Chapter One
Holding her pen between her nose and upper lip, Lucy frowned as she looked over the manuscript with her coffee-brown eyes for the umpteenth time. In her opinion, the storyline wasn't romantic enough, and the interaction between her protagonists, Haru and Elie, seemed force and lame. It certainly needed more work.
Crap.
The celestial wizard finally sighed in frustration. She'd been sitting in the guildhall for hours, scribbling in her writing pad and sometimes scratching her head whenever she needed to revise. In the end, she still hadn't been satisfied with her work. Maybe she should take a break for now and get a job, and then she could get back to her writing later—if she's still in the mood for it.
Writing a romance novel was harder than she'd imagined. For starters, she had no experience with romantic relationships or dating, so she'd needed to do her research. She'd even borrowed some of Levy's books to get an idea of how she could make her characters more believable that they're in love.
Alright, that's it. My brain's stopped working, she thought, setting her pen down on the table in defeat. When she turned her head, she saw the lovely Strauss sisters pass by her table carrying a stack of flyers. Moments later, she watched them as they began pinning each flyer to the request board.
Lucy smiled to herself, thinking how Fairy Tail's victory over the Grand Magic Games a few days ago had enticed more clients to contract with their magic guild. She heard that job requests had been sporadic for the past seven years since the Tenrou Island incident, but Fairy Tail was finally making an epic comeback, and she's sincerely happy about that.
Deciding to check on the Strausses if they needed help with the job flyers, Lucy got up, smoothed her blonde pigtails, and then walked over to the request board.
When Mirajane saw her approach, she smiled and said, "Looking good, Lucy!"
"Can say the same to you," Lucy told the older girl with long white hair. Then, she turned to the girl her age with similar hair but a shorter one. "Hi, Lisanna. Do you guys need any help with the flyers? I'm not doing anything right now."
"Gee, thanks!" Lisanna said gratefully, handing the blonde girl some of the job flyers. Then, she looked over the table where the celestial wizard had left her writing pad and pen. "Does this mean you've already finished your romance novel?" she asked brightly. "Can I read it sometime?"
Lucy blushed. "Well, it's not yet finished," she replied sheepishly. "I thought I'd take a break from it actually. It's been giving me quite the headache."
Mirajane raised her eyebrows. "How so?"
"It's my characters," the blonde admitted with a sigh. "I can't seem to build romantic chemistry between them. Like, I totally suck in that department! Adventure or fantasy novels are much easier to write."
The Strausses looked at each other for a moment. Then, Mirajane cleared her throat. "Maybe the reason why your other novels are so good is that you wrote them from experience, making them more meaningful and engaging."
"Um, thanks," Lucy said shyly, flattered that the take-over demon actually liked her work. She had allowed the Strauss sisters and Levy to read her finished novels in the past. "But what are you getting at exactly?"
"I guess what Sis is trying to say is that you should at least experience romance yourself so that you can write about it better," Lisanna suggested, throwing the other girl a wink. "Is there anyone out there whom you're interested in dating?"
"Huh?" Lucy uttered, taken aback. "Who, me?"
"Yeah." Lisanna paused for a second. "How about Natsu?" she prompted. "You two seem close. Then, maybe you can write a romance novel based on your love story."
"Yeah, no," Lucy said, making a face. "We're just friends—totally platonic." Maybe she did like Natsu for that one time when she thought he'd confess to her, but that's like ages ago.
"Platonic, huh. I see." Lisanna nodded thoughtfully with a smile.
"Yeah. Where is he, anyway?" Lucy asked, making a point to look around the guildhall. "It's almost noon, and I haven't seen him today."
"Oh, you didn't know?" Mirajane raised her eyebrows. "He went out on a job with Gray and Erza, and they won't be back after a week. Master Makarov had summoned them in his office yesterday when you weren't here and asked them to see Master Warrod."
"Wait a second," Lucy squeaked, flabbergasted. "Their client's Master Warrod? Isn't he one of the Ten Wizard Saints and the Four Gods of Ishgar?"
"Not to mention one of the founding members of Fairy Tail," Lisanna added.
