Chapter 17 – Removing The Mark

Once at their apartment, Adryn and Laxus located an extra pillow and blanket and set it up on the couch for when Serenity would need to sleep there.

"Let's get ready for bed," Laxus spoke up as the two of them finished setting up the couch for the little girl.

"Alright." Adryn agreed a little too quickly. That caused Laxus to look over at her, but she was already heading into the bedroom. Laxus was a little drunk still, but he was able to understand that the girl was a little nervous. She hadn't looked at him since they got to the apartment and she hadn't really spoken to him too much. That caused the man to worry, but he chose to not say anything to her yet. He figured if something bad was going on, she'd tell him.

Eventually, the two are in bed and laying down together. However, Adryn suddenly sat up and looked over to Laxus. The man just looked to her in confusion. He could tell that she had something on her mind but that she just wasn't sure if she could say it or not. However, after a few moments of staring at each other, Adryn spoke up.

"Laxus?"

"What?" Laxus responded sounding a little tired.

"I want to give myself to you," Adryn responded with a slight blush on her face. Laxus didn't get what she meant, so he just stared at her with more confusion than before. "I want to have sex with you." Adryn bluntly said causing Laxus to sit up immediately.

"Are you sure?" Laxus questioned hesitantly. He wasn't too sure if Adryn was fully ready for that yet. He didn't want her to do anything that would cause her to suffer even more than she already had.

"Laxus, I love and trust you with all my heart and soul. I know that you're the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with." Adryn took Laxus' hands and smiled at him as she spoke to him.

"Can you handle it? I don't want you to push yourself." Laxus was as sober as he could be now that they were having such a serious conversation. Despite how supportive Laxus was being, Adryn frowned at him.

"I want to do this before anything else goes wrong in our lives. I want to have this special moment with you to prove that I love you with everything I am. Soul, mind, heart and body." Adryn's sincerity moved Laxus and caused him to only have one answer for her.

"Alright." Laxus couldn't find any other words to say to the girl. However, no words were needed as he pulled her to him and kissed her. This kiss didn't feel like anything before. It was their first kiss since she became Adryn again, and it was a kiss that led to more kisses, which led to a lot more things that Adryn had only ever experienced under bad circumstances. However, this one night seemed to be able to rewrite it all, leaving only good memories.

~

The next morning, Laxus woke up before Adryn. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he thought back on the night before. He was proud that Adryn was able to overcome her trauma. He could only hope that when she woke up, she didn't regret anything. Laxus knew that he didn't regret anything and never would. He was happy to have gotten closer to Adryn. He never really thought that something like that would happen.

As Laxus was thinking to himself, he realized that Adryn was now awake and facing him. The two looked at each other for a moment before Adryn began to blush. She then hid her face with her hands. She was blushing so hard that her ears were red as well. Laxus couldn't help but smile again.

"Adryn?" Laxus questioned as he moved closer to Adryn. He gently reached over and pulled her hands away from her face.

"Yes?" Adryn muttered back as she gave up and allowed Laxus to look at her face.

"Are you alright?"

"I... was so confident last night and said some pretty sappy things... I can't believe what came out of my mouth..."

"Do you regret it all?" Laxus was a little worried, but it only lasted a moment because Adryn instantly shot up into a seated position.

"Of course not! I could never regret anything we did or said!" Hearing that Laxus couldn't help but smile at Adryn.

"Good. I don't regret anything either."

"I really do love you, Laxus."

"I love you as well." Laxus leaned over to kiss Adryn and the two shared their first kiss of the day. Laxus then got up from the bed and Adryn watched as the man put his clothes on and then began to head out of the room. "You stay here, I'll go make breakfast."

"I can help." Adryn went to get up, but Laxus walked over to her and kissed her again.

"I want to make you breakfast. Stay here and read your book. I'll bring in our food when it's ready." Laxus then patted the girl's head and left the room. Adryn was filled with happiness at his actions and words. She was happy that he wanted to do something nice for her, and she was also happy about everything else.

