Makarov led them out a backdoor that opened into a stunning garden.

"We brew and bottle our wine in the shed over there," Makarov pointed to a structure a little ways away and off to the side. "We do our wine tasting there," he pointed to the door from where they came. "And we have this garden because it's beautiful. We organise lunches here sometimes, but mostly my wife and I like to sit here and enjoy the flowers. She's visiting our children presently, so I sit here when I miss her."

Lucy's heart wrenched as Makarov spoke. She wanted to reach out and pull him into a hug, but settled for grasping his hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Come, my dear." Makarov led her to a small wrought iron table with two chairs.

"Where's my chair, old man?" Laxus questioned.

"I'll get you a chair when you get me some pictures, boy," Makarov scolded jokingly. Laxus shook his head and dumped his camera bag on a bench near the table. He pulled his equipment out and began to fiddle with it, adjusting it to his needs.

Makarov pulled a chair out for Lucy who took her place. The old man disappeared back through the doors, and quickly returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"I hope white is okay?" he asked.

"White is lovely, thank you."

Lucy watched Laxus toy with his camera as Makarov poured the wine. He placed a glass in front of Lucy and sat down, bringing his own glass in front of him.

"You have a lovely place, Makarov," Lucy looked around the garden appreciatively. Laxus had started clicking photographs and was oblivious to them.

"Thank you. It had been in my wife's family for years before we converted it into our winery. Business is slow, but steady. It is enough to keep me happy."

Lucy admired his endless optimism. "You said your wife was visiting your kids? Where do they live?"

"They live in the capital. She goes there for a few weeks every summer to help with the kids. I used to go too, but I've grown too old to manage screaming children. I'd only get in her way." A hint of sadness coloured the old man's voice, but he continued smiling.

"Hey if it's any consolation, you're the most incredible old man I have met," Lucy reached across the table and laid her hand over his. She felt so much love for this man, and she knew that it was because he reminded her of her father.

"I know I just met you, but being near you is making me so happy," Lucy blurted out. "It's just that… you're so kind. And happy. Like my father. He's alone at home, several miles away, and I miss him."

Makarov turned his hand over to hold hers. "Anyone would be lucky to have a daughter like you, child. You've brought a smile to this old man's face." He squeezed her hand.

Tears welled in Lucy's eyes, touched by his kindness. "You also make very good wine," Lucy laughed shakily, taking a sip.

"I'm glad you like it!" Makarov said brightly, taking a sip himself.

They unclasped their hands and Lucy quickly swiped at her cheeks.

"Now, child. Do you want to tell me who broke your heart so cruelly that you felt the need to run and hide?" Makarov looked deeply into her eyes. He read her clearly, seeing through her bravado.

"How- how did you know?" Her shock was apparent.

"I am an old man. I have seen many things, and felt many things. Heartbreak is no stranger. In fact, he and I are intimately familiar. And when you get to my age, you'll be able to see it too. You'll see it in the eyes of a young person who is pretending to be very brave, and you'll see it in their smile that doesn't shine as brightly as it should," Makarov explained wisely.

Lucy turned to glance at Laxus, who had disappeared. She saw him entering the wine shed in the distance.

Drawing in a deep breath, Lucy told Makarov everything.

Another glass of wine and lots of crying later, Makarov finally spoke. "Lucy, I'm not going to offer you advice on how to handle your relationship with him. That is something that should only transpire between you and this boy. But I can tell you, this isn't going to be the last time your heart breaks. It may not break for the same reason, but it will break again. It will break in small ways for the rest of your life. What is important is how you handle that. That idiot shattered you. Does this mean you hide away from the pain, or do you confront it, get it out of your system, and move on? You're still clearly hurting, child. The longer you let him torture you like this, the longer it will take for you to recover. Moving on isn't easy, but it also isn't something that magically happens by itself. You need to consciously want to feel better, and then work towards it." While his words were straightforward, his tone was gentle. He reached over and briefly cupped Lucy's cheek.

Lucy didn't know what to say. His speech resonated with her intensely, and she implicitly trusted his words.

"Thank you," she managed to croak out, before swiping at her cheeks to dry her tears.

"Yes, it would be best if you didn't look like you had just cried. Laxus may hit me if he sees you like this," Makarov joked.

Lucy laughed and dabbed her eyes again.

"How do I look?" she asked, her voice steady.

"Absolutely beautiful. And any man who does not appreciate it is not worthy," Makarov declared definitively.

Their conversation turned to lighter topics, and Lucy told the old man about everything she planned to do on the island. Makarov peppered in commentary, and occasionally offered up a suggestion of his own.

Finally, Laxus reappeared.

"I've got some shots, Maki. Let me get them back to my computer and I'll tweak them a bit before emailing them over to you. You do know how to open an email, don't you?" Laxus teased the old man.

"Shut up, boy. But, thank you. I really appreciate you doing this." Makarov stood up.

"Anything for you, Maki," Laxus placed a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"Okay now sit down. I promised you a wine tasting and that's what you're going to get.

Laxus put his camera carefully into his bag on the bench and replaced Makarov across from Lucy.

