Took me a few days to finally upload this chapter because I had to tweak most of the other chapters and added chapter titles. I'm such a noob. LOL. Thanks for reading my work!

Chapter 17: Time to Go to Work

It was the moment Lucy Heartfilia had always feared. When she arrived in her apartment, her scary landlord furiously reprimanded her for the damages much to her embarrassment. Thanks to Laxus Dreyar, who came forward and gave the older adult a hefty payment, he mellowed down a bit, seemingly pleased, and allowed them to gather her belongings inside.

Laxus gently patted the forlorn Lucy on the back as they stepped into the room. "This is so embarrassing," she sniffled, crossing her arms on her chest.

"I never thought anyone could be scarier than Gramps, but I changed my mind," he told her. Then, he gave a low whistle as he looked around the room. There were shards of glass windows and pieces of splintered wood everywhere.

Wasting no time, Lucy pulled out her pink-colored suitcase and opened it beside her closet. Then, she started hauling her garments and cramming them into the trunk. Moments later, she went over to her dresser drawer to gather the smaller things that she owned.

"Oh, thank the spirits!" the celestial mage cried in relief, hugging her manuscripts and unsent letters to her mother. She had found them inside her broken desk drawer, which looked half burnt.

When she finally finished packing her things, or at least the things she deemed valuable to her, Laxus carried her luggage outside so they could head back to the hotel.

"You know, maybe it's for the best. I certainly don't want to live my days always worrying whether or not I'd get yelled at by Mr. Landlord over there," Lucy remarked, stretching her arms. Then, she glanced at her towering companion. "Are you sure you don't want me to carry some of my stuff?"

"Nah," he replied gruffly. "I think I've caused you enough trouble."

She smiled at him. "Say, I never really thanked you for saving my life when I—you know. So, thanks."

"Don't mention it."

When they finally arrived in the hotel, they went upstairs to Laxus' room and dropped her luggage. Then, Lucy flung herself onto his canopy bed and sighed, stretching her tired legs.

"How are you tired when you didn't even carry anything?" Laxus chuckled, hanging his coat in an open closet.

"I don't know. For some reason, my muscles feel sore since we…" she trailed off, feeling embarrassed. "Hey, you can go ahead downstairs and join the others for lunch if you like. I'm just going to change my clothes and put on some makeup." She quickly sat up.

But Laxus was already undoing the buttons of his shirt. Moments later, Lucy could see the tribal tattoo on his upper body and the Fairy Tail emblem on his left rib cage. Suddenly, she felt her breath caught in her chest.

"Oh, you want to change your clothes, too. Okay, you go first," Lucy babbled, averting her eyes. She gripped the sheets as she felt a treacherous blush crept up her face.

"You're nervous again," he remarked, tossing his shirt in a nearby basket.

"Yeah, I'm always nervous whenever I'm alone with you," she confessed, snickering. She met his gaze and gave him a flirty wink.

Growling, the dragon slayer walked over toward her with his eyes blazing. He pushed her back onto the bed and moved on top of her. Then, he lowered his face and kissed her lips fervently.

Maybe I shouldn't tease him like that, she thought, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly. She opened her mouth and returned his kiss, calmly placing her arms around his neck. His lips felt really warm that she couldn't help but enjoy them.

Moments later, she could feel him removing her arms from his neck and then pushing them onto the bed. Confused, she opened her eyes and realized that he was trying to pin both her wrists rather tightly above her head with one hand. The gesture felt unnatural to her.

Hold on. What's he doing?

His other hand started unbuttoning her top as he kissed her more intensely.

Lucy turned her face away to catch her breath. "Hey—can we talk about this for a moment?"

"Talk about what?" he asked brusquely. "Am I not allowed to touch my lover?"

He lifted her skirt and started skimming her thighs with his hand, watching her expression as he did so. She felt her skin grow hot under his touch that she let out a gasp.

Lover.

"Let's—let's not get carried away," she stammered, trying to wriggle free from his tight grip. "Listen, I need to get ready for work."

"Ah?"

Spirits, his hold was starting to hurt, but somehow the pain triggered something in her that she couldn't quite explain.

"Does it hurt?" he murmured in her ear. Lucy knew exactly what he was talking about.

Of course, it does. It hurts a lot, but—

"This seems to excite you," he mused, tracing soft kisses up her arm. "Tell me."

"Yes, it does," she answered him honestly. "But this feels weird. Please let go. You're hurting me."

