I own nothing.
Eight years earlier…
Natsu called Laxus three times that he was worried about Lucy in the two weeks following her mother's funeral. At first, Laxus dismissed his concerns. When Lucy ignored his calls, he started getting anxious. Natsu was refusing to leave the Estate even though Jude had arranged for a spot at Fairy Tail for him.
It wasn't until he called Jude directly that he truly started worrying about her. That Jude was willing to pay for his and, his friend, Bickslow's flights to Hyssop told him that something was wrong.
"Where is she?" Laxus asked Natsu when they arrived.
"At the cemetery."
The three teens walked to the outskirts of town where the cemetery was. Jude had erected a large statue of an angel as part of Layla's tombstone. Natsu hung back with Bickslow.
"Go away," Lucy said when she heard someone approach.
"But I came all this way."
"Laxus?" she said, spinning around to see the older teen then launching at him. "What are you doing here?"
"You have a lot of people worried," he said, kissing her temple. "Come on. Let's go bake something. And go talk to Natsu before he lights something on fire."
She made a half-chuckle sound as she ran and looped her arm around Natsu's arm.
"She's beautiful," Bickslow commented. Laxus arched an eyebrow before frowning. "What? By her age, in Bosco, she'd be preparing for her induction."
Laxus looked at Lucy, looking for what his friend saw. Puberty was definitely hitting her hard. The stress of her mother's illness had caused her to lose some of her baby fat and make her burgeoning curves more noticeable by comparison. Layla had always been the most beautiful woman that he'd ever known, and he could tell Lucy was going to look just like her.
"She's like my little sister. Go near her, and I'll shoot so much electricity into you, you'll twitch just thinking about sex. Understand?"
Bickslow noticeably gulped and nodded.
Over Lucy's shoulder, Natsu glanced and nodded at Laxus. He may think Natsu was an idiot, but at least they agreed on one thing: keep all men away from Lucy.