Lucy awoke with a pounding headache. She groaned and tried to reach up to massage her forehead but found that she couldn't move her arms. Panic set in and she tried to flail around but only managed to a wiggle a few inches. She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. Memories came flooding back. She remembered being bitten by a psychedelic spider and Bickslow taking her back to Laxus's apartment. Her eyes quickly scanned the room. She vaguely recognized it as Laxus's bedroom.

She tried to move again and realized that she was wrapped up in a bedspread. Lucy silently scolded herself for getting so terrified over a piece of bedding. It surely wouldn't require Houdini-type skills to escape the thing.

She wiggled and writhed for a few minutes, trying to inch her way out of the top before giving up. She remembered that Laxus was supposed to be at the apartment.

"Laxus, are you here? Can you help me out?" Silence. Damn, she thought. Maybe he stepped out for a minute.

Sweat started to trickle down her back which made her want to hurry even more but panicking wouldn't help the situation. Another thought occurred to her. If she couldn't wiggle out of the top, maybe she could just unroll herself.

She threw her weight to the right and flopped over. Sure enough, the tightness of the cover surrounding her eased. Another two flops and she was free. Lucy laughed out loud, feeling both embarrassed and proud of herself.

She got up, dressed and quickly padded out of the bedroom. She checked each of the rooms to make sure that Laxus wasn't sleeping somewhere. He wasn't. She headed into the kitchen and found a note on the marble counter.

Hey sleepyhead,

It's 7pm now and you've been asleep for five hours. You're not showing any more crazy symptoms although you do snore a little.

Lucy cursed under her breath and blushed. She continued reading.

I'm heading to The Sleeping Dragon to see Bacchus and get your money. It's a bar just two doors down from here. I didn't get to meet with him earlier and he agreed to meet closer to my apartment. If you happen to wake up before I get back, feel free to stop by.

Laxus

Lucy put the note down and let out a long breath. She checked her watch. It was almost 10pm. Collecting on the bet would only take a few minutes. Bacchus had most likely left the bar hours ago. What was Laxus still doing out? Did something bad happen?

She put on her shoes and checked herself in the mirror. She gasped. She had the most awful case of bedhead. Clearly, she had gone to sleep with wet hair. She grimaced, recalling a few snippets of memory from the bath she took last night. She hadn't been in the bathtub with Laxus. It had been Bickslow. Well, he hadn't been in the bathtub but still… She cringed and pushed the memory away. She found a brush and tried to repair the damage to her hair as best she could before leaving the apartment.

She found the bar easily enough. Laxus hadn't been exaggerating when he said it was only two doors down. The celestial mage opened the door and scanned the room. Her heart sank when she saw Laxus sitting at a booth with Bacchus.

"Damn," she muttered. She was glad that Laxus was okay but she was really hoping to avoid Bacchus. Laxus saw her immediately and motioned for her to come over. He seemed to be in good spirits.

Lucy slid into the booth next to Laxus, avoiding eye contact with Bacchus. "Hey," she muttered towards the table. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I couldn't find you when I woke up."

Laxus pulled her down into a deep kiss. It surprised her and she resisted at first. She wasn't used to public displays of affection but Laxus was persistent and she loved the feel of him. He slid his tongue into her mouth, lengthening the kiss. By the time he pulled away, Lucy was gasping for air. She felt hot all over and looked at him for some explanation for what he had just done. He was smiling lazily and reaching for a beer. She realized suddenly, that he was drunk.

She glanced up at Bacchus and took in his flushed skin. He had been drinking too, but his eyes were steady on her with a burning intensity. She shuddered and wondered what had been going on in the three hours since Laxus had left to collect the winnings from the bet.

Bacchus spoke first. "She seems really responsive. I can see what you like about her. Such a wild spirit." His smug tone brought the blood up in Lucy's face.

Laxus took a sip of his beer and looked adoringly at Lucy. "She's beautiful," he said with a slight slur. His eyes flicked towards Bacchus. "And all mine." He leaned back, satisfied.

Lucy was peeved (and a little flattered). She felt like the two men were discussing her as if she were a fancy new toy. "What do you mean 'all yours'?" she challenged.

"It means no more dancing with Gray." Laxus put his beer down. "And no more Natsu sleeping in your bed."

"He just does that because it's more comfortable. It's nothing, he's my teammate."

"Sounds suspicious to me."

Bacchus was nodding in agreement. "Definitely suspicious. But I thought you mentioned that you two had just started dating? Seems a little presumptuous to be putting limitations on her." He motioned to a waitress. "Another round for my two friends here. Lucy, what will you be drinking?"

"Nothing for me. I don't plan on staying long." She glared at Bacchus. Lucy had to agree that Laxus was being a little possessive but she sort of liked it. She didn't like the fact that he had been discussing it with the alcoholic sponge. She leaned into Laxus and hissed at him. "You're drunk. What do you think you are doing?"

He patted her knee and spoke loudly enough for Bacchus to hear. "Bacchus here has apologized for overstepping your bounds. He's agreed to buy a few drinks to show us how sincere he is."

"Do you really think that is appropriate?" Lucy didn't care if Bacchus could hear her or not.

