"So…like this…and then like this…and then…"
Making Friends Dreyar Style:
After Mavis' stunning humiliation of the pretty little Lates girl, they'd found one another after the second day of fighting. She was currently teaching Hailey Lates how to win a fight with fists rather than boobs.
"This is best angle. If your opponent is a guy, go straight for the nuts."
Lucy found them in the hotel garden and was in some ways touched her least friendly child befriended the one she defeated and a little proud she felt the need to help a fellow girl out. Then she realized her precious baby girl was teaching another girl how to nail a guy in the testicles and sighed.
At Blue Pegasus, charm was typically exalted before skill, a mindset Mavis neither knew nor understood.
What Lucy did not know or understand was why the guild consistently entered competitions. It typically didn't go particularly well.
On the upside, when it was Master Bob's turn to watch the pool area, none of the boys went and the girls had the place to themselves. There was no force on earth that could clear a room full of teenage boys like the presence of Master Bob.
The second day of the games had gone well for Fairy Tail, which showcased the guild's power over the others, which was largely based on how many dragons there were in Fairy Tail to make more dragons during the next generation.
Iggy won a match against Baby Orga.
Sam won a match against Max Cheney.
The only realistic difference between the Sabertooth boys and the Fairy Tail boys was that the fairies had seen and experienced hell: fight to survive, fight even though it hurts, fight to defend your loved ones. So when the fights got nasty, they were mostly undeterred, especially Sam. For better or worse, having his arm cut up had drastically changed his pain threshold. He was tough as the nails he ate with his dinner.
The team event involved navigating a color-coded maze. As fate would have it, Yuri and Layla ended up in the competition. Yuri had no idea what to do since he knew his team was Orange and couldn't see orange and Layla wasted so much time trying to help him they finished seventh and eighth.
It was a little endearing to watch, and sweet. Also strangely funny and pitiful at the same time. Two powerful wizards, stumped by the color orange.
The third day was going to be the twins in the team event and Yuri and Layla dueling, and then the big battle on the final day was left, but overall, Fairy Tail had demonstrated some impressive prowess, leaving parents and guildmaster confident and proud.
Once the rambunctious wizards were safely in their rooms for the night, Laxus deposited his baby son off with his older brother for a while, and then went on to their room with some plans to get a little love from his wife.
Laxus took a shower, brushed his teeth, and came out in a towel to find his wife in red lace.
"Here, kitty kitty," he whispered as he dropped the towel and climbed into bed with her.
She squealed as they went about the business of kisses and nibbles and touches and rolling about on the bed. It felt like business as usual, but Laxus got the impression that something was a little off. The movements were there but the passion was not, and Lucy was typically vocal when she didn't feel like dealing with him. He was a little confused when she coaxed him on, but he couldn't profess he understood her completely either.
Lucy was the one that took her panties off but as soon as he was inside of her, something didn't feel right. She wasn't as turned on as she normally was and it felt unusually tight and uninviting. Her fingernails were clawing into him and although this was normal for her, never that hard. When he moved, her teeth clenched together, but he was sure it wasn't out of pleasure.
"Lucy, am I hurting you?"
"No, of course not," she whispered.
Laxus pulled out anyway and rolled off of her. "You're sleeping a lot. Your appetite is weird. Tell me you're not pregnant, Lucy."
Lucy climbed onto his lap, wrapping her legs around him and pulling him in for a close skin-on-skin embrace. "I thought that. I was really upset, but it's actually a lot worse."
"There's something worse than having six kids?" he teased, trying to fill the tense air and pretending he was something other than terrified about what his wife was about to tell him.
She squeezed him tighter, and kissed his cheek. "Everything is going to be okay, I promise."
"You've always been the worst fucking liar in the world," he whispered, pulling back so he could look into her eyes. "Look at me. Tell me what's wrong. Please."
She took his hand, and guided it to a specific spot on her left breast, and then pressed. He felt a rock-hard mass roll under his fingers.
"What the hell is that?"
"Cancer."
