Hello everybody and here's the next chapter! Hopefully you will like it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Thank you for the reviews!
graystripemkc: Go easy with those margaritas, girl! XD And as always you were the first one. Seriously, one day I might think something has happened to you, if I don't see your review popping up three seconds after I have updated a new chapter. It's always nice to hear how much you like this story. Thank you! XOXO
kurahieiritr JIO: The length of your review made me smile, but when I started to read it the smile grew to this stupid grin. Nothing make me happier than read that my story has made someone laugh. And hopefully it will keep doing so. That aside, I'm sure that Lucy is slowly getting there. Little bit more of bullshit from Laxus and he will surely see that Lucy is a force to be reckoned with.
Sorry for any grammar and spelling mistakes you will find.
Hiro Mashima own Fairy Tail and I'm just playing with the characters.
Shaky finger approached a doorbell, but then backed away only to inch closer to it again. Lucy swallowed. She hadn't thought this through. It never even crossed her mind. She had run out so determined that she had completely forgotten one teeny detail. How was she supposed to get back in to the house without a key? Now she didn't have any other choice than ring the doorbell, and then face Laxus. Something she had wanted to avoid until the beer was safely it the cold of the fridge.
Lucy took a long inhale, then let it out. Here goes nothing. She squeezed her eyes closed and pushed her finger forward. A second later the sound of bell ringing was heard. As if startled by the sound, she leaped backwards in very defensive way. She had no idea what kind of Laxus would open the door. Irritated, angry, furious... It was better to take some distance from the door and be rather save than sorry.
With tense muscles Lucy waited for the door to fly open. But the clock ticked on without any sign of the man showing up. The tension in her body gradually eased up, replaced with puzzled feeling. The wait had felt like an hour, even thou it probably was closer to only couple of minutes. Didn't Laxus hear the bell?
As if, Lucy huffed. The man had heard her whispering from an other room. There was no way he would have missed the loud doorbell. Unless he was still sleeping. It was that or the man knew it was her behind the door and decided to not open it as a revenge for yesterday. Would he really be that petty?
Deciding to believe it was the first option, Lucy moved to ring the doorbell again. if the man was still sleeping, she really couldn't do anything else than ring the bell again and again until he would wake up. Finger on the bell, the door suddenly flew open almost hitting her nose on the process and startling her a big time. The start was short lived, when her heart jumped in her throat for completely different reason.
Face to face with a bare chest of a very muscular man made Lucy's eyes go round and her face to burst in flames. Her mind went completely blank. It was like every single one of her brain cells had turned themselves off. Without even blinking she stared at the subtle movements of the muscle fiber that where flexing and relaxing under the smooth skin. Just image how good that would feel under your fingers?
Taking a big swallow, Lucy forcefully restarted her brain cells and lifted her eyes up, away from the entrancing sight. She had expected to meat an angry glare, scowl or something, but when her head was tilted all the way back and she finally had visual on Laxus' face, you could say she was surprised. No glares nor scowls. Only the wrinkle between his brows that seemed to reside there permanently. Was the almost emotionless face a good thing, she couldn't say.
For a moment longer than she really was comfortable with, she ended up staring Laxus right in the eyes. It had to be those eyes of him and that peculiar color of them. She had never seen anyone with such a unique eyes. Yellow... Golden... Orange... With every new ray of light hitting his pupils, the color of them seemed to change. It was almost like there was lightning trapped in them.
Lucy felt her heart rate speed up. That added to the hotness of her cheeks made it almost seem like something had bloomed in her chest. A feeling. Feeling she wasn't supposed to have. Not toward Laxus Dreyar. She tried to reason her confused heart that the feeling was nothing, but an illusion caused bu the suspension bridge effect. It was the fear that made her heart bump, not affection.
Laxus had just been about to start frying some eggs and bacon - the finishing touch of his breakfast - when the doorbell had rang. Irked by the disruption his first thought had been to ignore it. It couldn't be his team since they never used the doorbell. And anyone other than that was surely nothing but an annoyance. Then he had remembered the missing blonde girl. The chances of it being her were high, which left him with too options. Ignore it like he had planned. Who told her to leave the house? Or just to go open the door and be done with that.
With annoyed groan, he had turned the stove off and headed to the door. He had a gut feeling that if he didn't go open the door now, the girl would continue to ring the bell till he went open it. That would have driven him nuts.