"Wow!" Lucy breathed in amazement. "I hope Natsu and Gray won't screw this up by bickering all the time. To think that their client's such an important wizard!"
Mirajane chuckled. "I'm sure Erza won't allow that."
"That does sound just like Erza, alright," Lucy mused.
"Say, just curious," Lisanna said, her head tilting to the side thoughtfully. "How come you don't they're on a mission? I hear Natsu's always at your place."
"Well, I already told Natsu that I didn't want to take part in any dangerous jobs for a while," Lucy replied, shrugging her shoulders. "So far, I've been enjoying the easy ones. And I've been busy with my writing, too."
"The Grand Magic Games really wore you out, huh?" Lisanna remarked.
Lucy nodded. "Yeah, not to mention that incident with the dragons!" She shuddered at the memory of those magnificent beasts from four hundred years ago, stepping out from the Eclipse Gate and into the present time.
"That explains it," Mirajane stated sympathetically. Changing the subject, she asked, "So, what else are your plans for the day? Aside from helping us with these flyers, of course." She chuckled.
"Well, I thought of catching up with Wendy later in the day, but I heard she and Carla went out to visit Sherria in Lamia Scale, so maybe—"
Before Lucy could finish her sentence, the guildhall's double doors suddenly swung open, catching her attention; a certain lightning dragon slayer had stepped inside, surprisingly without the Thunder Legion flocking around him.
Laxus Dreyar.
Lucy found herself ogling at the powerfully-built wizard. In reality, she did develop a slight crush on him ever since he'd rescue her team back in Tenrou Island, helping Natsu win their battle against Hades.
With his spiky blond hair and piercing sapphire eyes, Lucy found him rather attractive, too. His tall frame and muscular body were reminiscent of a god, and his large fur-trimmed black coat that hung from his wide shoulders only made him look even broader.
She thought that it would've suited him if he smiled often. However, he always wore a brooding look, that stubborn badass, making him look disturbingly intimidating to approach. And it didn't help that he had a lightning-shaped scar across his right eye.
At least we know that he cares about all of us. He's no longer that power-crazed wizard obsessed with reforming Fairy Tail!
When Laxus finally seated himself at the bar, Lucy saw his eyes darting around the guildhall, probably looking for the missing barmaid. Sure enough, when he finally saw Mirajane, he cocked his head, gesturing her to come over.
"Lisanna, do you mind taking care of these for me?" Mirajane asked softly, raising the pile of flyers that she held.
When Lucy glanced at the white-haired demon, she couldn't help but notice the blush in her cheeks. Why does Mirajane look flustered?
"Sure, sis," Lisanna replied, taking the stack from her older sister. "Good luck." The smirk on her face was evident that Mirajane rolled her eyes.
How strange, Lucy thought. Why are they being weird? As she watched Mirajane approach Laxus at the bar with her hips swaying provocatively, an idea suddenly occurred to her.
"Hey, is there something going on between those two?" she asked Lisanna before she could stop herself.
Lisanna looked at her in surprise. Then, she shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows?" she replied. "I mean, Laxus has been trying to ask Sis out since we got back from Tenrou. Everyone's been talking about it."
Lucy thought, taken aback. "Wait, everyone? I didn't even know about it until you told me."
"I suppose it's because you're married to your writing," Lisanna pointed out. "You probably don't know what people are talking about these days. That's a good thing, though."
So, Laxus likes Mira?
The take-over wizard stared inquisitively at the blonde girl. She must've noticed her shock. "Is there something wrong?" she asked.
"No, it's nothing," Lucy uttered distractedly. Then, she heaved a sigh. Wow, I didn't expect to feel a little jealous. I mean, I'm not in love with him or anything. It's just a crush.
Lisanna's blue eyes widened as if realizing something. "You look disappointed," she remarked. "Say—do you like Laxus?"
"W-What?" Lucy stammered, chuckling nervously. "N-No, of course not. Why would you think that?"
"Well, I saw the way you're looking at him when he entered the guildhall." Lisanna smiled. "That wasn't so hard to miss."
Lucy could feel the heat rising to her face. "You're mistaken," she lied hastily. "I don't fancy him at all—! Let's just finish with these flyers, shall we?" With that, she began pinning the job flyers rather clumsily to the request board.