It was just one word. One tiny word. Everyone knew it. Everyone was afraid of it. No one was safe, and it was one of the few things magic just couldn't help. Magic could heal sicknesses caused by pathogens or seal wounds or fuse broken bones together; there was no magic for this illness because the disease came from a person's own body.
Cancer was the reason his father was dead, but he hadn't cared much about that. His father had died from a type of cancer that kills painfully and indiscriminately. The mightiest wizard in the world would have died exactly the same way as his pathetic, shameful father.
But Lucy didn't deserve that.
His mind filled with questions, and he didn't know which one to ask first. Then, he didn't want to hit her with a barrage of questions either because he didn't want her to know how scared he was. Lucy squeezed him so tight that he felt like a somewhat pathetic husband that she was sick and she was trying to comfort him.
"How long have you known?" he asked.
Lucy said, "A few weeks. I started taking medicine and it's making my body feel kind of gross. I've been trying kind of hard to keep up. With Sam and Layla and all that mess, it just hasn't ever been the right time to talk about it. I don't want to pile anything on anyone. And then I didn't want to ruin this week for the kids. They're young and excited, and things have already been so heavy lately. I just want them to have fun."
Laxus lowered her down and pulled the covers over her, tucking her in gently. "You're so stubborn and so selfless I can't stand it sometimes. What happens now? I mean, it's treatable, right?"
His wife rested her head on his arm when he settled in beside her. "I've been told I have pretty even odds. Maybe I'll be here this time in a couple of years, maybe not. A lot of that depends on how treatments go and whether or not it's spread. And whether or not I have a mastectomy, which my doctor said should happen really soon."
"What is that?"
With a sigh, she looked down and seemed far beyond distressed for a few seconds. "Surgical removal of the entire breast. Both sides. Literally everything will be gone. I'll just have a scar. I'm a curvy girl, and I don't really want to go through that. But if I want to live, I have to let someone cut my breasts off and then I have to be sick and probably lose all my hair."
There was nothing in all of his many years of life that had prepared him to deal with this. His plan was to get old and watch her get wrinkly and soft and turn into an overly-opinionated grandmother who drank too much wine.
The idea that she might be in danger he could not save her from was terrifying.
Laxus wanted to have the right words to say to make her feel better, but the more he tried to come up with some encouragement, the more he realized how absurd it really was. His wife had cancer; ugly, evil, dangerous cancer.
Lucy could practically hear him thinking too hard and said, "I've had some time to think about it since I kept it a secret from you, and I'm sorry. I know that we've come to this place in our path in life where the way ahead is really rocky, and it's not necessarily going to have a happy ending. But we're wizards, and how many times have our lives been in danger and we just not cared at all? We learned to focus on what we're fighting for, and not the fight."
Her husband's lip twitched into a half-smile. "That's my girl. We have a lot more living to do, you know."
"I'm just really not done. I want to see if you look like Makarov in thirty years. I want to see our babies as they mature into adults and find love and have their own babies. I want to see a bunch of little blonde kids chasing you around the house calling you 'Gams.' I really have it all planned out in my head."
Laxus kissed her hair. "You will. You're a fighter. We'll be all right."
Lucy suddenly sat up again and looked down at herself. "Will you still find me cute when I have no hair or tits?"
"I'll buy you a wig and some big fake titties, but I don't care too much. I get the most turned on when I piss you off and no one can take that away from me."
She hit him with the pillow and giggled. "You're the worst!"
Laxus gave her a little smirk and said, "I don't care how you look. I care that you're here. That's the only thing that matters to me."
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Lex. I told you I wanted this baby and now we have a little baby at home and I'm about to not really be able to do everything I should for him. It's an extra burden," she admitted.
Her husband answered, "We made that decision together. I love that little guy, and I'm glad he's with us. He's our son. And don't worry about him, either. Focus on getting better as soon as possible. You know I'm fucking useless without you. I love you. I need you. So be strong, okay, Babe? And talk to me. When you feel good or bad or you need something. You know there's nothing I won't give you. Let me go get that rascal though, if we're going to bed."
When he left and came back, they put Lex to bed in between them, and snuggled him.
"Did you tell your son why you needed him to watch him? He doesn't know we were trying to have sex, right?"
