Laxus barely slept all night. His one moment of peace was the hour where Lucy, in her sleep, curled up in his side, and he felt like the world was back in order. But then she rolled away, and he woke up, unable to go back to sleep as their fight replayed in his head. It had seemed like the kind of fight that put their relationship on a balancing beam. One wrong move, and they'd hurtle towards disaster. And there, lying in bed, Laxus couldn't decide which was worse: having Lucy in his life, but having her never trust him, or not having her in his life at all. Dawn took far too long to come, but when it did, Laxus slipped out of bed and, after changing in the dark, slipped on his sneakers and went out for a run.

He ran and ran until his lungs were on fire, as if he could push himself fast enough to run away from all the ugly shit looming over him. Eventually, with burning muscles and a head full of loud, screaming, angry music, Laxus was finally able to dull the fight down into a low whisper. When he came back home a couple hours later, he thought he felt better, but he opened the door and saw Lucy everywhere, and once more, his heart broke. She was in the cushions that he hated, but she thought were cute, and she was in the half-drunk mug of coffee, still sitting on the end table from the day before. Her scrunchies were by his car keys, and their jackets were draped next to one another on the hooks behind the door. She is what made his house a home and he felt every organ inside him shatter. As if in a dream, he walked to the bedroom. It was time to wake her up so she could pack. Kicking his sneakers off, Laxus entered, unsure if they'd ignore each other, dance around each other, fight, have sex, or break up. Instead, he found Lucy, sitting cross-legged in bed and waiting for him.

"You're up," he commented.

"Woke up soon after you left," she replied softly.

"Do you need help packing?" Laxus asked, gesturing to Lucy's things still messily strewn across the house.
Lucy shook her head. She held out her hand, palm up, gesturing for Laxus to take it. Uncertainly, he placed his hand in hers, letting her pull him onto the bed. He sat down and she immediately scrambled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm not leaving. Not after yesterday," she whispered.

"What about your job? And someone for your dad?" Laxus asked, tightening his hold on her.

"I'll resign from here if I have to. Super contagious flu. And I'll call some neighbours, ask them to drop in on dad. I'm staying here until you can take time off, and then you come home with me, and we'll pack together, and then we'll go on holiday, and only when I have to leave for college will we go back to this long distance shit. But until then, we're together," she said definitively.

"Yes. Okay." Laxus couldn't say much more, but his heart was exploding. He dropped his face into Lucy's hair.

"You were right, Laxus. You do love me, and I need to trust you. And that's a me problem. With Natsu… I loved him. I was in love with that idiot. And I wanted to marry him. And then he broke my heart. He was the asshole who cheated on me with a virtual stranger, and I thought I'd never get over it. But I did. I got over it because of you. And I'm scared. After one year with you, I love you more than I ever loved Natsu. And I'm scared of what'll happen to me if my heart breaks again. I may die, Laxus. I'm scared I'll die if you break my heart. And so I get jealous, and nervous, and insecure, and I am wary. But I love you Laxus, and I do trust you. I do. I just need to stop being scared. But here, now? In your arms? I'm not scared, Laxus. When you're with me, I'm not scared. I don't know what's in either of our futures, but I know we're together. There is no other option for me. You're it. I love you and I know you love me. You're the love of my life, and I want to be with you forever," she finished. When she pulled her head off Laxus's chest, she saw his eyes shine with moisture.

"I love you too," his voice cracked a little. He captured her lips in a frantic kiss, weaving his fingers through her hair and pressing her to him, as if he could somehow fuse her to him and never let her go.

"I'm sorry," Lucy fluttered against Laxus's lips.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her mouth.

Then, ever so gently, Laxus pulled off Lucy's T-shirt. Lucy returned the favour by removing Laxus's running shirt, peeling the still sweaty fabric off his chiseled torso. There were no jokes, no quips, no talking of any kind as the couple undressed each other. The room was filled with quiet static as they ran their hands over the other's body. They didn't need words. There weren't words to tell each other how sorry they were, how much they loved one another, how much they couldn't live without the other. They just hoped and prayed that every touch and every kiss held the unspoken multitudes of their affection.