Lisanna laughed. "Sure. Whatever you say, Lucy Heartfilia. Just so you know, I'm not going to stop until you confess the truth!"
Much to Lucy's irritation, Lisanna had kept her word. The petite girl had approached her table again the next morning and hammered her with when and how questions, totally disregarding the fact that she's busy working on her manuscript. Exasperated, Lucy finally caved in and told Lisanna the truth.
"So, like, you suddenly started to have feelings for Laxus after he rescued you guys from Hades," Lisanna suggested, placing her elbows on the table and resting her head in her hands.
"As I said, it's just a crush, okay?" Lucy reminded her, rolling her eyes. Then, she looked around quickly, conscious that someone might overhear their conversation.
When it's clear that no one's listening, she went on, "I mean, he obviously looked so cool that day. Like, we thought we're done for, but then he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, flashy and all."
"And then?" Lisanna prompted eagerly.
Lucy smiled, unable her giddiness at the memory. "And then when he got injured, he transferred all of his lightning magic to Natsu, giving him enough power to finish off that old geezer."
"That's amazing! I didn't know Laxus had it in him to trust his lightning magic to someone else." Lisanna crossed her arms over her chest. "He must really trust Natsu."
The celestial wizard nodded. "Yeah. We were all surprised at that time, and I thought…" She trailed off with a frown, realizing that she'd already shared quite enough to the youngest Strauss. "Hey, are we done here?"
"Yeah." Lisanna laughed. "I'm sorry to be so nosy. It's been so quiet around here since Natsu and Gray went out on a mission."
"Gee, I'm glad to be your source of entertainment," Lucy said sarcastically.
Lisanna winked. "Anyway, if you like Laxus, you should tell him."
"No way," Lucy scoffed. "He already likes Mira, remember? And Mira probably likes him back. So, I don't see the point."
The other girl waited patiently for her to continue.
Lucy sighed. "I mean, they grew up together in this guild, right? So, they must've known each other quite well. Plus, they're both good-looking and powerful S-Class wizards—it only makes sense. They're perfect for each other."
"I don't know," Lisanna murmured thoughtfully. "I don't think that those are the factors that bring two people together, Lucy. Maybe at first, but if you're not compatible with other things, personality-wise, then I don't believe that the relationship can last."
"Mira and Laxus seem to get along well," Lucy insisted. "I swear. If they end up together, they'd probably put all romance novels to shame…" She trailed off, an idea suddenly passed through her mind. Wait, that's it.
Lisanna noticed the change of the blonde girl's expression, and she made a face. "No way. Don't tell me—"
"Yeah, you're absolutely right," Lucy said, her eyes gleaming. "I'm going to based my romance novel on Laxus and Mirajane's love story."
Lisanna threw up her hands. "But there's not going to be a love story between them. I asked her last night; she already turned him down."
"Well, you never know," Lucy argued, tapping the back of pen on her writing pad. "Mira may eventually go out with him if he's persistent." While the idea stung a little, she tried to snap herself out of it. Laxus was definitely out of her league. Mirajane, on the other hand, was perfect for him.
But Lisanna insisted. "Not going to happen."
"And why is that?" Lucy challenged, leaning forward.
"Because Mira already likes someone else," Lisanna blurted out. Then, moments later, she clamped her mouth with her hand, looking startled.
Lucy was just as flabbergasted. "What do you mean that Mira already likes someone else?" she asked, smacking her pen on the table.
"J-Just forget what I said," Lisanna stammered. Then, she hastily rose to her feet and made a point of looking at the other table. "Hey, uh, I need something from Big Brother Elf, so I'll catch you later, okay?"
Lucy watched Lisanna's retreating form, her mouth still hanging open at what the other girl had just told her. So, Mira likes someone else? I wonder who that person is.
Later that day, the guildhall grew awfully quiet. Most of the Fairy Tail members had already gone out on missions, yet Lucy was still at the table, furiously scribbling in her writing pad. She barely noticed the time.