"No. Our son isn't an idiot though."
Lucy said, "He kind of is."
"It was just a false alarm. Please get over it. There are honestly much more important things going on in our lives than the fact our son's girlfriend is not pregnant. Go to sleep, Babe."
He reached over and turned out the lights, and leaned over to kiss her head what felt like a hundred times. Lucy knew she'd scared the shit out of him, but once she had the diagnosis, there was no getting around it. He might have been the biggest, baddest dragon of all, but he was more or less incapable of functioning as an independent being after over eighteen years of being with her.
They were quiet, but neither of them slept well.
And, in the middle of the night, she whispered, "Are you awake?"
"Yeah. You need something, Babe?" he gently answered.
Lucy wiggled closer and asked, "Do you remember when we were dating, and you almost got killed on a job? You came to my apartment and puked on the floor."
"I remember."
"You said, when you were laying there, facing death, your imagination ran wild and you tried to imagine who I'd be with if you died there."
Laxus turned the light back on and gave her a one-eye-half-open, hair-crazy-as-fuck glare. "I don't like where this conversation is going."
Lucy asked, "If the worst happened, do you think you'd remarry? I don't really like the idea of you being alone. You're the most social anti-social person I've ever known."
"We are not having this conversation, Lucy."
"But—"
He looked down at their sleeping son and said, "If it wasn't you, I don't think I ever would have gotten married or had kids or anything. When we met, I wasn't trying to be what I became with you. What the fuck am I going to do with somebody else?"
"You like sex."
"I can help myself."
"I mean, even if you didn't marry, I'm sure you could at least get sex. You're good in bed, and you're handsome. For an old guy."
Her husband asked, "That's the exact example I want to set for our five children. 'Relationships are hard, have casual sex instead.' I'm getting older, and that's something I only want to share with you. I don't want to talk about what happens if things go wrong ever again. We're not going to start that shit. You're going to stay here with me and put up with me until the end of time and that's that."
Laxus turned the lights out again.
XXX
The next day was the final regular day of the games, and the twins were up to compete in the team event. At some point during the event, they realized their 'sweet' child Anna really wasn't sweet, she just wasn't as combative, violent, and blatantly aggressive as her siblings. Compared to people in general, she was a little bit on the rough side.
Besides, her sense of 'sweet' seemed to begin and end at the guild.
Anna purposefully attacked Sergei Bastia to get ice to summon Aquarius, and then Mavis electrified the water. It was ugly, it induced chaos, and no one actually finished the event because they were busy fighting and getting washed around with lightning water, even the twins. The match was decided by Magic Power Finder and they finished in the middle, which was acceptable. The fact they were able to keep anyone from completing the intended competition was in and of itself, quite a feat.
The duels were called, and neither Fairy Tail team had been called when there were two matches remaining, meaning they'd compete last. The only other competitors left were Lamia Scale's Petri Nekkis and Sabertooth's Ashlock Lore.
Yuri, Petri, Ashlock, and Layla were definitely titans compared to the rest, but it wasn't entirely clear how they ranked.
Since Layla and Petri were having a rather intense flirtation, everyone aware was relieved when Yuri and Petri were called to fight.
"This is going to be interesting," Laxus said as he looked over the edge.
"I have my little, tiny ruler, in case you and Jura still need it," his wife replied.
Layla had no problems with Petri as the son of Jura, who had led the inquest into the lacrima at the new king's behest. But Yuri? Yuri was clearly pissed. Petri didn't know about anything that had happened between his father and Fairy Tail, so he wasn't really sure why Yuri seemed angry.
"Is this about your sister?" he asked.
"Don't talk about my sister."
Petri grinned. "How about this? If I win, you have to pay for me to take your sister out for dinner. What if you win?"
Yuri answered, "If I win, you can sit in the infirmary with a broken nose. And never speak to Layla again."
"You're so serious! Fine, Fine. I'm not going to lose. I can't now."
When the buzzer sounded, they went at one another hard and fast. The difference between their match and every match that came before it was wide enough that the match looked like it could have been from the adult version of the games.
