Chapter 4

The whole guild was upset about Gray. Mira had down played his injuries to Lucy. The truth is if Wendy had not found Gray shortly after he was hurt, he probably would have died. When the rest of the guild was told everyone reacted differently, but everyone agreed that the dark guild that Gray had run into would be found and would pay. Laxus left in order to get away to calm down; he just missed hearing Mira call the object of all his recent dreams.

Laxus had been back about a few days from his team's emergency mission. His habit of walking by Lucy's apartment to see if she was home had escalated to him going there to relax. After hearing about Gray he was more worked up than ever before. He had been resisting going in the apartment since his return, but tonight Lucy's faint scent through the closed window was not working to calm him down. He had been standing and staring at Lucy's window long enough to make the other people around suspicious. He finally caved into his need to be near Lucy's scent and teleported inside. He hated that he was not strong enough to resist but figured no one would ever have to know. He swore never to do it again after tonight.

Once inside he breathed in deep and let Lucy's fruity scent work its magic on his emotions. He looked around the apartment having never been inside before. He thought that the small and feminine apartment suited the celestial mage. He sat on the couch and closed his eyes; he did not mean to fall asleep.

Some point after Laxus fell asleep Virgo appeared next to the bed with all of Lucy's things from her trip. The maid spirit had taken the liberty to shop for groceries so Lucy's fridge would not be completely empty. As Virgo walked to the fridge to put away the groceries she noticed the slayer sleeping in her princess' house.

She decided that it would be interesting to watch how Lucy would react to the new invasion, but the dragon slayer also should be punished for his invasion. Virgo goes and grabs some of Lucy's lacey underwear; she then placed them carefully around Laxus. She took a few pictures for potential blackmail. With her punishment complete Virgo quickly finished putting away the items she brought. She disappeared into a gold light with the intentions to plot with Aquarius.

(Time skip at Magnolia train station)

It was nearly midnight when Lucy got back from Clover Town. Worrying over Gray had sapped any strength she had recovered after summoning Draco. She walked to her appointment in a daze, deep in thought.

I want to see Gray now; it is so late though that it would be a bad idea. Will he hate me for not being there with him while he was injured? OH! What if he is mad because I was not there to back him up when he got hurt. What if he and Juvia finally got together? Wow. I am selfish I should just be worried about helping Gray get better.

As Lucy was lost in thought she had made it back to her apartment. When she opened her door she immediately heard a snore coming from inside her apartment. She put a hand on Leo's key and turned the overhead light on with the other. What she saw made her freeze in shock, and then sent her into a rage.

Lucy let go of Leo's key and reached for her whip. She then flicked it around the blonde dragon slayer's ankle and yanked. With her new strength she succeeded in pulling him off the couch; his head hit the floor with a satisfying thunk. Laxus had woken up just as Lucy pulled him off the couch. After he hit the floor he got into a fighting stance not realizing it was Lucy who had attacked him.

He quickly realized who was in front of him based on scent alone. "Lucy…", Laxus said her name almost like a sigh, but the celestial mage did not hear because of her rage. When the whip came at him again he grabbed it this time, and pulled hard on it. When the lightning mage jerked on the whip Lucy came forward and ended up in his arms. Laxus pend her arms to keep her from striking out at him.

A struggling Lucy started to yell, "Laxus, you pervert let go of me! Get out of my place you panty wearing freak!" Laxus froze at her name calling, "I do not wear panties and I have a good reason for being here! Calm down Blondie." Lucy kicked the blonde dragon slayer in the shin and continued to yell, "You cannot lie to me when you are in my apartment wearing my panties on your head, ass hole! I caught you sleeping with my clothes on my couch! You are a perverted, liar. GET OUT!"

When Lucy said Laxus had panties on his head, he immediately let her go to try and take them off. When he reached up onto his head he was horrified to find he in fact was wearing a pair of hot pink lace boy shorts. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU PUT THESE ON ME BLONDIE!?" Being screamed at by the one who invaded her privacy made Lucy see red. "LAXUS YOU BAKA!", as Lucy screamed this she tackled Laxus to the floor trying to pummel him into a bloody pulp. Neither of them noticed a golden light appear or the sudden appearance of Virgo.

"Princess, is it punishment time?", Virgo asked with a polite bow to the heated Lucy. Hearing a new voice made both mages quite struggling. When Lucy saw Virgo she got off of Laxus, and walked to her spirit friend. "Virgo why are you here?" For the first time Lucy thought Virgo might be nervous. "Princess I am here because I am afraid my actions might have caused you some distress." Virgo quickly went about telling both mages how Lucy's panties ended up all over Laxus.

When Virgo was done explaining her story Laxus was growling in anger and Lucy was laughing hysterically. "Princess, what will my punishment be?" Lucy couldn't stop laughing long enough to speak a full sentence, "Nnn hehe no punish haha ment. Just apologize HAHA." Virgo bowed in front of the angry slayer and apologized in her own odd way, "I never meant to upset my princess, I just thought it would be a good punishment for you invading her space." After saying this, she went back to her own realm.

