Ugh. This week has been ROUGH. Potty-training two toddlers is... totally exhausting, but as promised, I have delivered a new chapter to you guys! Mwah! Love ya guys! Big thanks to Kat! She has also been having quite a week herself so I very much appreciate the time she took to help me out! I hope you readers and fellow authors are doing ok! And I do genuinely care if everyone is doing ok in these stressful times (I'm an emotional and sappy Cancer, HA!) Enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 7

"WHAT?! A dragon slayer?! Like Natsu?" Lucy exclaimed. "So you are able to smell and hear really well too?" Laxus nods. "So you were raised by a dragon?" Laxus sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"Listen Blondie. I need you to cover those back up." He said gesturing to her neck and arm. "If it's related to me being a dragon slayer, people can't know." He watched as the excitement faded from her face and she ran a hand over the lightning on her arm.

"Hey Cancer? Can you please cover my... tattoos back up please?" She asked quietly.

"Yes Ebi." He replied softly and went to work to cover up her markings.

Laxus glanced towards Hargeon off in the distance and then turned back to Lucy and watched as she said goodbye to the Spirit and it disappeared. He looked over at the woman knocked out on the sand next to the giant rat he hit with lightning earlier and grabbed Lucy's hand tugging her closer to the edge of the island.

"Laxus? Where are we going?" She asked as she followed behind him. He stopped at the edge of the beach and pulled her close, arms around her waist as she was pressed into his chest. She blushed looking into his eyes.

"We're leaving. You should have never taken on this job, Blondie." He said casually. She pushed against his chest to get out of his arms but he held onto her.

"Laxus! Let go! We can't just leave Natsu! Or the people in the village who need our help!" She felt static coming off of him and electricity started to crackle around him.

"I don't care."

"Well I do! And-and... I won't forgive you if you take me away without at least letting me finish this job!" The static and electricity stopped as he looked down at her incredulously.

"Woman! I'm trying to fucking save you." She huffed turning her head away from him. He growled and let her go, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine. Let's just get this over with." Lucy smiled up at him. Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek causing him to blush.

"Thank you Laxus! Let's go back towards the village!"

"Tsk. Whatever..." He mumbled.

"LUCY!"

They both turned and looked up at the sky to see a blue ball with wings flying towards them. As soon as the fuzz ball caught sight of Laxus, he froze.

"L-L-Lucy? W-What's L-Laxus doing h-here?" Happy faltered.

"Oh! He came to help us with the job! I mean he is S-Class, so now we should have no problem finishing this job quickly! Hey Happy? Fly up and tell us which way the village is!" Happy, still concerned about Laxus being there, flew up and led them to the village. Laxus kept close to Lucy as they made their way through the vegetation of the island, both quietly thinking about the bombshell he dropped on her at the beach.

Laxus is a dragon slayer... so he can eat... lightning? Lucy pictured Laxus standing out in a storm waiting for "food" and giggled. She felt a soft tug on her hair and turned her head to see him gazing at her intently.

"What's so funny?" Lucy blushed and bit her lip. She gasped as she was suddenly spun around and pulled into his chest, his face mere inches from hers.

"If you don't quit biting your lip, I'll have to do something about it." He whispered huskily, his voice sending shivers down her spine. Her eyes drifted down to his lips and she smirked and ran her tongue over her lip. Laxus, about to ravage her mouth with his, pulled away suddenly and took a few steps away. Pouting Lucy opened her mouth to ask about it when...

"Lucy!...Laxus.." Lucy turned and her jaw dropped.

"Gray! What are you doing here?" Lucy asked, shocked to see him. Gray sent Laxus a look and Laxus shrugged it off. Not noticing the looks Gray was giving Laxus, Lucy looked more closely at her surroundings and noticed they were at the edge of what seemed to be an encampment set up by the villagers.

Turning back to Lucy, Gray replied. "Uh yeah! Well I came because Natsu took on this S-Class job and I can't allow him to obtain S-Class before me. So I came to help! This strange guy helped me get to the island... Anyways, can you fill me in?" Lucy filled both Laxus and Gray on the Moon Drip and the demon frozen in ice her and Natsu found under the moon temple. After speaking with some villagers about any updates, Happy, Gray, Laxus, and Lucy all headed towards the temple.