Lightning cracked, thunder boomed, crashing against earthen obstructions and in between magically-charged fists, kicks, and headbutts.
Layla leaned over the rail and shouted, "Kick his ass, Yuri!"
The fight got nasty pretty quick, with growling and fangs bared and fists flying. They left cracks in the retaining wall as they crashed against one another, and left many near the stage deaf from the sound of thunder or covered in dust from the earthen creations.
They seemed so evenly matched neither could actually win, and they were bludgeoning each other fairly badly each time they came into contact.
"Man, what's your deal?"
Yuri growled and threw his fist. "Your stupid Dad and the stupid Magic Council!"
Petri ducked and said, "My dad? Did he do something to piss you off?"
The dragon froze. "You…don't…know?"
"I have fucking clue what you're talking about. My parents are divorced. I talk to my dad once a month. I have no idea how many or which people he pisses off."
Yuri was so distracted by the idea he'd spent ten minutes trying to beat someone for something he did not know about that he momentarily forgot exactly what he was supposed to be doing. A vengeful personality didn't suit him at all, so as soon as it lifted, he felt strangely disoriented.
And then he got bashed upside the skull with a powerfully-charged haymaker and did one spin before falling flat on his face, where he lay motionless until after the match was called.
"Ouch! My baby!" Lucy exclaimed.
Her husband chuckled a bit. "He's all right. This is a good place for him to learn to keep his head in the game. In a nasty battle, he can't do that."
Petri grabbed him and hauled him to his feet. "Yuri, my friend, this is the start of a great bromance."
They were halfway down the tunnel when Yuri wiped his bloody nose. "I don't think I like you very much."
"We're rivals, obviously. We've got some reason Sting Eucliffe and Natsu Dragneel circa x791 stuff going on. Anyway, how about a drink on me? We're the only competitors old enough to drink, so let's go have some fun."
"What about Layla?" Yuri asked.
Petri said, "I just sucker-punched the dear older brother in the side of the head. Probably on her shit list right now. Let's get some bandages and some beer after the girls fight."
"I haven't seen the other girl," Yuri commented.
"Ashlock? She kicked my ass. We took the same job from different clients last year."
They stopped briefly for ice and water while the event organizers were trying to repair the damage they'd done. Petri got four stitches and Yuri only needed two, and the latter argued this meant he probably should have won. From there, they headed up to the stands and found two empty seats to occupy.
Petri said, "The only my dad said me recently is that bad things might start happening soon, and when they do, you need to know who your friends are. I think we need to be allies. All of us who are strong. If we learn how to stick together now while we're young, it'll be harder for them to turn us against each other later on. That's what normally happens. The people who are young and strong fight each other because the older wizards pit them against each other."
"Something bad happened in my guild. Something like that. We can ally with you."
The older boy leaned in and lowered his voice. "Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, Fairytail. You, me, Layla, and Ashlock—the top four in our generation. We stick together from here on out."
Laxus had stressed to him that friends were critically important, both in and out of the guild. It seemed like a good idea. After what had happened with Sam, it was definitely smart. They'd witnessed firsthand how quickly an experienced schemer could play them and he'd promised himself he'd never let it happen again.
They shook hands, and when Ashlock Lore and Layla came out to fight, everyone became quiet.
They two girls were roughly the same size as far as height was concerned. Layla was a little more developed, but she was the spawn of Lucy, so that was normal. Ashlock had long straight black hair and dark green eyes, a direct contrast to Layla's short, wild golden locks and bright blue eyes.
Layla had her father's headphones on, wild hair the wind blew, and an eye scar that made her look like a formidable opponent.
Ashlock was polished, every hair in place, with flawless, milky skin.
Both beautiful, in different but striking ways.
The audience was engaged by the idea of two attractive, powerful girls fighting, but when the buzzer sounded, neither moved.
They'd been raised on rumors about one another, but never come face-to-face until right then.
They circled each other, and Layla noticed her opponent stepped to her left, putting her in the blind spot she was trying to keep secret.
Everyone waited, for two girls who were spoken often of, but never really seen.