A fuming Laxus screamed, "That wasn't even a real apology Blondie!" Lucy just shrugged and started picking up all her underclothes that Virgo had used in her twisted punishment, "The way I see it, you deserved to be punished. She is right you invaded my space and I AM still mad about that. So, please go. No, first tell me why you are in my apartment then leave please." Lucy was sure she must be delirious from exhaustion because she just thought she saw the all-powerful Laxus blush.

Laxus cheeks were flushed but he rubbed his face to cover it, and quickly lied, "I knew when you heard about the Ice Stripper you would come running home. Master has made a temporary rule no one is to be alone, if they are under S class, till they catch the guild who hurt Gray. So you are stuck with me till someone else can stay with you." Lucy stopped putting things away and stared at the other mage. "Laxus I will be fine till morning. I am tired and have nothing in the house to entertain guest. Please I just want a proper bath and sleep." Laxus shook his head no, "master's orders blondie."

Lucy just sighed in defeat, "I have nothing to eat or drink. I am taking a bath, stay out of my stuff. You'll have to stay on the couch, as you can see I have no guest room." Lucy grabbed some clean towels and slammed the door to the bathroom shut. Laxus started sniffing to make sure she was truly ok; the only smell he could detect from Lucy was frustration, hunger, and the need for sleep. He also caught the smell of fresh food; he went to investigate since he and Lucy both were hungry. He quickly found all the food Virgo had left before.

While Laxus was preparing some food Lucy was in her bath trying to relieve some stress. She started slowly going through her normal routine. Half way through her bath she started smelling something delicious. She finished the rest of her routine in a rush and wrapped up in her towel leaving her hair dripping down her back. She exited the bath in a cloud of steam.

Laxus turned around and froze in place, this was just like one of his dreams he had. He could not stop staring at the beautiful blonde mage. Lucy was just as awestruck at the site of Laxus in her pink ruffled apron with plates of food in his hand. She shook her head and asked, "What are you doing and where did the food come from?" Laxus snapped out of his thoughts when Lucy spoke and set the plates down on her table. "I could tell you were hungry and decided to cook as a peace offering. I'd like to call a truce… As for where the food came from I suspect you can thank that pink haired maid friend of yours." Lucy nodded once and walked to her bed and grabbed her robe. She turned her back to the dragon slayer as she put it on.

Laxus pretended to be busy setting the table but he watched Lucy the entire time. Lucy's robe wasn't what he would have pegged the innocent girl to choose. It was a short, black, silk that screamed for someone to run their hands across the smooth material. He stared as she dropped the towel beneath the robe the second her back was turned. He watched every movement of her hands as she dried her hair with a dry towel. He had to quickly look down as she turned back to face him; Lucy just finishing the knot in her robe as she fully faced him.

"Laxus, I have some things I want to ask, but first I must apologize and thank you. First I am not only sorry about over reacting tonight but I am also sorry for attacking you that day I left two and a half months ago. Secondly thank you for thinking of my safety and coming to make sure I am not alone per master's orders. I accept your peace offering, just no more breaking and entering." Laxus grinned and motioned for the celestial mage to sit. "Eat Blondie. You are dead on your feet. No need to apologize or thank me. I got questions for you too, but we are both tired and the sun will be up in a few hours. So, I propose we ask the number one most important question and leave the rest for tomorrow… Deal?

Lucy nodded her agreement and took her first bite of the delicious pasta dish Laxus had made. It was so good she could not help but to close her eyes and make a groaning noise as she took another bite. The second Lucy made that happy sound in the back of her throat, Laxus came to attention and stared at her, memorizing her face in that moment. Lucy opened her eyes to see Laxus watching her; Lucy blushed bright red. "Sorry, it is just that the food is really good. I did not know you could cook." Laxus laughed, "Yes I can cook Blondie. I am glad you enjoy it. Now ask your one question for the night."

Lucy didn't even have to think. She blurted out, "What happened to Gray? Tell me every detail you know?" Laxus had expected this question but not with the amount of emotion coming from the celestial mage or the pain he could see in her eyes.

Are they together? I never pegged them for a couple. This is not how a friend or even a teammate reacts. I always thought Lucy had a thing for Natsu.

"Laxus, what happened too Gray?" Lucy asked again worried at Laxus far off gaze. Laxus started telling Lucy about Grays situation, "Stripper was on his way home from a mission when he was attacked by a dark guild. They roughed him up pretty good and tried to forcefully drain his magic, then left him for dead. We were lucky Wendy happen to find him on one of her walks. She saved him not only from death but losing his magic forever. He will recover but it will take time and he will need to train to get his strength back again."

Lucy was shocked and blurted out, "was it like Yukino?! It was Minerva again wasn't it?!" Laxus just nodded, "yes, we are lucky Gray did not turn out like Yukino, unable to use magic ever again. Sadly, like before there is no proof to show the magic council so Minerva is still free."