Lucy POV

I woke up the next morning to find the space next to me cold. I sat up frantically, my mind immediately jumping to the worst possible scenario - he had left me after all. It took me a moment to notice the piece of paper lying folded on the pillow. My fingers shook as I opened it.

My darling,

Stay safe, and come back to me soon.

And, I do too.

-Gildarts

He did? He did, what? I replayed our conversation from yesterday. Suddenly, understanding struck.

"I love-"

"Don't, Lucy. Don't say it. Please."

"But I do, Gildarts. I do."

He did too. My heart sang as I clutched the piece of paper to my chest, but I still ached at how much I hurt him. It killed me when he said how unfair this whole thing had been for him.

I put myself in his shoes for a second. If another woman was throwing herself at him in front of me, and kissing him, and rumours spread that they were together, I knew I wouldn't have handled it with half his composure. I'd have ripped that bitch's head off.

A burst of anger flared through me, directed towards this fictional woman. The anger was very quickly replaced by complete hopelessness. I couldn't leave Laxus. I couldn't. I remembered his chuckle, and the way he'd hug me to him. The way he'd tease me before kissing me like I was the only woman in the world. The way his body curled around mine when we slept. No, I couldn't leave Laxus. But I couldn't leave Gildarts either. Yesterday was enough proof. Even the thought of him leaving me had me inconsolable.

Natsu was right. It didn't matter how this ended, I'd be hurt regardless, because either way, I lost a love. I allowed a few tears to slip out of my eyes before I wiped them away and went to shower. In the shower I let myself cry again, knowing that for the next four days, I wouldn't be able to. I let myself feel scared that I'd come back and Gildarts would have left. I let myself feel scared that my relationships with both men were hurtling towards disaster. I cried for how deeply my heart was going to break. And when I felt like I couldn't cry anymore, I turned the shower off and went to get dressed.

I was not going to cry in front of Laxus. We were going on holiday, and I wanted the time away with him. I wasn't going to ruin our little vacation.

I swiped on some makeup to conceal the remnants of my sadness, before eating breakfast. I read Gildarts's note again and again, and then carefully tucked it away into a drawer. I actively thought happy thoughts until I had to leave.

Hoisted my bag over my shoulder, I locked my door and made my way to the train station.

I reached a little before noon, but Laxus was already there. When his eyes met mine, I no longer had to force happy thoughts. It was almost like he was able to dispel every ounce of sadness from my body with just one look. I broke out into a genuine smile before running towards him. I dropped my bag by his feet and vaulted myself into his arms, kissing him passionately. When he let me go, I wrapped my arms around his torso and hugged him for several long moments, feeling entirely at peace.

Laxus POV

She'd been crying. I knew the second I saw her face. And though she smiled and kissed me and let out happy little sighs as she tucked herself into my chest, it didn't hide the fact that she had been crying. Her eyes were still a little red, I could smell the salty remnants on her cheeks, and I noticed the makeup under her eyes, trying to conceal the puffiness.

"Hi, Princess," I finally said, stroking her back.

"Hi," she whispered contentedly. I sighed in relief. At least she was happy.

"Do I want to ask why you kissed me in the middle of the train station, after you've yelled at me for kissing you in the guild hall?" I asked, amused.

"I'm just happy to see you," she said sincerely, looking up at me. She got up on her toes to kiss me again.

We waited for the train in silence for a couple more minutes. I was debating whether or not I should bring it up, but the fact that she had been crying bothered me.

"Princess, why were you crying?" I asked softly.

She just shook her head, nuzzling her cheek into my chest.

"Please, baby. Tell me." I tilted her face up, stroking my thumb along her cheek.

"It'll hurt you," she whispered.

Before I could respond, the train sounded as it pulled into the platform. Lucy picked up her bag and we made our way onto the train.

We sat across each other in our small private compartment, and I steeled myself for the nausea that would start hitting soon.

"Why will it hurt me?" I asked, resuming our conversation. "Please, Lucy. I hate that you cried. Let me help make it better," I pleaded.

Before she could respond, the train lurched forward and I felt my stomach roil. I clamped my mouth shut and leaned against the window, my skin already clammy.

"Shit, I forgot you'd get sick too!" She jumped up and came to sit next me. She slowly guided my head to her lap and began running her fingers through my hair.

"This helps Natsu," she whispered, raking her nails gently over my scalp. Surprisingly, it did help. My stomach felt calmer as she combed my hair with her fingers. I curled an arm around her waist and slowly fell into a dreamless sleep.

"Laxus? We're here," I heard Lucy say, gently shaking my shoulder. Mercifully, the train had stopped moving. My nausea instantly faded and I sat up.

