Lucy was looking forward to saying hello to Laxus the next day, but the Magic Council personally requested his assistance for some disaster or another—some crazy monster was raging on somewhere and evidently, they needed him.

So it was now the day of the ball, and she arrived in Crocus a ball of nerves and panic.

How many things had gone wrong?

Team Natsu, including her, came home from a job late, so when the rest of Fairy Tail made it to Crocus three days before, they were still in Hargeon. Then she had to go to Magnolia to get her outfit, which burned up on the trip because Natsu and Cobra inadvertently got on the same train and what happened could be easily predicted.

It was 2 p.m. The ball started at 7 p.m., which meant she had five hours to find a ball gown that fit, shoes and accessories, then come home, shower, and get her hair and makeup done.

Yep, she was just about ready to quit the game. Her first date ever was already pretty much ruined.

Laxus had paid for her room, which wasn't even in the same hotel as the rest of the guild, so she was by herself, and angry, and ugh...She summoned Plue and flopped down on the bed, holding him close. "What are we going to do, Plue?"

There was a knock on the door, and Lucy threw the door open and shrieked, "HOW DARE YOU COME AND JUST KNOCK ON MY DOOR LIKE EVERYTHING IS OKAY WHEN EVERYTHING IS NOT OKAY. I DONT HAVE AN OUTFIT, THANKS TO STUPID, ARROGANT, VIOLENT DRAGON SLAYERS."

Laxus withered where he stood and blinked once, twice, three times.

The door slammed in his face then, and Lucy took a deep breath, calmed herself, and prepared to face him at which point he saw in his mind a little red flag that sprouted from her skull and read 'Run, baby run!'

Lucy opened the door again, this time with measured, careful strength. "Hello. I said I'd say hello to you more, so...hi."

"Hey."

Laxus held out his offering of a garment bag and a large box with a look that was some mixture of amusement and bewilderment.

The blonde seemed blank as she took the garment bag and opened the door, allowing him entry to her room. "H-How did you know?"

The lightning dragon slayer put the box on the sofa of the suite and replied, "Pun pun."

Plue ran to him then, and Laxus bent over far enough that the tiny little spirit could fist bump the comically larger hand of the wizard.

Lucy then remembered seeing Plue playing with her communication lacrima after the incident on the train. He seemed to be in the middle of a deep conversation with all the 'Pun' he was talking, but she never imagined he was actually having a conversation with someone. "You can understand him too?"

"You can't?" he asked as he straightened back up.

"Only you and Natsu. But, I'm glad you were able to make up with Plue."

Laxus shrugged. "Plue's all right. He's just a real lousy drunk."

Lucy's tension fizzled out as she realized she now had plenty of time to get ready. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."

"I promised you a good first date, right?"

The blonde nodded. "But why aren't we in the same hotel as everyone else?"

The lightning wizard's reply was an incredulous, "Why would I want to sleep in a hotel and I know it's going to burn down?" He sensed her apprehension and added, "I'm directly across the hall if you need something. I'll be back at six-thirty. Be ready."

He left her then, and Lucy took a deep breath.

Lucy took a long bath, and then she spent the afternoon getting a mani-pedi from Virgo and an updo from Cancer, who pulled her hair up into pin curls. She avoided looking at the dress, because she was a little terrified of his taste. The first time they met, she described his outfit in her diary as 'the official douchebag uniform."

At six o'clock, she finally bit the bullet and unzipped the bag. He breath caught in her throat at what was before her. The gown was midnight blue, and had a halter top that hid any and all cleavage while leaving her arms and back bare. It was studded with golden, sparkling gems, and fit close until blossoming into a mermaid skirt. Never in her life had she even looked at a dress so gorgeous.

The shoes were strappy and midnight blue, with the same golden sparkling jewels, and there was a shawl and plain white opera gloves.

Lucy found everything fit her perfectly, which she assumed to be in some way or another, a work of Plue. Then again, maybe Laxus had just looked her over hard enough to guess her size, and that idea made her squirm a little.

Cancer swept some dark shadow and eyeliner with some light pink lip gloss and a quick blush, and she pulled on the gloves and looked in the mirror.

Her spirit spun his scissors in the air. "Gorgeous, Shrimp!"

Virgo gave her some sparkling golden earrings, and the two vanished just as there was a knock on the door.

