LUCY's POV:
I woke to hear mumbling beside me. Looking over, I found Laxus, turning in his sleep. His face would squinch every few seconds, as if he were in pain, then he'd mutter a few words and continue with his facial contortions. I decided to wake him from whatever nightmare plagued him.
"Laxus. Laxus," I said whilst shaking him from side to side. He sprung straight forward, gasping heavily for air with his eyes wide open; that same lifeless look in his wide-eyed expression. "Hey, are you... okay?" I asked, worried of his response. He took a few more breaths before looking at me. "Yeah. It was just a... a bad dream..." The words hung in the air a few moments before he rose from the bed, leaving me alone and naked under the sheets.
LAXUS's POV:
I rose from the bed and made my way to the bathroom. 'I shouldn't be acting like this. It's been almost six years now,' I kept repeating in my head as I splashed cold water on my face. I looked up, staring at myself in the mirror. I've always hated looking at myself. It reminds me of all of the things wrong in my life; all of the things I'll never be able to make right. I brought my hand up to touch the scar on my right eye, loathing everything I saw in that reflection. It reminds me of her.
LUCY's POV:
Laxus came back a few minutes later fully dressed, aside from his shirt, as I was pulling on my top. "We need to get to the guild soon. The tribe and I have a mission," he said approaching me. "How long will you be gone?" I asked, trying to be casual. "Only a day or two. Grab your coat and we'll head to the guild," he stated, buttoning up his shirt.
The walk to the guild was a tad boring due to the silence, but I had a lot of thinking to do. If anyone had told me about how the last two weeks would have gone, I'd have branded them an idiot. It all seemed like a dream; falling for a man so quickly, sleeping with him after only a week of internal conflict and a night of talking; it's just so rushed. I'd always dreamed of a fairy tale since I was a little girl. Though with Laxus, there's no knight on a horse, saving me from a tower by battling a fierce dragon; there is no kiss to awaken me from my eternal slumber; and there is no fairy godmother and pumpkin carriage. I am no princess, and he is no prince; I am no beauty, and he is no beast; but that's alright. This feels... better. It's not a fairy tale, it's real.
My thoughts were interrupted by the archway that read, FAIRY TAIL. Laxus released my hand as we walked through the doors and were greeted by a flying stool which was zapped to a crisp. Laxus walked over to his team who were ready to leave, and I walked to sit at the bar to talk with Mira and Cana. A minute later, Laxus came up to me, grabbed the back of my neck, and placed a kiss to my forehead before whispering, "Two days."
I waved as he exited the guild hall and continued my conversation with the two girls for a few more minutes. I reached into my purse and pulled my camera out. "Hey, can I ask you two a question?"
"Isn't that a question?" Cana asked.
"Oh, hush, Cana. Shoot, Lucy," Mirajane replied.
"Could you tell me who," I presented the picture to them, "this is?" Their cheery moods disappeared instantly. Mira's face paled and she dropped the glass she was drying. Cana frowned and started paying extra attention the contents of her mug. "L-Lucy? Where did you find that picture?" Mira asked slowly.
"Laxus had it on his coffee table," I answered, worried by their responses. Cana closed her eyes in the same fashion as someone trying to hold back tears. Mirajane made a slight whimpering noise and brought her hand up to cover her mouth.
"Lucy... We're not allowed to talk about it," Mira said.
"What? Why?" I asked.
"Master's orders," Cana interjected.
"Master's what?" A little man came wobbling from the table seated by Macao and Wakaba, holding a mug in his hand.
"Master? Lucy asked about... You-know-who," Mirajane stated hesitantly. Makarov's demeanor did a 180, completely sobering and brazing his face with a stern expression. He gazed into the barmaid's eyes and nodded. "But what about the gag order?" she asked. "It's okay. Lucy is a part of Fairy Tail. She deserves to know," he replied, letting out a deep sigh.
"What do you want to know?" Mira asked, looking into my eyes.
"Whatever you're willing to tell," I answered, meeting the piercing gaze of the barkeeper.
She waited a minute, keeping eye contact before looking down and sighing.
"Her name... was Adaia."
"Hey, Laxus, man. Are you okay?" Bixlow asked of his leader while waiting for their train.
"What? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," the blonde man replied with a look as if he had just woken from a daydream.
