pulled open the door to the lobby.
It was a nicely decorated room; spacious, orderly, and welcoming, something most people would expect from such a high caliber hotel. Every item in the room from the furniture to the desk's paper weights seemed to compliment each other.
Lucy plopped down one of the many plush couches and grabbed a magazine from a nearby coffee table. She flipped through the pages, genuinely trying to read the articles but soon lost interest. Her eyes wandered out the window, taking much more joy in watching the night stars than the reading dull words of the long forgotten magazine.
"Trouble sleeping?"
Lucy didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
"I could ask you the same thing, Laxus." Lucy momentarily averted her attention from the window and to her teammate.
Laxus leaned against the wall with a small smirk on his lips and arms crossed over his chest in a causal manner. He seemed more humanized, his usual orderly appearance replaced with an entirely different look. The usual extravagant attire was replaced with navy blue sweatpants and a dark grey form fitting shirt. His blonde hair was disheveled and his sleeping attire wrinkled slightly, a stranger would probably think he was a common civilian instead of a powerful mage.
"You could," he replied, his voice much deeper than usual. "But I'm more interested in what you have to say." He sat on the couch across from Lucy, patiently waiting for her answer.
"Just a hard time getting comfortable." It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth.
"How so?" He asked curiously. He clearly wanted a straight answer, and Lucy had a feeling she wouldn't be leaving until he received one.
"Well," she started hesitantly. "It's just an unsettling feeling I've been having lately. Most likely nothing big." Lucy scratched the back of her head awkwardly and avoided Laxus's pointed gaze.
Laxus looked out to the scenery Lucy was previously watching.
"It's not hard to for people to notice when something is off." He said without turning from the window. "Just imagine how much easier it must be for dragon slayers." He answered low, electrifying blue eyes boring into the now skittish girl across from him.
Lucy flushed a bright pink and fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze. She wasn't sure what struck a chord in her mind, but his intense look reminded her of their very interesting spar earlier that day.
"Then would you say you are feeling something is wrong as well?" Lucy inquired a bit too quickly.
Laxus let a very, almost microscopic smile grace his features. If anything he was showing a sign of interest, and that's not something he did often when dealing with others.
"I'd say you're right for trusting your instincts, something is slightly off, but if we can't determine what, there's no gain by losing sleep over it." Laxus replied lacing his arms behind his head, as if he had no qualms with a possible threat lingering around.
"You're saying to just let it go?" Lucy asked, confused with her teammate.
"No, if anything you should be on guard, because I don't think you're suspicion is incorrect. However, it would be very unfortunate if we were to run into trouble and the team is down one member." He stated wisely.
Lucy knew he was right, but her mind just wouldn't let her rest. She exhaled slowly and quietly sorted through her thoughts. It wasn't like she wanted to dwell over everything, but it just drove her insane to leave everything alone.
"How are you liking this mission?" Laxus asked casually. He was flipping through the pages of one of the tabloid magazines and Lucy almost laughed at the disgusted look he gave.
"It's interesting," she answered lightly. "I wasn't really sure what I was expecting when agreeing to join, but I am definitely not disappointed." Lucy smiled brightly, even if she was sure she looked like a complete and utter mess.
Maybe it was they way she smiled so easily, or her ability to look alluring, even in her muddled state, something about her was just so inviting. He couldn't help but to return her smile, secretly glad she was enjoying her time with the team.
"It's a nice change of pace. I'm certain this will be a great learning experience." She mentally took note of her teammate's relaxed demeanor and couldn't repress the giggle erupting from her.
"What's so funny?" Laxus smirked, not at all complaining with the sudden change.
"It's just really surprising to see a look other than a scowl on your face." She wiped away at the corner of her eyes to catch the stray tears produced during her small giggle fit.
"Didn't think I could be anything but a stick in the mud?" He asked in a teasing manner.
"At first maybe, but you proved me wrong today. It is very refreshing to be away from the guild for a while."
"Would that have to do with a certain Fire Dragon-Slayer being a complete idiot?"
"D-does everyone know about that already?" She asked bewildered and going red from head to toe.
"It was the latest talk of the guild when I got back. Just so you know, he's a fool for choosing Lisanna. Anyone can see who the better pick is." Laxus looked her dead in the eyes and there was no mistaking his words.
"Thanks." Lucy answered meekly, now beginning to feel very self-conscious.
She looked cute being so shy, but Laxus knew better than to comment on that. He wanted to comfort the girl, not drive her away with his indecent thoughts.
"You should get some rest, I'll walk you to your room." He offered standing from the couch and waiting for her to do the same.
"Oh no, it's ok. I can make it to my room fine." She said flustered. Her head was still trying to process the compliment he had given her.
"Well, my room is across from yours." He smirked.
"Eh? Oh, right." She muttered.
They walked up the stairs in silence as Lucy kept a steady pace next to Laxus. She was just grateful they didn't take the elevator, she couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere it would create. They reached their floor and Lucy felt more at ease than when she had originally left.
"Thank you for keeping me company." Lucy said reaching her door. Laxus was standing in front of his own door and gave her a small shrug.
"Get some rest, we still have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Don't remind me." Lucy groaned, dreading the thought of more spars and laps.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Laxus." She smiled lightly.
Lucy entered her room and saw the blonde's back when she closed her door. She stayed staring at the closed door for a couple minutes before kicking off her shoes and removing her jacket.
The blonde tiptoed to her bed and sighed when her body came into contact with the soft mattress. She rolled to her side and looked out the open window, the stars twinkling brightly in the night sky.