When she opened the door, there he was and he was so gorgeous she felt like she'd melt into a puddle just standing there. He was wearing a midnight blue tuxedo with a gold bow-tie and cummerbund, so they matched in a certain kind of way. Lucy had seen him wear a suit before, but get all the way dressed up? Nope. He was so handsome as he towered over her, his hair still wild yet a little neater than normal.

Laxus swallowed hard and felt some kind of something. If it was in his heart or his groin or both, he could not say. "You're are fucking gorgeous."

Lucy blushed so hard he watched it spread from her cheeks to her ears. "You look really handsome too, you know. This dress is just amazing. I was a little scared when I thought about you picking. I imagined plunging necklines, but this is perfect."

The man's expression soured a little as he explained, "Casual date or not, for someone else to look at your tits when you're with me? I have a problem there. I'll level the castle."

But it would be okay for you to look? Her mind absently questioned.

He offered her his arm, and she took it carefully, blushing a little.

"You've never walked arm in arm before?" he asked in amusement.

She looked down. "I told you I've never been on a date!"

"Well, you're on a date right now."

They went down to a magic vehicle, and they sat in the back seat while the driver took them to the palace. There was a red carpet with the Fairy Tail emblem awaiting them, and upon arrival, Lucy found there were people everywhere, cameras flashing, people shouting, and she was safe in the car.

When he got out first and offered her his hand, she was tempted to stay in the car. After a few seconds, he sensed her apprehension and leaned down. "It would be a damn shame for you to hide when you look that beautiful. C'mon."

As she reached for him, she noticed that his hands were absolutely enormous. They were like monster hands with the palms being almost as large as her whole hand. His palm was lined with calluses, but when she closed her hand, he pulled her gently and allowed her to find her feet.

Jason, Lucy's old boss and friend from Sorcerer Weekly, practically lunged over the red rope. "Lucy! With Laxus! COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!"

"Jason!"

He got his camera. "Give me a good picture. How about a kiss! You owe me a favor, so give me an exclusive picture of you locking lips!"

Lucy shook her head. "I-I..."

Laxus decided it would be fun to play this game and grabbed her, dipped her with one arm, and cupped her face with one of his huge hands. His lips stopped just short of hers, but no one could see this behind his hand. It looked like they were kissing, but in reality, she could feel his breath against her lips. The blonde, mostly disturbed to suddenly be somewhat upside down, clenched his jacket for a few minutes, then relaxed her hand when she realized he wasn't going to drop her.

When he let her back up, she was some horribly bright shade of red, and instead of walking arm in arm, he put an arm around her shoulders and guided her in.

Once they were inside and on their way to the ball room, she shook him off. "Laxus! He's going to publish that picture!"

His brow quirked as he stole a furtive glance at the celestial mage, "What's wrong with anyone thinking you kiss me? Am I unattractive or in some way undesirable?"

He knows damn well he's the best looking man on the planet right now!

Her next question was, "How do you know how to stage kiss?!"

Laxus answered, "Gramps made me go to school. I actually really excelled at drama."

Lucy laughed at this, because well... "That's ridiculous, Laxus. You have like three facial expressions and two moods. What roles did you play?"

"The villains. Always. I'm apparently good at pretending to be an asshole, probably because I'm good at actually being one. I'm not sure if that really counts as acting," he explained, "As for me, I don't have a problem with anyone thinking I put my lips on the prettiest girl at the party."

Lucy took his arm again as they prepared to entire the huge banquet hall that adjoined the ball room. "I reserve the right to slap you once this night is over for that kiss thing."

"If that'll make you happy, by all means. You never know. I might like it."

She grinned and answered through a smile, "You are really something, Laxus Dreyar."

The princess seated them at the table where she and the king were going to eat, along with Makarov, Gildarts and Cana, Erza and 'Mystogan,' and Natsu—the heaviest hitters in Fairy Tail's wars. Everyone at the table looked in confusion at what was before them.

Erza's face contorted. "Are you...his date?"

"Yes."

Natsu was blank, and he suddenly lunged, but unfortunately for Natsu, Gildarts just slammed his fist into the pink-haired boy's hair, sending him right back in place.

Gildarts held Natsu's head down. "Think with your words, Natsu."

Makarov seemed more confused than anyone, because somehow, this had remained a secret up until that very moment. "Laxus, you got a cute girl there. Please try not to fuck it up."

Laxus cringed inwardly. "Gramps, I think we've had this conversation before—maybe a thousand times. But not every woman I go out on a date with is 'my woman.'"

Natsu was released from having his face ground into the table. "Why? Why are you with him?"

