Chapter 7
Lucy was the first to respond to Laxus' demand, "No way Lightning Rod." Erza nodded her head in agreement, "Lucy and her partner would need to live together and be close at all times. To keep her honor untarnished a female mage would be best." Laxus was not giving the idea up though, "Look, me being Blondie's partner makes the best sense. The only other female "S" class mage, besides you Erza, is Mira. I am sure Mira would want to be paired off with Lisanna considering her sister is also a target. That just leaves Gildarts and me. Once Gildarts learns Cana is on the list his main goal will be to protect his daughter. Now I am the only "S" class mage left with no partner." Makorov had been silent throughout the discussion amongst his children.
Erza was about to argue some more with Laxus, when Makorov spoke up, "Lucy. Laxus is right. I cannot deny the others the right to protect their family when they are targets as well. I have come to a decision that should make everyone happy. Lucy will be temporarily placed with Laxus and The Thunder God Tribe. Erza, Evergreen's presence should be enough to keep your mind at peace." At Makorov's decision Erza agreed that she no longer had a problem. Lucy did not complain Laxus was right about the other's pairing with their family. She decided to try to make the best of the situation, and if Laxus became insufferable she would just stay close to Freed. She knew for a fact the two of them could talk about books for hours; which Lucy knew Laxus would avoid doing at any cost.
Everyone that had been with Gray started walking down the stairs to the main floor except their Master. Makorov stood on the railing to the second floor and yelled over the noise in the guild to get his children's' attention. "Alright you brats listen up. Gray has woken up.", Master paused to let the happy cheers die down before beginning again, "He gave us some important information about the ones who attacked him. He has confirmed our suspicion that it was Minerva and at least three other mages. He also told us that they are working off a very specific target list. The ones that are on that list I have decided to put in groups or paired with "S" class mages. Who you will be paired with is as follows and is not negotiable. Juvia is to be partnered with Erza. Lisanna you will be with Mira. Cana, you are with me till Gildarts returns later today, then he will be your guard. Levy will be in a group with Pantherlily, Gajeel, and Wendy. Romeo will be in a group with Macao, Laki, and Wakaba. Bisca is to be in a group with Alzack, Elfman, and Natsu. Jet will be in a group with Droy, Nab, and Max. Lucy will be with Laxus and The Thunder God Tribe. Gray is sure that Lucy is the main target; that being said the everyone else in the guild who is not on the list is still on the body system. Despite the fact this is troubling news, we got missions to take, so get to work brats."
Everyone started getting in the pairs their Master had designate, except for Natsu. Natsu ran to Lucy side, he was unhappy with who Lucy was paired with. "Luce why didn't we get paired together? I could have slept with you, and it wouldn't be weird because we have slept together before." Natsu of course blurted this out at maximum volume and everyone turned to stare at the two. Mira was imagining pink haired blue eyed babies muttering, "OH! Cute babies.". Lucy turned a remarkable shade of red. After 'Lucy Kicking' Natsu into the second floor; Lucy screamed, "YOU BAKA! NOW EVERYONE THINKS WE ARE A COUPLE! WHEN WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IS YOU BROKE IN, SNUCK INTO BED WITH ME, AND FELL ASLEEP!" Natsu stood up and said, "Luce it isn't that big of a deal. Plus, if you sleep with Laxus he will take up too much of your bed." Lucy wrapped her whip around Natsu's mouth to shut him up, "Shut up you idiot. Laxus and I will not be sleeping in the same bed. Master has assigned your group, now go protect Romeo. Cause any more of a scene and I will get Virgo to punish you again." This threat caused Natsu to lose all fight and shocked the guild to see the pinkette willingly obey anyone except Erza.
During the entire drama caused by Natsu, Laxus watched on in jealousy; thinking of Lucy with the fire dragon slayer. He smiled in satisfaction when Lucy put the Salamander in his place. When the Blonde mage finally subdued Natsu, he said, "Blondie the Thunder God Tribe is waiting. We got details to finalize, and we were going to pick a mission to go on today as well." Lucy left Natsu with a final threatening glare and a point toward his group; then she followed the lightning dragon slayer. When Laxus and Lucy had made it over to the Thunder God Tribe they all sat down at a corner table. Freed was the first to speak, "Miss Lucy it is nice to see you home safe. I wish this pairing was not caused by such distressing news though." Lucy smiled kindly at the green haired mage, "Thank you and despite the reasons behind my placement with you all I bet we can still have fun."
Laxus was glad that Lucy was getting along with his team, he had been a little worried that Lucy would be uncomfortable with them considering their past history. They all were very grateful when Lucy had forgiven them for his past mistakes, especially Laxus, he had gone out of his way to hurt the blonde mage more than once. The past was something that still ate at his soul, but Laxus shook off the memories to discuss the future. "Alright guys, Master basically wants us to house together until the danger passes. Freed if you agree, I think your place is best, you already have protective ruins there, plus yours is the only one that has more than one spare bedroom. Ever since you are the only other female it would be best if you and Lucy roomed together. Obviously, Blondie has had enough men in her bed recently." Laxus said this last part with an evil smirk.
Freed and Evergreen had agreed to Laxus' plan before he ever mentioned his reasoning behind the decision. When Laxus made the comment about men in Lucy's bed Freed blushed and looked away from everyone. Evergreen just wolf whistled in Lucy direction. Bickslow said, "Never imagined Cosplayer would be getting herself a piece on the side." All of these things made Lucy blush deeply and she couldn't bite her tongue, "You did not seem to mind being in the same bed as all my other men last night…. Kitten." After saying this Lucy walked away from the table of shell shocked mages and went to the request board.
