Chapter 13

Ivy didn't know where she was going, blinded by tears she ran through the forest behind Laxus' home. She welcomed the pain in her feet as rocks and sticks broke the skin, it was a distraction from the pain in her chest.

The spark that had been slowly burning and growing brighter as she spent more time with Laxus and the other members of the guild had been snuffed out. The cracks that etched through her being, that had slowly started welding back together in the sparks heat shattered apart once more.

Completely absorbed in her spiraling thoughts of betrayal and hurt causing the visions of black and midnight to mix with blond and grey orange in her mind's eye; she didn't hear the man behind her. She knew he would chase her, but the knowledge that his legs were as long and powerful as hers had left her mind. The twisting in her gut that usually guided her went unnoticed.

A large hand that wrapped around her right bicep forced her to skid to a stop, but she didn't stop moving. Turning and using the momentum from the sudden halt she landed a left hook into Laxus' ribs. A grunt was her only reward for her efforts, with the hand only tightening more.

"Let me go!" Ivy screamed while dodging and hitting the other hand that came forward to restrain her as she tried to pull free.

"Not until you listen." Laxus could barely force the words through his teeth. Ivy had a nasty punch and he was positive a few of his ribs were bruised if not cracked.

"No! You're just like him! You'll make me believe you care with sweet words, and then you'll hurt me!" Turning her head as she continued to struggle her teeth sunk into his hand, deep enough to draw blood and caused him to jerk back letting her tear a grove into his skin.

In the split second it took Laxus to recover Ivy sprinted off again. She focused all her energy on the need to get away, and she almost smiled as she heard the thunder.

Laxus stayed on her tail, and realized what she was doing before she knew herself. Pulling his own lightning around him he lurched forward wrapping his arms around the woman as a bolt struck her.

The citizens of Magnolia would talk about this day for years to come describing it as the craziest lightning storm to ever suddenly appear. In less than five minutes a completely clear sky with a beautiful sunset was covered in a thick blanket of clouds. The thunder shook window panes and a torrent of rain almost flooded the streets and canal. The main detail that would be brought up over and over again was a specific streak of lightning.

It was bright yellow and neon blue; the colors looked to be swirling around each other in fight for dominance. The bolt shot across the city, one moment shooting away only a second later to suddenly swerve and crash into a street, building, or park. As soon as it struck down the lightning would once again arc in another direction.

Makarov stood on the bar swearing under his breath as the guild members started to yell out in fear. "What did that damn brat do?"

Gajeel was about to leave to get Levy but decided to call her and wait until things calmed down. He swore the next time he saw Laxus the blond was getting punched in the jaw.

No one was prepared when the bolt of lightning burst through a window and struck the center of the hall. It was only luck that everyone had huddled around tables that prevented anyone from being hit. In the split second before the lightning took off again the members with enhanced sight caused by either their magic traits or power caught a view of the struggle in progress.

Laxus had his right arm wrapped securely around Ivy's waist his hand fisted into her skirt. His left hand held her right forearm, but the grip wasn't harsh just tight enough for her not to escape. It would have looked like they were dancing if not for the anger and pain contorting Ivy's face, or the blood running down her chin as she yelled. The woman's fist that was about to connect with Laxus' jaw had Gajeel rethinking his earlier idea, the blond was going to hurt later.

Just as quickly as it appeared the lightning shot out the opposite window; leaving glass, scorched wood and even more freighted and upset people in its wake.

"Well this just got even more interesting." Mira's cheerful voice caught the Master's attention.

With a sigh Makarov turned to the bar maid. "Yes it did, can you get me a bottle of my private vintage and keep the masses out of my office." Walking down the bar to jump to the second floor he glared at the shattered window. "I will be expecting a call."

Ivy had no control, the panic and need to escape where the only things keeping her lightning teleportation intact. Fear and adrenaline could only fuel a person for so long, and after fifteen minutes of fighting Ivy crumpled.

The two mages slammed into the ground sending mud flying as they slid across the forest floor. They had landed not far from where their struggle had started. The rain turned into a steady drizzle around them.

