Chapter 14:

Laxus stayed true to his word. He walked Abi back to the Bed and Breakfast in silence, and he reserved the room next door. He told her to go to sleep, threatened extreme bodily pain if she ran away, and slammed the door shut.

Abi laid in bed, seething. She glared up at the ceiling and kept exhaling through her teeth. Fucking Fairy Tail. Her necklace glowed blue with her frustration and illuminated the room. The charm struggled to suppress her powers bubbling with her frustration. She groaned and slammed her fist down next to her. Why does he make me so mad? Abi gnashed her teeth together and continued to get angrier. She couldn't think straight. All she could picture was the smug, insufferable dragon slayer wishing her goodnight.

Abi threw the covers off herself. She began pacing back and forth in the compact room, feeling all her energy threatening to explode out of her skin. He doesn't get to wish me goodnight. Not after butting into my deal and making my life difficult. That good for nothing, sharp toothed, lightning brained, tall-

A sharp thud sounded through the wallpaper, the sound of a fist banging against a wall. "Go to bed, Abi."

"Fuck you," Abi muttered under her breath.

"I can hear you walking." The voice growled back. Her hands shook with fury and she let out a huff; her eyes lit up and then died back down. Laxus, you- you-

"Insufferable, pig headed, overgrown man child, stupid waste-of-space!" She whisper-yelled at the wall. Abi wrinkled her nose at the wall and grabbed the nearest thing- a pillow- and hurled it at the flowery wallpaper. It made a soft thunk and fell to the ground. Laxus responded with what sounded like a snort of laughter.

Abi sat back down on her bed and glared at the wallpaper with purple and pink flowers. The Praesidio inhaled deeply and exhaled. The necklace stopped glowing and Abi felt herself calm down a bit. She buried her face in her hands and closed her eyes. Everything would be fine.

Abi waited for two hours to make her escape. If Laxus could hear her walk, she had to make sure he was asleep before making any moves. The moon was high in the sky; now was her chance.

The Praesidio slowly crawled out of bed. She moved silently towards the door, and she grabbed her bag of valuables. She placed her hand on the door nob. Abi felt her own wards move as she opened the door with a creeeaaaak, and cringed slightly at the loud noise. The thief paused, listening for any movement down the hall. The townhouse was silent.

Slowly, she stepped into the hallway and turned around to slowly close the door. As she twisted the knob to ensure it didn't click shut, a deep voice rumbled behind her:

"Going somewhere?"

Abi's feet left the ground and her heart felt like it left her body as she let out a yelp of surprise. She spun around, swinging a fist. The dragon slayer caught her wrist in midair and pushed her back against the door, pinning her hand above her head. Abi swung another hand, this one going for the gut, but Laxus caught her arm and pinned it low. The blonde thief bared her teeth and sent a knee up to his groin. Laxus parried her leg with his and pressed his knee between her legs, knocking her off balance and effectively pinning Abi against the door. This exchange happened in a matter of seconds, and the door creaked against their weight.

His grip felt like steel, and Abi looked up to see a very sleepy— and very grumpy— dragon slayer. Laxus's grey eyes were storming, bloodshot, and narrowed. His blonde hair was messed up and pointed in many different directions, like he had just woken up. The dragon slayer bared his canines at her and snarled. Abi glanced down and realized that he was also shirtless, dressed only in his black boxers.

The Praesidio smiled and tried to free her hands. "Laxus," She said in a sing-song-sweet voice, "What are you doing up so late at night?"

The Dragon Slayer snarled in response. Abi swallowed hard and steeled her nerves. She tilted her chin up so her face could be closer to his. The thief lowered her lashes and looked at him with sparkling teal eyes. Laxus blinked for a second.

"You know how I get when you touch me— are you sure you wanna be doing that, Sparkles?" She tugged at his power; Laxus didn't back down. The smell of ozone filled the air. A hallway light bulb exploded. Laxus grinned, and it sent a chill down Abi's spine.

"Go ahead, Abi." He slid her hand that was pinned by her hip up to meet her other, above her head. The Dragon Slayer moved forward and pressed his bare chest against hers. Abi was suddenly very conscious of his lack of clothes, and how his body felt against her loose, inconspicuous black garments. His eyes stared into hers, liquid electricity sparking in their stormy depths. Abi felt her breath catch in her chest for a second and exhaled unevenly. Laxus continued: "Drain me and the deal's over. I get to let loose, gramps gets turn you in to the authorities, and you'll have Fairy Tail on your ass for the rest of your life. And that's only if you escape."