The Thunder God Tribe all stared at Laxus after Lucy's comment. Freed cleared his throat, "Laxus I personally approve of any relationship you have with Miss Lucy, but her team would likely not approve. They are very protective of her; in fact, the whole guild is rather protective of Miss Lucy. It might be best to break the news of your relationship gently." Laxus growled in his frustration, "We are not together. We did not have sex. I went over because she did not have a partner and needed one. Sleeping is all that happened. Let's go pick a request before Blondie goes off by herself." When they reach Lucy, she turned around and asked, "How do you all normally pick request?" Evergreen answered, "We take turns picking normally. Why don't you pick this one Lucy?" Freed and Bickslow both nodded in agreement; while Laxus crossed his arms, and remained silent.
Lucy turned back to the board and considered which one to take. After a few minutes Lucy picked up a request and showed the others. The reward was five million jewel and two celestial keys for clearing out a new town settlement of wild beasts in another country up north. They all agreed to meet at Freed's house after packing and leave on their request early the next day. Since Lucy wasn't allowed to be alone, she called Virgo out and asked, "Will you go to my apartment and pack a bag for me, Virgo? Also, store it in the celestial world till I call again please." Virgo bowed to her key holder, "Yes Hime." Before the maid spirit could disappear, Lucy said, "Be careful, Virgo." Virgo bowed once again and left in a golden light.
The Thunder God Tribe left to go to their own houses to pack for their temporary move to Freed's house. Lucy looked at Laxus and asked very politely, "You ready to go to your house to pack?" Laxus gave Lucy a cold stare, "We need to talk Blondie." After saying this, he turned and headed for the guild doors, making Lucy have to hurry to keep up. When they two got far enough away from the guild Laxus stopped walking and turned to look at the blonde mage. "If you have a problem with me, you need to hash it out with me. Don't make snide comments about me to my team. Secondly, I wanted to apologize for my poor joke about your love life. I honestly did not mean to offend you. I should warn you now, the team and I are more relaxed around each other then what you will see at the guild."
When Laxus first started talking Lucy began to lose her temper, but after his apology she started to feel bad for her comment at the guild. When he was done speaking he started to turned but she grabbed his arm and said, "Laxus I am sorry if I made you look bad in front of your team. When we all meet up at Freed's place I will set them straight on why you were with me last night." Laxus nodded in acceptance of Lucy's apology and the they continued down the road to where Laxus lived.
It took longer than Lucy thought to get to Laxus' house. It was nothing like what Lucy had imagined the lightning mage living in. The outside showed sign of being well took care of. The inside is what shocked Lucy the most though. It was very obvious that a man owned the place, but there were the little touches all over the place that only a woman would think of. Pillows on the couch, a piece of decorative glass on the mantle, even flowers in the windows of the main floor. Laxus paused in the living room. "I would give you a tour, but now is not a really good time. I won't be long, but make yourself at home.", saying that Laxus did not wait for a response but immediately disappeared up some stairs. Lucy began to look around the house trying to find more out about Laxus. She went over to a small book shelf and began to look through it.
On the shelf were a few books but mostly it was full of trinkets and photos. One photo in particular caught Lucy's attention. She picked it up to get a closer look. It was a picture of a woman, her face taking up the whole frame. The woman in the picture was very beautiful and blonde. Lucy became lost in thought.
I wonder who she is… This frame is very expensive and magically protected to keep the photo safe from harm. She obviously is very special to Laxus if he takes such care of her photo. She is absolutely gorgeous, I bet he is dating her. That might explain why his house look nothing like a bachelor's pad.
Laxus came down the stairs to see Lucy holding one of his most precious possessions. He cleared his throat so as not to startle her into dropping it. "Please put that back where you found it when you are done looking at it." Lucy put the photo exactly where she had found it after seeing that it upset him for her to touch it. She apologized, "Sorry Laxus; did not mean to upset you. Is that your girlfriend? I can tell that she means a lot to you." Laxus shook his head no, "That is my mom Blondie." Laxus could tell that Lucy was still curious, the scent of it was coming off her like waves. "Just ask what you want to know. It will drive us both crazy till you do." Lucy would not look Laxus in the face instead she began looking around the house, "Your place is very clean for a single man's house." Laxus grinned he knew what game Lucy was playing, "I hire a maid service." Lucy continued to circle the main floor of the house, "The decor is nice, pick it all out by yourself?" Laxus began to genuinely smile, "Ever refuses to let us live in a poorly furnished place without proper fashion." Laxus' responses made Lucy sigh in frustration. Laxus finished walking to the front door, "Look Blondie you are a smart girl. Just ask the question you really want the answer too."
Lucy finally blurted out the question she so badly wanted to know, "Am I causing you to be separated from a girlfriend?" Laxus chuckled, "No. I have no girlfriend Blondie." Lucy blushed and whispered, "Boyfriend?" At this Laxus stopped laughing, "HELL NO! I am not gay." Lucy finally looked the dragon slayer in the face, "Sorry I just thought maybe you and Freed might have a thing. He kind of worships you…" Laxus rubbed his face in irritation, "I am straight and I will prove it."
So, saying this, Laxus smirked at the celestial mage, before he grabbed her around the waist and pulled Lucy's body close to his. "Hold on tight Blondie. You are in for one hell of a ride."