The next morning Lucy woke up faced with a tough decision. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to go see the gateway or visit the little cafe on the hill. She sat in bed, pondering her options before finally settling on the cafe.

I've had a couple of high octane days, so a little quiet reading time sounds perfect, she reasoned.

She lounged around her house, slowly moving through her morning routine of coffee, shower, breakfast, before jumping back into bed to scroll through her phone and talk to her father. Once ready to mobilise, Lucy pulled on a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top, tying her hair into a high pony. She left her house, armed with a backpack that housed a book, her laptop, cellphone, wallet, and a water bottle. She locked up behind her and stood on her porch. A flash of last night's kiss brought a pink tinge to her cheeks. She smiled as she strolled along the cobbled path, sneakers making a cheerful pattering sound against the ground. She had walked a few steps before realising she had no idea how to get to the hill. She contemplated pulling out her phone and dialing Laxus, who had very kindly put his number in the day they met, before she remembered that he was busy. Ever the self-sufficient woman, she walked to the town square and enquired at a restaurant how she was to get to the hill.

The young man behind the counter told her that a shuttle bus would pull up into the square in about 10 minutes, and it would take her straight to the bottom of the hill. He directed her towards a bench on the main road, next to which stood a small signpost with a picture of a bus. As he said, a small bus halted in front of the bench a few minutes later and Lucy clambered on, along with a few other tourists. She smiled at them politely as they all claimed their seats.

The shuttle ride ended up being slow and uneventful. Lucy missed having Laxus around. When she got off the bus her spirits were low, having felt entirely uninspired on the drive over. Her only source of entertainment had been the jovial bickering of the other tourists, all of whom were paired off.

Lucy glanced up at the hill, ready to make her climb when a man approached her, dragging a donkey in tow. He would have been maybe a year or two older than Lucy and was deeply tan.

"Donkey ride to the top, madam?" Lucy thought about refusing before a little voice in her head told her to do it.

"Sure, but I don't have to go all the way to the top. There's a small, quiet cafe along the way? With lots of books?" She asked the man.

"Yes, I know the one. I will take you there. Come on," he patted the saddle. They negotiated the price for the ride and soon Lucy sat atop the donkey as the tanned man led it up the hill.

"What's your name?" she asked him.

"Romeo. And yours?"

"Lucy."

"It's lovely to meet you, Ms. Lucy," Romeo said.

The warmth and hospitality of every person she met didn't fail to impress the hell out of the blonde woman.

"How come you're visiting Greece?" he asked Lucy.

"I badly needed a holiday," Lucy laughed.

"And you came alone?" he continued his line of questioning.

Lucy didn't know how to answer this one. While she had technically come by herself, she had been spending most of her day with Laxus. It had almost started to feel like they were vacationing on the island together.

Lucy decided to keep it as simple as possible. "I came by myself, but I met an old friend, so I spend most of my day with him now," Lucy said.

"Where is he now?" Romeo was a most inquisitive young man, though Lucy didn't mind. It felt nice to have someone to talk to after her boring bus ride.

"He had some work to do today, so I'm exploring the island by myself!" she responded brightly.

"Very good, Miss. You will have fun."

Lucy turned the tables and began questioning Romeo. She learned that he was actually younger than she was. He went to university in the capital, but was home for the summer. He took people on donkey rides, while his parents ran a small boutique shop in the town centre. Lucy promised Romeo that she'd try and stop by there the next time she was in the square.

Soon they reached the cafe that Laxus had told her about, and Lucy bid the young man adieu. The cafe was everything Laxus had promised and more. Entirely open and facing the sea, a cool draft blew through the place. A side wall was lined with books while quaint wooden tables and chairs were scattered around. Lucy sat at a table closest to the sea view, and ordered herself a coffee.