And then, all at once, they moved and it became clear that everything about them was different. Ashlock was an adept martial artist; Layla moved almost like an acrobat. Her movements were fast, flexible, and nimble to her opponents much powerful and carefully planned blows.
Ashlock used her mother's magic; Layla was the bearer of Makarov's mantle.
It quickly started to turn in Layla's favor, but when she was knocked to the ground, it was instinct to land a certain way since she couldn't see on one side.
"You're blind on one side," Ashlock whispered, so low even the microphones didn't pick it up.
Layla stood to her feet and dusted herself off. "You're going to make me do something I don't want to do…"
"What? Lose?" she gestured for her to attack, and then disappeared to the left side. "I always hear about you. About how pretty you are. About how smart you are. Maybe I'm as strong as you, they say. I'm not going to live in the shadow of some spoiled one-eyed blonde."
Layla leaned in and whispered, "I've heard of you too. Mean. Cold. Arrogant. Powerful. That's fine. My powers work best against people that are dark on the inside."
"Come and get it then, blondie. Even the king wants you to lose, you know."
Lucy watched them from the stands as they leaned in, speaking so quietly no one could hear.
Laxus asked, "What are they talking about?"
"Nothing good. Girls their age are notoriously cruel. The boys don't really care that much. Look at 'em. They're already over it. But the girls? There's only one queen bee in a hive, Honey," his wife answered.
Layla meanwhile came up with a plan to win. Her opponents could block her attacks fairly easily using her space magic, but Layla knew her magic was going somewhere. Ashlock had figured out she couldn't see on one side and was using it to a powerful advantage. If she didn't do something, she'd lose.
Ashlock froze in place when the prosthetic eye suddenly changed from a lifeless, glassy blue color to glowing gold so she had one blue eye and one gold. "What the hell is that?"
But, what else was she going to do? Being blind on one side, she had to compensate, and when it became clear she wouldn't ever have a normal eye, she'd consulted her father's most loyal friend Freed Justine about eye magics.
Freed had enchanted her prosthetic eye and what she could see through it was very different than what she could perceive through her human eye. Any kind of magic that was invisible was only like that due to bending lightwaves, so she could see all sorts of hidden things—including the magic space her opponent was using to eliminate her magic.
And then her prosthetic eye went right back to normal.
"H-Hey, what the hell was that?!" Ashlock asked.
Layla looked around. "What was what? I must have missed it. I'm just a one-eyed blonde after all."
And then she ran, past her opponent, and gave one huge attack seemingly into nothing. A fissure opened, seemingly out of nowhere and all the light that was stored in the space she hurled back at Ashlock.
The blow was huge, final, and served to establish her at the top of the pecking order. Layla wasn't the most mature and she was the opposite of a fantastic leader. Her attitude could usually be better, but she had power none of them had, the same power that caused Makarov to take notice of her before she could even walk.
Once the match was over, she offered Ashlock a hand, but the raven haired girl refused as she lay there fighting the tears.
"That was a cheap trick. You were lucky! If it weren't for that eye…"
"Uhhh, not really sure if luck is the right word. I mean, I had both eyes up until pretty recently. Besides, we're going out tonight, so get over it already," she said.
"Who is this 'we?'"
"You and me. Girls night out."
XXX
They walked in the garden, holding hands.
Suddenly, Laxus wasn't too busy to give his wife some attention, and she wasn't too distracted by her plethora of duties to wave it off.
"You feeling okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she gave him a lazy, tired grin and leaned against him. "I love you, you know. So big and strong, but sometimes, you're a big baby."
Her husband kissed her hair. "I know you will. It's what's between here and there I don't like. In my mind, you're the most powerful, vibrant person. I hate it when you're sick. Makes me angry at no one in particular. Or maybe everybody."
"You're turning into a cranky old man, you know."
"I'm not the only one who is changing. I can't say I don't appreciate your semi-monthly wine-induced inebriations or all the things you say once you start getting tipsy."
"I don't think our kids like it."
"Of course not. No one wants to see their saintly mother get shitfaced and tell them about how they were born. There's no way that's not cringeworthy. I cringe for them."