Lucy, still on Laxus's lap, gently pushed him back down onto the mattress. At some point their pants came off, shortly followed by their underwear, and now, Lucy straddled Laxus's naked hips. His growing erection was pressed up against her stomach as she leaned down to kiss him with as much as passion as she could muster. She reached down between their bodies to stroke his member while he ran his hands softly down her spine and over the curve of round butt. He could feel her wetness drip onto his pelvis as she gently swiveled her hips, feeling his erection come to life under her delicate fingers. When Laxus was ready, Lucy sat back, and making sure to look deep into his eyes, lifted herself before sinking down on his length. With a gasp, Laxus sat up, wrapping his arms around Lucy's waist. Now nose-to-nose and chest-to-chest, they slowly moved in harmony. Laxus thrust up into her as she bucked her hips. Lucy kept her hands in Laxus's hair, and he kept his hands on her waist.

It wasn't often that they had sweet, slow, deliberate sex, and the way Laxus was looking at her now, as his hands caressed her like she was a porcelain figurine, made Lucy want to cry. She hated that she had doubted him. She hated that they weren't together. She loved the way he made her feel like the only woman in the world. She wasn't sure if she deserved someone as good as him. Tears pricked her eyes, and when Laxus tilted his face to gently kiss her cheek, they began leaking out of her eyes and down her face.

"What's wrong?" Laxus whispered, halting his movements. "Do you want to stop?"

Quickly Lucy swiped a hand across her face, drying her tears. She shook her head violently. "No, don't stop. I just… I love you, Laxus. And I'm sorry. You're amazing."

Laxus reached up to wipe her face before tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "I love you, Lucy." And then, pressing his lips to hers, he mumbled "You're amazing. You're everything I dreamt of and more," before capturing her mouth in a fiery kiss.

Suddenly their sex grew frantic, as if they couldn't get enough of one another. Laxus's hands gripped Lucy's hips hard enough to bruise as she tightly wound his hair around her fingers. Their breathing grew laboured as deep grunts and breathy moans overtook the silence that had filled the room mere seconds ago. Laxus pushed Lucy onto her back, hovering above her to momentarily admire her flushed face before slamming his cock into her warmth. Lucy arched off the bed with a pleasured cry. She raised her hips, inviting him to bury himself in her as deeply as he could. Flesh slapped against flesh, reverberating through the morning air. Lucy held Laxus's hips, pulling him into her. Sweat slicked their skin as she called his name like a prayer. She begged him to go deeper, to go harder, to hold her close and never let her go. Laxus drove into her, wanting to feel every inch of her perfect pussy wrapped around his cock. She raked her nails down his back as he marked her milky skin with bites. Lucy's hands tangled in the sheets as the head of Laxus's cock hit the sensitive spot inside her perfectly. She wound her legs around him, desperately trying to keep him deep inside her. Every moment of anger, frustration, sadness, love, lust, jealousy, all came bursting out of them as they pulled each other closer to their climaxes. They fit together like two puzzle pieces, and when they came, they came together, crying each other's names.

Laxus rolled off Lucy, his now softening dick slipping out of her. They lay in bed, holding each other for several moments.

"We should wash up," Lucy finally whispered hoarsely.

"Lead the way," Laxus mumbled back sleepily.

"I can't walk," Lucy confessed. As if to prove a point, she bent her knees, showing Laxus the way her legs trembled as orgasmic aftershocks continued to shiver through her.

Laxus laughed, leaning over to kiss her sweetly before leaving bed and crossing over to her side. Slipping an arm under her knees and another under her back, he lifted her, cradling her to his chest. He walked them both to the bathroom, gently putting her down on the counter as he turned on the shower.

Once under the warm spray, with Laxus lathering shampoo through her hair, Lucy brought up their conversation once more.

"Whenever you can, we'll go back to my house. I'll pack, get everything in order, and then-"

"And then we'll go on vacation somewhere. Even if it's just for a week. I'll talk to Mira today and figure out when's the earliest I can take a break. You might just have to wait for like another ten days, just until the month is over. I'll try taking next month off."

"So we'll have all of August together? Term starts in September."

"I'll make sure I'm free until the first of September. I intend to drop you off at university before getting back."

"Okay. Thank you, Laxus. I'm sorry you're putting your life on hold for me," Lucy turned around to look at him apologetically.