"So Laxus! I didn't expect you to come all the way here to help out your fellow guild members... Why did you decide to come?" Gray said pointedly gesturing towards Lucy. Laxus scowled at him.

"Fuck off Popsicle."

"Laxus! Be nice!"

"Wha?! What the hell are you telling me to be nice for?"

"You could just say that you wanted to come. You did want to come right?" She asked, looking up at him smirking. He turned his head away, hiding the blush on his face.

"Tsk. Yeah. I couldn't just let you and Flamebrain get killed because you wanted to act all tough Blondie."

"Laxus! What are you trying to say? That me and Natsu couldn't do this on our own? We already made it this far! You don't have to be a jerk!" She huffed and stomped away, leaving Laxus about to pull his hair out. "And you're blonde too ya know!" She added.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Can't even talk to her right, huh? You're doomed." He jogged after Lucy, Happy following him.

Idiot.

"Shut the fuck up!" Laxus exclaimed in frustration towards the voice, punching a nearby tree and splitting it open. "Such a fucking moron... Why is this so hard?" He grumbled following after Lucy and Gray. Once he caught up he saw Lucy and Gray about to fight some intense figures in hooded robes. Before Lucy was even able to summon a Spirit, lightning flowed and zapped around her and Gray and everyone was taken out in an instant. Lucy looked over at Laxus in awe. Wow. He didn't even lift a finger. She looked over and saw a few trying to stand up. Right before she was about to attack with her whip...

"Wait! Please... Hear us out..." One begged. Lucy, still on guard, nodded and listened to their tale about their village being destroyed by the demon. As soon as they mentioned the demon's name, Gray turned and ran towards the direction of the temple, followed by Happy, who just really wanted to find Natsu. Lucy stayed to listen to their tale and Laxus, of course, stayed by Lucy.

Laxus stood by as Lucy spoke with a few of the followers. He didn't care. They mentioned something about the demon killing people a long time ago. This is so fucking boring. I should have just left with Lucy when I had the chance... He watched her as she listened and sympathized with them. She seems like a kind person. She came here and despite being weak, stayed to help the people in the village and now she's trying to help these idiots. Although annoyed with his current situation, he couldn't help but feel proud that a young woman like her was a member of Fairy Tail. And proud that maybe... She will be mine one day... Shit.. those fucking thoughts again. Laxus was finding it increasingly difficult to feel upset about those thoughts invading his mind. Maybe I'm starting to warm up to the idea of... dating Lucy... Maybe it won't be such a bad thing. He thought as a smile crept onto his face.

Finally. "Did you get any useful information from those people?" He asked as they started walking toward the temple.

"Ugh Laxus! Weren't you paying attention?" Lucy groaned.

"No. I didn't even want to come to this shitty island. Why the fuck would I care about what's going on with it?... I only came to save you." He mumbled. Lucy looked up at him sharply and smiled. Even though he's terrible at expressing his feelings... I think he's really trying. I mean he really didn't have to come here, so he must care... And if he really hasn't been in a relationship before, I'm sure it might take him a while to get it right... Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him. Maybe I should ask him on a date when we get back! She nodded to herself, turning her focus back to the job at hand.

"They just said that the reason they were here was to melt the ice around the demon and destroy it. It's so sad how they all lost their families and their homes... But to release the same demon that caused so much destruction... We can't let them go through with it." She said, determination in her voice. Laxus smirked and grabbed hold of her, pulling her to his chest.

"Laxus this is no time for-"

"Is that where they are doing the ritual?" He nodded toward the top of the temple where a beam of purple light struck the top.

"Yes. We have to hurry." She tried getting out of his arms and looked up at him in confusion when his grip tightened.

"Hold onto me Lucy." She felt his lightning as it arced onto her skin, leaving a tingling sensation. As soon as she put her arms around Laxus, a blinding light surrounded and cocooned them. At the same instant, the ground beneath her feet disappeared and she felt weightless. With a crash, it was over and her feet touched the ground, her head swimming. Knowing that she would be unsteady, Laxus held onto her. "Sorry. It's not easy for others the first few times... Are you ok?" He asked gently. Slowly getting her bearings she nodded and spotted the weird dog-like man, Toby, performing the ritual.

