New story and it took me weeks to finish this one, I wanted to pretty much perfect it.
And I think it is mostly. It may make you cry I know I did writing it.
I hope you enjoy this one.
Disclosure, I do NOT Own Fairy Tail Or its Characters!
Now, On with the show!
Years have passed since the fight with Acnologia and the world seemed to be back to normal if anything in the world of magic would be considered normal. There was one guild, in particular, that was as they were before all the fighting began and that was the Fairy Tail guild. The once rowdy and almost downright destructive guild was now boarding on quiet and depressed.
What left the Fairy Tail Guild in the pits of depression was the loss of their Light, Lucy Heartfilia. Now you're wondering what happened that caused such tragedy, well it happened two years after they defeated Acnologia. The guild was attacked by the resurrected demons of the Books of Zeref.
Now you're wondering, How? Right? Well, in the world of Magic nothing is impossible.
A dark guild had gotten their hands on a book of dark magic that once belonged to Zeref. And this book had the spell and instructions on how to bring those demons back. It took the dark guild three years to complete the process and had finally brought them back, but what they didn't expect was the demons to turn on them and wipe them out. Their need for revenge on Fairy Tail outweighed anything else.
Last time the guild won without losing a single member, but just barely. There, of course, were some close calls. But this time, they only lost one.
Lucy Heartfilia, Celestial Spirit Mage, and Fairy Tail's Light.
How, you might ask? Well with infusing the power of all Twelve Zodiac keys and infusing all her power into one spell that even Master Makarov had barely been able to master.
Fairy Law.
Because Lucy only read about how to do it, and never attempted it before, she, of course, overdid it and took out all the demons at once. But, it cost her. The guild took it hard. And they had buried her near the guild for her to always be there in their hearts.
It's now two years since then, and from what Master Makarov and his grandson have seen, everyone seems back to their normal rowdy selves like she never existed in the first place.
But none of them knew what laid beneath the guild, except for one group. And they weren't about to tell anyone until the time was right.
"I figured I'd find you down here, boss..." Bickslow said, leaning against the frame of the doorway to the secret room beneath the guild in the basement.
"I feel like she's lonely down here by herself... That's all..." Laxus said staring up at a giant crystal.
"It's been two years... I don't think she'll be waking up anytime soon... I mean the first master had been in the same situation and it took her years and years to be set free of that thing..." Bickslow said coming up beside his friend.
"I know... But I won't let that happen... If Gramps was able to come back after using it so can she..." Laxus growled, clenching his fist at his sides.
"It might take a while for that to happen... I mean she still looks sorta pale..." Bickslow said.
Laxus sighed. "I know... I'm hoping they'll have better luck with finding out some way to bring her back..." Laxus said, looking towards a wooden desk in the corner with a brown pouch laying on it.
"Has he visited lately?" Bickslow asked.
Laxus shook his head. "No... He said the King doesn't like spirits visiting our world without having a master..." Laxus explained.
"But they do have a master... She's just sleeping at the moment..." Bickslow said reassuringly as he patted his friend on the back.
Laxus lightly snorted. "That's one way to look at it... But Loke said that the King said that once something is found to bring her back, he'll allow Loke to bring it to us..." Laxus said.
"Well, that's great... Then, you'll have your girl back soon!" Bickslow said with a grin.
Laxus raised an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly. "My girl?" Laxus asked, thinking back to the first night they shared.
It was getting late, and only a few people were left in the guild. One being a bubbly blonde and the other being a normally grumpy blonde dragon slayer.
"Laxus!" Mira called out to him. He grunted his response. "Can you take Lucy home? Cana kind of challenged her to a little contest that got a little out of control..." Mira said with a giggle as she supported the giggling blonde that had wrapped herself around her neck.
"A little?" Laxus snorted. "She looks like she's long gone..." Laxus said, getting off his chair and walking over.
"Yeah..." Mira said, scratching the back of her head after Laxus took Lucy off her.
"Where am I taking her?" Laxus asked with a sigh.
"So fluffy..." Lucy giggled as she nuzzled into Laxus' coat making him chuckle and shake his head.
"If you could take her to your house that'd be best... I don't know where her purse or her apartment keys are..." Mira said apologetically with a smile.
Laxus sighed. "Alright... I'll bring her back in the morning then..." Laxus said before turning and leaving.
"Oh! Fair warning! She gets a little overly loving when she's drunk!" Mira called after him before the door shut completely.
Unknown to him Mira had hidden her purse behind the bar counter because she was trying to join one of the brawls that had broken out earlier. And she didn't want Lucy to end up getting hurt. Not to mention Lucy's magic never worked right when she was drunk. So, Mira thought this would be the safest bet.
But Laxus was true to his word, he took her to his house, which besides his team and grandfather, no one else from the guild ever came here. But on the way, Laxus had to fight to stay in control. He wouldn't have known that the celestial mage was so handsy when she was drunk if it wasn't for Mira but even so he didn't expect her to be this handsy. Her hands were all over him. And not that he was against drunken one-night stands, but this was Lucy he was talking about. She was the last one he'd want to fool around with when intoxicated.
"Mira wasn't kidding when she said you got loving when you're drunk..." He mumbled to himself as he walked.
When he reached his house Lucy had already wrapped herself around his neck and was kissing and licking at his neck. He should have been given an award for self-control, otherwise, he would have taken her against a tree on the way there. Not that he would be against that, but again this was a drunken Lucy.