Ivy curled in to a ball on her side trying to hold together the last pieces of herself. She was tired and didn't really care anymore. Let the people in black cloaks come and take her away. Hopefully the end would be brought quickly, then she wouldn't be alone or scared of the eventual betrayal that she now thought was a guarantee. She would be with her parents again; her father would treat her like he did before she found the hammer and she could dance with her mother as they listened to old rock songs.

She didn't move as Laxus sat behind her. He didn't say anything, waiting for her to speak first. When she didn't he slowly rested a hand in her shoulder thinking the contact would get a reaction, it didn't. After giving her a small shake, Laxus started to panic when she still didn't respond. He didn't want to break her; he just wanted to explain why he didn't tell her he knew who she was.

Not knowing what to do he scooped the woman into his arms and positioned her in his lap. When she didn't look at him he gently lifted her chin while wiping his blood from her mouth. Still getting no reaction Laxus finally got annoyed. Grabbing her waist he gave her a small shock. He almost sighed in relief as she jerked then met his gaze with a glare.

"You already won; you don't have to do that. Just call those bastards in cloaks to come get me, I'm done." Her snarled words caught Laxus of guard, no wonder she wanted to get away.

"No one is calling anybody. Let me explain and when I'm done if you want to leave you can. I'll even get your stuff from the guild and buy a train ticket to take you where ever you want to go." It hurt telling her that she could leave, but Laxus knew that it didn't matter how much he wanted her to stay.

"You're going to let me go?" Ivy couldn't understand what she was hearing. It had to be a trick, but now that she was back in a more calm state of mind she tried to focus on any signal from the hammer. There were none, not like when Remy lied to her.

"Yeah, if that's what you want." Looking into her eyes Laxus decided to hold nothing back. "Gajeel used to work at the magic council; they sent him a job earlier this week about an attack on a woman in Shirotsume involving a hammer." Ivy nodded and from the look on her face it was obvious she knew about the incident.

"He had Levy decode a letter that was found on the man that was arrested. She got Freed's help and that's how my team was dragged into it. The letter gave instructions to find you giving your name, description, and a description of the hammer." Feeling the woman stiffen in his lap he started rubbing circles with the thumb that still rested on her waist.

"Knocking into you was a complete coincidence, and when I took you too the guild gramps decided that we shouldn't press you. He figured you might run if we started asking questions and telling you what we knew. So we agreed to just treat you like any other possible new member." Laxus tried to decipher the expression on her face, but he couldn't tell how this was affecting her. Though she had slightly relaxed into his hand, and this gave him a small bit of hope.

"Levy found some information on the hammer, but I can't actually tell you about that because we signed a nondisclosure agreement."

"The true origins of magic book, that tells about the meteorite that brought magic, and how a piece of it turned into this hammer?" At the wide eyed shock on Laxus' face Ivy let a small smile slip. "The council is ignorant to think they have the only copy. My father was a history professor gaining knowledge was his religion."

Ivy let herself slump into his chest accepting what she had known for years, the hammer was never wrong. It had guided her to Magnolia, and as she thought of her panicked dash away from Laxus she now realized it had been telling her not to run. Shaking her head she huddled closer to the large man. Every time she didn't listen something bad would happen. If this was where she needed to be, then this is where she would stay. A warm tightening in her stomach gave Ivy a sense of approval.

Laxus was very confused. The woman who less than an hour ago had given him bruised rips, taken some skin out of his hand with her teeth, and loosened several molars; was now cuddling into his chest.

"I'm not saying that I'm not enjoying this, but I kind of thought you hated me?"

Ivy couldn't help the laugh that erupted from her throat. As she calmed down she looked up at the bewildered man. "I thought I did because I thought you were another Remy, but my hammer isn't telling me you're trouble. It's even letting me know I should stay."

"Oh, okay two questions. How does your hammer tell you things and who's Remy? I get the idea this guy hurt you." Giving her waist a slight squeeze and circling his other arm around her, he considered that might be more information then she was willing to share. "Of course you don't have to answer them."