When she finally felt drained from working on her new storyline, she slipped her writing pad and pen into her backpack and then decided to scour the request board for a job to unwind herself. As usual, Nab was hanging around the board, staring idly at the flyers.
When Lucy finally saw one that offered eighty thousand jewels to capture a serial pickpocket somewhere south of Magnolia Town, she immediately grabbed it. In her opinion, the mission was a total no-brainer.
As she walked over to the bar to have Mirajane book the job for her, she couldn't help but notice that Laxus was sitting on the same spot as yesterday. She frowned. She hadn't seen him enter the guildhall this morning, but then she realized that perhaps that's because she'd been so buried in her writing that it made her oblivious to her surroundings.
"I'd like to take this one, Mira," she told Mirajane, raising the flyer for the older girl to see.
"Why, sure, Lucy," the barmaid said cheerfully, taking a look at the flyer. "Oh, that looks easy enough." She chuckled, opening her booklet and started scribbling. "There. You're all set."
Lucy smiled at her. "Thanks, I'll see you—"
"Hey, kid," Laxus suddenly spoke. "Why don't you take a seat with me over here and have a drink?"
Lucy stared at him, stunned. "A drink? Um, thanks, but I—"
"A strawberry smoothie, perhaps?" he suggested smoothly. Without waiting for her answer, he turned to the take-over demon. "Mira, give her a strawberry smoothie, if you please. Just put in on my tab."
Mirajane smiled. "Okay. One strawberry smoothie coming right up." Then, she disappeared into the backroom before the blonde girl could protest.
Well, I guess I should sit with him, Lucy thought, taking a seat on the stool beside the blond dragon slayer, who was holding a bottled ale.
A minute of silence passed by, and Lucy wondered if he could sense her nervousness. Not knowing what else to do while waiting for Mirajane, she placed an elbow on the counter and then rested her chin in her hand.
This was probably the first time that she'd seen Laxus up-close. His skin looked smooth and lightly tanned, and he had long lashes and a perfectly cut jaw. His pink lips also seemed soft and supple. He really was a good-looking guy.
When her eyes flickered on his lightning bolt-shaped scar on his right eye, she wondered what story was behind it. Maybe one of these days, he'd tell her all about it, all about himself...
"Something wrong with my face?" Laxus' deep voice suddenly snapped Lucy out of her thoughts.
Realizing that he was looking directly at her, Lucy blushed and quickly averted her brown eyes from his blue ones, feeling embarrassed at having been caught staring. "Sorry, I was just…"
"My, my," came Mirajane's soft voice. "Looks like Lucy's one of your admirers, too, Lax."
"W-Wait, what?" Lucy stammered, feeling geysers of hot steam shooting out of her ears. "That's not true at all!" Just when did she get here?
"No need to be embarrassed, Lucy," Mirajane stated with a giggle, placing the strawberry smoothie in front of the blonde girl. "Laxus does seem to be quite popular among the girls lately." She turned to the dragon slayer. "Right, Lax?"
Laxus shrugged. "Whatever, I don't care about that."
"Oh, look, Macao is waving over there," the barmaid said, craning her neck. "He must want a refill. Excuse me, you two!" With that, she grabbed a bottle of liquor from the counter and then breezed away, leaving the two blonds to fidget uncomfortably in their seats.
"Mira's just joking around," Lucy said, feeling self-conscious. "You know her. She's always into that matchmaking stuff."
"Yeah, I know," Laxus mumbled, looking amused.
"Thanks for buying me a strawberry smoothie, by the way," she told him shyly. "I am quite thirsty."
"No problem," he said. Then, he studied her face for a moment.
Lucy noticed him looking intently at her. Flustered, she asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"You're not, though, are you?"
"I'm not what exactly?"
"One of my admirers, I suppose."
The blonde girl was taken aback by the man's question. "No. I'm most definitely not," she blurted out without meaning to put a strong emphasis on her statement. But when she saw his slightly affronted expression, she hastily added, "I mean, I do admire you... in a way."
Crap.
Laxus regarded the blonde girl thoughtfully for a moment. "Heh, that's funny," he finally said before turning his attention back to his drink, his lips curving into the tiniest smirk that Lucy almost missed it. Raising his bottled ale to his lips, he took a deep draught.
