The next morning, the entire team sat at the kitchen table to eat breakfast with Lucy and Lily before they had to leave. Lily decided to spare Bickslow's babies that morning, to which he was eternally grateful. Freed had told her twice that he had added runes around the house and that she should be safe. She was grateful, but it was starting to get on her nerves a little.
"I want you to take this with you."
Laxus set down his fork and took the stack of papers that Lucy handed him. "What's this?"
"It's my book. Levy finished it and you said you wanted to read it next." She smiled at his shocked face. "I figured it could give you something to do while you're traveling."
"Thanks, blondie." He smiled and looked at the front page. "I'll make sure to bring it back in one peace."
"I'll hold you to that." A pink hue dusted her cheeks when he smiled at her.
"I wanna read it too!" Bickslow shouted.
Evergreen swatted him with her fan. "Like you can even read."
Lucy giggled. "If you find the time, I don't mind all of you reading it."
"What about me?!" Lily huffed.
"You can read it when they get back sweetie." Lily sighed in defeat at her mother's words. "Besides, you're still learning how to read."
"I can assist you when I return." Freed offered. "Not to brag, but I am an avid teacher."
"Run for your life." Laxus whispered, making Freed puff out his cheeks and Lily giggle.
"Don't worry about the dishes." Lucy said once they were done eating.
"Thank you, miss Lucy. We should be going now." Freed bowed.
Lucy giggled. "It's no problem. Good luck to you all!"
"We will be the champions!" Bickslow laughed as he slung an arm around Freed and dragged him to the door. "Champions! Champions!"
"They will be the first ones to go down." Evergreen whispered to Lily, who giggled and hugged her. "Take care of yourselves."
"We will. See you soon." Lucy smiled as she hugged Evergreen.
Laxus picked Lily up and kissed her forehead. "Hold down the fort, squirt."
"That's what little shits do." She grinned and he rolled his eyes.
"Damn straight." He chuckled when she ran back to the table to finish the rest of her food and he walked up to Lucy. "Can I talk to you in private?"
"Sure." She followed him into a room at the far end of the house. She gasped when he suddenly pinned her against the wall and smashed his lips against hers. She moaned, opening her mouth for his tongue's entrance, her back bowing when his hands slid behind her.
He groaned when he felt her press against him and he grinded into her, loving the small squeak that he swallowed. Her whole body was on fire, she was never prepared when he did random things like this, but she wasn't complaining. She gasped when his hands slipped under the backside of her shorts, his hands squeezing as he pulled her further into him, a quiet, throaty moan escaped her as she raked her nails down his scalp. He groaned, deepening the kiss further, pulling her leg up as he ground into her. She shivered when she felt the pressure of his bulge rub against her and she sighed, letting her head fall back against the wall when he began trailing kisses down her neck. He gave her juicy breast a squeeze as he softly bit down on her neck. "Oh, Laxus." She airily sighed as she grabbed the buckle on his pants. With a groan, he grabbed her hands to still her movements, slamming one hand on the wall as he rested his forehead against hers. It was so damn hard for him to stop, and with her whine, he knew she was upset too. With a huff, she tilted her head up to try and latch back onto his lips, but he pulled away.
It took every fiber in his being to pull away, because it really was time to go, he just had to taste her sweet lips before he left. His pants tightened further when he saw her flushed face and lust filled eyes. He gently grasped her chin with his forefinger and thumb and kept his lips close to hers as he whispered, "see you soon, blondie."
"Yeah..." She cleared her throat when he pulled away and flatted down her hair. "G-Good luck."
He smirked as he turned to leave. "Thanks, blondie."
"Wait."
He stopped at her words and turned back to face her. She looked nervous as she grabbed her arm.
"What am I to you?"
He sucked in a breath, looking at her seriously as he thought about what to say. He didn't quite know how to answer that question right then. "I'll let you know when I get back."
She sighed as she sunk against the wall, her heart clenching. Why couldn't he just tell her? He was so confusing, but god did he look good as he walked away.
He stopped just shy of the kitchen to try and calm down his boner before he said goodbye to his daughter one more time. It was a powerful one, so the only thing he could think of to calm it down was by picturing his grandfather. With a shiver, and slight mental bereavement, his boner calmed down and he stepped into the kitchen to kiss his daughter's cute head.
On the boat, Laxus flipped to the third page of Lucy's book. He had to admit, it was already pretty good. He didn't normally read stuff like this, but it was drawing him in... just like she was. Her question had been on the back of his mind since she asked it. He knew she was important to him, so much so that he really wanted to be careful about it. He could definitely see himself with her, but what would happen if he fucked things up? Would he still be able to see his daughter? Would they go far away from him? If he was being honest with himself, the fear of a relationship with her failing and him losing his daughter was keeping him from starting one in the first place. He knew that if he took things too far with her, then he would definitely have to give her an answer. He couldn't bear losing his daughter, even the possibility scared him. He was being a coward and he knew it, but he told her he'd answer her question when he got back, so he had to make sure he had one. With a sigh, he set down the book and looked at the waves.