"No I can." Letting out a long breath she twisted her hands into his shirt enjoying the comforting pressure of his arms. "When I'm about to make a bad decision the hammer will send a twisting pain into my gut. It's kind of like how a gut instinct is described, but a lot more forceful and direct. It's not always pain, like when I was in Onibus I heard a conversation about Magnolia and the feeling I got indicated I should come here." Pushing her face into Laxus' chest she calmed her breathing before continuing.

"Remington Wallace was a boy who moved to Orion. He was the only one who didn't treat me different. I thought he cared about me, hell I thought he would love me. In the end he convinced me to tell him about the hammer. A few days later a group in black cloaks showed up at our house. They were lead by Remy's parents. My father died trying to stop them, but Remy caught me. Before I was able to escape with the lightning, like I tried to do tonight, he let me know how he really felt about me." Ivy traced the scar across her lips as she began to cry again, but the pain that usually came when she remembered that night was lessened as Laxus' strong arms held her tighter.

Laxus was getting cold, and he now caught the smell of Ivy's blood that was mixed with dirt. Standing up he continued to hold Ivy letting her wrap her long legs around his waist, and moved his right arm bellow her. Setting a quick pace he made his way back to his house, thinking about what Ivy had told him and that if he ever met Remington Wallace he was going to fry him.

Entering his home through the back door let him not worry about tracking dirt on any of the carpets. Moving from the mud room to the laundry room and finally into the connecting bathroom he gave Ivy a little nudge as he rested her on top of the counter. She had dozed off during their walk back.

Ivy turned her head letting her warm nose rest against the cool skin of his neck. She refused to acknowledge that she was awake, only wanting to stay in Laxus' arms a little longer.

As he pulled away she let out an involuntary whine.

"Come on you're covered in mud and I can smell the blood from your feet. Get cleaned up so I can bandage them." Moving toward the laundry room door he turned back to the woman. "When you're done there will be some clothes for you on the dryer, just throw your dirty clothes into the washer."

Laxus stripped once he heard the shower running, and placed a few of his articles of clothing on the dryer that Ivy could use until her dress was clean. Grabbing fresh clothes for himself he walked up the back stairs to his own room that had an en suite, calling his grandfather along the way.

"What did you do?" Laxus wasn't even surprised at the gruff greeting.

"Let slip that I knew her last name, she panicked thinking that we were involved with the Order thing that's looking for the hammer. Turns out they've tricked her with false kindness before. Anyway I was able to calm her down and she's staying for now. I'm going to let her crash here tonight and in the morning I'll bring her to see Wendy with me, her feet are cut up. I might even convince her to talk to you."

The sigh that followed Laxus' explanation was long and drawn out. "Fine, just so you know you're paying for the damages you two caused."

The click that ended that sentence let Laxus know he wasn't in any real trouble; gramps would have chewed him out longer if that was the case. Moving into the shower he couldn't help but wonder if he could salvage what was left of their date.

Ivy winced and limped as she moved into the laundry room. Her feet where burning and had started bleeding again. The only bit of clothing that hadn't gotten muddy was the underwear Evergreen had picked out for her. The skirt had proved to be an effective shield against dirt, but got completely ruined in the process. Throwing her things into the washer and gently rester her hammer on the floor next to the dryer, she looked at what had been left out for her. Deciding against the gym shorts with material that would not stretch over her butt; she pulled on the dark green sleeveless work out shirt and black boxer briefs over her boy shorts. She then hopped on top of the dryer and waited for Laxus.

When he didn't find Ivy in the kitchen like he expected he moved back to the laundry room. The sight of her sitting in his clothes made him glad he'd chosen to grab jeans instead of pajama pants. The shirt was large enough that it bagged around her waist, but her chest still pressed against the fabric showing that she wasn't wearing a bra. The boxers on the other hand clung to her like a second skin.

"I didn't want to track blood anywhere else." Ivy could feel his eyes on her. The spark that had flickered back to life, and had once again started to repair her, burned even brighter.