Lucy took a deep breath and decided that there was only one way to placate him. Her natural response would be to stammer something a little weak, but instead, she bravely and plainly stated, "I'm with Laxus tonight because I want to be. You're my friend, so I know you and the others won't have a problem with it."

Natsu seemed shocked by this. He didn't really mind. It was just his natural state to react like this.

Laxus took a sip of wine and turned the attention to the only other legit couple. "Looks like 'Mystogan' came back."

Erza seemed momentarily frustrated. "This actually is Mystogan."

Mystogan, who was wearing a tux and a black face mask, explained, "I got deposed. Apparently to run a country you have to talk to people. It was problematic. I had gotten into the habit of always hiding my face, so after a while, I started with the masks and the sneaking around. It ended badly."

What he did not mention was that he came back to his room after a quick trip to the hotel lobby and found the scarlet-haired mage wearing lingerie on his bed, and after a rather serious moral dilemma, he caved in and told her he wasn't Earthland Jellal.

So why were they together at the ball?

Because it would make Earthland Jellal jealous and teach him about not writing or making contact over long periods of time. Nothing says, 'straighten up your act' like, 'I'm going to let you wonder whether or not I'm fucking your clone from Edolas.'

Erza discussed none of this, but Mystogan actually felt quite used and a little scared that the actual Jellal would appear.

Gildarts took the conversation from there. "Laxus, you were called by the council to help with that Krimea thing, right?"

Laxus nodded. "I was told a demon was loosed from inside of a mountain but they couldn't find it. The mountain was the demon. A curious mind wonders how the villagers didn't notice an extra mountain had appeared, but I digress. We crushed it before it did too much damage."

The older man pressed him further. "I heard the Council forces were almost completely wiped out and you single-handedly killed it. Was it a Zeref demon?"

The king interrupted. "A demon of Zeref? Isn't Zeref dead?!"

"Yes, but his creations remain alive," Erza explained.

Laxus looked down at Natsu and uttered, "It's convenient and inconvenient, don't you think, Natsu?"

Natsu growled so hard the entire table rumbled and Gildarts punched him in the skull again.

The princess, who was sitting beside Natsu, ran her fingers through his hair. "Aren't you worried he's going to get brain damage if you keep hitting him like that?! My God, you people are rough."

Cana reached over and took Natsu's wine. "Princess, don't worry. He'll still be exactly as stupid as he is right now when he wakes up. Sweet, fierce, and dumb as a sack of hammers. There is none like him in all of Fiore. He's a keeper for sure. Keeper of stupid."

Lucy smiled at this conversation, because the king and his daughter were enjoying being in the presence of their guild family. Yes, things were pretty messed up, but all in all, there was love in Fairy Tail. She also felt like the princess maybe had the hots for Natsu, but that led to the terrifying thought that Natsu could be King of Fiore and that was simply unacceptable.

Mystogan jumped in his seat suddenly, and Laxus let out a little chuckle because he could see the movement of Ezra's shoulder, indicating her hand had moved under the table.

And then, Laxus saw Mystogan #2, aka real Earthland Jellal, strutting across the floor. He was about to walk up on Erza fondling his other self, and God knew it was going to go downhill from there. He leaned over and whispered in Lucy's ear, "Tell Erza to stop. Jellal!"

Lucy saw it too and she leaned over and whispered in Erza's ear, but it was too late.

The king was somewhat unfazed because they'd just served the food, but he did comment, "This is getting a little weird." He asked the waiter to bring another chair, and the two Jellals sat on opposite sides of Erza, bringing a tension to the air that was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

"This is actually getting very weird," Lucy admitted.

The royal family legitimately loved Fairy Tail, and as far as Makarov could tell, the ball was a celebration as well as an indication of that favor. The Council was a little more cautious about 'investigating' and dealing with them heavy-handedly since Crocus was behind them. The affection was accepting of Fairy Tail's many quirks.

After the meal finished, they stayed a while longer, talking politics, magic, family, and all kinds of other topics. Then, when the strings section started to play, Laxus stood and offered his hand again. "Care to dance?"

Lucy happily accepted and they moved to the ballroom. "If by 'care to dance' you mean 'care to get away from this awkward table,' then I am thrilled. I don't even know what's going to happen with that situation. Two Jellals and one Erza!"

Laxus put one hand on her back and re-positioned her hand as she rested her free hand on his shoulder. "Those two have weird magic. Who knows? Either Crocus is going to be inside out and fucked in the morning or Erza is. She should take one for the kingdom."