Meanwhile, Lucy turned her attention to the strawberry smoothie in front of her and then began to sip from the straw. It sure tasted sweet, but she couldn't wait to finish it and then leave. She certainly didn't want to stick around with someone who's obviously trying to drink his woes away—
"You doing good these days, kid?" Laxus asked abruptly.
"Yeah, I guess. Just taking it easy," she replied, bristling at how he kept on addressing her as 'kid'. Of course, she knew that he's a few years older than her, but she wasn't Romeo or Asuka. And she did have a name.
"That's good," he said, nodding his head. Then, he chuckled. "I wish I had that luxury."
Lucy raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Before she knew what's happening, she felt Laxus pull her toward him, his strong arms wrapping themselves around her, sending shockwaves throughout her body. His face was buried in her hair, and she could sense him smelling her scent.
"Laxus, what do you think you're doing?" she asked, her whole body going rigid.
"Be still for a minute," he murmured in her ear.
Lucy shivered as his breath felt hot on her skin.
"Oh, my," came Mirajane's voice. "Don't you two look adorable! Well, I shall leave you to it, then!" Her footsteps could be heard walking away.
When Lucy felt Laxus finally pull away from her and remove his arms, she let out a long, deep breath that she didn't realize she's holding.
"Listen," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "About that…"
Lucy suddenly found herself feeling upset, although her whole body still tingled. She glared at him. "Did you just use me to make Mira jealous?"
Shame filled Laxus' eyes. "Yeah, I did," he admitted ruefully. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "That's crap, and we both know it," she snapped. "Look, if you really like her, then you must do everything you can to make her fall for you."
Well, at least that's what Levy's romance novels say all the time, she thought wryly.
The dragon slayer grinned. "Wow, that's a great idea," he said sarcastically, raising his mug at her. "So, you think I haven't done that already."
"Well, maybe you just haven't done it right," Lucy insisted, throwing up her hands.
"Interesting," he murmured. "Okay, since you seem to be quite the expert in that department, then tell me something." He turned his whole body to face her and leaned forward, his one arm resting on the counter. "Let's just say you like me. How far will you go to make me fall for you?"
Lucy felt a blush creep up to her face. While she did have a crush on Laxus, not once had it ever crossed her mind that she'd do even the smallest thing to make him look her way. So, how could she possibly answer his question, hypothetically or otherwise, right there and then?
"Oh, please," he suddenly uttered, rolling his eyes. "Getting all red in the face and gawking at me like that isn't going to make me fall for you. So, try again."
"I-I wasn't trying to do anything!" she cried.
Laxus laughed. "Relax, kid, I was just messing with you," he said, placing a hand on top of her head and then gently ruffling her hair.
Lucy puffed her cheeks. "Look, I can't answer that question right away because I haven't thought about it, okay?"
"Fine, you have until tonight, then." Laxus grinned.
Lucy stared at him. "What are you talking about?"
"We're going out tonight," Laxus said with a smirk, "so you can give me expert advice."
"I-I can't go out with you," Lucy stammered, literally feeling the blood rush to her face. "And besides, I have a job to do today."
"Well, you better get going now and finish that job of yours, kid," he said, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Otherwise, you'll be late for our dinner date."
She couldn't believe that this man was acting so casual about the whole idea of them going out on a date. Unbeknownst to him, she almost wanted to die out of embarrassment. She'd never gone out on a date before.
"Hey," Lucy said exasperatedly. "Are you being serious right now?"
Laxus cocked an eyebrow at her. "I am," he said firmly. "I expect that you already did your homework by seven o'clock."
Groaning, Lucy slapped her forehead with her palm. "Ugh, me and my big mouth."
Laughing, the dragon slayer got to his feet. Then, he patted her head. "Thanks for your time, kid. I'll see you tonight." He held her gaze for a moment.
But before Lucy could say anything, Laxus already left the bar and headed outside the guildhall, leaving her dumbfounded.
"Yeah, I'll see you," she sighed, even though he's no longer around to hear her.
I guess I got myself a date with Laxus. What should I do?