"Stop it, or you'll find yourself bent over the nearest flat surface screaming my name!" He growled in warning.
"Promise?" Lucy purred against his neck.
He groaned. "You're going to be the death of me..." He grumbled.
He carried her back to his room which was the only option since he had just done laundry and all the sheets and blankets were still in the laundry room. He only worried about his bed, he figured when his team showed up they'd do their rooms.
He laid her down but she wouldn't let him go. He tried everything to get her to let him go but nothing worked.
"Come on Blondie... Time to sleep..." Laxus groaned in annoyance.
"Sleep with me?" Lucy whined.
"You're drunk... No..." Laxus said.
"Not that drunk, Laxus..." She purred as she grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head down to her.
"You're still drunk... And I don't take advantage of drunk chicks..." Laxus lied through his clenched teeth.
She nipped at his jaw causing him to groan. "Seems to me Laxus, that you're not totally against it... You know you want to..." Lucy purred as she nipped at his ear.
It took a lot of thinking and consideration but he finally gave in to her. But he had to lay down some ground rules.
He sighed. "Fine, Blondie..." He said grabbing her hands and pinning them above her head as his other hand wrapped around the back of her thigh. "If we're going to do this, there's going to be some rules..." He explained as he trace her jawline with the tip of his tongue. "Once and done, no encores..." He said before grinding his hips into hers. "And, this one is very important... Tell no one... No one can know otherwise they'll have my head..." He growled into her ear after she moaned when he ground his hips into her. "Do we understand each other?" He asked.
Lucy was only able to nod before he crashed his mouth onto hers, thrusting his tongue into hers exploring as so he pleased.
He never thought much about it. It started as a mistake, a very drunken mistake on her part, but then they just kept going back to each other. He had told her once and done but then he'd find himself at her door on more than one occasion. She was like an addiction, like a drug and he always seemed to need a fix. Especially after he would return from a job, she would be his first stop after ditching his team. She'd complain that he needed a shower and he'd tell her to help him scrub his back. She fell for it every time, so he thought at first. After a few times, it was just their thing.
No one else in the guild knew about them, and frankly speaking, they preferred it that way. No threats, no unwanted questions from their own resident demon matchmaker. No worries about anyone else butting their noses into their relationship.
Relationship?
He internally snorted at the thought. Although, he guessed that was one way to put it. They didn't have any labels. They never actually talked about it. He supposed it never came up either, now that he thought about it. They just enjoyed each other's company from time to time. He'd never admit to anyone that she was the only one that he was sleeping with, not even to her. He let her believe that he was still sleeping around but she never seemed to care. At least she never said anything to him about it.
He knew she wasn't sleeping with anyone else, she only ever smelled like her team. But he knew that Natsu and Gray were with each other. And sometimes the blue-haired water mage. There were times she would smell like the blue-haired script mage and the Iron dragon slayer, but that was a given since she was best friends with the script mage and the script mage was mated to the Iron dragon slayer.
Then you had the guild drunk. Lucy would sometimes smell like her but he knew that Cana was with Mira. Now that was one hell of a surprise to the guild. No one expected that one, not even him. Cana would normally smell like Bickslow or Bacchus. And Mira normally smelled like Freed. But then they announced to the guild that they were dating. It threw everyone for a loop.
Freed and Bickslow were the odd pair to be seen together and sometimes Erik would join them with Kiniana as well. When Crime Sorcière was around Erza and Jellal would always disappear. Sorano and Sawyer would always be attached at the hip. The same with Macbeth and Meredy. Richard seemed to have a thing with Droy, not that he cared, it was their life.
He knew his feelings for her were growing and he knew if he was ever going to settle down, it would have been with her. There were nights when they would just sit and talk under the starry sky, then there were nights when they would wrestle in between the sheets. If he was being honest it was a tie with which ones were his favorite moments with her. But then the demons attacked and took the possibility of it being more away from him.
Laxus was broken from his thought when he heard Bickslow's voice. "Well, yeah... Think about it, you're the only one who is down here every day checking on her and the only one, besides us, that knows she's down here... You're the only one who gave a damn enough to try to help her... Not even her team did..." Bickslow spat getting angrier and angrier with every word spoken.
Laxus nodded. "If it wasn't for her... I would have died instead..." Laxus said remembering that day.
He was faced with four demons, each ready to attack. He knew he was in over his head. But he wasn't going to let these guys win or get to any of his guild mates. He'd protect them this time just like he did the last time. Until his last breath. He braced himself for the attack. He heard the crash and felt the explosion blow debris over his form but when he heard that scream it made his heart sink. When he looked up, what he saw made his heart hurt.
Lucy was laying there in her Aquarius Star dress coughing trying to push herself up as she glared at the demons. The four attacks that were launched at Laxus had merged into one so it made it hurt even more than it would have before. But that wasn't what she cared about.
"Lucy! What the hell?! Why did you do that?!" Laxus shouted as he stared on in horror at the battered blonde.
Lucy coughed as blood covered the hand she used to cover her mouth. "I couldn't let them hurt you..." Lucy said. "Never you..." She added in a whisper but he heard her nonetheless. Lucy smirked as she pushed herself up to her feet. "Now, it's time for you demons to go back to where you came from..." Lucy said putting her hands in front of her, palms facing each other where a small white glowing ball started to form.
"Lucy..." Laxus whispered his eyes growing wide as Lucy's entire form started to glow. "Lucy! No! Don't use that!" Laxus shouted as he realized what spell she was using.
