A/N: This one is supposed to be a longer chapter, but I decided to cut it in half because I'm too lazy. But I promise the next chapter will be up within 24 hours. And if there are mistakes on this, then I apologize because I am lazy and I don't want to proof-read. Once again, thanks for the reviews and the story/author alerts.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters. (Lol jk, I'm Hiro Mashima in disguise, writing fanfictions because the manga has limited panels.)

Laxus stood with his arms crossed and his right foot tapping the floor of the dark red carpet of the luxurious store, which was adorned with crimson and gold furniture. It was one of those exquisite shops for wealthy mages so not a lot of people were shopping inside, which was quite the contrary from the busy streets of Magnolia shown outside of its glass windows.

He scratched the back of his head in frustration, and sighed. He was having a hard time picking a suit for the ball which was to be held in a week's time. He didn't want to ask for assistance because he couldn't be bothered with dealing with the shopkeeper who was busy dilly-dallying with one of the other customers on the other side of the store, which mostly had the casual apparels.

Meanwhile, Lucy passed by the said shop on her way back from the guild, when an elegant sleek cobalt dress that was displayed got her attention. "I have to get a hold of this dress for the ball," she said to herself as she stared at it with amazement.

She checked the price, and her eyes almost balled out from their sockets. "250,000 Jewels? You're kidding me!" she thought in dismay. "Maybe I could try to talk the shopkeeper into giving me a discount. After all, I shop here all the time," she said to herself before entering the store.

"Well if it isn't Lucy!" greeted the male shopkeeper cheerfully, "Great timing, we just got new shipment from Heart-Kreuz. I'm sure you'd like to check them out," he said. Lucy smiled at him and greeted back, "Sorry, but I think I'll check them out some other time. I'm interested in the blue dress displayed over there," she said, pointing at the dress. "Ah yes!" the shopkeeper clasped his hands together, "As usual, you have great taste. It's a one-of-a-kind dress tailored by Heart-Kreuz exclusive for this store in commemoration of their 150th anniversary in the business," he explained before ushering Lucy towards the display. After checking out the dress, she asked the shopkeeper if it was possible to get a discount for it, and he happily obliged.

"Since you're one of our valued customers," he stated, "I'm willing to give you a 20 percent discount for the dress."

Lucy contemplated for a moment, before declining the offer, explaining that she wouldn't have enough for her rent. "Fair enough," said the shopkeeper, "However, the offer still stands in case you change your mind," he continued, smiling.

She thanked the shopkeeper, and from her spot, she caught sight of the tall blond man, who was brooding in front of one of the suits enclosed inside the glass windows illuminated by the little spotlights. She immediately knew who it was, because of the huge overcoat. The stellar spirit mage excused herself and approached Laxus.

"Hey Laxus," she greeted, "Picking a suit for the dance?"

The tall mage was a bit surprised by her presence. "Oh, if it isn't the cheerleader," he said. He nodded, "Yeah. You getting your dress for the ball today?" he asked.

Lucy frowned and looked away, "Yeah, I saw a great dress so I was negotiating with the shopkeeper for a discount but I still can't afford it so I might just use one of my old dresses," she explained, still a bit sad about the dress.

"Ah, well I don't get why you need new ones all the time," the lightning mage stated, shaking his head. "I can't choose between this white suit and the dark blue one over there," he said, pointing at the suits. "I look good in everything, but I wanted the one which I would look best with," he added. Lucy just rolled her eyes at his conceitedness.

"Hmm…" Lucy hummed. She took a look at the suits before taking a step back to look at Laxus with her brows furrowed, and a finger on her lip as if in deep contemplation.

The dragon slayer's eyebrows quirked upwards in confusion, "Oi, are you checking me out?" he asked to which the stellar spirit mage flushed, "Of course not!" she declined furiously. She had been in a lot of dances, and also had a very good fashion sense so she immediately knew what Laxus should pick.

She motioned for the shopkeeper to come to her aid, and bring the elegant white set of formal wear for Laxus to try on, to which the shopkeeper immediately complied to. She skimmed through the sets of dress shirts and picked a plain white one before moving towards the vest rack and picking a red vest, then shoving it in front of Laxus. "Ditch the white vest that comes with that suit, and try those now, and we'll think of the tie later on," she ordered.

"Uh, okay," was all Laxus said before heading over to the dressing room. It didn't take too long before he went out, sporting the white suit and trousers with the blood-red vest, and the white-colored dress shirt.

"Not bad," he said, looking at the mirror. The shopkeeper, who had been watching their exchange, had stars in his eyes, admiring the suited mage.

Lucy smiled, "You look great!" she said.

"Now for the tie," stated Lucy before quickly taking a bright-red tie from one of the racks. The blond dragon slayer's face paled as Lucy gave him the tie.

"I… Err…"

"Hm? Something the matter, Laxus?"

"How do you tie this thing?" he asked dejectedly, shifting his gaze to the sides, not wanting to look at his guild-mate.