Laxus shrugged. "He's paid his debt." His hand disappeared beneath the table and came back up with a stack of bills. He set it on the table and continued. "I've known Bacchus for years. He can be a creep but he's actually pointed me towards a few good missions. S-Class mages in this kingdom are a small knit group, less the 100 total."

Bacchus nodded. "Closer to 75 actually, although Remis was just promoted." He kept staring at Lucy until she squirmed.

"I'm going to the restroom." Lucy stood up and left the table. When she was out of view of the booth she leaned against the hallway's wall to take a couple deep breaths. An arm wrapped around her waist.

"Laxus, I'm not really in the mood for this." She spun around.

It was Bacchus. She knocked his hands away but he stepped towards her, forcing her back. He pressed his hands against the wall on either side of her head, caging her in.

"If I scream, Laxus will come over here and kick your little perverted ass."

Bacchus turned his head and looked down at his backside. "My ass is little? Well, I guess I should be flattered that you noticed."

Lucy huffed and tried to duck under one of the arms but Bacchus leaned into her. "Relax, I'll let you go back to your muscle-bound meat-head in a minute. I just wanted to ask you a quick question."

"What's that?"

Bacchus leaned further in so that his body was flush against hers and spoke directly in her ear. "Aren't you scared that Laxus's arrogance is going to get you hurt?"

Sweat broke out across her skin. It sounded like Bacchus had something up his sleeve and he had nailed Laxus's one weakness; arrogance.

Lucy lifted her foot and brought the heel of her shoe down hard on Bacchus's foot. He grunted and moved back a couple inches allowing Lucy to hurry towards their booth.

"Let's go," she said without preamble.

Laxus looked up at her with a slightly bleary expression. "Okay, but I have to settle the check."

"I thought Bacchus was buying?"

"He was buying the drinks but I got a hamburger." Lucy gave him a dirty look and he held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Hey I didn't have much food in the house and I was hungry. I hadn't eaten since breakfast."

Lucy reached down and plucked one of the 1000 jewel notes off the top of the stack sitting on the table. "There, that should cover it. Now, can we get out of here?" She felt someone come up behind her.

Laxus was smiling and pulling on his jacket. He looked past Lucy. "Hey Bacchus, we're heading out. It's been a pleasure taking your money."

"Of course, anytime," said Bacchus. He came up next to Lucy and put his hands on the table. "Although I don't think you'll be so lucky next time."

Lucy's heart skipped a beat. He was baiting Laxus.

"Luck's got nothing to do with it. I can take you down anytime, anywhere." Laxus was still casual as he fumbled with his coat sleeve.

"If you're so sure about that, then how about a little rematch?" Bacchus held his hands out like he was suggesting they go watch a soccer game sometime.

Lucy tried to make eye contact with Laxus but he was still struggling with his coat. His coordination was definitely off. "Nah, Lucy wants to leave. Maybe next time," suggested Laxus.

"Don't tell me the great lightning mage is scared?"

Laxus stopped fumbling and looked up at Bacchus. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. I think you're backing out because you're chicken shit."

Laxus's eyes narrowed and he started taking the jacket off.

"Laxus don't listen to him. It's not worth it. Pleeease," Lucy begged.

"Your girl doesn't seem to have much faith in you," Bacchus chided.

Laxus looked at Lucy, clutching her hands together in a pleading motion. Her lack of faith in his fighting abilities offended him. "You don't still think I'm going to lose, do you?"

Lucy chose her words carefully. "No, I just don't like being used as some sort of betting chip."

Laxus stood up, testing his steadiness. He gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead. "No problem, we'll just go with double or nothing. If I win…" he leaned over and gave Lucy a wink, "Bacchus will owe you another 840,000 jewels. If he wins, we'll just give him his money back."

Lucy relaxed a little. As much as she enjoyed having rent money for a year, she preferred the chance of losing it over a night with Bacchus. "You've been drinking though. Wouldn't it be better to duke-it-out some other time?"

Laxus titled his head to the side like he was considering it. "But he's been drinking too."

"Yeah, but he probably drinks this much for breakfast."

Laxus shook his head and rolled up his sleeves. "I can still take him."

Bacchus interjected. "So, it's settled. We're making the same bet as last time." He held out his hand for Laxus to shake.

Laxus grasped it without hesitation. "Agreed."

Bacchus smiled wickedly. "And of course, the bet last time was a year's worth of Lucy's rent or a night with Lucy."

Confusion filled Laxus's face. "Huh? Wait, I thought we were betting double or nothing."

Bacchus eyed Lucy as if he was imagining all the things he would do to her. "That's not what you just agreed to." He didn't take his eyes away from Lucy as he spoke. He was enjoying the look of fear and realization in her expression.

Laxus reached out and grabbed Bacchus around the collar, forcing him to meet his gaze. "Stop looking at her like that," he threatened.

The bartender shouted from over the bar. "Hey, if you two are going to get rough, take it outside."

"WE WILL," Bacchus and Laxus said together in perfect unison.

Lucy watched in horror as the two men stalked outside. They were both eager for a fight. Bacchus was even stretching his arm as he exited the bar. Her first instinct was to follow them out and watch the fight but she hesitated. Laxus was trashed and Bacchus was totally in control. Laxus really might lose and if he did, she didn't want to be around to be collected by Bacchus.

She looked around the bar. There was a side entrance. She ran through it and kept running.