Lucy looked back with a smile of adoration. "Remember I'm a Fairy Tail wizard... I'll do whatever it takes to protect what's mine..." Lucy said softly as her star dress began to change to each one, one right after the other.
"Lucy why?! Why'd you go and jump in front of me!? I could have taken those attacks!" Laxus yelled in horror as he watch the white glowing orb grow bigger as her star dress stopped back on Aquarius'.
"Because..." Lucy started before she looked away and closed her eyes to hide her tears. "Because you mean more to me than my own life..." She said. "More than anyone else..." She added in a whisper. She smirked. "According to the rules of Fairy Tail, I'm supposed to give you till the count of three..." She said in a louder voice as the white ball grew to the space between her hands. "But... I say screw that..." She said through gritted teeth as her eyes snapped open. "You don't deserve that... Now! I invoke... FAIRY LAW!" Lucy shouted as she pressed the palms of her hands together against the white light making it grow out and cover the entire area.
"Because I fell in love with you..."
Was what was whispering around him after the light of Fairy Law disappeared.
It was Bickslow's voice that broke him from the memory. "Those damn demons ambushed you! She just happened to be close by... You were her guildmate... She'd do that for any one of us..." Bickslow said staring up and the floating blonde in the crystal.
Bickslow would never admit it, especially to Laxus himself, but he and his teammates knew about the two blondes. They happened to go to Laxus' house one day and they found the two of them already engaged in certain activities. Bickslow wanted to tease them both but the other two on his team made him leave them alone.
Laxus knew Bickslow was trying to cheer him up, but he knew the real reason Lucy jumped in front of those attacks. She said it before she was stupid and cast that damn spell.
That was the last thing she said to him. He would have killed her himself if the spell didn't pretty much do that already. But he was the one that the guild found holding her to his chest, refusing to let her go. Though everyone was confused they let him have his moment with her.
When they returned to the almost fully intact guild hall, they had put her in a wooden box to be buried. They decided to host the funeral the next morning. Which meant Lucy would be in there all night, all alone. Laxus couldn't take it. And around midnight he went and took her out of it and brought her down to the hidden room under the guild. He found the spell that the second Fairy Tail master used on the first master and put Lucy in the giant lacrima crystal.
He couldn't let her die. Not like that.
For the past two years, he would always be found in this room. He knew the other Slayers might end up finding him down here but he didn't care. He had this intense need to be near her at all times possible. Once his Grandfather found him down here but didn't say a word. He knew the old man was there because he could smell him and the scent of salt. Meaning his grandfather was crying. Probably from seeing Lucy inside the giant crystal.
"Your grandfather's looking for you..." Freed's voice came from the doorway. Laxus turned his head and looked at his friend who was looking up at Lucy's frozen form with sad eyes. "How is Miss. Lucy today?" Freed asked with a forced smile.
Laxus let a small smile grace his face. "The same..." Laxus answered. He cleared his throat. "What did the old man want?" Laxus asked.
"Something about a job..." Freed said with a shrug.
When Freed first found Laxus down here he was surprised to see Lucy floating in the giant crystal. Freed didn't exactly understand it fully but he left it alone. He and the rest of the team knew of the relationship of the blonde couple even if no one else did. They even hid their knowledge of knowing from the blondes themselves.
Laxus sighed. "Alright, I'll be up then..." Laxus said before turning back to the crystal. He put his hand up against it. "I'll be back as soon as I possibly can..." Laxus said laying his forehead against the crystal before taking a deep breath and turning away.
Bickslow and Freed both looked away as they felt they were interrupting an intimate moment. When Laxus walked passed both of them they followed him up the stairs and into the main part of the guild hall where the others were all laughing and having fun. Well, everyone but Levy, who looked upset and pissed at everyone around her.
Laxus could even see the unshed tears welling up in her eyes. He looked at Gajeel who looked like he was ready to freak out because of the small script mage's tears.
"What's wrong with her?" Laxus asked quietly knowing Gajeel could hear him.
Gajeel looked up to meet Laxus' eyes. His eyes read sadness and pain. Though Laxus didn't know from what.
"It's..." Gajeel stopped and looked down at Levy again before looking back up at Laxus. "It's Bunny's birthday..." Gajeel said even quieter.
That's when it clicked. It was Lucy's birthday. He had it marked on his calendar for the past six years. How could he have forgotten? They would always have a picnic under the stars by the cherry blossom trees. That was the place where they came to their little agreement of no strings attached.
Laxus chuckled sadly. "Yeah... I know..." Laxus said. Laxus looked at Levy and sighed making a decision that might be a mistake in the end. "Be in this spot with little blue there by the time I get done with Gramps... I'm not sure if this will make her feel better or make it worst but it's worth a shot..." Laxus said before heading up the stairs to his grandfather's office.
To say Gajeel was confused was an understatement. But he figured if there was a chance to cheer up his mate he would.
Once Laxus stepped foot into his Grandfather's office he shut the door and glared at the old man sitting behind the desk.
"What do you want?" Laxus asked with an annoyed growl.
Makarov looked at him and noticed how tensed and pained he seemed. But he pushed it to the side in favor of possibly helping him out this once.
"Have a seat, my boy..." Makarov said motioning to the chair in front of his desk that, in Laxus' opinion, was too small for him. Laxus shook his head and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Makarov rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright fine... Be a stubborn ass... There's a request for a small team to fight off some dark guild, and the reward is a full-day visit to the World's Largest Library Of Magic... The Infinite Magic Archives..." Makarov said watching as his grandson's eyes widened in disbelief.