Laxus finally noticing the blood; he grabbed the first add kit and moved to kneel in front of her. Several of the cuts were deep and there was bruising covering the bottoms of both feet. He cleaned them with peroxide as quickly as he could, letting Ivy grab his shoulders as she hissed in pain. Once they were cleaned out he wrapped them.

"Tomorrow we're going to Wendy to get healed."

As he stood up Ivy noticed the bruise across his jaw that she had put there. Without thinking she grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him close to her trying to see how much damage she had done. She didn't even notice that she had positioned him between her legs while she sat on the edge of the dryer, or the way his breath hitched.

"I'm sorry; did I injure you anywhere else? You know besides taking a chunk out of your hand." She glanced down and noticed that his hand was already bandaged, and also the position she had moved him in to.

Deciding to take a chance Ivy leaned forward and pressed her lips to his bruised jaw, barely putting any pressure. She couldn't help but hope that she was reading the situation right.

Laxus' mind slowed as she moved him, he couldn't even register that she asked him a question. All his focus was on keeping his hands from moving to her thighs. Feeling her lips brush against his jaw he let a little bit of the control he had slip. As she started to lean back he let himself move after her catching her mouth with his own.

Even with the massive amount of need and desire pulling him toward Ivy, their first kiss was soft and simple; only lasting a few seconds. When he pulled away trying to figure out if he had pushed too fast, he was given an immediate answer by Ivy moving forward and bringing their lips together once more.

Ivy's legs locked around his waist as Laxus pulled her off the dryer wanting to get as close as physically possible. One hand palmed her rear while the other found its way to the back of her neck. Ivy's arms wound there way over his shoulders as she slid her fingers into his hair.

As their kisses turned more heated Ivy found that she could finally give herself a little forgiveness. Being able to feel how much Laxus wanted her allowed the realization of how fake Remy's affections had truly been. Her fault had been having inexperience.

How could you tell the difference between a lie and reality when you have never experienced something real?

By the time Remy entered her life her mother and been dead several years. The people who lived around her thought she was a freak and wouldn't have given her advice if she had asked. She couldn't even imagine talking to her father about what romance would feel like.

Bursting into a bright ball of fire the little spark was now an inferno burning deep within her. It mended broken pieces she had thought she lost, and for the cracks that had yet to be fix it soothed their jagged edges. Ivy knew that even if she had to leave someday soon, she could be happier finally knowing the feeling of being wanted.

Laxus started to slow their movements down planning to savor every moment with Ivy. Pulling back he rested their foreheads together simply enjoying the way her body fit against his.

"Would it be okay if we listened to my mom's record?" Ivy's question caught Laxus of guard.

"Cleo Beltrum is your mom? I just thought you had the same last name." Continuing to carry her Laxus headed toward the living room. When they reached the couch he released his grip on her letting Ivy land with a grunt. He moved to the music station and soon a beautiful violin filled the room before the orchestra joined in.

They sat together listening to the first couple songs as Laxus worked his way through several pizzas. After he finished Laxus turned to study Ivy. She didn't look as sad as he thought she would, instead her face held a content expression with a soft smile. Deciding that it was alright for him to talk he asked a question that had formed when he started the record.

"Your mother was amazing. Can you play violin?"

Ivy's eyes focused back on him, but the soft smile never left her face. "No, she tried to get me to learn once with a tutor. He informed her that I had an inability to sit still or generate enough focus to learn the violin." Ivy's smile grew as she was pulled into better memories.

"After that she put me in a dance class. I think it was the combination of her thinking I could be good at it, and the hope it would tire me out enough for my parents to get some peace at night. Turns out she was only right about the first part."

"I knew you were a dancer after the music store, but I can't imagine a simple class made you as good as you are."

"Yeah, after my mom saw how much I loved dancing and that I could have a future in it she pulled a few strings and got me enrolled in a dance academy. I also had to perform an audition piece so it's not like her influence was the only thing to get me in." Spinning around in her seat she allowed herself to fall backwards into Laxus' lap.

Noticing he was staring at her with an intense focus Ivy poked his cheek to get his attention. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm trying to imagine you in a tutu, but I just can't picture it."

"You have to imagine me completely different. I've never worn one looking like this."