"Want a drink?"
Surprised, he turned his head to see Mira offering him a glass. With a smile, he accepted it. It was really goddamn hot. "Thanks, Mira."
She smiled and sat down next to him with her own glass. "How are things with you, Laxus?"
He hummed as he took a sip. "Lily's doing great. She's getting stronger every day. Little shit's gonna be stronger than me in no time."
Mira giggle. "She really is something." After taking a sip from her glass, she looked at the man. She still cared for him dearly, but her heart was seaming to move on, and by looking at the stress under his eyes, she hoped he could do the same. "Laxus." He gave her his full attention. "I just want you to know that I completely approve of you and Lucy."
He looked at her in shock. "Mira, it-"
She raised a hand to cut him off. "Whether you feel that way for her or not, I just want you to know that. We had great times together, and I will never regret that. But, I think it's time to move on to new chapters of our lives, and we should be able to do that with no awkwardness or ill feelings."
He slowly let a breath out through his nose as he smiled at her. She was an amazing woman, and he wished they had resolved this much sooner.
"Whatever happens and whoever we decide to be with, I just want you to be happy." She continued with a smile.
"Thanks, Mira." He smiled. "I hope the same for you too, ya know."
She giggled as she stood up. "Thank you, Laxus. See you out there." Despite what she just said, she wasn't about to tell him that she was falling for his best friend. Nope. Not yet.
"See ya." He took a sip of his glass as he looked back out at the waves. He was glad that she was okay with him and Lucy, but that still didn't chase away his fear. With a sigh, he picked her book back up and got engrossed in the pages for the rest of the way.
Later that day, Lucy sighed as she put down her pen. She looked over at Lily to see the girl fast asleep with her head on the kitchen table. Lucy chuckled and put her head in her hand. Looking around the kitchen, she couldn't help but wish she could have gone with them. It was gonna be so quiet and a little lonely without Laxus and his team. She had grown so accustomed to them being there that it was weird without them.
Suddenly a warmth flowed through her and she gasped when her key ring glowed. Looking down at her hip, she stared in awe as a new key appeared on her key ring. Loke's voice flowed through her mind and she slapped a hand over her mouth. Capricorn. She couldn't believe it. She would have jumped in joy at getting a new key; however, by him informing her of what was going on, she couldn't be anything but worried about Laxus and everyone else. "Oh no." She whispered to herself. "Please be okay, everyone."
Lucy woke up the next morning with a heavy heart. Her sleep had been restless, not being able to get any more information from Loke made her toss and turn with questions and worry. Groaning, she made her way to the bathroom and turned on the faucet, splashing her face with water. Loke appeared in a flash of light and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
"You worry way too much, princess."
She sighed in aggravation and glared at him. "After all that shit you told me, how could I not worry?"
He pushed up his glasses before he grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a hug. Over the years, he had become her source of comfort, and she couldn't deny the fact that he could calm her down in almost any situation. "Princess, I've been with Fairy Tail for a long time, and they never back down from anything. They are a whirlwind of destruction and nothing could take them down."
She smiled at his words, her worry dying down a bit. "I can believe that. Thanks, Loke."
He chuckled as he released her. "Trust me, they will be fine."
She sighed once again as he disappeared. She had read so many things about their destruction and knew they would probably be fine. Still, she wished she knew what was happening. Deciding to head to the guild, she figured maybe someone there had heard something.
"Can I have a milkshake?"
Lucy looked down at her daughter as they neared the guild and chuckled. "Sure, why not."
Lily cheered. "I bet Romeo won't get a milkshake."
"Lily, you won't be getting one either if you shove it in his face."
Lily's face fell. "Okay, mama."
Lucy shook her head with a smile. Right as they approached the doors, a man wearing some sort of official uniform walked out of the guild. Her eyebrows scrunched and worry flared back up inside her. When they walked inside, everyone stared at them. Looking around, she noticed they had pity in their eyes and she frowned. She noticed Bisca standing behind the bar in Mira's absence, so they made their way over to her. She looked nervous as they approached. "Hey, Bisca."
"Hey, Lucy, Lily. I'm so sorry."
Lucy frowned at the green haired girl. "What do you mean?"
Macao walked over and sat down next to them. "Lucy. We just got word that... Tenrou island has disappeared."
Her eyebrows scrunched together. "What do you mean, disappeared? How can an entire island disappear?"
He sighed. "A dragon used a breath attack and now it's gone."
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "A dragon?"
"Are they dead?" Lily asked as he lower lip trembled.
Macao's eyes saddened as he looked at her. "We don't know, but they're gone."
Lucy picked Lily up and cradled her to her chest as she started crying. A tear slipped out of Lucy's eye as well as she looked a Macao in horror. They couldn't really be gone... could they? She sat down as the air escaped her lungs. This couldn't be real.
Thanks for the support, you guys. I thought I might lose some of you with this, but I'm honestly excited for what's to come. I totally agree, I have been smut depriving you guys and I'm so sorry, but hang in there, there will be plenty of it, I promise.