Laxus was surprised, he's been trying to find a way into that place for years now to try and find a way to help Lucy. He narrowed his eyes at his grandfather whose face didn't give anything away. He wasn't sure what his grandfather was hinting at but if he was seriously trying to help with bringing Lucy back who was he to turn him down?
"When?" Laxus asked.
"You leave in the morning..." Makarov said.
Laxus nodded. "Alright... My team and I will take it..." Laxus said turning to the door and grabbing the handle. "And not a word about what's in the basement..." Laxus said before pulling the door open and closing it before his grandfather had a chance to reply.
Makarov chuckled as the door shut. He knew his grandson wouldn't turn down such a request. It was to save Lucy and even Makarov missed the brightness of the girl. Makarov had a feeling that there was more than what met the eye when it came to both blondes, but he decided to leave it alone for now.
Laxus made his way back down the steps to find Gajeel and a still very upset and angry Levy. Laxus didn't know much about the script mage so he couldn't gauge the reaction she would have to his biggest secret.
Laxus took a deep breath. "Follow me..." Laxus said walking towards the basement steps.
"Where are we going?" Levy asked trying to hide a sniffle.
"You'll see... But I need you to promise me you won't tell or show anyone... Understand?" Laxus asked as he reached the bottom of the stairs and the big double doors of his secret room.
Gajeel's nose twitched before his eyes widened. He looked at Laxus in disbelief. Laxus nodded before looking back to Levy who looked confused on top of her other emotions.
"Why do you want me to promise something like that? Is it a secret? If it is why are you showing me?" Levy asked as her fists shook at her sides.
Laxus thought about it for a moment. It was something that Lucy always told him.
"I want you to promise me something Laxus..." Lucy said with a smile.
He snorted. "I don't do promises Blondie..." He said.
Lucy giggled. "It's nothing bad... Plus promises mean a lot to a celestial mage...Once you make a promise, especially with a Celestial Mage, you can never break it no matter what... You should know that by now..." Lucy said as she leaned her head back to look up at his face.
He chuckled. "Fine, how about you tell me what you want me to promise you and I'll decide if it's worth the risk of me losing my magic..." He said kissing her forehead.
"Promise never to hurt me..." Lucy said.
He snorted. "How about I promise never to lie to you... I can't promise I'll never try to hurt you because things aren't that simple... But I can promise you I'll never lie to you..." He said resting his chin on her head.
Lucy giggled. "Alright, I guess I can live with that..." Lucy said snuggling into him.
Laxus remembered that conversion that they had all those years ago. It meant everything to her for him to make a promise like that with her.
"Because when you make a promise you can't break no matter what... You have no choice but to keep it..." Laxus said twisted Lucy's words so Levy wouldn't get too suspicious.
Levy blinked. "She used to say the same thing..." Levy whispered lowly to herself. But both slayers heard her even though they pretended they didn't. "Alright... I promise I'll never tell or show anyone..." Levy said as she looked up with watery eyes.
Laxus nodded and smiled slightly when he saw Levy's figure glow gold quickly before it disappeared. He wasn't sure if that would have worked or not. But he did know any promise made in front of a Celestial Mage is like a signed contract.
"Follow me then..." Laxus said pushing open the giant double doors. Laxus walked in with the other two following him. "Remember not a word..." Laxus said before turning around to watch their faces.
As expected both had their mouths open in surprise and awe. They both stared at the giant crystal with disbelief and relief. Levy took shaky slow steps closer as she slowly reached her hand out.
"S-S-She's alive..." Levy whispered the tears falling from her eyes.
Laxus couldn't answer her. Truth was, he wasn't sure if she was or not. All he knew was that the lacrima crystal preserved her body better than a wooden box. And he hoped one day he could bring her back if she was still alive like the first master.
Laxus looked down. "I hope she still is..." Laxus admitted after a moment of silence.
"She's been down here this whole time?" Levy asked.
Laxus nodded. "Yeah... I couldn't stand to see her be put in that stupid wooden box like she meant nothing to anyone... I couldn't let her be in that box alone... She wouldn't like it..." Laxus said staring up at the floating blonde.
Levy looked at him as his eyes were fixated on the girl in the crystal. His eyes were soft when he looked at her. You could see that he cared a lot about her. She knew then that what Lucy had said all those years ago about her secret boyfriend was really about Laxus.
"So spill it... Who is he?" Levy asked as she put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked with a confused look on her face.
"Don't play dumb blonde with me, you know damn well what I'm talking about... So, spill it who is he?" Levy asked pointing her spoon at her in a challenge.
Lucy giggled. "No one... There is no he..." Lucy said taking a bite of ice cream from the tub they were sharing.
"So, is it a she then?" Levy asked wiggling her eyebrows.
Lucy snorted and had to cover her mouth and nose from expelling the ice cream she just put in her mouth.
Lucy then burst out into laughter. "No! There's no she! My stars no!" Lucy said as she fell back against the pillow that was behind her on her sofa.
"You need to stop playing dumb blonde with me... You have that glow... That happiness glow you know... Not to mention you have fresh Stargazer lilies on your table..." Levy said pointing her spoon over her shoulder at the dining table with a vase of fresh flowers. "And the hickeys you're trying to hide under your collar kind of give it away too..." Levy said pointing her spoon towards Lucy's neck.
Lucy turned red and sighed. "Fine... There is a he... But we're nothing serious..." Lucy said waving her hand dismissively.