'He's not as bad as everyone makes him out to be.' Was her final thoughts before dozing off into a pleasant dream, unaware of the two forms retreating from the room and through the open window.
"Morning!" The females greeted the males as they reached the same open field as yesterday. The men looked towards the girls, Gajeel and Pantherlily approaching the group while Laxus remained in his spot.
"Bunny Girl wasn't keeping you up with her snoring was she?" Gajeel snickered.
"Hey! I don't snore!" Lucy defended.
Wendy giggled at their absurd argument and watched as the two exchanged carefree and meaningly harmless words. Carla was not in the mood for such behavior so early in the morning and joined Pantherlily on the sidelines.
Once the two had calmed down and Laxus didn't fry them both, the group did a quick review of the moves learned yesterday and had time to fit in a few sparring matches. The most enjoyable event was seeing Laxus wipe the floor with Gajeel. He was of course a very skilled fighter, however, Laxus was on an entirely different level.
Laxus had Gajeel pinned to the ground by the throat, Laxus using his foot and body weight to keep pressure on his opponent. The blonde removed himself from his teammate and offered a hand to the coughing man on the ground. Gajeel accepted the help and returned to his feet.
"Guess I need more practice." The Iron Dragon-Slayer said sorely as he massaged his neck.
"You lasted longer than most." Laxus answered slyly.
Lucy and Wendy gave Gajeel comforting pats on the back as he slumped down next to the two, offering a sarcastic round of 'good job' and 'better luck next time'. He grunted under his breath and flicked both girls on the forehead for their taunts.
"If I remember correctly, you lost yesterday too, Bunny Girl." Gajeel argued to the blonde girl.
"Yeah, whatever." Lucy grumbled.
"It's good to see everyone is so lively today." Laxus addressed his teammates, his eyes lingering on the celestial mage. "Now that you have… a basic sense of combat, it's time you combine that into your magic fighting as well.
"It's beneficial to be developed in many areas of combat besides just your magic. To give you an idea of what I mean, Wendy and I will demonstrate." Wendy froze on the spot, looking at Lucy with a dreadful look, but nonetheless stood next to Laxus.
"So w-what do you want me to do exactly?" Wendy questioned nervously as her body began to tremble.
"Follow my lead." Laxus replied gently. He gave her a reassuring smile and got into a fighting stance. Wendy did the same, quite unsure how she would fair against one of Fairy Tail's strongest members.
Lucy, Gajeel, and the two exceeds sat on the grassy sidelines and watched with a mix of fascination and horror. Gajeel was glad he wasn't going to be the punching bag this time and Pantherlily was very much ready for a teachable moment. Lucy and Carla however, weren't so eager to see Wendy being used as a demonstration. The two dragon-slayers exchanged a few words no one else could hear. Wendy nodded her head slowly and the demonstration began.
They circled each other, both assessing the other as a means to formulate a strategy before attacking. Wendy struck first, starting off with only the hand-to-hand combat moves she was taught. She wasn't by any means as powerful as Laxus, but she was considerably faster, much to the group's surprise and utter astonishment. Her small fists flew in every direction at Laxus, some making contact, but not having much effect as she hoped it would. The blonde blocked and evaded the attacks with ease.
"Sky Dragon Crushing Fang!" Wendy roared. Her attack was encased in a whirlwind and she sent hit after hit to Laxus. It did a lot more damage than her bare fist would have done.
However, Laxus took the blows without any complaints, using the attack more so to his advantage as he struck out a fist infused with lightning to the Sky Dragon-Slayer. The fist connected, his opponent getting a small dose of voltage through her system, but not enough to cause any serious damage.
Lucy and Gajeel looked on, both noticing the recurring moves they practiced the previous day, only this time accompanied by magic. Lucy could make the connection on how this would help people who conjured their magic from within, but she didn't quite understand how that would help her, who had to summon celestial spirits in order to fend off opponents.
Both dragon-slayers put up a good fight, neither one backing down or showing any signs of giving in, and it even seemed that Wendy had the upper hand at one point of the match. But yet again, Laxus had this win in the bag.
Laxus saw Wendy preparing for another strike to his unguarded left side. She threw her entire weight into the attack, confident she would be able to land the hit. Only in the blink of an eye Laxus was gone and Wendy was sent hurtling straight for the ground. She wasn't fast enough to get her hands in front of her to break her fall. All she could do was watch as her vision got closer and closer to the grass.
Just as the the young girl was about to hit the ground, a hand roughly grabbed the back of her shirt and kept her from slamming head first into the grass. Wendy stared at the ground that was merely inches away from her nose before being hoisted to her feet.
"Everybody clear now?" He asked the three. Wendy wobbled slightly and would have fallen yet again if not for Laxus keeping her steady.
All nodded their heads, definitely clear on what was expected of them in the next portion of training.
"Good. Let's begin."
Three figures watched the training group intently, not a single detail being overlooked as they watched their every move. There was a woman and two men exchanging glances at one another, very well knowing who that group was.
"Well, would you look at that boys, seems like we found ourselves some fun." The woman laughed deliriously. "I trust your little investigation last night was a success?" She smirked.
The two men nodded, both keeping silent.
"Then I guess we should pay our new 'friends' a visit soon, don't you think? It would be rude on our part if we didn't introduce ourselves."
Author's Note: I'm personally loving this whole Laxus/Wendy fighting duo. As for Lucy, what can I say? She and Gajeel joke around at times as it is. I know I added a lot more Laxus with a dash of Lucy to spice things up. Well, tell me what you think of this chapter and what you would like to see in the story. Reviews are always appreciated and thanks for reading!