"Hey Laxus, you think you could-"

"ACK!" Toby spasmed on the ground from the shock of electricity that flowed into him. Slowly the purple light dissipated.

"Alright! The Moon Drip stopped!" Lucy cheered.

"You're too late! The ceremony's complete!" Toby barked.

A green light burst from the temple and into the sky and a menacing screech tore through the area and Laxus screamed, clutching his ears. "FUCK!"

The blood drained from Lucy's face. "The demon... Oh no!" The screeching stopped and they could hear some sort of battle within the temple. When the temple rumbled Lucy went over to the edge and saw water flowing out of the pyramid. And then everything became calm once again. Lucy turned back to Toby and he went on to explain that he was also in a village that was attacked by the demon. Leaving Toby, they journeyed back down the pyramid, Laxus trailing closer to Lucy as they neared Natsu. Everything in him was warning him about Lucy getting closer to Natsu. He didn't like it, but he wasn't about to show that. Laxus? Jealous? No way!

As they entered the clearing, Natsu's sense of smell warned him of Laxus being nearby and when his eyes locked onto Lucy he spotted Laxus rather close to his friend and partner in crime. Lucy smiled and waved at Natsu, oblivious to the building tension. Natsu, keeping an eye on Laxus, smiled tightly and waved back, moving closer to greet Lucy. The closer Natsu got to Lucy, the closer Laxus stood next her, until he was nearly pressed up against her. Natsu growled, not liking the way Laxus was acting with Lucy. In response to Natsu's hostile behavior, Laxus issued a warning, lightning crackling around him and coming off his body in random arcs.

"Fight me Laxus!" Natsu growled, fists catching on fire.

"Ha. Like you could even scratch me, Matchstick." Laxus sneered.

"Enough! What the hell Natsu? Can't you forget about fighting each other until we finish our job?" Lucy huffed.

"Fine." Both slayers grunted and powered down, but continued to glare at one another. Laxus kept near Lucy as they walked back to the village.

Jeez what is up with those two? Natsu seems to be acting more and more jumpy around Laxus... He's always wanting to fight strong people but lately... He's much more serious about fighting Laxus... I wonder if he knows about me and Laxus? Is he upset with it?... And then Laxus... I mean I still don't know much about him, but it seemed like he was being protective? But why would he need to feel protective around Natsu? He's my partner... Oh jeez I hope he's not the over-protective type. Lucy sighed as her thoughts wondered.

Back at the village...

Laxus crossed his arms over his chest, peered up at the purple moon and tsked. Lifting a single hand toward the moon he let loose an enormous amount of lightning, lighting up the sky. Everyone watched in awe as the lightning struck the moon and the it began to shatter.

"W-What?!" Lucy gaped.

Then the fractures continued off the moon and into the sky, shocking everyone but Laxus. The sky and purple moon shattered, showing the brilliance of the real moon behind the glass-like structure that broke apart and fell away into smaller pieces and then to nothing. Lucy looked at Laxus in awe and their eyes met. He smirked and puffed his chest in pride.

"How? What is happening?" Gray questioned, glancing around and seeing the villagers still as demons.

"It was just a crystallized shell created by residue magic left over from the Moon Drip ritual. It just caused them to forget they were actually demons all along." Laxus shrugged.

"Oh that's why they weren't able to get into the temple!" Lucy wondered.

"Pfft. I could have done that." Natsu grumbled crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.

"Aye sir!" Happy popped up, smiling.

Later...

Laxus sat next to Lucy, surrounded by food and demons. Gods, when will this end. They celebrated the completion of the job with the villagers and ended up not accepting the payment since it wasn't officially accepted by the Fairy Tail guild in the first place. Instead, they just accepted the key that was offered with the reward, and even though Laxus was irritated about being there, the smile and excitement Lucy showed when given a new key, made his heart skip. He even managed a smile.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Well! Another chapter down! What do you guys think? Sorry if it seemed rushed towards the end but I didn't feel like I needed to go through everything that happens on this job because you guys know what happened. The next chapter is going to be great *sinister laugh* cough, cough... Anyways! Please feel free to leave your reviews!

BugBite