Levy smiled and turned her attention back to the crystal. She rested her hand against it. It felt warm. Soothing warm. Lucy warm. She couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She let them flow as she sank to her knees. She practically hugged the crystal as she wailed. Gajeel was ready to go into a panic.
But Laxus shook his head. "Let her be... She's just happy right now..." Laxus said going over to the desk in the corner where the brown pouch sat. "The Spirit King won't let Loke or the others come to see her until they find a way to help her..." Laxus said placing his hand on top of the pouch.
Levy wiped her tears from her eyes before she stood up. "They're trying to help her? You're trying to help her?" Levy asked.
Laxus nodded. "Loke and the others are looking in all the books they have in the spirit realm to try and find a way to bring her back... We've exhausted all the books here in the guild... Freed had his face buried in every book he could find trying to find a way to bring her back..." Laxus explained.
"Let me help..." Levy practically demanded. "Please..." Levy added in a whisper.
Laxus looked to the crystal as he thought about something. "Actually, there is a way you could help..." Laxus started.
"Anything! I'll do anything! If it's to help Lu..." Levy said her eyes welling up with tears again.
"I'm leaving in the morning for a mission... I need someone to come and check on her from time to time while I'm gone..." Laxus said looking to Levy who was nodding her head frantically.
"Of course! I would love to... Anything for Lu..." Levy said as a watery smile formed on her face.
Gajeel nodded refusing to speak. He knew if he did his voice would crack. He'd never admit it but even he missed the bubbly blonde. He missed teasing her and he missed her advice with his mate. He'd never forget what she said to him.
"GAJEEL!" An angry female voice called from behind him.
He looked back over his shoulder and saw a fuming blonde stomping toward him. He was slightly confused as to why she would be looking for him but he shrugged it off.
He scoffed. "What do you want, Bunny?" He asked annoyed looking back up at the clouds. Lucy came up to him and smacked him across the back of his head earning her a growl as he held the spot she had just hit. " Ow! What the hell?!" He snapped.
"Don't you Bunny me, asshole!" Lucy snapped back. "What did you do to make Levy cry!?" Lucy asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Nothing..." He grumbled. "Ow! What the hell?! Stop that!" He growled in annoyance as he rubbed the tender spot on his head that she just smacked again.
"Don't nothing me! Tell me what the hell you did!" Lucy snapped stomping her foot on the ground.
"I didn't DO anything!" He snapped.
"Then what did you say?!" Lucy asked impatiently.
He sighed, there was no point in hiding it. "She's my mate and I told her I didn't want her..." He admitted as he looked away.
"And why don't you?" Lucy asked.
"Seriously?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Lucy nodded urging him to answer. "You of all people should know why... Look at everything I've done to her..." He said. Lucy giggled confused him even more. "What's so funny?" He asked confused.
Lucy waved her hand dismissively. "And people call me a dumb blonde..." Lucy muttered shaking her head. "Gajy..." Lucy said sweetly making a shiver of fear go up his spine. "You're going to listen to me and listen good... Got it?" Lucy asked. He nodded slowly slightly scared of the blonde. "You're going to get off your iron ass and go to her and apologize to her now... And you're going to take her out on a date... Do you understand me?" Lucy asked with a smile that scared him even more.
"And if I don't..." He asked with a gulp.
"I'll murder you... And not even a dragon slayer will be able to sniff out your body..." Lucy said with a sickeningly sweet smile.
"But... What I did..." He started. "Ow!" He growled rubbing the spot on his head she just smacked.
"None of that... She forgave you long ago when you joined the guild... Otherwise, she would have never allowed you to be her partner during the S-Class trials...Now would she?" Lucy asked.
He shook his head. "No, I guess not... But we..." He started.
"No buts... You're not in the games tomorrow you have all day tomorrow to make it up to her... Now go..." Lucy said sternly with one hand on her hip and the other pointing outward towards the hotels.
He sighed. "But..." He tried again.
"Go Gajeel..." Lucy said in a tone that said 'don't push your luck'.
He huffed. "Fine... I'm going..." He grumbled before getting up and walking towards the smell of his mate.
Gajeel knew if it wasn't for her he would have never given in and would have never been with his mate. He owed her a lot. Not just then either, there were many times that he owed her.
Gajeel cleared his throat. "Yeah... We'll keep her company..." Gajeel managed to croak out.
Laxus nodded. "Thank you... I know she'd appreciate it..." Laxus said looking back to the crystal.
Gajeel then noticed the look of longing on his face. He wondered briefly if Laxus realized it himself. From the looks of it, he didn't. He pushed the thought aside when Laxus cleared his throat and started walking away from the crystal.
"I'll let you guys alone for a while... I have to get packed and ready to go in the morning... Tell her I'll be back tonight and tomorrow morning before we head out..." Laxus said before disappearing up the stairs.
Levy watched his retreating back until she couldn't see it anymore. She turned her attention back to the crystal and looked at her friend floating inside. Her heart ached for her friend. She wished there was more she could do for her.
"She's his mate..." Gajeel blurted out after Laxus disappeared.
Levy snapped her head to him with wide eyes. "What?!" Levy asked.
Gajeel sighed. "That look on his face... That's how a slayer looks at a mate before they realize they're their mate..." Gajeel explained.
"You're positive?" Levy questioned.
Gajeel nodded. "Yeah... It's how I looked at you in the beginning... I know that look all too well..." Gajeel admitted looking up at the crystal instead of at his mate's face.
