This is my take on the first prompt of the week! This is post Tartaros, right after the guild reforms. At first I was going to do the usual masquerade ball, but then my brain was all, "Hey, those are great. But it's expected. You are doing something different, and you have no say in the matter. You're welcome."

So…

Day 1: Masquerade

Like lightning, it disappeared just as quickly as it came.

A radiant smile completely erasing its existence.

The first time he saw it, he was certain it was just a trick of the light.

It had to be.

There was just no way it had been there in the first place.

}{}{}{

The second time he saw it, he paused.

He studied her face, memorizing each miniscule detail. Each freckle. Every curve and slope.

It left just as quickly as it had the first time, but now he was doubting his earlier resolve.

He saw no sign that it had ever been there, but he knew it had been.

He would just have to watch closer from now on.

}{}{}{

It was the third time he saw it that it really registered what exactly he was seeing.

That look of utter anguish. Sadness. Pain. Self-loathing. Guilt. Exhaustion.

It was wrong. Oh so totally wrong. A look like that did not belong on the face of sunshine and hope personified.

She was the walking talking embodiment of what this guild stood for.

So why, what could have possibly happened to make such a woman wear that expression, even for just a single moment?

He didn't know, but he knew he wouldn't be able to let go until he figured it out.

}{}{}{

So he followed her.

It had been a normal, average, typical day at Fairy Tail.

He'd watched her throughout the entire day, uncaring if his team thought he'd finally lost his damn mind.

They would understand, he knew, if he would just explain it to them. They would even try to help.

But he didn't.

He just had to find out a little more. Confirm that what he was seeing wasn't some kind of huge misunderstanding before he told them anything.

So when the day ended, and she bid her friends a good night, he rose from his seat and followed her.

His team protested, stating they should go with him in case he needed their help. But he wouldn't have it. He needed stealth, and Mavis knew his team were not exactly the quietest bunch.

They bickered and argued with each other about the most trivial things on an hourly basis.

Striding out of the guild's doors, he kept a steady pace that insured he wouldn't lose her, but also wouldn't close the distance between them and risk her noticing he was there.

After a few moments he realized that following from behind was stupid, as he couldn't see her face. Grumbling internally, he took to the rooftops and sprinted so that he was just slightly in front of her.

The large man clung to the shadows, thankful for his enhanced senses.

And then he saw it happen.

It didn't matter that he had seen it three times already.

As soon as she was blocks from the guild, her face crumbled.

It broke him in a way he wasn't expecting, and didn't fully understand.

Her smile faltered, turning into an almost grimace before pulling down into a deep frown.

Large amber eyes, usually filled with endless warmth and light, flickered out and darkened into murky pools.

Her shoulders slumped, as if the weight she'd been carrying on them had become too heavy to burden for even a second longer.

He'd seen it before, but now he realized that they were merely glimpses.

The full effect, watching it all fall apart in front of him, was something in a league of its own.

His feet rooted to the spot, eyes wide and mouth parted, as he was bombarded with a flurry of emotions.

Shock and anger, this rage that came out of nowhere, and sadness and shame.

Shock from the raw pain he'd never really seen in a person before.

Anger, white hot rage that burned through his veins. At whoever caused his nakama such grief, and at himself for not doing anything to stop it.

Sadness that it had to be her. Out of all of the people in this world, it had to be the one woman who shined brighter than the rest in his eyes. The one woman who made him feel like there was some hope left in this world. The one he'd loved so fucking much since the day he'd made the biggest mistake of his life by hurting his family. It had to be her, to be hurt in such a way to bring that look of despair upon her face.

Shame that it had taken this long for him to notice.

}{}{}{

It had become a habit of his, to follow her home.

He was starting to believe that he was becoming somewhat of a masochist.

Why did he keep doing this to himself if he didn't, somewhere really fucking deep inside of him, enjoy the pain it brought him somehow?

For weeks he followed her home from the guild, only staying long enough to watch that mask of hers crumble.

And that's exactly what it was.

A mask.

A masquerade.

She plastered this happy I'm-perfectly-fine mask on her face every single day.

And it stunned him that no one else noticed.

How had no one noticed?

How had it taken him this long to notice?

}{}{}{

"Follow me and for the love of Mavis, keep quiet."