Lucy shrugged. "You laugh and give me more wine. You could just tell me no, but it's been eighteen years since we started dating, and I don't think you're about to start that."
Her husband kissed her hair. "I've had fun spoiling you so far. No reason to stop now. I'm getting older and I'm set in my ways."
"Me too."
He pulled her close, gave her a kiss, and held her for a long time. "Hey, you bring anything nice? A dress? Or just mom-clothes?"
Lucy lightly punched him. "Look, I'm thirty-six and I wear mini-skirts, and I'm not going to stop, ever. What are 'mom-clothes?'"
"Let me rephrase:"
"Laxus…"
He smirked. "Put on your sluttiest outfit. I have an idea."
The blonde groaned at her husband. "Why would I have something slutty? If our children were academics and not wizards, this would be the national spelling bee. Do you think the perfect suburban wives of Fiore pack their trashy slutwear on the way to that?"
"C'mon, babe. For me. I want to take you somewhere," he playfully pled.
"Ugh, fine."
He kissed her again. "Go get cute for me. And make it something you don't mind me tearing up."
His wife rolled her eyes. "You tear up all my clothes, because you're a cross between a caveman and a dragon."
"Cave dragon?"
"More like horny man-child lizard guy," she specified, making a mental note she wanted to order him a new name plaque for his desk at the guild with this title on it.
The only downside to trying to play practical jokes on her husband was that he might do something terrible, like decide he liked it and allowing it to be on full display when important guests came to meet him. And then when this important guest looked down at it, he'd say she gave it to him and he only kept it to be nice.
Yes, this was a plan of self-defeat, and she steered herself away from her tangent.
"I'm not up for—"
"The dragon has no plans to visit the cave."
"You're so gross."
"Go get cute for me."
"What if I say no?" she teased.
"Dragons bite, you know," he whispered before biting her ear lobe lightly and making her giggle. "The only choice you have is where."
Was he the most annoyingly charming man ever? Probably. And just like he gave her whatever she wanted, she gave in and went to go get dressed up for her beloved husband. A skirt was cut shorter, a top as well, and she smeared some red lip gloss on her lips she was certain was going to end up all over him.
When he came to the room a few minutes later, he practically purred in delight and dug through her suitcase for a scarf, which he used to blindfold her.
Lucy heard the clink of crystal, and it brought back a memory.
And then, she momentarily shifted gears back into Mom mode. "Where are the kids?"
"Little one is with the twins, already heading to bed. Older kids are out with Petri and Ashlock. Don't know what they're doing but I doubt they're going to get into any trouble they can't get out of."
The blonde said, "But—"
"Can we just neglect them for one night?"
She sighed. "As long as the baby is okay, I guess…"
She understood that he wasn't being overly-eager because he was horny; horny just happened to be his normal method of operation with her so when he was anxious, so he just translated his behavior in what was probably not a healthy or appropriate way. Despite his eagerness, Lucy knew the real reason he wanted some alone time with her was because he was having a hard time swallowing what was about to happen in their lives.
Lucy was quickly learning that in dealing with a serious illness, she had to take care of his feelings just like he'd inevitably have to take care of hers. If he needed time with her, then she'd give it to him. There was a part of her that really wanted him to cope a little before they told their kids.
When his arms enveloped her, she felt the indescribable sensation of moving via lightning, and when they stopped, a warm summer breeze grazed her skin.
She remembered the smell of the flowers, the way the breeze tickled her skin. The memory seemed fresh and vibrant, and then a champagne bottle popped and suddenly, she was nineteen years old again, laying on a hill outside Crocus after dancing with him until she felt dizzy.
Lucy knelt and touched the grass, and then smiled as she pulled her blindfold off. "You remembered this place."
He offered her a flute of champagne. "Eighteen years, five kids, and more love than a bastard like me ever deserved."
Lucy clinked her glass against his. "It's been fun so far, hasn't it?"
"Always."
They rolled around in the grass a little, snuggling, kissing, tickling, drinking and spilling champagne.