Levy turned back to look at the crystal. She was determined to help her friend and she wouldn't let anyone else stop her. But she needed help. And she knew the perfect person to help her. A smile made its way onto her face as her plan started to form.
"Don't worry... I'll help you get out of there..." Levy declared before running up the stairs.
"Where you going!?" Gajeel asked surprised at how fast the small mage was.
Gajeel followed behind her and when he got to the main floor he almost fell over from shock and laughter.
Levy ran up to Freed startling both Freed and Bickslow. Levy grabbed a hold of Freed's arm and pulled him as she ran towards the library dragging, too stunned to fight back, Freed down the steps to the library. Bickslow got up and followed behind at a bit of a slower pace and looked at Gajeel with a tilt of his head.
Gajeel shrugged and followed the two down to the library with Bickslow not far behind. Both men stopped at the doorway at the bottom of the stairs to watch a frantic Levy run all over the library looking through the bookshelves with a very confused Freed watching.
"Levy... What in all of Earth-land are you doing?" Freed finally asked after getting slightly dizzy from watching her run back and forth.
"I have to find it! I know it's here somewhere!" Levy muttered searching bookshelf after bookshelf.
Freed raised an eyebrow. "Okay... What are you looking for?" Freed asked again confused his head going side to side as Levy ran back and forth.
"I know they're here!" Levy snapped before stomping up to Freed and grabbing his jacket. "We have to find it! We have to help her!" Levy cried not bothering to stop the tears from flowing. "We need to help her! Please! Help me find them!" Levy asked burying her head in his shirt.
Freed was frozen in shock. It took a bit for it to dawn unto him what and who she was talking about. The only question was how did she find out about the basement? He couldn't ponder long though. Levy had a hold of his suit jacket and started weakly shaking him.
"Please! You're the only other one here who can help me find them!" Levy cried her hand shaking as she gripped the jacket tighter.
Freed looked at the girl with wide eyes before letting out a sigh of defeat. "Alright..." Freed said with a small sad smile. "I'll help you find them... But first, tell me what we're looking for?" Freed said with a small chuckle.
"The second master had a few revival spell books... He used them on the first master... Maybe they can help her..." Levy pleaded resting her head against his chest. "They just have to be here..." She mumbled into his suit jacket.
Freed patted the girl on the head a bit awkwardly. "Alright, let's take a look over there..." Freed said pointing to the far corner of the library. "I can only help for a short time, so let's make this quick..." Freed explained as he led the girl to the other side of the room.
Levy nodded before pulling him to a section of the library that he didn't even know about. Levy pulled on a bright pink book that didn't come out all the way and only made a clicking noise before the bookshelf shook and started to move to the side revealing a secret room.
"In here..." Levy said pulling him inside.
"How did you know this was here and I didn't?" Freed asked, looking around at all the books he'd never seen before.
"Lu created this room and put all of our most powerful and most special books in here... To hide them just in case something ever happened to the guild again... The room is made from a strong metal than Gajeel's iron... Nothing can break this thing..." Levy explained as they walked further into the room. "I forgot where the entrance of it was for a minute... Sorry..." Levy apologized.
"It's fine Levy... Now, let's see if we can find those books..." Freed said with an encouraging smile.
Levy nodded before going to where the books on healing magic were. "She organized all the books by type... One's with more than one type of magic in them is over there in the Miscellaneous section..." Levy explained.
"Miss. Lucy did all of this?" Freed asked looking around.
Levy nodded. "Master Makarov and Master Mavis were horrible at the organization so Lu thought it would be a good idea to make it easier for everything if it was all in order..." Levy explained pulling down a purple-covered book. "This one is one of the ones the second master used to help the first master... There were sticky notes placed on pages that said what the spell did at the time with the first master..." Levy continued.
"That'll be helpful... I know we shouldn't get anyone involved but Wendy or Sherria would probably be helpful at this point... But Laxus doesn't want anyone else to know..." Freed explained.
"I know... He said not to tell anyone when he showed me earlier..." Levy said a look of determination on her face as she looked through the book in her hands.
"Maybe if we find something that can help, he'll let us ask... But we need to find something first..." Freed said taking back a blue-covered book.
Levy nodded in agreement.
Gajeel and Bickslow watched from the sidelines in awe and surprise. They didn't know there was a secret room in the library either. Gajeel felt somewhat betrayed by his mate not telling him about this. But he brushed it to the side knowing this was a Bunny and Shrimp thing.
Bickslow nudged Gajeel with his elbow and motioned with his head to head back upstairs. Gajeel nodded and followed him upstairs.
"So, you know the boss's big secret now..." Bickslow asked as they reached the main level.
"Yeah... He hid it from everyone for two years... How did none of us find out?" Gajeel asked.
Bickslow looked out over the guildhall. "I think they stopped caring... Or they all moved on... The dragon slayers have mates they worry about... Well, minus Laxus... And honestly, I think most of them forgot..." Bickslow said with a shrug.
Gajeel snorted. "Laxus has a mate..." Gajeel said.
"Wait... What?! Who? And if he does why is he worried about Lu..." Gajeel covered Bickslow's mouth because he was starting to get too loud.
"Shut up! You want everyone to hear you!?" Gajeel whispered out a growl. Bickslow shook his head. "Good... Now I'm going to take my hand away... Are you going to be quiet?" Gajeel asked. Bickslow nodded. Gajeel sighed and uncovered his mouth. "Good, now let's go somewhere else to talk about this..." Gajeel said walking towards the basement.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to go down here? He could be down here..." Bickslow whispered.