"Laxus, what exactly are we doing up here?" Freed asked quietly.

Laxus bit back an exasperated groan, deeply regretting ever thinking that showing his team what he'd discovered was a good idea.

A familiar scent carried through the air and up under his sensitive nose from the slight breeze of the calm summer night and he tensed, pulling Freed and Bickslow into a crouch with him. Evergreen dropped on her own as soon as she saw the look on his face. They'd been teammates long enough for her to know when he'd scented something.

"Is that Cosplayer?" Bix whispered, perplexed.

The large blonde simply nodded.

"Pay attention to her face."

The three mages beside him traded puzzled expressions before locking on to the blonde bombshell's heart-shaped face.

As soon as she passed the same spot she always did, which happened to be fairly close to where they were couching above her, it happened.

"Holy shit."

}{}{}{

"Gramps, I'm telling you. Something is going on!" He all but shouted.

The deceptively tiny master of Fairy Tail gazed at him as he sat cross-legged on top of his cluttered desk.

"Just how certain are you, boy? Because matters such as this, personal inquisitions, are not to be taken lightly."

Laxus grit his teeth in frustration. "We've already been over this. My team can even back me up on this. I know what I saw. What I've seen many times now."

Makarov took a puff of his tabaco pipe and hummed in thought.

"Well then, it's settled."

Laxus looked at his grandfather in confusion. "What is settled?"

"I'm leaving this up to you. Think of it as a mission of sorts. Your job is to find and mend the problem, with discretion. Meaning word of this does not reach the rest of the guild. Think you can handle it?"

In that moment, he really had to question the old man's sanity. His grandfather knew better than most that Laxus wasn't the greatest when it came to emotions. He could hardly handle his own, much less some else's.

But…this was for her. Even if they would never become more, for all he did to her and all he didn't do, he owed her this much.

"Ok. I'll do it."

}{}{}{

It had been days of brainstorming with his team, and yet he still couldn't figure out how to approach her.

He was afraid, terrified really, of screwing this up.

But it was getting worse, she was getting worse. Her mask was slipping more frequently, and he'd heard whispers around the guild. They were getting concerned, and being as nosy as they were, they were going to confront her about it soon.

He couldn't let that happen. This was his job. And he couldn't see how making it such a public thing would help anything.

One day, about a week later, he snapped. He couldn't wait any longer. Despite not having a plan, he was diving in head first, hoping for the best outcome.

He followed her like usual, but from behind on the road this time.

When she reached the usual spot where her façade fell away, he rushed up behind her and spun her around.

She shrieked in surprise, throwing a fist out to her attacker, but blinked up at him when he caught it with ease.

"Laxus? What the hell are you doing? You scared the crap out of me!" She scolded with anger.

He faltered for a moment, not really having any idea what he was doing. "U-um, sorry about that."

She looked at him for a moment, then nodded with a small smile, and he saw it.

Her mask slowly slipping back into place.

"Well, alright then. I've got to get ho-"

"Stop."

His voice was low, almost dangerous but not quite.

"What?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Just stop." He almost pleaded.

Big brown eyes blinked at him owlishly. "What are you talking about? Stop what, Laxus?"

Grip tightening on her shoulders a bit, he searched her gaze. She was so much smaller than him. Delicate where he was large and sturdy. Her chocolate gaze glittered under the lacrima street lamps, as did her flowing golden blonde locks.

He just wanted to wrap himself around her. Shield her from whatever pain was inflicting her. But he couldn't. A woman like her would never let a man do such a thing. None of the women in the guild would, actually. They were a league of their own. Equally as, if not more so, terrifying than the men.

But all of that was beside the point, and he was taking too long to respond.

"Stop pretending."

She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held firm. "But I'm not pretending."

Laxus sighed. "Don't lie to me, Blondie. I can see it."

Visibly flinching, she doubled her efforts of escaping. "You can't see anything because there's nothing to see. Now let me go!"

Desperate to get through to her, he pulled her into his chest, whispering into her ear. "Something is hurting you, Lucy. You don't have to pretend anymore."

As the words sunk in, she sagged against him, deep sobs ripping from her.

"I-I'm n-n-not hiding an-anything. I'm n-not." She cried in between sobs, and he was unsure if she was trying to convince him, or herself.