Upwind, on the other side of the hill, Layla was standing with Petri Nekkis. The group of teenagers had joined and then later they had broken off on their own from the group after they left the zoo and headed back. This left Petri and Layla with their mutual crushes; they played tag, and ran through a park and down a dark path. They ended up racing to the top of the hill, and ended up at the top, out of breath.
"You're fast," he panted.
"You're slow," she answered.
"I don't mind. I could run forever. We're like the tortoise and the hare. You may be fast, but you look like you enjoy a good nap. I just have to be patient. Just when you least expect it…the wolf pounces!"
He reached over and she slapped his hand. "Boy, please. First you're a hare, now you're a wolf."
"So…do you like animals? I love 'em. I have a cat. Now that I think of it, you kind of remind me of a cat. You're pretty, and you seem to like my attention, but you're vicious and you seem to like sleeping. Now your turn. What kind of animal do you think I am?"
Layla said, "Blue-footed Booby. They were doing some mating dance while we were at the zoo. Whatever one did, the other had to replicate. Kind of sad and awkward. Reminds me of you somehow," she answered as she put her hands on her hips.
He put his hands on his hips and mimicked her stance, down to the slight angle of her hips and her feet. "My turn."
Layla wasn't sure when it became a game, but this ridiculously handsome, successful young man before her began the disgraceful art of mimicking the strange creatures at the zoo, stepping toward her and extending his arms like he was flapping wings. She certainly wasn't going to lose a game though, although as she mirrored this humiliating behavior, she wondered why she was letting this boy encourage her to act like a fool.
"Now then."
Layla slid down into splits. "Gymnastics."
Petri slid right down next to her. "Alvarian Yoga."
When it was his turn, he flexed his muscles and growled, and she fought the urge to laugh as she did the same.
She stood on her tiptoes and pulled her leg over her head giving him more than a little flash of her panties.
As a young man squarely on the complete side of puberty, the fact he saw her panties and the fact she could bend her legs like that had some terrible secondary effect on him, which he replied to with, "Okay, I lose."
The girl knew she was tempting him; it was exciting, and having the complete, intense attention from the handsome boy made her so excited she felt like she'd pass out. She laid down in the thick grass and sighed happily. "I don't want tonight to end."
He laid down next to her. "I like you so much I can't stand it. You're smart and you can kick my ass, and you're so damn cute."
There was something about his grin that reminded her of something she saw every day. Her interactions with Petri had been so magical it almost didn't feel real, but the world seeming tilted when she put it together. Tall, devilish grin, an antagonistic clown…
That adage about girls being attracted to men that were like their fathers came back to her.
After so many years of finding her beloved father overbearing and uncool, had she really fallen madly in love with someone that was so like him?
He even took her to the zoo, and now they were looking up at the stars. She was sure her mother had told her a story like this once.
Since the moment she'd met him, she felt this starstruck sense of romance as if she'd known him all her life. It was factual; she had known him all her life, for he was her father—just in a slightly different package. She defied her father and sought the attention of a boy who was just like him, and she was so used to how her father related to her that they just fell into step in such a natural way she didn't realize her mistake.
"You have this look on your face like you just decided I have a dozen bodies buried in my basement," he said, concerned by the sudden change in her countenance.
"It's worse than that. I need to go home and think about my life."
"Fine, fine, the booby loses. It's getting late anyway, and I can always try again tomorrow. Eventually, I'll get you to give in to my good looks."
Layla cringed as this was the kind of thing he heard in the house when his father went into one of his moods where he'd circle her mother like a shark and badger her for her attention, good or bad.
They stood up and started to follow a path that appeared to lead downward, through some thick trees and then down to a gently-sloped little spot where they stumbled upon the Dreyars.
There was a sense of mutual horror as they all realized at the same moment that they were all there together. Lucy skirt was hiked up around her hips and her panties had been thrown in a nearby tree and were currently hanging next to the boy's head. Laxus was laying in between her legs and although he'd jerked his head up at the last second, it was really obvious what they'd been doing.
"Oh no…kids!" Lucy pulled her skirt down with speed she didn't have in a fight for her life and slung her leg over her husband's head as she jumped to her feet. "It's not what it looks like."