"He left a little while ago to get ready for a job you all are going on tomorrow..." Gajeel said.
"Okay..." Bickslow let out a breath of relief. "He takes forever to pack anymore... He normally stares off into space for a while before packing..." Bickslow explained.
Once they reached the basement and sat at the desk that was next to the crystal, Gajeel looked up at the crystal before turning to Bickslow. He was unsure really how to say it but he figured it would be best just to say it.
"Bunny is his mate..." Gajeel stated.
Bickslow paused, blinking under his helmet. He was wondering if he heard him right. But then again it did make some sense. But how did no one else notice that?
"You sure?" Bickslow asked after a few moments.
"Yup... When he looked at her, the look on his face said it all..." Gajeel explained. "And also, from the looks of it, he doesn't even realize it himself..." Gajeel continued when Bickslow was silent.
Bickslow shrugged. "Makes sense..." Bickslow said.
"Huh! Why do you say that?" Gajeel asked.
Bickslow shrugged. "She's the only one he's been with for the past, I think six years now... Trust me, he never goes back to the same chick more than once... But she was the only one for years... He never even went out looking for anyone when we would go out... Yeah, chicks would approach him but he wave them away... We thought it was strange until we went to his house one time and found them rather occupied..." Bickslow explained.
"Six years? Damn... How the hell did he hide that from everyone?" Gajeel wondered out loud.
"Well, the last two she's been in that thing so I'm guessing only four of those years would count..." Bickslow said with another shrug.
"They count... Especially if he's been down here every day..." Gajeel chuckled.
"You could always find him here... We only found out because we followed one time... He wasn't happy about it but he let it go... Said that she wouldn't want him angry at us for a stupid reason..." Bickslow snorted sadly. "He would use her as an excuse not to be away from some reason... She's lonely being the main one... I think he just missed being around her but the mate thing makes sense..." Bickslow said standing up and walking over to the crystal.
"The guild isn't the same without her..." Gajeel said. "Even I miss seeing her smile... It lit up an entire room..." Gajeel said looking up at the crystal too.
"That it did... You could never be sad around her... But damn if it didn't make you cry if she cried... Like your heart would hurt seeing it..." Bickslow chuckled lightly.
"Don't remind me... One thing I hated seeing was her or shrimp crying..." Gajeel stated with a slight shiver.
"Let's get out of here before he gets back... I rather not get shocked today..." Bickslow joked as he headed towards the doors. When he came to the doorway it was like he ran into a wall, he couldn't walk through like something was blocking him. "What the hell?" Bickslow whispered as he knocked on the invisible barrier. "What is this?" He asked looking back to Gajeel.
Gajeel shook his head. "I have no idea..." Gajeel said walking over and putting his on it. It was warm soothingly warm. And oddly familiar. "I think it might be Bunny's magic..." Gajeel whispered mainly to himself.
"Her magic? How?" Bickslow asked.
Gajeel turned towards the crystal to see Lucy's face in a look of concentration. This only further confirmed his suspicions.
"Yup... It's her... She's keeping us here..." Gajeel said.
"Why though?" Bickslow asked looking at Lucy's face too. Bickslow smiled sadly as he thought about something. "I promise, cosplayer, I won't let anything happen to Laxus... None of us will..." Bickslow said watching her face relax. Bickslow turned and put his hand up to where the barrier was only for his hand to go right through. "I guess it was her way of making sure we watch his back..." Bickslow chuckled.
"She's definitely alive in there if she can do that..." Gajeel stated. "But why isn't she waking up?" He asked.
Bickslow shook his head. "Don't know... But it's a good sign..." Bickslow continues up the stairs.
Gajeel followed behind him. "Has she ever done that before?" Gajeel asked.
Bickslow shook his head. "Not that I know of... Though, we don't normally go down there unless we're looking for the boss..." Bickslow said.
"He probably makes the promise to come back for you guys..." Gajeel said quietly as they reached the main level only to almost get ran over by his mate and Freed. Gajeel shook his head. "Let them be... When the Shrimp gets into research mode she's unstoppable..." Gajeel chuckled as they walked to the Thunder Legion's normal table where only Evergreen was sitting.
"Well, this is unexpected..." Evergreen quipped. "What's the occasion that our table to graced by the mighty Iron Dragon slayer?" Evergreen teased.
Gajeel snorted. "Shut it pixie..." Gajeel said sitting next to Bickslow who started to cackle.
"I'm the Queen Of The Fairies! I'm no pixie Metal Face!" Evergreen huffed.
"Noted..." Gajeel chuckled with a roll of his eyes.
"But seriously why are you here?" Evergreen asked.
"Levy kidnapped Freed, so now he's bored..." Bickslow explained. His babies echoing 'Bored Bored'.
"Why did she kidnap Freed? I mean besides the obvious research..." Evergreen asked.
"Research..." Both men answered at the same time.
"Right... We have to leave soon are you ready?" Evergreen asked looking at Bickslow.
"Shit..." Bickslow said standing up. "I forgot... Too much going on... Be right back!" Bickslow said as his babies giggled following him.
"I forgot about those things..." Gajeel said looking at the floating totems. "They haven't made a peep all day..." Gajeel pointed out.
"Nothing new... They really haven't said much since..." Evergreen trailed off as she filed her nails.
"Since Bunny's been gone..." Gajeel finished her statement.