"Only two weeks away. You headin' there again?" Bixlow asked. All traces of joking were gone from his face, waiting for Laxus' reply. Laxus merely grumbled at the question. "Come on, boss. You don't need to forget, but if you don't let go, it's gonna do nothing but haunt you... You know it's not fair to Blondie," he concluded.
"I know, man. I know."
"Adaia... was the best of us. She was strong, beautiful, intelligent, and everyone loved her. She was a year older than Laxus. I still remember the story of how they first met. Adaia told it better, but I'll give it a shot. He had gone on an S-class job, and walked into the local tavern to get some intel on the dark guild he was supposed to eliminate. He sat next to her at the bar, trying to strike up a conversation as to not look suspicious. He couldn't see her face because of her cloak, but the second she looked up, his breath was caught in his throat. He was so flustered, he got up and left the tavern and looked for information elsewhere. Two days later, he was in the guild hall of Crimson Lance taking them down in droves when a red beam flew past his face into one of the dark mages. Laxus turned around and saw the girl from the tavern taking out members too. He wouldn't let her out-do him. He loved it; the game; the fact that someone was able to challenge him. He had made it to the guild master and had nearly beaten him when another bolt of energy went past him and into the nearly defeated man. 'The reward is mine,' she said in a voice that you'd expect of a goddess, yet full of cockiness. 'How so?' he asked. 'I just beat the guild master and saved your ass, and this is the thanks I get?' she said with the same smugness in her voice. Laxus looked at the fallen man and back to her. 'He was already dead. He just didn't know it yet,' he scoffed. 'How 'bout we split the reward?' she suggested. 'Split my reward?' 'Okay, be an ass. That'll get you places in life," she retorted. 'Fine, whatever. This place smells like stale piss and vomit.' They headed back to collect the bounty. They got to talking and just... clicked. He found out she was freelance and offered her a spot at Fairy Tail and she accepted. Over the next four years you'd rarely ever see them apart, and when they were, they just seemed so... empty. Their entire lives revolved around each other," Mira finally broke from the story to refill Cana's mug and to get a drink of her own; something she rarely did.
"It was almost six years ago; well, eleven after the seven-year skip. They went on their first SS-class job. The first in the guild to do so besides Gildarts. Two weeks later we get a message from Porlyusica to come down to her hut immediately." Mira took another drink before continuing. "We walk in and see Adaia, beaten and bloody, lying in the bed and Laxus holding her hand to his mouth, his expression blank. Master kept trying to talk to him before Porlyusica placed her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Laxus stayed like that for almost a week. He didn't eat; he didn't sleep; he barely moved. Porlyusica said it was a 'catatonic stupor'. He only sat there and stared at her body, as if he looked away, she'd disappear forever. Eventually he started to reanimate, but that look in his eyes... It was just so... lifeless. Back then, I was still the 'Demon Mirajane', but his eyes... they terrified me. He never cried. He never talked about. He just became a husk." Makarov was shaking slightly beside Cana who had tears welling at the sides of her eyes. "He didn't deserve that," Mirajane concluded, wiping her tears.
"So, what happened to him?" I asked, trying, and failing, to keep my voice from breaking.
"He started drinking. A lot. Then out of no where one day, he starts training. That becomes his life: drinking, training, and work. Somewhere along the way he puts up this wall and talks about his hatred for weakness. He acted cocky, didn't talk to anyone in the guild besides his little cronies, and almost every night had a new girl in his bed. It was sad to see him do that to himself. He eventually got excommunicated and came back a few months later a completely different person. That's it. That's the story," Mira finished. "The master had a gag order on us to never talk about it. Especially in front of Laxus. Most of the guild already knows anyways."
I honestly didn't know what to say. What was there to say? "Were they...? You know?" I asked.
"Sorry, Lucy. That not for us to say," Cana finally spoke up. "If you want the full story, you know who to go to."
"I-I see," I muttered. "Thank you for telling me. I think I'm going to head home for the day."
I sighed deeply once I passed through the guild doors and looked to the sky. Laxus. Who are you?
A/N: I had the lemon chapter and four other chapters but something happened and a bunch of my files were deleted and I rewrote all except the lemon, which was perfection before, but is shitty now. I've been busy with school and work, but my schedule should be more opened now that family drama and stuff are over with. I got a job as a fitness trainer. The next chapter will be out Friday night.
Tell me what you think about this side story. Would you read a Laxus x OC? I was also thinking of doing an AU but it won't be Laxus-centric. Like Nalu Gruvia, ElfGreen, and Gale.