The dark skinned girl glowered at him. So much hatred bubbled up for the man pinning her against the door. She could barely speak. Abi bared her teeth and strained against his grip, standing on her tip-toes to try and get eye level.

"I. Hate. You." She grounded out. The thief could feel his breath on her face, and he let out a puff of amusement.

"Love it when you talk dirty." The dragon slayer grinned and electricity turned his irises gold. Thoughts of the bedroom flashed in her mind. The air grew tight between them; the tension was palpable. Laxus leaned forward, brushing his jaw against her ear. His canines seemed a little bit more elongated as he said in a low voice, "Now, Abi, are you going to behave? Or are you going to make me tie you to that bed?"

Her stomach flipped. She moistened her lips and felt her breath catch again.

"MISTER DREYER, THIS IS HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE!"

The elderly inn keeper switched on a light, which caused the destroyed lightbulb to spark and jump onto Laxus's bare shoulder. He immediately jumped back from Abi as if she were a live wire. The wizard flushed red and found himself stumbling over a lousy explanation as to what's going on.

Abi slipped back inside her room, deciding it was better to get some rest rather than face the wrath of a sleepy innkeeper.

…

Laxus and Abi did not speak of the night's events. They did not speak a single word to each other. His entourage arrived at the Inn at 7 AM sharp. Bickslow and Evergreen were hungover, and Freed fussed at the Dragon Slayer for not notifying them of his decision to stay at the inn and, "Not letting me make sure this room was properly prepared for you, Laxus!"

Freed brought Laxus fresh clothes as well, and he offered to help the Dragon Slayer change his outfit of a black sleeveless turtleneck and red pants. They left to go upstairs, much to Abi's surprise, and she was left alone with Evergreen and Bickslow. Today, Abi wore her loose black pants with wraps around her knees and wrists as protection. A cropped white tank top clung to her muscular frame and she topped it off with her lacrima-encrusted belt and tools. Underneath the jacket, her knives were cross-strapped at the small of her back. Her champagne blonde hair was tethered into a high ponytail, and the mane's various braids cascaded over her shoulder. The seith mage leered at Abi, and Evergreen glowered at her with blatant distrust. The thief quietly sipped her coffee and pretended to read the newspaper, ignoring the two wizards perched on either arm of her chair.

Evergreen started: "I'd just like to know-,"

"Ever, the master said-,"

"I know what Master Makarov said, Bickslow!" The brown-haired woman snapped. "But I find it hard to believe she's just a job for him. I mean he always tells us about his jobs!" At those words, the Praesidio glanced up at the woman on her left. The thief found herself frozen, unable to look away from the mage. Evergreen trained her glasses on Abi, and her green eyes glowed slightly. Why do I feel like I should really, really look away?

"Tell me, 'Abi,'" Evergreen used air quotations around Abi's name. "What is going on with you and Laxus?"

"It's been arranged that he… guards me." The words were hard to get out of her mouth. Abi's tongue felt like cement. She slowly raised her cup up to her lips and took a long sip of coffee to try and wash the bitter words out.

"Hmmm… might explain why he's hangin' around a girls he bones— he never does that," Bickslow said in obvious puzzlement. Evergreen broke eye contact with the thief to glare at her guildmate. Abi felt her face go red and she almost spewed her coffee out. Her head whipped around to the right. "I would never sleep with Laxus!"

She made eye contact with Bickslow through his visor and again, found herself frozen in place. This time, it felt like the wizard was looking into her very soul. Evergreen shook her fist victoriously. "I told you, Bick! Laxus would never be with a girl like you."

Bickslow made a noise in the back of his throat and rolled his eyes at his friends. "You kidding? She's exactly his type, Ever." Abi broke eye contract with the Fairy Tail wizard and felt slightly panicked at their magic type. Bickslow continued to argue with Evergreen, not missing a beat: "I just want to know what she does to keep him around because, like I said-,"

"They're not sleeping together!" Evergreen retorted in a high-strung voice, clearly stressed trying to protect Laxus's 'honor'.

The thief didn't want to make eye contact with either wizard, so she quietly guzzled her coffee and stared at a page of the newspaper, sandwiched by the two bickering members of the Bodyguard Core. How did she get here? Was this worth all the trouble? Yes. Her thoughts reaffirmed her position and she gripped the coffee handle a little tighter.

She could do this.

Update, I decided to split the chapters into smaller segments, to add to the dramatic effect. Here's to a short, but unexpected chapter!

R&R