"What do you mean? I doubt you looked much different when you were younger." Staring down at the woman he couldn't wrap his brain around the idea that she could look much different than she did now.

"Actually I did. When I was twelve I weighed maybe a hundred pounds and was five feet four inches tall. I was the first one in my class to hit puberty and for awhile I was the tallest one. A few months before I found the hammer and my mom… Anyway I remember writing her while she was on tour and telling her how excited I was that I had been informed by the doctor that I was done growing, and the boys in my class where finally taller than me."

"How could you be almost as tall as me if you stopped growing at five four?"

"The hammer; after I found it my body went crazy. I was constantly hungry and I started packing on muscle, and no matter what I did I couldn't slim back down. Then I just started growing. I mean my dad was barely five six and my mom was only five one. It was scary and for a long time I didn't know how to move in my own body. My dad ended up finding that book and it helped explain what was happening, but it didn't make anything better." Ivy closed her eyes as Laxus started to softly run his fingers through her hair.

Feeling that they had moved to talking freely with each other Laxus continued his questioning. "Ivy, what happened to your mom? I remember reading there was an accident, but the details where never given."

Ivy opened her eyes to meets Laxus' with a steady gaze. "It was me."

Laxus' hand stopped moving waiting for her to continue.

"I found the hammer the day after my mom got back from her annual tour. I wanted to give my parents a little more time alone together before mom and I spent the day together. I went for a walk on a path my father and I had been on a hundred times, the only difference was that day I was alone. It was just resting against the base of a tree. There was no moss growing on it but the indentations it left in the bark and the ground made it look like it had been there for years. It was even already attached to the holster. When I picked it up I was so excited; I had found this really cool hammer and I couldn't wait to show everyone."

Sitting up Ivy moved to sit next to Laxus no longer able to meet his eyes. "When I got back to the house we learned that neither of my parents could lift it. I thought it was the funniest thing because to me it weighed no more than fifteen pounds. I decided to take it with us when we went horseback riding, and that was the first time I felt that twist in my gut. I ignored it thinking I was getting sick. I just didn't want to miss the opportunity to have mom all to myself."

Ivy wiped a tear away as she hugged her knees to her chest; realizing she had never talked about this with anyone but her father. "We learned later that the hammer draws any storms in the area more quickly. If I show up somewhere and a storm is forecasted for the next day you know it will blow in at least twelve hours early. There was a thunder storm that wasn't supposed to begin till the afternoon. It started so quick there wasn't enough time to get to shelter. We both ended up getting bucked from our horses. I only sprained my wrist and got a few bruises, but when mom fell her neck landed on a rock breaking it and her spinal cord."

Laxus let Ivy sit in silence as they finished listening to the record. He didn't think it was her fault, but he wasn't sure how to put that into comforting words. Freed and Bickslow were better at conversations, Evergreen only used him as a shoulder to cry on; never as someone to get advice from. Just as he was about to try Ivy began speaking again.

"Thank you for letting me listen to this. I haven't heard her play since before she died."

"Why?"

"After my father figured out what had caused the storm and what was happening to me he got rid of everything that was associated with her and made us move. I know that sounds awful, and it was, but he did it so he wouldn't end up hating me. Not being constantly reminded of what he lost because I was chosen, or whatever, helped him stay my dad at least some of the time. He became distant but some days were better."

Laxus reached over and grabbed her shoulders forcing her to face him. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known the hammer was warning you and most kids want to spend time with their parents after they've been gone." He wanted to tell her more. Make her believe that it really was an accident, but he couldn't figure out what else to say.

To Ivy his words were perfect. She crawled into his lap and once again kissed him. When she pulled back she gave Laxus a smile that could out shine the sun. "So what movie do you want to watch first?"

I've had the idea for this chapter since I started writing this story.

I wrote ch. 12 and 13 over the last 36 hours. So I hope you can understand that I will be taking a break. At least a couple days to a week. It shouldn't be longer than that.

I love seeing your reviews they have kept me motivated when I've felt stuck!

Thank you for reading!

-P.P.V