"I'm so glad I'm myself again..." Adryn muttered to herself as she thought back on the time she's spent with Laxus. She was thrilled that she and Laxus had gotten closer over the time she was herself and not herself. She was also glad that he'd stuck by her through all of the drama that had gone on. "Oh, I should probably get dressed." Adryn hurried up and climbed out of bed and put her usual style of outfit on. She left out her cloak, as she hadn't even been wearing that for a while, so she figured she shouldn't start wearing it again. After getting dressed, Adryn climbed back into bed and pulled out her book that she still hadn't finished reading quite yet.

After about a half-hour, Adryn was pulled out of her book by the bedroom door opening up. She looked over to see Laxus walking in with a tray, that she didn't even know he had, full of food. Adryn lit up and put the bookmark back in her book before setting it back down on the table next to her.

"That was fast," Adryn commented as Laxus set the tray of food down on the bed carefully.

"You were just too into your book. It's been a while." Laxus then climbed into bed and the two began to eat. A few moments into eating, Adryn thought of a question.

"So, what are we going to do today?"

"We should probably get Serenity and go looking for a new apartment."

"That seems like it could be fun. I hope we find something that we want." Adryn then went back to eating, prompting Laxus to return to eating as well. Once the two ate, washed the dishes and got ready for the day the rest of the way, Laxus and Adryn headed to the guildhall. They figured that Mirajane and Serenity would be there by now. It turned out to be around the middle of the day by the time Laxus and Adryn left their apartment.

"Mother! Father! It took you two forever to get here!" Serenity had immediately spotted them and came running. Adryn crouched down to receive a hug from her daughter. Laxus then patted the little girl on the head affectionately for his hello. Serenity brightened up when she received both hellos.

"Do you want to come apartment hunting with us?" Adryn asked her child as she stood back up. Serenity instantly nodded her head and began to bounce excitedly.

"I'd love to come along!"

"Freed should have a few apartments lined up for us to see. I gave him that task last night." Laxus noted as he looked to see where Freed was. Freed had already spotted the group and was approaching them by himself.

"Here you go, Laxus. There are a few apartments and I hope you find one that all of you love." Freed spoke up as he handed Laxus a paper with a bunch of information written on it.

"Thank you, Freed. We truly appreciate your help." Adryn spoke up to the man who just nodded his head to her and then returned to the other members of the Thunder Legion.

"Well, let's get going," Laxus spoke up as he began to read the paper.

"Alright!" Both Serenity and Adryn responded in unison. Holding hands with Serenity, who was also holding hands with Laxus, the group walked down the roads until they came across their first apartment on the list.

The first apartment was only a 2 bedroom apartment and it was actually quite small. It didn't speak to any of them and actually gave Serenity a bad feeling. So, they moved on to the next apartment.

The second apartment was a 4 bedroom apartment and was quite large. However, it was a bit too pricey and a bit too large for the 3 person family. So, they moved onto the third apartment on the list.

This went on and on for the rest of the day until the next to the last apartment on the list. It was a 3 bedroom apartment and it had a decent-sized kitchen, along with a good-sized living room. There was more than enough room for them all. It was perfect. However, Laxus' thoughts sealed the deal on that apartment.

"I think this one is the perfect one," Laxus commented simply as they finished their tour of the apartment.

"Why?" Adryn questioned, feeling the same way though.

"It gives us enough room to grow our family together. We might not need the third bedroom right now, but we might in the future."

"Aww!" Serenity cried out in response as Adryn blushed and nodded her head.

"Alright. I agree. Serenity? Do you like this one?" Adryn looked to the little girl as she instantly nodded her head. "Alright, let's go get this apartment!"

"I'll go, you two head outside and figure out where you want to eat tonight." Laxus then left the apartment to find the person he needed to pay. Meanwhile, Adryn and Serenity headed out of the building and to the street to discuss where to eat. They chatted for a little bit and decided to just head back to the guildhall to eat there with their friends. It would also be the perfect time to thank Freed and recruit them to help them move apartments.

"Father!" Serenity suddenly yelled out as she saw Laxus leaving the building.

"Did everything go well?" Adryn questioned as she and Serenity approached Laxus.

"Yeah. We can move in whenever we are ready." Laxus responded as he held out the keys to the apartment. There were 2,

so Adryn and Laxus could have their own keys.

"Awesome!" Serenity was again bouncing from excitement. "Mother and I choose to just go back to the guildhall. I want to play with Aunty Mira again."