So he simply scooped her up and followed her scent trail to her apartment.

Walking up the steps and to her door, he couldn't help but shake his head. Of course she didn't lock her door. And while it made this situation a little easier, it was a risky thing for someone who was kidnapped as often as she was. He would have to talk to her about it later.

By the time he was seated on her pink sofa, situating them so she was resting in his lap, the blonde's sobs had reduced to small sniffles and the occasional hiccup. Her legs hung off one side of his lap, her hands fisted loosely into his shirt, while her head was tucked under his chin.

Laxus smoothed his hand over her hair and down her back. He was at a crossroads.

This was a mission given to him by his gramps, and Fairy Tail wizards always completed the mission no matter what. And he really wanted to figure this out to sate his own curiosity.

But he couldn't bring himself to push her.

She was obviously so very broken up about something, and if it caused her this much pain to just admit to someone else that something was wrong, he didn't want to even picture how hard it would be for her to tell him what had happened.

Still, he couldn't help but ask.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He whispered quietly.

Crying women were never his strong suit. He often was left awkwardly stumbling over words and actions just to get them to stop. But this time, for whatever reason, he felt calm. He felt as though he had to be calm for her, since she was so clearly a mess of unbridled emotion.

Lucy sniffled. "I-I don't know if I can." Her voice was hoarse and raspy, thick from her tears.

He traced his thumb over her back in small, soothing circles. "Just try your best."

She was quiet for a few moments, but even though he couldn't see her face, he knew she was sorting through her thoughts.

The small blonde cleared her throat. "I don't think I can talk about it out loud just yet, but I can show you?"

Laxus nodded with a small smile. He wasn't sure how or what she would be showing him, but he would take whatever he could get.

She wiggled in his lap, and he let go of her just enough so she could sit back and be face-to-face.

His brows shot to his hairline as she reached in between her breasts.

Confused, he tried not to focus on the hand in her cleavage, instead focusing on her slender neck.

That was when he noticed the delicate gold chain that lead to where she was reaching.

He watched as she pulled out her hand, fingers wrapped tightly around whatever was hanging from the chain. Her eyes clenched shut and she drew in a shuddering breath, before pulling the chain off of her neck and holding her enclosed hand out to him.

The large blonde unwound his arm from her waist and grasped the object. It felt cool against his fingers, smooth, yet jagged at one end. The jagged end was actually fairly sharp, and could cause harm if pressed too hard against his flesh.

'She was wearing something this sharp around her neck? She could have hurt herself, if she hasn't already.' He thought to himself, before opening his hand and glancing down.

And then he understood.

To an extent, anyway.

There, in his open palm, was one of her keys. Well, part of one.

It was no longer the shining gold of the other Zodiac keys at her hip. Instead, it was dull, almost to the point of looking like a dirty bronze. And it was broken.

Laxus didn't know much about Celestial Spirit mages, but he knew how deeply the trembling blonde in his lap cherished her Spirits.

He had heard her scold guild mates time and time again, that they should never be treated like tools or objects. They were her friends. Her family. Listening to her talk about them from across the guild was one of his favorite things to do. He could feel the love she had for them with every word she spoke. From how he watched her treat them.

His heart ached for her as he thought of what this could possibly mean.

"Is…" He trailed off, unsure of how to ask about it.

Lucy shook her head, understanding what he was asking, eyes still clenched shut. A few tears managed to escape, gliding down her still damp cheeks. "N-no. Her gate is closed. P-permanently."

Casting one last glance to the broken key in his hand, he gently pulled her back to rest against his chest.

This was more serious than he thought. He still didn't know how or why, but he wasn't going to push for anymore explanations. Not tonight. Not until she was ready.

And as the Dragon Slayer held the broken blonde in his arms well into the night, he could only hope that this would be the start.

She had taken off her mask, ended the masquerade, just for him.

So maybe, just maybe, she would continue to let him in. Let him be there.

Even if all they'd ever be was friends. That was fine.

Just as long as he could be there.

Kinda sappy, and angsty as all hell. But oh well.

Tomorrow's prompt will be just plain old sad, so prepare yourselves for that.

See you guys tomorrow for Day 2: War!

Also, please let me know if you are participating so I can read yours as well!