Laxus' hand wasn't even on the door knob, when he had already known that his speculations had been correct. The sweet scent of summer fields had pushed through the door, telling him that in fact it really was Lucy standing outside his house. Thankfully his nose had finally somewhat got used to the scent, the aroma of coffee and his own odor diluting it. Of course, if he concentrated on it he could clearly make out the scent, but it didn't bother him anymore. Not that much at least.
His irritation had immediately spiked up after being forced to inhale the intense scent. Pushing the door open with more force than necessary, he had been ready to show his foul mood to the girl. After all, it was (indirectly) her fault. However, when the door had flied open, it was only matter of second before the scowl changed into a half of a smirk. Why, you ask. Because in front of him had stood a stunned princess, eyes big as plates and face red as tomatoes. What was that he had said before? That there hardly was a lady, who could resist his physique. And the princess here wasn't exception. So, who was the one lusting after the other now?
Laxus little musing had come to and end, when the girl suddenly lifted her gaze up at his face. He just barely managed to hide the grin, before their eyes met. He wasn't sure what exactly happened at the said moment, but the second those brown pupils locked with his orange-yellow ones (and the scent of summer field keeping tickling his nose), the speed of his heart spiked up. Her eyes weren't really that special, they were rather normal actually, but the innocent look in them combined with that deep blush and those slightly parted lips was a dangerous mix. It made this urge to tease her bloom in his chest. And he wasn't talking about some light flirtatious teasing. No. The teasing he was talking about meant running his tongue over the pulse point of her neck, gracing her collar bone with his canines, digging his fingers in that soft fat of her boobs, slipping his other hand in her panties-
A loud growling of a stomach derailed his thoughts, snapping him wake from the day dream. More like nightmare! What the hell had he been thinking?! More angry at himself than Lucy for the moment, his face twisted into a scowl. The sudden hostility spooked the girl and she took a fast step back. She lifted her hands up in front of her as if ready to defend herself, even though she was carrying a small paper bag in the other. "W-what?! I'm just hungry, okay?" She blurted out defensively. The rustling of the paper bag made it obvious that she was shaking a little.
For god's sake. Laxus couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah. So I heard." He stated dryly. What kind of a image the girl had to have of him, if she though that the rumbling of a stomach would be enough to piss him off so badly he would do something to woman, a minor on top of that. A kick on the chin, however, would surely do the trick.
It was Lucy's turn to furrow her brows irritated and slightly embarrassed. She had been on and about couple hours already. Of course, she would be starving. And it was all his fault! "If it wasn't for your stupid be-" She started voice raising. The ranting came to a fast end, when she realized what she was about to spill. She slammed her mouth close and droplets of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. Was she an idiot?! No matter how low her blood sugar was, she couldn't believe she lost her temper like that. Especially in front of Laxus. The man wouldn't even need to lift a finger and he would still be able to pulverize her in a blink of an eye. It was already a miracle that she was still in one piece after yesterday, and now she was trying to annoy the man again. Snapping out like that was bad enough alone, but she had almost exposed herself and her mistake on top of that.
Talking about mistakes... Since she was still here up and standing, could she assume that the missing beer hadn't been discovered yet?
Lucy saw one of Laxus eyebrows raise suspiciously. Feeling new droplets of sweat pop up, she cleared her throat. "Anyway..." She had to change the subject. "Mind letting me in?" She made a gesture toward the house with her free hand. The question was completely ignored by the man as he continued to give her that skeptical glare.
She waited for a long moment, but when the silence kept stretching on, she couldn't take it any longer. "Excuse me..." She mumbled while taking a side step to the right. If the man refused to communicate, she would just have to act on her own.
Her attempt to slip past Laxus was cut short, when a huge boulder moved in front of her blocking the way in. Lucy glanced up only to see the man once again standing right in front of her. Brows furrowing Lucy took a step to the left this time, but again the entrance was sealed by Laxus' over grown build. A tic of annoyance appeared on the corner of her brow. "Really?!" She snapped, now openly glaring back at the man. How childish could a grown-up man be?!
Laxus crossed his arms over his chest. "If I don't remember completely wrong, I told you not to bother come back in case you decided to leave." He might have seemed to be petty, and maybe he was, but his list of things he wanted to pay back at Lucy was starting to be a bit too long. Starting from the kick, then the annoying scent that was like sprayed all around his house and had he mention that he didn't like people interrupting his meals nor the making of them. He would surely use every chance given to him, starting from this. The girl would have to beg him, if she wanted to step foot in his house again.