Lucy really felt a little wrong for laughing at him, because it was so inappropriate. God, he really was a badboy. A good one, but still bad. Bad and handsome.

When he started to move, she was floored by how graceful and talented his presence was. Every foot fall was perfect and well-timed, and they moved together seamlessly. "Hey, you're good as this!"

Lucy felt small next to him, and something about the way he held her exaggerated their differences in size and strength. The more she relaxed, the more their moves began to variate until he spun her and pulled her back to him.

"Likewise."

They danced until Lucy was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and out of breath, at which point she became aware once again that they weren't the only people at the ball. She was panting, and she found herself on the sidelines drinking punch with Gray while Laxus wandered back to where Makarov was.

His grandfather looked up at him curiously. "Finished burning up the dance floor, grandson of mine?"

"I'll go back for more later," he nonchalantly answered, "Thanks for teaching me on such short notice."

"You're a Dreyar. Now make grandpappy proud and schmooze a little."

So at his grandfather's behest, he made the social rounds and met the powerful people in the country.

Lucy was making her own way around, talking with people she might not have seen since her childhood, contacts from the wizarding world, and even a few wizard allies that had come to celebrate the guild.

It didn't take him long to get bored, and Lucy was sharing a dance with Loke when Laxus reappeared.

The lion spirit warmly asked, "I suppose you're going to ask if you can cut in?"

I suppose you've forgotten what an asshole I actually am, he thought.

"Get lost."

Laxus took her back almost forcefully, but this time, his hold on her was a little different. For some reason, she noticed more the feeling of his hand on her bare back. He pressed her body against his lightly. "Let's dance."

After that, she got a little lost, but after an hour or so passed, there was a great commotion. There was yelling, and as blast of fire, and Lucy pulled out of the magic of moving with his body to find Laxus quite displeased.

Instead of trying to ward off the violence that was being threatened, Laxus went to a little cart and got a bottle of champagne and two glasses, which he gave to Lucy just as a blast of fire and a wall of water crashed into one another. "Hold these for a minute."

"B-But..." she stammered as a wave of water came toward her on an inevitable course to drench her.

He felt his arms around her for a split second, and then a dizzying pulse coursed through her body as Laxus lightning teleported at the last possible second. The first buzz brought them outside the wall, and the second and third came as he looked for a good place to come down. A hill just outside town was his final choice, and he teleported to the ground and returned to corporeal form and crashed to the ground gracelessly with Lucy, who still had the bottle and champagne glasses.

She screamed from the sheer thrill of it. "Was I inside of your body just now?"

"Kind of," he answered, realizing this was his first date where his date ended up inside of him.

It was warm and beautiful outside, and the scent of flowers was thick on the summer air as they situated themselves on the steep hill that looked over the town. It was the perfect place to view the fireworks, although it also gave them a view of the castle as a huge hole was blasted in it.

Laxus opened the bottle of champagne and look the bubbles fizz off into the grass next to him. "The party was over the second Gildarts got drunk enough to want to fight."

Lucy shook her head in resignation as he poured champagne into her glass and his. "How about a toast?" He lifted his glass to hers. "Here's to the best first date a girl has ever had,"

Their glasses clinked together and they laid there on the hill sipping champagne.

After the second glass, Laxus stretched out and put his hands behind his head. "I will never for the rest of my life forget dancing all night with Lucy Heartfilia." he commented in a tired, contented voice. "Let's just be here for a few minutes, then I need to get you back. It's almost three in the morning."

She didn't want the night to end, but it was getting late.

He teleported her back to just outside the hotel and then walked her up to the floor where they were staying.

Lucy got her key and unlocked the door, but then she hesitated. "Laxus?"

"Yes?"

"Isn't a date supposed to end in a kiss?"

His eyes widened a little. "Your first kiss?"

She nodded.

With the gentlest ease, he wrapped his arms around her, drew her close to him, and brought his lips down to hers.

Lucy's eyes slowly shut as his lips closed on hers, and she squeezed him tightly as his mouth moved with practiced ease. In this close, she took him in—his scent, his wamrth, the care with which he kissed her. Her knees buckled under her, but he held her up and kissed her again.

When he gently broke the kiss, he cupped her face and some very Laxus-like mischief sparkled in his eyes. "Goodnight."

Please review!

Special thanks to all my reviewers: 1, akahime88, darkfae, guest, jenbaby2010, kassiigirl, yumeyumi1986, and Someone's bastard.