It took a few seconds for Lucy to process the information, and when it finally clicked, she burst out laughing. "You don't know how to put on a necktie?" she asked, still stifling a laugh. Laxus blushed in embarrassment, before snapping at her, "Would you just tell me how to fix this thing?"

"Sorry, sorry," she said chuckling, "I'll do it for you, but make sure you watch carefully, so you can do it yourself on the day of the dance, got it?" The dragon slayer just nodded in agitation before handing the tie over to Lucy.

The stellar spirit mage maneuvered it perfectly, and had it tied neatly in seconds. Laxus wasn't sure of what she was doing, and was completely lost, but he figured that he'd just worry about it later on.

"All done," she said, before taking a step back to look at Laxus. "You look really great! You should try this look more often instead of wearing that huge overcoat," she chided.

"Hey, I like the coat. It's like a trademark," Laxus jested while smirking. "And I look good in everything, so it isn't a surprise," he remarked. Lucy only rolled her eyes at his conceited comment before stating a quick and lifeless "If you say so".

The shopkeeper clapped his hands in amazement, Laxus really did look splendid.

"I'll take these then," said the lightning mage, turning to the shopkeeper. The latter smiled widely, as it was a huge deal on his part.

"Splendid. That would be 700,000 jewels, sir."

Laxus just nodded and handed him his card, while Lucy's face paled dramatically. "700,000 JEWELS?" she thought, "THAT IS TOO MUCH! THAT'S TEN MONTHS OF MY RENT!" The stellar spirit mage's jaw would have dropped on the floor had it not been physically impossible.

"Oh, and give her the dress too," Laxus said, pointing his thumb at Lucy, who was still frozen behind him.

The female mage was still stock-still, and hadn't been paying attention until the lightning dragon slayer turned and snapped his fingers in front of her face, earning a jolt from Lucy.

"Sorry, what is it?" she asked.

"Try on the dress you were looking at earlier, and check if it fits. I'll buy it for you 'cause you helped me with my suit."

Laxus' statement confused the other mage. She tilted her head and uttered a quick, "Huh?"

The dragon slayer glared at her reaction, not wanting to repeat what he said earlier. It took a few seconds for her to process what he said, and when she did, she flushed.

"W-What! Are you sure about that, Laxus?" she stuttered.

Laxus was getting agitated, "Will you just try the dress on?" he exclaimed. He didn't have time for this; he still needed to go to the former council member Yajima-san's place for assistance regarding Jellal.

Lucy just yelped at his sudden outburst before squeaking, "Aye sir" and running off towards the dress. Even if Laxus had softened up a little, she was still afraid of him because she knew what he could do. "And hurry it up!" she heard him say. She quickly tried the dress on and smiled at how well it looks on her, before heading outside the changing room for him to see. Laxus was still way over at the counter, so she just waved at him and gave him a thumbs up. Laxus nodded, "Not bad," he said before turning to the shop-owner. "I'll buy that one too."

Lucy changed back to her regular clothes and handed the dress over the counter.

"The dress is worth 250,000 Jewels, sir. But since Lucy is quite a regular here, we'll give it to you for 200,000 Jewels," said the shopkeeper. Laxus just nodded and handed him his card.

"Thank you for your purchase, sir," stated the shopkeeper with a huge smile on his face after handing over the goods. He just made a little less than a million jewels in one sale, and he was grinning from ear-to-ear. "I didn't know Lucy had such a great older brother," he added.

Laxus sweat-dropped comically, "Huuuh?" he said. "Where in the world did you pick that up from?"

Lucy's eyebrows quirked upwards as she shook her hands frantically in front of her, "No, no, we're not siblings."

"Ah, I apologize. Fair enough, please have a great day!" he said.

Laxus opened the door and held it for Lucy, he may not be a pure-bred gentleman like Freed but he still had his manners.

When they were out the shop, Lucy turned to him, "Thank you for the dress," she said, only to see that he still had a look of bemusement plastered on his face.

"Siblings? Seriously? Where did that come from?" he asked, still bewildered.

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at this side of Laxus, even though she also couldn't help but wonder why the shopkeeper mistook them as siblings. "Maybe because of the hair," she said chuckling. "But really, thanks a lot," she added, smiling at the taller mage.

The lighting dragon slayer just nodded, and walked away, "Yeah well, see you," he said with his back turned to her.

"Now that I've got the suit ticked off my list, I just need to ask Yajima-san for any hints regarding that troublesome tattoo-boy, for the equally troublesome fairy queen," he thought to himself, rolling his eyes, before looking at the suit that was on a garment bag. "First I need to take this home, and then have something to eat, I guess."

A/N: And that's it for this chapter. A whole chapter just for Laxus buying a suit? I'm such a fanboy! But I think it's best that I show you little interactions with him and a couple of the other FT members to showcase his personal growth(After the Fight-Fest arc). I hope it isn't disappointing for you that Mira didn't appear at all on this one, and he'll be match-making Jellal and Erza on the next few chapters. (Switching roles with Mira? LOL)

As I've stated above, I'm uploading the next chapter within 24 hours. Hope you stick with me until then. :)

Also, I'll try to reply to your reviews by private messages so do check your inbox. :)