"Thank heavens. I fucking hate trains," I groaned. I then looked at Lucy as I held her chin and kissed her. "But this was probably the best train ride I've ever been on. Thank you, baby." I had half a mind to take her with me on every mission, if only to help with the damn motion sickness. I sure as hell wasn't going to ask anyone on my team to do what she did, not that they'd have a problem with it though.

We went straight to the man's mansion, and after he gave us a rundown of what he expected from us, he instructed us to be back at the house at 7pm. That gave Blondie and I enough time to relax for a bit. We walked to our hotel, hand in hand, and checked ourselves in. A porter escorted us to our room.

"Damn," Lucy whispered when we walked in. The large room overlooked the mountains. A cavernous bed took up a majority of the floor space, and off to the side, a door opened up into a massive bathroom, complete with a hot tub.

"Baby, we're going to have so much fun in this room," I glinted wickedly.

"Hot tub first?" Lucy asked, her eyes sparkling.

As much as I wanted to, I hadn't forgotten our interrupted conversation. I shook my head. "No, first we finish our talk from earlier. Why were you crying?" I demanded.

"You don't want to know, Laxus," she insisted.

"Like hell I don't want to know. You cried, and that concerns me. So I damn well want to know. Fuck if I get hurt or not," I pushed.

"Fine. You want to know? I had a heart breaking conversation with the other guy yesterday. I thought he was going to leave me, and that killed me. He is hurting because of us. Knowing I'm with you is hurting him, and that hurts me, and so I fucking cried. Are you happy?" She yelled.

I sat back on the bed, stunned. "I'm sorry, Lucy," I whispered. I opened my arms and she crawled into them, curling up on my lap. So the other guy knew about us. And Lucy felt strongly for him. She clearly wasn't anywhere near ending things with him. Maybe I was the issue. Fuck, I was going to hate myself, but seeing her like this felt worse than death.

"Do you want to end this? We can finish our holiday, and then you can end this. You can be with him," I whispered. I felt nauseous again.

Lucy sat up, looking at me stunned. "Why would you say that?" she asked hoarsely, tears welling in her eyes.

"You care for him, Lucy. His pain is your pain. Maybe I'm coming in between you both," I admitted. Taking a kick to the nuts would have felt more pleasant than this conversation.

She moved so that she was now straddling my lap. She gripped my face between her hands.

"Laxus Dreyar, you fucking listen to me, and you pay good attention. I. Love. You. I am fucking in love with you, you idiot, so don't you ever, ever even try telling me that we should break up. We are not allowed to break up, understand?" she glared.

I forgot how to speak.

"Wh-what?" Was all I managed to stutter out.

"You heard me. I love you," she said, her voice now soft. She leaned in and kissed me.

Blondie fucking loves me. Holy shit. She loves me. Fuck, I haven't said it back!

I cleared my throat, which suddenly felt very constricted. I don't think I'd ever told a woman that I loved her.

"Blond- Lucy, I love you too," I said. The words felt alien on my lips, but the sentiment rang true.

"Good," she chuckled, kissing me again.

Hot tub forgotten, we hastily rid each other of our clothes before breaking the bed in.

We came with whispered "I love you"s, after a slow round of sweet, gentle sex. I let my hands trace her body reverentially as she lay next to me, coated in the scent of her climax. We laced our hands together, whispering funny little stories, and we chuckled into each other's mouths. She sat in my arms, caressing my thigh as we discussed what we wanted to do on our holiday. We made up imaginary little scenarios of what our fictional house would look like, and what we'd name our dog. Embracing one another, we planned our lives together under the guise of silly ramblings. And in that moment, I wanted that life more than anything.

Lucy POV

It was about time to head out. After a quick rinse, we began to get dressed. I pulled out the long red dress I brought along, and slipped it on. It clung to my body like a second skin, with slits running up either side to my hips. My breasts were clearly outlined by the tight fabric, and a peephole at the neckline provided ample view of my cleavage.

"Zip me up, babe?" I asked Laxus, who was pulling on his shirt. He walked over to me and did up the zipper before his hand grabbed my ass.

"I really shouldn't be letting you out of this room looking like this," he whispered.

I spun in his arms and began buttoning his shirt for him. I left a few buttons at the top undone to show off his chest. He pulled his blazer on, and I instructed him to turn so that I could get a good look.

His pants were stretched over his muscular ass and his defined chest was clearly visible through his shirt. His blazer showed off his broad shoulders, before artfully tapering down to his yummy waist.

"I shouldn't be letting you out, gorgeous," I said with a cat call. He raised an eyebrow before rolling his eyes.

I quickly slapped on some lipstick and pulled my hair into a pretty topknot. Clasping on earrings and slipping my feet into a pair of heels, I gave myself once over.

"Okay, let's go," I announced, pleased with how I looked.

"You look absolutely stunning," Laxus complimented, offering me his arm.

"So do you," I giggled, wrapping my fingers around his bicep.