She dug her laptop out of her bag, wanting to attempt some writing, but the sound of the waves kept drawing her focus. Deciding that the day was too beautiful to be spent with her face in a screen, she put her laptop away and chose to read instead. She only somewhat focused on the pages as her attention was pulled to the way the sunlight gleamed on the water's surface, or the pristine white clouds that lazily drifted across the bluest blue sky imaginable. She looked up from the page every few words to admire the domed roofs or the people milling about. With every inhale she felt herself relax further. It was almost as if she could smell the warm sunlight that made everything look wildly saturated in gorgeous colours. Sitting there, Lucy was convinced that this island was, by far, the most beautiful place she'd been to. A waiter brought her her food and a glass of wine after Lucy finished her coffee, and she stayed at the restaurant for over a couple hours, slowly sipping on her wine and reading distractedly.

When she finally willed herself to get up, she walked around the winding streets, popping into boutiques and examining the merchandise. She picked up a dress, some jewelry, and a book about Greek myths. Finally, she walked down to where the shuttle bus would arrive, ready to go home and get dressed for when Laxus picked her up.

Once home, Lucy went through the confusing routine of choosing what to wear. She assumed that, since he was picking her up at 5, they'd be going somewhere for dinner.

Good, that narrows down my options, she thought to herself joyfully.

Finally settling on a black, floor length, strappy, backless number, she jumped in the shower for a quick rinse and puffed on some simple makeup. She decorated her throat and wrist with jewelry and clasped on pretty earrings. Lucy gave herself a once over in the mirror, thoroughly pleased with what she saw.

Right on time, she heard a knock on her door. She rushed to it, flinging it open to proudly display her sartorial handiwork.

And then her jaw dropped.

Laxus stood there in an unbuttoned shirt and board shorts, sunglasses perched on the top of his head.

"What the hell are you wearing?!" Lucy screeched.

"I should be asking you that," he replied, glancing up and down her body appreciatively. "Don't get me wrong," he said, pushing past her and walking into the house, "you look absolutely stunning. Like, seriously. You are so beautiful. But we're going to the beach, dummy. I doubt you'd be comfortable in that."

Lucy growled as her eyebrows knitted together. "I spent an hour on this look!" she shouted angrily. "You never tell me where we're going, how did you expect me to know I had to dress for the beach?!" she continued. Laxus sat on the couch and watched her mini-meltdown.

"Give me two minutes, I'm going to go change," she grumbled, stomping off into the bedroom as she continued to mumble under her breath.

Laxus laughed, making himself comfortable.

Once in the sanctuary of her bedroom, she sadly removed her jewelry and slipped off her dress. She got rid of any makeup that wasn't waterproof, and then pulled a pretty, gray bikini out of her closet. It had a plunging neckline and flimsy strings that held it together. Pulling it on, Lucy noted that it showed off most of her toned body, including some provocative side-boob and some butt. She didn't care. Still feeling the sting of not being able to wear her nice dress, she decided that a little sexy swimsuit action was what she deserved. She grabbed a blue wrap-around skirt, and secured it around her waist before slipping her feet into flip flops and leaving her bedroom.

Lucy stood a few feet in front of Laxus and watched him check her out. Feeling proud of herself, she continued to stand and pose, letting him eye her body several times over before he got up and walked towards her. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into him, bending to speak into her ear.

"Well, shit, Heartfilia. Who knew you cleaned up this good?" he murmured huskily. Lucy felt sure that he was about to kiss her again, but instead he pulled away and steered her out the front door.

It had only been when Laxus had his face inches from hers that Lucy realised that her grey-blue get up matched his eyes perfectly.

A/N: Okay tbh I had mixed feelings about this chapter. I don't really like the first half, but I do like the second half. I thought about omitting the first half all together and throwing in a couple cursory lines that skimmed over Lucy's alone day, but it was important to me to write out what she did with her time. We haven't really seen her by herself, so I wanted to highlight that a little. Admittedly, I'm not too proud of how it turned out, but I think the second part makes up for it! There are a couple of really fun chapters coming up, so please stick around!