"Okay, let's get going." With Laxus' words, they took each other's hands again with Serenity in the middle. They walked back to the guildhall and went right to where they wanted to go. Serenity headed over to Mirajane while Adryn and Laxus headed to the Thunder Legion.

"How did everything go?" Freed questioned, seemingly a little nervous. He wanted to have helped them and not wasted their time with the apartments he'd found.

"We got the perfect one! Thank you so much, Freed!" Adryn happily spoke to the green-haired man. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at that.

"That's good. I also have some good news."

"Oh?"

"I have found a way to remove the Raven Tail guild mark from your arm."

"Will it make me hallucinate?" Adryn had just accepted that it might do such a thing. Freed seemed to find it humorous and smiled at the girl.

"No," Freed's smile fell as he spoke, "But it will most definitely cause serious pain."

"What?" Laxus was not happy about hearing that his girlfriend was going to be suffering again.

"This is going to be a topical potion that can remove any unwanted things on a body. Like scars, freckles/moles and things of that nature. Usually, it would be only slightly painful, however, since this is such a large area, it will cause intense pain as it forms new skin over the area that was affected and unwanted."

"Alright. Let's do this." Adryn instantly responded eagerly.

"Are you sure?" Laxus questioned just as fast as Adryn had agreed.

"I don't want this on me anymore. I want my Fairy Tail guild mark back."

"If you're sure, then let's go right now."

"Okay. We can head to my old house. I think the potion making equipment that Eclipse brought is still there. Do we have the ingredients already?"

"Yes. I figured that you would agree, so we got the ingredients as you were apartment hunting." Freed responded as he turned to the table and grabbed the bag that was seated on the seat next to the one he'd just been sitting on. Freed then said his goodbyes to his friends and headed out the guildhall with Laxus, Adryn, and Serenity. As the group walked together, they were stopped by a sudden voice.

"Hey guys, wait up!" The 4 of them turned around to see Eclipse and Nova hurrying towards them.

"Eclipse! Nova!" Adryn happily cried out as she hurriedly moved to them. The 3 of them hugged and said their hellos before separating. "What are you 2 doing here?! I thought you both would be locked up!" Adryn wasn't complaining though, she was glad to see the 2 girls.

"We were released." Eclipse simply spoke, causing Adryn to give her a disappointed look.

"The Magic Council wanted nothing to do with us. They told us that we caused enough problems, but went through enough and deserved to be free, for now." Nova explained since it was apparent that her sister wasn't going to.

"Oh, cool," Adryn responded with a smile.

"So, where were you 4 off to?" Eclipse asked as she looked to the bag in Freed's hand.

"Freed found a potion that can take the guild mark off of my arm. So we were heading to my old house in the forest to make the potion."

"Can we join you?"

"Of course. I would greatly enjoy your help in creating the potion." Freed responded before Adryn herself could agree. So, with that, the 4 turned 6 went to the little house in the woods. Immediately once they were there, Freed and Eclipse went to the potion making equipment to start. That left the other 4 to sit on the couch and chairs. Adryn and Laxus took the couch while Nova took one chair and Serenity took the other.

"So, what are your plans now that you are free?" Adryn questioned as she turned to look at Nova. Nova however just looked down at the ground.

"Well..." Nova muttered quietly.

"What?"

"I don't think you'll like this... but, I'm going to leave and go somewhere far away, where no one knows me to restart my life... and I'll be taking Eclipse with me..."

"What, what?!" Adryn shot up from the couch and looked down at Nova. Nova instantly stood up and grabbed Adryn's hands.

"I'm so sorry. I know that so much has happened and that you probably want everything to go back to the way it used to be, but it can't. Eclipse and I have to go. We need to do right for all we've done wrong." There was something else that Nova was holding back, but she chose to not say anything else. Adryn just sighed at her words and nodded her head.

"Alright. I understand."

"Really?!" Nova seemed excited to hear that.

"I'm not happy about it, but I understand that you need to do what you need to do. I don't like that I feel like I'll be left behind, but I do hope the best for you two."

"Will we ever see you again?" Serenity muttered from her place in her chair. It seemed like she was unhappy about the situation.

"It's probably for the best that I never return. I... probably shouldn't be around your mother too much anymore."