"Oh, come on!" Lucy let out a frustrated groan. "I didn't 'leave'... I only went to the pharmacy." Lucy explained, an innocent white lie rolling off her tongue like practiced. Which it actually was. She had realized that she would need a cover up story in case Laxus would start to ask where she had went. So, she came up with one. And what a perfect cover up story it was. The paper bag rustled loudly as she stuffed her hand in it and pulled out a small metallic container. "See? I wanted to buy some ointment for the bruise on your chin as...as an apology for kicking you." Even if it was just a cover up story, the apology came from the heart. She still thought that Laxus had very much deserved the kick, but it didn't mean she didn't feel bad for doing it. Seeing how purple his chin was, had her feeling a tiny stab in her heart.
Laxus gave the container the girl was offering him a doubtful look. As if he was going to buy what she was telling him or accept the medicine. Thou... The princess did sound sincere. But that didn't matter. He ignored the offering hand, instead moving his attention to the paper bag in the girl's other hand. It looked like there was still something in it. "What else is in the bag? He asked with a voice that didn't give any other option than to answer.
"Eh?! That's... I mean... You see..." Lucy stuttered in panic. Why did he have to be so nosy?! There was no way she could tell the truth! Eyes darting from side to side and sweat running down her spine, she tried to come up what to tell the man. Without anyone telling her, she knew that before she would give Laxus satisfying answer he wouldn't let her in. Her only option was to lie, wasn't it? She needed a lie that wouldn't weight on her consciousness and which would make Laxus loose all interest toward the paper bag. Something the man didn't want to have anything to do with... Something no man wanted to have anything to do with...
Lucy had a hard time keeping herself from smiling, when an idea popped up in her head.
Laxus observed the girl's every movement closely. She was definitely trying to hide something from him. He watched as the girl turned her head to the side lightly blushing. She wiggled a little, hesitating to speak as if embarrassed, but finally she spoke. "G-girl stuff..." She whispered so quietly it was hard to hear even with his extraordinary ears. Girl stuff? What the hell was girl stuff-
Laxus tensed up. Ah. Those girl stuff...
An awkward silence fell between the blondes. It probably didn't last longer than 30 or so seconds, but it sure felt like hours. "Whatever." Laxus was the one to break the awful moment with flustered mutter before escaping inside the house with slightly stiff movements. If Lucy really was on her...well...those, it would explain why her scent was so intense. It also happened with Evergreen. In addition to those mood swings (The woman was like beehive when on her periods. You only needed to lightly poke it and you would end up with thousands and thousands stingers on you. It was something even he avoided to do.) her scent would get slightly stronger.
Lucy continued her embarrassed acting until the man vanished behind the corner. She waited a moment longer just to be sure he was gone and then stick her tongue out after the man. Now who's scared of who? She let out a triumphant smile. Who just made the great Laxus Dreyar run away tail between his legs? Her!
Humming silently at herself, Lucy too headed inside the house. She went straight away to her bag and slipped the beer and the paper bag in it. When there would be a good opening, she would slip the can in the fridge.
Pulling the zipper of the bag close, a divine smell reached Lucy's nose. Like hypnotized by the scent, she found herself standing in the kitchen's doorway not knowing how she got there. In front of her opened the scene of Laxus standing behind the stove, eggs and bacon frying on a pan. Eggs and bacon... She licked her lips. Seeing the lovely sight and smelling the greasy aroma made her realize how hungry she really had been. And that was starving. Even the fact that Laxus was still very much without a shirt was forgotten.
"Wipe that drool. These are for me." Laxus' spoke with a harsh voice. Without even turning to the girl's direction, he could feel the intense stare she was giving his food. If she really though he was going to share, she could dream on.
Lucy snapped her head to the side and subconsciously wiped the corners of her mouth. "I wouldn't have wanted any anyway." A lie. A big fat lie. She could have been ready to crawl on the floor to get even a bite. If the person standing behind the stove had been anyone else than Laxus, that is. The world would have to end before she would go on her knees again in front of the man.
Trying to not get distracted by the divine smell, Lucy turned to fix herself something to eat. It, however, was easier said than done. There was a whole lot of food on the table already, so she thought she could take some from the pile. What a mistake. Every time she tried to pick up something, Laxus would stop her with remarks like "Mine.", "Don't touch that.", "I already took a bite out of that one." and so on. To say it was frustrating was an understatement. She was sure the man was doing it just to annoy her, to get back for before.