"You are my life. I'm putting work on hold. Work is nowhere near as important as you. Plus I'm sure Mira will figure something out for me. We'll be fine," he assured her, kissing the top of her head. Lucy hugged him tight, resting her head on his chest. They stood embracing one another until the water ran cold. It wasn't like they hadn't fought before - they'd had bitter fights in the past, with yelling and screaming and angry sex. But for some reason, this fight had shaken them both more than they were willing to admit. It felt like something had fractured, and they were desperately trying to plaster it back together. They breathed deeply until their breaths and heartbeats were in sync, and finally, they began to feel at peace.

Laxus walked out of his home office, slipping his phone into his back pocket.

"Was that Mira?" Lucy asked, looking up from her book.

"Yep. She's pissed, but she said she'll move things around. I have all of August off," Laxus said with a grin, flopping down next to his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, Laxus," Lucy started again, before he held a hand up.

"You may need to apologise to Mira, given that she is ready to kill me and do severe bodily harm to you, but you don't need to apologise to me. I would much rather spend a month relaxing with you than a month working. Plus, I feel like I've earned this preemptive holiday," Laxus finished suggestively.

"Preemptive? What are we preempting?" Lucy asked, catching on.

"Mira has heard through the grapevine that this reality show needs a photographer. She's sent them my portfolio, and if that goes through, my life will become insane, so a little holiday before all that is warranted, no?" His tone was casual, but Lucy could detect the note of excitement colouring his otherwise laidback, smug voice.

Lucy jumped up onto her knees and slapped Laxus in the chest. "What?! That's huge! Oh my god! Are we talking Real Housewives or rich socialites with no talent and fake asses?" she asked excitedly.

"More like twelve models being put through unnecessarily challenging photoshoots with producers who only fuel their body dysmorphia," Laxus shrugged.

Lucy sat back down. "Oh. So you're not gonna be just a sidelines photographer? You'll get a ton of screen time too," she clarified.

"Nah, I doubt it. It's about the models," Laxus said, shaking his head.

Lucy clapped a hand over her face. "How do you intend to photograph for them if you never watch these kinds of shows? On all the model shows, the photographer plays a huge part! They sometimes even judge the models and all the models try and win the photographer over to make sure their photos come out the best. I mean, for a show where women are judged on their photographs, you think the photographer isn't important? We're binge watching multiple seasons next month. You need to be prepared."

An uneasy relief washed over Laxus, but still, he hesitated. A question was on the tip of his tongue but he wasn't sure if asking it would stoke a dying fire. Succumbing, he hesitantly began, "Lucy-"

"I'm so happy for you, babe. And I'm not scared or jealous or insecure. It doesn't bother me that you're going to be around those models. Like you said, it's your job. And if this is a big opportunity for you, and it's something you're excited about, then I will support you and be excited with you. Don't worry," she cupped his jaw, stroking his face with her thumb.

Laxus covered her hand with his, his heart full of love. "Well, we don't know if I'll get it yet, but thank you. It was important to me that you were on board with this too."

"I mean, of course you're going to get it," Lucy said rolling her eyes. She climbed onto Laxus's lap, straddling his thighs. "You're the best photographer I know."

With a laugh, Laxus encircled her waist. He pulled her towards him, pressing their chests together and hugging her close. "I'm the only photographer you know, silly," he said, gently biting her earlobe.

"Doesn't matter. You're still the best. And this job is yours."

As the smell of her strawberry shampoo wafted into his nose and her warm arms hugged his neck, and her soft body pressed into his, Laxus was once more reminded of just how lucky he was. She was perfect. Her voice, soft and feathery and playful, her eyes, bright and twinkling. He wasn't sure if he deserved her, but he was a selfish man. He tightened his hold on her and buried his face in her hair.

"Thank you, babe. I love you."

"I love you too," came the muffled response, with Lucy's face smushed into Laxus's neck. She smiled contentedly as she inhaled his nice, clean, showered, lemony summer smell. Wrapped in that hug, Lucy couldn't even begin to fathom how she had let such an intense wave of jealousy overcome her. It seemed silly and stupid, because in that moment, in his arms, Lucy knew that, not only was he perfect for her, but they were perfect for each other. No one else could ever fit in his arms as perfectly as she did, and no other arms could ever hold her like his could.

A/N: I'm actually really excited to get to the middle section of this, but I am also petrified, because I do not know if you all will be happy about what's coming. But, like I said, this one is likely to have more drama and more angst and I hope you like all the drama and angst when it comes! As per usual, please please please leave me all your lovely thoughts and reviews!