Makarov brought out multiple wines and glasses of water. Laxus and Lucy sampled the different wines, and while they enjoyed each one, the wine wasn't what they were paying attention to. They both gazed at Makarov, entranced as he told them stories and folktales about the island, the wine, the food. He spoke of gods and warriors and beautiful damsels. Each wine was paired with a new story, and the couple drank in Makarov's wisdom.

"Look at me, blabbering your ear off," Makarov said, knowing full well that the two young adults would have listened in rapture even if he spoke for an additional six hours. "Let me get your lunch." He placed the empty glasses and multitude of bottles on a tray that he expertly balanced in one hand.

"You'll be joining us, won't you?" Lucy asked.

"No, child. You both enjoy yourselves. I will retire to my study for a short while before coming back to see you both off."

Lucy wanted to protest, but had a feeling his answer wouldn't change. Makarov left with the tray and returned with two plates of food, two glasses, and a bottle of the wine that Lucy had earlier declared as her favourite.

He placed the plates in front of them and poured their wine.

"I'll leave you both to it. Laxus, shout when you're leaving." Makarov smiled at the couple and walked inside.

"How do you know Makarov?" Lucy quickly asked.

"Well, this is actually my third visit to the island. The first two times were purely for pleasure, and they had been long holidays. I was on the island for about a couple months on both occasions. It was actually Maki's wife who spotted me in the market on my first visit here. We got to talking, and she insisted I come home for lunch. I immediately fell in love with both of them, and the rest is history." Laxus paused to reminisce about the first time he met Makarov. "Anyway, that's why the magazine sent me here. They knew I was very familiar with the island, and would therefore get shots that another photographer wouldn't have," Laxus shrugged nonchalantly.

"Anyway, what did you and Makarov talk about while I was working?" he asked.

"I was telling him about why I came to the island," Lucy waited for Laxus's reaction before elaborating.

"Oh?" was all he said, one eyebrow raised.

Lucy inhaled and steeled herself for a repeat detailing of her heartbreak.

"You remember Natsu, right?"

"Yeah, irritating little punk. You guys were friends or something, weren't you?"

"Mmhmm. He was my first friend at University, and we ended up dating. Not long after Bacchus's party, actually. Anyway, we went strong for our entire time at University. It was serious, what we had. It's stupid now, I guess, but I always pictured myself marrying him. Well, right before graduation I showed up at his house and found him with another girl. It shattered me completely, and I needed to get away from everything to clear my head. So I ran. I ran to this tiny island to give myself a break, because everything in my life back home would bring back that one memory of entering his flat and seeing them together." Surprisingly, Lucy made it through her entire monologue without crying. Maybe Makarov was onto something when he told her to confront her pain and then move on.

Laxus stayed silent even after she finished. They looked at each other, neither one saying anything. Finally, Laxus simply nodded, picked up his wine glass, and clinked it against Lucy's.

"Well, fuck him. If you can't hold on to a good thing, then you didn't deserve it in the first place." Lucy chuckled and took a swig of her wine.

Lucy didn't know if Laxus could feel it too, but her confession seemed to have lifted an invisible wall, and she felt herself relax significantly in his presence.

Eventually, they were ready to leave, much to Lucy's chagrin. She'd have spent her entire holiday with Makarov and his wine if it were up to her. They walked into the hall through which they'd entered and Laxus shouted, "Maki! We're heading out!" Lucy heard the patter of footsteps and Makarov appeared down a staircase.

"It was so lovely having you both over." Makarov pulled Lucy into a hug, "You're a special girl, my child. Take care. I hope you'll visit this old man again soon."

Lucy hugged him tightly in response, "Thank you so much for a wonderful afternoon, Makarov. You've made my holiday so special. I promise to come visit."

They stepped away from each other, and Makarov turned to Laxus. "You come back too, okay? Not for work, but just to lend me an ear. I've missed you, son. And bring back some hard copies of your photographs next time, okay? I want to put more of your pictures up on the wall."

"More?" Lucy interrupted unintentionally.

"Oh, yes. Laxus must not have wanted to brag, but every photograph on the walls is this man's handiwork," Makarov proudly clapped Laxus on his arm.

The two men continued to exchange a few words as Lucy walked along the walls, really noticing the photos for the first time. Each one was an exquisite work of art. Beautiful moments captured and framed in the most elegant way. Maybe she was biased, now that she knew her friend took these, but Lucy would wager that these photographs were some of the most gorgeous ones she'd ever seen.

"Hey, Heartfilia, you ready to go?" Laxus asked.

Lucy nodded, walking back to where he and Makarov stood. Lucy and Laxus took turns giving Makarov a parting hug before they left.

"Laxus?"

"Hmm?"

Lucy pulled her helmet on, and clasped it as she said "Your photographs are really very very beautiful. You have a real talent."

Laxus had climbed onto his bike and was waiting for the blonde woman.

"I know. That's why I get paid as much as I do," he laughed. Then, pushing arrogance aside, he added with utmost sincerity and humility, "thank you, though, Lucy. It means a lot to hear you say it. I'm proud of my photographs and it makes me happy that you like them."

Lucy was taken aback at his sincerity, blushing at his attitude change. She climbed onto his bike like he taught her to, and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"You good?"

Lucy nodded against his back.

A/N: Honestly, we all need a Makarov in our lives.
As always, I would love your feedback! And spoiler alert, there's some lowkey LaLu steaminess up ahead!