Somehow Lucy still managed to make herself a decent breakfast in the end. With a sandwich, a glass of apple juice and a banana she sat down on the table. About at the same time Laxus was ready with his eggs and bacon and he too settle down by the table. She blinked her eyes shocked, noticing that the man wasn't going to put any of the food away from the table. Maybe he hadn't just been harassing her. "Are you really going to eat all that?" She asked before realizing it. Eyes wide she stared at the mountain of food that made her portion look a like a kid's meal next to a full course meal for family of ten.
Laxus shot the girl a glare. "Yeah. Got a problem with that?" He growled annoyed, before stuffing his mouth full of toast It wasn't any of the princess' business how much he ate.
Lucy shook her head, eyes still round. "No." She simply said and took a bite from her own bread. If something, she was only curious to see how Laxus was going to able to eat all that food without popping. But no matter how impossible it seemed, plate by plate the mountain of food got smaller and smaller and by the time she was finished with her own food it was completely gone.
"Magic?" Lucy muttered. How could anyone eat that much and still look completely normal afterwards?
"What?" Laxus hissed irritated. The girl had been staring him non-stop through the whole meal. As if that hadn't been annoying enough, now she was even mumbling something. Was she trying to get him in a seriously bad mood again or something?
Sensing the amount of hostility in the man's glare, Lucy waved her hands in surrender. "N-nothing!" She exclaimed and quickly got up to bring her plate in sink. Belly full and her senses back, she would definitely avoid starting a new fight with Laxus. As a sign that she didn't want any harm, she speed out of the kitchen. Or maybe she just run away before the man had a chance to start anything.
In the living room, Lucy headed straight to her makeshift bed and fell down on it. She snaked her arms around her pillow, giving it a tight hug. Having your tummy full sure was a blissful feeling. She closed her eyes for a second and took in the scent of the pillow. It had this really mild smell of detergent in it. Laxus probably used fragrance free detergents for it to be so smell free.
Rolling over on her back , the pillow still in her clutch, Lucy moved her thought to the approaching ball. There wasn't too much time till she would be squeezed in a corset again and decorated with jewelry and make up like some Christmas tree. There probably wasn't anything else she hated as much as that. Dressing yourself pretty was fun, but to be prettified for the old men of the nobility to stare at made her sick. This crazy plan of hers had to work, so she would get rid off any unwanted suitors. Papa wouldn't be able to sell her off, if there wasn't anyone who wanted her.
And for the plan to work, she needed to get used to Laxus and fast. It wasn't enough that she was able to stand beside him. She would need to be able to stand firmly and unshaken by his side no matter how intimidating he would turn. And for that to be possible in turn, she would need to get closer to the man.
A big yawn broke her jaws apart.
She just had to hope...it was possible... He was...such...a jerk...
Finally finished with putting his plates in the sink, Laxus exited the kitchen. His eyes automatically run over the living room in search of Lucy. There she was lying on the sofa, a pillow n her embrace. What was she doing? Just a tiny bit curious he walked closer only to find her sound-asleep. A snort escaped his through his nose. What a brat, to fall a sleep right after a meal.
Without intending to do so, Laxus ended up staring Lucy's sleeping form for a quite the long moment. He had to admit it, the girl wasn't bad to look at. She had all the right features for a real beauty, but for those traits to bloom she would have to first get rid off that baby fat she still had around her face. Her body on the other hand had fully matured already. With little training to tighten the places up a bit, it would turn into a real man killer. But right at the moment she just looked like a kid with that sleeping face of hers. So awfully vulnerable...
A rare mischievous grin parted his lips, exposing a little bit of canine. This was the perfect chance to humiliate the girl a little. It would at least give him some satisfaction. The feeling of getting humiliated himself by that kick was still so vivid in his mind, after all. He walked right next to the makeshift bed, casting ominous shadow over the girl. Now what should he do-
"Annoying!" The girl suddenly shouted out in her sleep, throwing her fist to the side with all her force.
Laxus couldn't first comprehend what had happened, but when he looked down and saw Lucy's fist right on top of his most delicate place, his face turned white. "This bitch!" He wheezed before dropping on the floor both hands shielding his jewels. The pain was unspeakable, something he had never experienced before. Something that almost brought the great Laxus Dreyar himself in tears.
As he laid there, focusing on breathing so he wouldn't forget to do it, he heard the faint mumbling of the girl. "Take that...Laxus..."
And that's the end of this chapter! Hopefully you enjoyed it!
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Love you all! See you in next chapter!