Evergreen looked up surprised. "How?" She began but then narrowed her eyes at him. "You know?" She accused.
Gajeel nodded. "Laxus showed Shrimp mainly because she's been upset that no one seems to remember that today's Bunny's birthday..." Gajeel said quietly.
Evergreen's face softened. "Yeah... Laxus has it marked on the calendar... Not that he would admit it... He forgets we clean the office when it's a mess..." Evergreen giggled a bit. "He buys her gift every year, and they'd go on a picnic too... I thought it was cute... Though don't tell him we know about that, he'd be mad we followed him... He blew us off a few times and we decided to follow him to know why he wouldn't hang out with us and we found them under the cherry blossom trees having a picnic... It was adorable..." Evergreen smiled fondly at the memory.
"I still can't believe none of us knew..." Gajeel grumbled.
Evergreen snickered. "We wouldn't have if we didn't follow him... Did you know they would even just look at the stars together? They'd do nothing but lay there looking up at the stars... It was really romantic... Never knew Laxus had it in him, to be honest..." Evergreen remarked.
"Now that's surprising... Dragon Slayers aren't normally 'romantic'..." Gajeel said holding up his fingers and doing the quotation mark motion.
"Believe me, we know... Laxus' normal is Fuck Them Then Dump Them... There's no dating involved..." Evergreen sighed. "But everything was different with her... He was different with her... He seemed better with her..." She said.
Gajeel nodded knowing exactly what she was talking about. He was the same way with his Shrimp. Not that he would ever actually admit that to anyone.
It was close to an hour later when Freed and Levy joined Gajeel and Evergreen at the table. Levy slumped down into the seat next to Gajeel as she crossed her arms over the table and rested her chin on them. Freed sighed as he sat down next to Evergreen resting his chin on his hand while his elbow propped it up on the table.
"No luck?" Gajeel asked already knowing the answer.
Levy shook her head. "No... We tried every single one we could find... Nothing..." Levy whimpered as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Shrimp, you tried your best..." Gajeel said awkwardly rubbing her back.
"The weird thing was... Nevermind..." Freed started before changing his mind.
"No, tell them... It was just plain weird..." Levy urged looking up from her arms on the table.
Gajeel and Evergreen looked at Freed waiting for him to start when Bickslow plopped down next to Freed. He was listening to the conversation but no one seemed to notice him so he decided to make himself known.
"Let me guess, there was a barrier of some sort making it so you couldn't leave that room?" Bickslow asked mimicking Freed's posture.
Both mages looked at him with wide eyes of disbelief.
"How did you know?" Freed asked with narrowed eyes.
"The same thing happened to me Gaj when we were down there..." Bickslow admitted.
"It did?" Levy asked sitting up her eyes sparkling with hope.
Bickslow and Gajeel nodded.
"How did you two get out?" Gajeel asked.
Freed's face tinted red as he refused to look at anyone. "Levy made me promise to bring Laxus back safe and sound for her sake..." Freed said with a sigh feeling slightly dumb for promising a person suspended inside a crystal.
Bickslow snorted. "We did the same thing... As soon as the words left my mouth the barrier was gone..." Bickslow explained.
"Could that mean..." Levy started to ask but cut herself short when the guild doors opened as Laxus walked in.
"You weren't kidding... He does take forever getting ready..." Gajeel remarked.
The three Thunder Legion members all nodded in agreement. They knew why he took so long, so they always make him leave earlier than themselves to get ready.
They watched Laxus walk to the bar and plop himself on a bar stool. His eyes were downcast looking at the counter as Mira came up to him to take his order. All Laxus did was give a nod to whatever she said. Mira smiled sadly and nodded.
Laxus walked through the guild and up to the bar before sitting himself on a stool that sat at the bar. He was lost in his thoughts. His thoughts of her. He finally came to the conclusion that he fell in love with her too. But what good did that make right now?
Mira walked over to him and saw the sullen expression on his face. She looked him over with sad eyes. She couldn't figure out why he's been so down lately. It worried her slightly.
"Hey, Laxus... Your normal?" Mira asked softly.
Laxus only nodded still looking at the counter in front of him. Mira nodded and sighed as she turned away to get him his drink.
He didn't notice the presence next to him nor did he hear the gasps from the Thunder Legion's table. He didn't have a care in the world right now, except for the girl in the crystal.
"You know... That's not a good look on you..." A sweet, angelic-like voice said from next to him.
He snorted without looking up. "Yeah? So, what, who cares... I have nothing left that's worth being happy for..." He said, whispering the last part.
He barely registered the sound of glass shattering against the floor or the gasp from Mira behind the bar.
"I'm pretty sure that's not true... You have your guildmates..." The voice said.
Laxus was getting annoyed now. How dare someone questions him on how he feels or what he has left in the world to care about? He really had no one. The one person he cared for the most and that he loves was gone. And there was nothing he could do to change that.
"How dare you..." He growled his fists shaking on his lap. "You don't know a-" He started to say whipping his head to the side to face the person only to freeze mid-sentence with his mouth gaping and his eyes wide.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
All could see was that blonde hair, honey brown eyes, and radiant smile that he loved so much. He felt like his heart stopped. His mind was a mess. Nothing was making sense. Well until -
"Hi, Laxus..." The angelic-like voice said, her eyes soft.
That's when Laxus' mind finally caught up with itself.
"AHHHH!"
I hope you like this one.
I'll start working on the next chapter as soon as I can. Most likely next week.
So Stay tuned all!
And Always Thank you for the support!