Lucy felt him stiffen. She might have said something that struck a nerve because he let go immediately and rolled onto his back beside her.

She massaged her aching wrists. "What's with you?"

Laxus sat up and reached out to hold her hands, gently this time. Then, he started rubbing his thumbs carefully on her wrists as if to comfort the pain. "Forgive me."

"Well?" she prompted. Even when her wrists were hurting, the way he was touching them right now still stirred up something inside her.

"I just—I don't like people taking pictures of you in a bikini, all right?" he blurted out. "How many morons are there in the photo studio? Tell me."

Lucy opened and closed her mouth. Was Laxus jealous? She didn't dare believe it, so she had to ask. "Are you—like, being possessive with me right now?"

"Yeah," he said simply, lifting her hand and pressing his lips to her fingers.

"And you called me your lover," she pressed, feeling tingles all over her body.

He lowered her hand and then raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah," he said again. "What are you getting at?"

She shrugged. "I was just wondering if it was your way of confessing to me."

"Ah? My way of confessing?"

Lucy shrugged again. "I was just wondering…"

The dragon slayer stared at her for a moment, looking flustered. "And if it was? I mean, I do want you."

She thought for a moment. "You mean, you desire me," she suggested, watching his handsome face.

"Yeah, that, too."

Lucy sat up and smoothed her hair. "You know, I was actually thinking about asking Jason to hire me as an editor for Sorcerer Magazine."

"You'll start writing again?" he asked in a surprised yet pleased tone.

She nodded. "Yeah. I think it's about time. I told you I wasn't interested in modeling. And I don't think my lover would want me to stay a bikini model forever." She winked at him playfully.

"I mean, you can still wear a bikini in front of me if you're really into wearing those things," he muttered. Then, he frowned. "Wait a minute. Did you just call me your lover?"

"Is my hearing problem starting to rub off on you, big guy?" she teased.

He chuckled, scratching his head. "Yeah, I guess so." Then, he pulled her toward him for a quick kiss. "You should get ready for work before I get tempted again."

She laughed. "Okay, but you have to turn around first."

He scowled. "But I've already seen you—!"

"Doesn't matter. Now, please turn around."

Laxus kept his back turned as Lucy took her clothes off and changed into a pair of red bikini. Moments later, she donned a flattering red blouse and white skirt. After she had applied her makeup, she finally checked herself out in the mirror. "Okay, I'm ready!" she said brightly, satisfied.

The celestial mage and the dragon slayer went downstairs and then joined their friends in the hotel dining area. They noticed that everyone was already done eating their lunch but lingered on the table for dessert. Lucy did her best to finish her plate as quickly as she could.

"What's your deal, blondie?" Cana asked, chuckling. "Are you that hungry?"

"It's my job. I have to meet up with Jason at the studio in about forty-five minutes. I can't be late," Lucy explained after downing a glass of juice. Then, she stood up. "You'll have to excuse me, you guys."

"Have fun, Lucy," Evergreen said, raising her glass to her. "We'll take care of Laxus for you."

"Uh, yeah, okay," Lucy said sheepishly. "Bye!"

She darted toward the hotel's exit. She didn't have time to brush her teeth, so she pulled out a piece of mint gum from her bag. She chewed on it and let the fresh mint swirl in her mouth.

The studio was still a bit far ahead. Lucy wondered if she could make it on time. If she was going to ask Jason to hire her as an editor for Sorcerer Magazine, then she shouldn't be giving him a reason to reject her request. Oh, please don't let me be late!

Suddenly, she heard a roar of a vehicle engine behind her. When she glanced over her shoulder, she saw a familiar guy with spiky orange hair riding a magic motorcycle. He wore a pair of tinted sunglasses and a dark suit.

"You need a ride, mistress?"

"Spirits, Loke!" Lucy exclaimed, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Hop on," the celestial spirit offered, halting his bike. "Sorry if it took me a while to get back to you. I was recovering in the celestial spirit world—but I'm okay now." Then, he winked and offered her a pink helmet bearing a bold scribble that reads, "I LOVE LUCY!"

Well, that's Loke for you…

"Hey, I'm glad you're okay," she said sincerely. "Well, I do need to get to the studio fast, so I can't refuse this ride." She took the helmet from him and put it on her head. Then, she firmly secured the strap under her chin.

"Don't worry, mistress," the lion said as she climbed on the back of the motorcycle with him. He glanced over his shoulder to look at her and then pushed his sunglasses up his nose, grinning handsomely. "I got your back."