This couldn't feel less like a job. I almost forgot we were here on work. We ambled our way to the mansion, chatting mindlessly.

We were amongst the first to arrive, and after quickly reconfirming who we had to be looking out for, we found a spot at the corner of the ballroom that gave us a good vantage point.

The party soon kicked into full swing, and while Laxus and I did have a drink or two, we stayed alert, carefully watching for any suspicious activity.

A few hours into the event, I heard a faint scream over the music. I thought I imagined it, but when I looked at Laxus, his eyes were narrowed. He'd heard it too. We quickly ran to where the sound originated, finding ourselves in a large sitting room. A woman was cowering by the window while a clearly inebriated man stalked towards her.

"C'mon lady, hand over the necklace and nothing's gonna happen to you," he slurred, flashing a knife.

The woman was clutching a diamond necklace, shaking her head as she whimpered.

My hand flew to my whip, fastened around my thigh. I pulled it off and quickly snapped it towards the man, wrapping it around his wrist. He spun around to face me, anger bubbling over the surface.

"Who the fuck are you, bitch? Get out," he snarled.

I released his wrist and snapped my whip across his face.

Bad move.

The man roared and charged at me. I quickly ducked, slipping under his arm as I stuck my leg out to trip him. He rolled over and lunged at me. I sent a punch flying into his throat and he collapsed on the ground, gasping. I hastily looped my whip around his wrists and touched the keys at my waist.

"Virgo?" I called, and she instantly winked at my side.

"Yes, Princess?" she asked.

"I think this man needs to be punished," I smirked.

Virgo clapped her hands happily. "Shall I kill him, Princess?" she asked cheerfully.

"No, don't kill him. Just punish him for a while," I instructed.

The man on the ground was quaking with fear. I felt a little bad, considering that he had hardly been a threat. But then I looked to the poor woman who was still shaking, and instantly, I no longer felt bad.

Asshole.

I undid my whip, and Virgo replaced it with handcuffs before whisking him away.

I walked up to the woman and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, he didn't. But he was going to. Thank you," she whispered, before breaking down. She hugged me and cried, terrified at the thought of what might have happened.

"Shh, it's okay. You're safe," I said gently, stroking her hair.

She sat back, wiping her eyes. "Thank you," she said again gratefully, before giving my hand a squeeze. She walked out of the room, smiling at Laxus on her way out.

The dragon slayer was leaning against the wall, an impressed smirk on his face.

"That was hot, Blondie," he said huskily.

I just rolled my eyes. It had been so easy that Laxus hadn't even tried stepping in.

"No really. Watching you suckerpunch that guy… Damn. And your skills with the whip? Holy shit, baby. I can think of a million different ways you can put that skill to use," he said seductively.

I snorted before quickly kissing him. When I tried to step back, he tightened his hold on my waist.

"Baby, I want to fuck you right now. In this room. We'll make it quick, I swear. Five minutes. A super fast quickie and then we'll go back," he negotiated.

"Shut up, Laxus. We're on a job. We'll lose the entire reward if we're caught. Not to say what Gramps would do to us," I pushed him back, but he refused to budge.

"I'll take that risk," he purred, feathering open kisses along my neck.

"Laxus, stop it!" I scolded. I wriggled out of his grasp and quickly spun away before he could catch me again. "Wait till we're back in the hotel, you beast," I giggled.

"Babe, please," he whined. "You're so hot, and I'm fucking hard, and I promise I'll be quick!" he pleaded. I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Nope. You'll wait like a good boy. Now come on," I grabbed his hand and dragged him back towards the ballroom. He mumbled irritatedly under his breath and I caught him adjusting his pants uncomfortably. A small giggle escaped my lips.

"Can it, Blondie," he sulked.

I led him to the dance floor, turning so I faced him. He slipped an arm around my waist and I held his shoulder as we clasped hands. We began to sway slowly to the music, keeping our senses trained on any sign of disturbance, but otherwise enjoying being pressed into each other's bodies.

The rest of the event passed smoothly, and we collected our reward before leaving. The man had very kindly paid for our hotel room for the next night as well, which only seemed fair, considering the reward was tiny.

Satisfied with a job well done, we hurried back to our hotel.

A/N: Another mission chapter. And, while I don't dislike it as much as the last one, it's still not my favourite chapter overall. But in better news, I am no longer simply putting off the big fight chapter. I have it clearly sketched out and in a few chapters, I promise we'll get there!

I do have a question for everyone: I have two potential story paths I'm toying with. One will wrap the story up within another maybe 10 or so chapters at most, and a second path that will extend beyond that and take things further. Ultimately, I will finally settle on the one that feels most natural to how the story is progressing, but I would love to know if you feel like things have run their course and we can end it neatly and happily. How are you feeling about the story so far? Hit me with your thoughts! And I hope you at least somewhat enjoyed this (subpar) chapter!