Back again enjoy!
Chapter 8:
Everyone was silent in the wake of the slap, I don't think anyone dared move it was between the two people staring intently at each other.
"Do you know what your gramps told me? He told me you were dead! That you died, not in prison, dead! He died thinking he'd out lived you!" she says in a wavering voice trying not to cry, Laxus's pained expression showed that her words hurt more than her slap.
"I broke up with you when I joined so if I died-"
"What?! Then it wouldn't matter? That I wouldn't care? You're an idiot!" Levy and Lucy nod in agreement from behind Mira, Laxus looked down at her, everyone watched as the two former lovers stared at each other until she hugged him.
"I'm glad you're not dead" she sobbed into his chest.
"As usual you have a funny way of showing it" Laxus says but his words didn't mean much because he hugged her too.
Lucy looked away, if Laxus started crying too Lucy would start bawling, Levy herself was wiping her eye, turning back to the door, which no one had noticed had opened again, Kinana was standing there with Levy's notepad.
"Uh, should I make these?" she asks quietly not to disturb Mira, Levy nods and goes out with her.
"Uh about those guys…" Levy tries.
"It's okay, I recognised them of course but I won't say anything, Mira is obviously a lot happier than she had been the past few days, so they must be okay" Kinana says in a reasonable voice.
"Thanks Kinana" Levy say as with a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry I'll handle the coffee, shut the shop and you guys can have some time" Kinana says.
"Forget thanks Kinana you're the best!" Levy says hugging her, she laughs.
True to her word, Kinana made everyone's drinks including one for Mira who had finally stopped crying all over Laxus's shirt, Kinana had closed the shop and took a seat next to the silent brown haired man who looked a little lonely, with her own coffee.
"Lucy, Levy and some of the guys caught, Mira and Kinana up to speed with what happened and what they were doing.
"You should get Yukino to help" Mira decides once they finish.
"I thought of that too" Lucy admits.
"Why?" Natsu asks.
"Yukino's studying to be a journalist if anyone could help us get the public on our side it's a journalist" Lucy explains.
"You're in university too right?" Natsu asks.
"Yeah Levy and I and Yukino have had some classes overlap"
"Aren't you a little older than normal to be studying?" Natsu asks trying not to offend them, Levy laughs.
"We're on our second degree" she explains.
"Second!" a few of them exclaim, Lucy nods.
"Yeah I studied literature and poetry first, now I'm doing writing and arts, Levy is studying computers and history, previously she was doing linguistics, and Yukino is on her first degree, she was helping her parents out of High School but she wanted to become a journalist so she decided to apply"
"Do you trust her?" Natsu asks.
"Yes, Yukino's a good person she'd never betray someone for herself" Natsu nods trusting her judgement, causing Lucy's heart to pound slightly louder in her chest.
Getting Yukino to come to the Coffee Shop wasn't a problem getting her to sit down calmly after she saw who else was here was.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, Lucy and Levy double teamed to explain what was going on and she looked between them and back to the people behind them as they went.
"Jeez" she said once they were done taking a seat.
"This isn't a joke right?" she asks just to be sure, they shake their heads.
"Okay, aside from the fact we could be arrested for even thinking of doing anything with wanted criminals what do you need help with?" she asks.
"Firstly proving the deaths weren't accidental, you have more contacts than I do so it'll go faster and we'll get through them quickly, and then we'll need your help getting the story out there, Lulu can help with that since she's a writer too"
"Wait I'm a novel writer not an article writer!" Lucy objects.
"It'll be better if we both do it" Yukino agrees, Lucy bites her lip but nods.
"So you're with us?" Lucy asks, Yukino smiles.
"Yeah this is why I want to become a journalist" she says.
"Alright, we should head back to mine and get started" Lucy says.
"Will you come back tomorrow?" Mira asks.
"It's too dangerous, however I'm getting the feeling its getting more crowded in Lucy's apartment"
"That's okay, Levy, Yukino and I can come here tomorrow to work so you guys have the apartment, more space to move, and more quiet for us to work" Lucy says thinking quickly.
"I don't like it" Natsu says moodily folding his arms.
"I'll be back in the afternoon, in time to make dinner relax you can live six hours without me"
Lucy didn't hear his mumbled response as they got ready to leave.
"I hope to see you again" Kinana says softly to Cobra, who looks at her.
"Aren't you scared of me? You haven't said a word since you sat down" Kinana smiled and shook her head.
"No I just knew you needed company without words, I hope I didn't annoy you" Cobra almost blushed, but looked away from her.
"No you don't annoy me" he says quietly.
"Good then I'll see you again…Cobra?" she says as a question.
"Call me Erik" he says, she smiles kindly.
"I'm Kinana, Erik" she says and waves him goodbye.
"You don't disappear on me again got it?!"Mira warned Laxus in her serious tone, but Laxus just smirked.
"Whatever you say boss" he says looking like he was going to leave but he turned around, grabbed her waist and kissed her passionately, everyone else in the room looked anywhere else but them.
"You coming back with us?" Sting asks Yukino.
"Of course I have to interview you guys, help Levy with the deaths, help Lucy with the story, we'll be working flat out for a few days" Yukino says excitedly.
"Well nice to meet you and welcome on board" Sting says with a bow, Yukino blushed.
"Thank you…Sting" she says, the dark shadow behind Sting pushed him to start walking before he looked any more of an idiot and they all started walking out.
Lucy, Levy and Yukino did work flat out over the kitchen counter so much so that the guys had to fend for themselves for Dinner. Natsu was kind enough to put on two minute noddles for the three of them though, they could only say thanks, eat with one hand and type with the other, on their separate laptops, Lucy, Levy and Yukino's tablets were also out along with their phones. Each devise was on something or waiting for something important, Yukino's was constantly going off with notifications from people she knew, Levy's more intermittently as she was connected with Jet and Droy on their cruise with their family, Jet was great at pattern recognition and Droy was working on undetectable toxins, since he was a biology major, though they didn't quite know what they were working on, since it was for Levy they really didn't care.
"How'd you convince these guys to help again?" Gajeel asked over Levy's shoulder.
"They're my friends they're happy to help" Levy says, Lucy and Yukino snicker and Levy throws them a dark look.
"What is it?" Gajeel asks not to be deterred.
"They would do anything for Levy" Lucy says smoothly.
"They're in love with her" Yukino adds.
"Shut up" Levy says looking intently at her computer.
"What was the rejection time again?" Lucy wonders aloud, Levy's fingers stop tapping.
"Wasn't it one second compared to two seconds between them?" Yukino says.
"Shut up! At least I'm being asked out Lucy!' Levy says pointedly.
"Hey! You're worse than Aquarius! Like I want to date the idiots at uni!" Lucy says.
''At least give someone a go, or Aquarius will be right, old and alone" Levy says shaking her head.
"Well you will too with your nose in a book or a computer screen!" Levy and Lucy face off over the counter.
"Yukino what do you think?!" they ask her Yukino jumps.
"I hold my fight as a free citizen of Fiore to stay out of this" Yukino says leaning away from them.
"Hmm" they both huff siting back down and working again.
"Are they fighting?" Sting whispers to Rouge.
"I think so, it didn't make much sense to me" Rouge answers.
"I think I understood old single maids in the future" Natsu says also confused.
"Hey!" Levy and Lucy screamed at him, he toppled over backwards in fright when they both rounded on him. They watched him do it then burst out laughing, Yukino joined in with Sting, Rouge and Gajeel, even Laxus, Cobra didn't laugh but he was struggling to contain his smile, Natsu huffed and got back up.
Haha you go Natsu! Always bringing your friends back together even if you don't understand it! More soon! Review!