Her heart began fluttering rapidly at his question, and she searched his eyes for any indication that something would go wrong. When all she saw was sincerity and affection, she nodded. Laxus held her chin and tipped her face, angling his over hers. He slowly brought his lips towards hers, before gently pressing them together. He pulled back, and looked into Lucy's eyes, ensuring she was okay. Abating his concerns, Lucy leaned forward and kissed him, her hand weaving through his blond hair. Laxus moved so that Lucy was now flat on her back, as he hovered over. His kisses were sweet and gentle. No other part of him touched her as their lips moved in harmony. Lucy had both hands in his hair and was pressing him into her, urging him to kiss her more deeply, but he maintained his soft kisses.

Lucy pulled away. "Why aren't you kissing me?" she questioned.

"Uh, Lucy. Last time I checked, what we're doing is kissing."

"No, like really kissing me. You're treating me like I'm made of glass. You won't even touch me," she whispered the last part, embarrassed at how silly she was being. She turned her face away, hiding her dejected look from the blond man.

Laxus sat back on his haunches so that he could see her clearly.

"Lucy," he called.

She made a small sound to confirm that she heard him but didn't turn her face.

"Lucy, please look at me," he asked.

She propped herself up and looked him in the eye.

"You've just gone through a rough breakup with a guy you were with for a long time. I don't know if I'm your rebound or something, but that isn't the guy I want to be for you. And so if taking it slow, and not touching you will give you the time you need to get over that guy, then I'm going to take it slow. I don't want to sleep with you tonight, only for you to wake up tomorrow and regret it. You understand? It's not because I don't want to. Because I do. God, Lucy," Laxus exclaimed shakily, running a hand through his hair. "You don't know how much I want to grab you and kiss you until we can't breathe and make love to you for hours and touch you everywhere. But I can't." He ended abruptly.

Lucy moved so that she was now kneeling in front of him. She held his face between her hands.

"Laxus, you are kind and you are wonderful. And yes, my breakup wasn't fun, but just because I'm still moving on from that doesn't mean I don't have the space in my life for someone new. This isn't a rebound thing. If you stopped kissing me right now, and told me we'd never do it again, I'd still call you tomorrow and hang out with you. I just like being around you. But I also really like kissing you, and I want to do more of it, if you'll let me."

Laxus smiled at the irony of the recently single, heartbroken girl asking him for a kiss, while he, the playboy, played it safe.

He nodded at the woman, giving her permission to crush her lips against his. Which is exactly what she did.

Lucy leaned forward and firmly pressed her lips to Laxus's. He responded by pulling Lucy into his lap and tightening an arm around her waist. Lucy threaded both hands into his hair and wrapped her legs around him. Laxus's tongue licked at Lucy's bottom lip, requesting entrance that she happily granted. Their tongues intertwined as they tasted each other. Lucy nipped down on Laxus's lip as she freed one hand from his hair only to rake her nails down his back. Laxus growled in response, deepening their kiss. Their tongues battled for dominance, slipping into each other's mouths and across their lips. His hands roved over Lucy's back, occasionally skimming the edge bikini top. As their kiss grew more passionate, Laxus reached down to grab Lucy's butt and she purred appreciatively in response. Lucy broke away when she ran out of air and dipped her head to nibble on Laxus's neck before kissing him there softly. Laxus kissed Lucy's cheek, her jaw, her eyelids, her forehead. He kissed her beneath her ear, biting the skin and sucking the spot, surely leaving a mark.

Laxus gently laid Lucy down as they continued kissing, now softer and slower. When they were both thoroughly out of breath and their lips were bruised, they lay on the blanket and looked up at the stars. Lucy had her head on Laxus's chest with his arm around her and the throw blanket covering their legs. Lucy breathed in Laxus's scent - he smelled like rain and sunshine and something vaguely citrusy. She listened to his heartbeat and was slowly lulled to sleep.

Laxus gently shook her awake. "Lucy? We should get going, sweetheart," he said.

Lucy sat up and rubbed her eyes groggily. "What time is it?" she asked.

"A little before midnight. You were out for about an hour."

"Oh okay," Lucy said as she sleepily stood up. She helped Laxus pick everything up and haul it back to the car, and then she crawled in, curling up into the seat.

Laxus grinned at the sleepy girl as he climbed into the car. Lucy kept drifting in and out, having a broken conversation with Laxus as he drove towards her house.

When they got to her front door, Laxus turned the car off and rounded it to help Lucy out. She stumbled up the porch steps and fumbled with the key before Laxus rescued her and opened the door. She stepped inside, and then turned around, confused when he didn't walk in behind her.

"Aren't you coming in?" she asked.

"I will another day," he promised.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes, firmly kissing his lips. He returned her passionate kiss, and they stood in her doorway, lips interlocked, for a few minutes. Without removing her hands from around his neck, Lucy whispered "Goodnight, darling." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

"Goodnight, beautiful," he whispered in response.

They let each other go and Laxus went back to his car.

Lucy walked inside and locked her door behind her. She rid herself of her swim clothes and collapsed into bed, not bothering with pajamas, given her current state of exhaustion.

Her last thought before falling asleep was how she'd forgotten to ask Laxus what time he'd pick her up tomorrow.

A/N: Finally, some steamy LaLu! I'm trying to find this fine balance with Laxus still being super cocky and forward, plus their evolving relationship, plus Lucy's recent breakup, plus her not unrealistically throwing herself into something. I'm happy with how this chapter turned out, but I'd really appreciate feedback on how you feel about the balance I'm trying to achieve!
Also I really wanted to make this chapter smutty, but it didn't feel right. I am pretty convinced I'm going to include smut, but I haven't found that moment yet. Would also like your thoughts on if I should pepper some smuttiness in, or continue with mainly fluff.