Laxus stood and crossed his arms as he was only wearing boxers and he really didn't know where his clothes where. He'd thrown them. They might have been in the trees, maybe down below, maybe they were torn up and weren't going to be wearable ever again. With lightning form, he really hadn't had to rely on wearing them back.
Petri said, "Sorry. We're just leaving."
Laxus narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why were you up here? I think it is common knowledge what people come up here to do."
"Not the time," Lucy said, her tone short, threatening.
Layla frowned and said, "Dad, you've ruined the best night of my life. Twice!"
Lucy was sure she hadn't blushed so hard in a decade at least, and when she looked at her husband, she found he was actually red in the cheeks. She was sure she hadn't seen him in a state of embarrassment in just was long.
"Layla, why don't you guys go back? It's late. And then, if it's all right with you, we'll just…never talk about this. Ever."
Lucy's suggestion was acceptable to everyone.
Laxus vanished with Lucy in a crack of lightning, and the teenagers started a slow, terrible walk down the hill and through a myriad of distasteful thoughts and reactions. Petri tried to comfort her by telling her about how he'd once caught his respectable father tied to a bed with a ball gag in his mouth, but she was only more disgusted at the depravity of the adults.
When the adults arrived at the hotel, Lucy flopped down on the bed. "Our daughter caught us getting it on in a public place, outside. And not just getting it on, but literally has to know what you were doing to me!"
Laxus covered his face and groaned. "I was just trying to be romantic."
"You didn't smell them?!"
"Look, when I'm in the zone, I can't smell anything except, you know."
"This is the only time I needed you to have a gross sense of smell in bed!"
"Why is this my fault?!"
"I didn't fly myself up there! I just got caught by my teenage daughter having my husband lick my vag—"
"Lucy, relax. She probably didn't know exactly what we were doing. How would she know about oral sex?"
Lucy just shook her head at him. "She wouldn't, because she lives in a bubble and has never, ever met another teenager, picked up a women's magazine, or spent time with a horny boy."
Laxus laid down next to her. "She's innocent. Why was our daughter up there anyway? That's where people go to fool around."
Lucy answered, "First of all, she wasn't the one messing around. We were. And second, our daughter is smart, hormonal, boy-crazy, and is itching to find someone who meets her ridiculous standards because girls are just as horny as guys are."
"Are you going to go talk to her?"
"About what? 'Sometimes Daddy likes to lick Mommy's vag—"
"Lucy."
"VAGINA!"
She yelled the word that made him most uncomfortable and he frowned at her.
The next morning, the teens were excitedly readying themselves for the final fight which began at noon. Except for Layla.
Lucy found her eating breakfast, alone, with a strange look on her face.
"Mind if I join you?"
The little blonde looked up at her mom. "Sure. I was kind of hoping I'd never see you guys again after last night. Then I remembered you're my parents."
"So you dad and I have a great sex life. End of story."
"Gross."
Lucy picked a blueberry off her plate and ate it. "How are things going with your new boyfriend?"
"I'm done with him. There came a moment where I realized I would basically be dating my father, and I can't live with that."
Her mother smiled and smoothed her hand over her daughter's hair. "You didn't realize right away? I thought it was so cute. Him following around annoying you. It reminded me of your dad and I right away."
"Why does the most amazing guy I've ever met have to be like my dad?!"
Lucy said, "Because your Dad is amazing to you. I know you guys have your moments. He's trying to protect you and you're trying to spread your wings and live your little life. You and your dad have a very special relationship where you adore each other but are at odds sometimes. Being with a guy like your dad is a good thing."
"How?!"
"Well, your dad is really passionate. And I'm not just talking about what you saw last night. He loves me and you guys. After eighteen years, he's still always excited to see me when he comes home. He's never looked at another woman. He's been by my side through everything, every step of the way. Plus, it's good to be with a guy who doesn't take himself so seriously. It makes life more fun."
Layla thought about this long and hard, and then emitted a long, slow sigh. "Fine. I still hope I get to punch him today."
"Nothing wrong with that, baby."
"You're the best, Mom."
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