Chapter 14: First Date

Laxus Dreyar thought he could read her easily, but he was wrong. So, the blonde girl wanted them to get to know each other better. The gesture was sweet, but rather unknown to him, as the girls he had dated before would prefer words of seduction and physical intimacy during the onset of their acquaintance.

But this was Lucy Heartfilia, a beautiful young woman who was known in Fairy Tail to prefer books and fancy clothes over going out with undeserving bachelors such as himself. At least he knew that about her.

The celestial mage probably wanted assurance or something before giving herself to him. Well, if that was what she wanted, then the dragon slayer should stop at nothing to let her have what she desired.

Perhaps, at the end of the evening, she would be willing to let him make her his if he played his cards right, he thought.

Laxus finally found the place where they could dine in private. The owner of the candlelit restaurant was a grateful client of his. In the past, he had saved his business from pesky thugs who always came by to steal his earnings. In return, the owner always reserved the fancy table on the upper balcony of the restaurant for the dragon slayer and the Thunder God Tribe.

As they entered the double doors of the restaurant, he was aware of Lucy holding his hand, her face looking a bit flushed with pleasure. What he wouldn't give to be able to make her his.

"Good evening, Mr. Dreyar," the owner of the restaurant greeted him. "A table for four—oh," he stopped when he saw Lucy. Then, he smiled widely. "A table for two, then."

Lucy gave Laxus a questioning look, and he told her about his history with the owner. "The Thunder God Tribe and I always visited this place because they serve great food."

"You're really awesome, you know that?" she told him, leaning on his arm.

He stared at her, raising an eyebrow. "Not really. Those thugs were easy to knock out."

"Laxus, you saved that man from losing the business he probably worked hard for his entire life," she said. "To you, beating up those thugs may not be much of a challenge, but to the owner of this restaurant, your help meant a great deal to him."

"You're giving me too much credit, Missy."

She chuckled, seemingly unfazed with how he purposely addressed her.

As they were having their dinner, Lucy opened up about her childhood and how she joined Fairy Tail after running away from home. She also told him about her relationship with her celestial spirits and her dream to become a famous published writer someday.

"So, you didn't want to be a model?" Laxus asked her skeptically.

"No, not really," she admitted, shaking her head. "It's just something that I do to get by. I haven't given up on my real dream. But after Fairy Tail, it was hard for me to pick up my pen again."

"I see. I'm sure you'll find the courage to start writing again. And as soon as I find Gramps, I'll ask him to reinstate our guild even if that means I have to beat that old geezer up."

Lucy's eyes looked misty with tears. "You really mean that?" she asked softly.

"Hey, don't cry on me," Laxus said hastily, feeling embarrassed. "You make me feel like a bad guy here."

She laughed softly. "Thank you, Laxus," she said, wiping her tears away. "What about Blue Pegasus?"

"They're a decent bunch, but I grew up with Fairy Tail."

Laxus began opening up to her about him being close to Makarov when he was a child and the things he had to go through with his estranged father. Then, he talked about his relationship with the Thunder God Tribe and how Fairy Tail's acceptance and forgiveness for his past sins had changed his outlook in life and himself.

He watched Lucy's expression as he told her things about himself that he had never told anyone about, including the Thunder God Tribe. As she listened, he couldn't sense any kind of judgment from her.

I feel strange when I'm with her.

He had intended to take her in a candlelit dinner because he thought she would find it romantic, and it would put her in the mood, but it felt like she hardly looked around the place. She seemed to be more interested in him than anything else. It gave him an odd feeling.

"Hey, it's getting late," Laxus told her gently, holding her hand and kissing it. "Should we head back to my apartment?"

Lucy nodded, smiling at him. "Okay."

When they had arrived back in his apartment, Laxus removed his coat from Lucy's shoulders and told her that he was going to take a quick shower. That way, she could prepare herself for bed without him being in the way.

"Okay. I'm going to summon Virgo again so I could change into something," she told him.

"Ah, I see. So, that's how you got your strange clothes," he mused. "I was wondering about that."

Lucy's eyes widened. "What do you mean strange?" she retorted, glancing at her reflection in a large, wall mirror. "They're perfect!"

"No, you're perfect," he murmured, giving her a quick smile in the mirror. He saw red in her cheeks and immediately knew that she was blushing again.

"Listen," she said, turning around to face him. "Thanks for tonight. It really meant a lot to me."

He nodded. "You can sleep in the bedroom. After I take a shower, I'll sleep on the couch here."

"Do you mean that?" she asked, glancing at the large couch near the window.

He scratched his chin. "You know what? On second thought, you should sleep on the couch. This is my apartment after all."

She glared at him, her hands on her hips. "Is that how you—?"

"I'm just kidding. I'm going to take a shower now, all right? Be a good girl." With that, he stepped inside his bedroom and closed the door. He could hear Lucy muttering to herself. Snickering, he shook his head in amusement.

As he was taking a shower, Laxus thought about his conversation with the celestial mage earlier. He realized that he practically opened up everything about him to her in one night. Well, he left out the stuff about his past relationships with other women because she didn't need to know any of that. But for the most part about his life, he was able to share them with her.

She was slowly changing him, he realized. He didn't know though if it was for the better, but he knew he still wanted her tonight.