"Why?" Serenity just didn't seem to understand the adults.

"I have all these feelings of guilt and shame. I get reminded of them whenever I see your parents and even you. Same with Eclipse, but it isn't as bad as when I'm with her." Nova explained simply.

"It's alright, Nova. I understand. Serenity will one day as well. I feel the same type of guilt and shame due to when I was Arcadia." Adryn muttered in response to the lilac-haired girl.

"You have no reason to feel any guilt or shame. It was my fault for not protecting you." Laxus spoke up as he stood up from the couch. Adryn released Nova's hands, as they were still holding hands, to turn to Laxus with a smile.

"It's alright Laxus. There is nothing anyone could have done differently." Laxus wanted to argue, but Freed's voice broke through their conversation.

"The potion is done!" Freed called out to the group. Eclipse was holding the bottle of potion. "This will hurt. Are you sure that you want to do this?" Freed approached with Eclipse holding the bottle.

"I have to do this. I can't stand this mark being on me any longer than it already has been." Adryn responded immediately as she approached the two potion makers.

"Alright. Let's pour this over the sink. I don't want it to get all over the floor." Eclipse suggested as she motioned towards the sink. Adryn nodded her head as she made her way to the sink. The rest of them followed her and surrounded her to watch.

"Alright, I'm ready," Adryn muttered to her best friend. Eclipse nodded her head and opened the potion bottle.

"Now, think of what you want to remove from your body as I pour this. Also, remember that this will hurt you." Eclipse got the potion over Adryn's arm and took a deep breath. Adryn also took a breath and braced herself as Eclipse poured the potion over the Raven Tail mark. Instantly, Adryn screamed out in pain and used her other arm to hold onto the counter of the sink. Everyone took a step towards Adryn in case she fell over, but she remained standing.

"Is it working?" Nova muttered as she leaned over to look at Adryn's arm. No one answered her, but she saw the answer for herself. They all watched as the Raven Tail mark began to melt off of the girl's arm.

"The Fairy Tail mark..." Eclipse muttered in shock. There, Adryn's Fairy Tail mark that she'd gotten so long ago, remained. The pain on Adryn's arm subsided and Adryn, who had tears in her eyes, looked down at her arm and began to cry.

"Adryn?!" Everyone around the redhead was worried and hurried to her side. Laxus pushed his way to be the one closest to Adryn. As soon as he was next to her, Adryn nearly threw herself in his arms.

"Adryn, what's wrong?" Laxus questioned as he held the crying girl.

"No, nothing is wrong. Nothing at all!" Adryn responded immediately as she continued to cry. She was calming down now though.

"Then...?"

"I'm just so happy that I can see my Fairy Tail mark again. It makes me feel like everything will be okay."

"Of course everything will be okay," Laxus smirked at the girl who looked up at him. Adryn couldn't help but laugh as she wiped away her tears.

"You're right." Adryn smiled up at Laxus, who patted her head in return. Adryn leaned into his hand and only was brought out of their world when Nova coughed. "Oh, right. We aren't alone..." Adryn broke away from Laxus and turned to the group.

"We should probably head to the guildhall. We have some announcements to make."

"Some announcements?" Eclipse questioned confused. "I get that you want to announce your arm, but what else?"

"We found a new place to live!" Serenity happily cried out to the group.

"You did?"

"Yeah, a new apartment a little ways away from Laxus' old one. We needed a bigger place." Adryn replied as she smiled at her friends. "We need to ask the Thunder Legion for help packing and moving though." As Adryn spoke, she turned to look at Freed.

"We would be happy to help you move into your new apartment... Granted, once Ever and Bickslow are sober." Freed spoke up with a smile.

"Great! We appreciate your help."

"We should probably head back to the guildhall now," Laxus suggested causing the group to agree with him.

"Mother? Can we color when we get there?" Serenity questioned simply as they began to make their way back to the guildhall.

"Of course," Adryn responded as she took Serenity's hand. Serenity then held out her free hand to Laxus who took her hand. The group walked back and chatted about random things as they went. They mostly just talked about where Eclipse and Nova would go now, but they also got onto other topics as well. It was nice to be able to chat about things without a care. In the back of their minds, they just wondered how long it would last.