This chapter hereby contains: bad hangovers (poor Lucy); Lucy grovelling for forgiveness (not really, but still); Gajeel being a jackass (what else is new?); Lucy feeling sorry for herself (in more ways than one); smutty romance novels (from the bad end of the book shelf); mysterious noises (look out below, Lucy); injured exceed (Pantherlily is my plot-mover).

Small shout-out to CeliaEquus, who won't marry me. Come on, you know I'd be good to you, and I'd give you all the Red Dwarf you can handle.

Oh, and by the way, this chapter is kinda slow, but it's to set the interaction between our two favourite Fairy Tail mage's I'm messing with.

Song by Violent Femmes (and is vaguely stalker-ish)

Chapter 2 – Prove My Love

"Ngaaah!"

Admittedly, it wasn't the most graceful way to start the day, but that single spear of light managed to just hit her eyes, casting a painful light there and, subsequently, setting off her massive now not-so-looming headache. Lucy tossed an arm over her eyes, hiding in the crook of her elbow, but the damage had been done - she was semi-conscious, but her headache was up and rearing to go. She whimpered, begging that there was some super villain out there intent on destroying the sun just so she wouldn't have to cope with it right now.

Lucy rolled over, trying desperately to escape that ray of light, and ending up shrieking as she tumbled off the edge of her bed. Well, the light was gone now, but her head throbbed, her ribs ached from the impact, and she was going to throw up. With all the urgency and grace of a left-footed penguin, Lucy scrabbled across her wooden floor to the bathroom, making it just in time to hurl in the toilet rather than across her tiles. She released a pitiful moan, wishing that Erza was in town, because the ex-quip mage always knew when her nakama were hurting, and that was Lucy wouldn't have to find her own way back to her bed - Erza would just carry her. But she was out of town with Gray, Natsu and Lisanna, getting up to bad antics that Lucy used to accompany them on.

She considered trying to crawl back to bed, but a series of dry heaves kept her planted firmly on the bathroom floor, and Lucy vowed to never drink that much again. After ten minutes of lounging beside the toilet while her tummy settled, Lucy decided on the only course of action. She would drag her sorry ass into the shower, go down to the guild and beg Wendy to use a Troia on her. The little Dragon Slayer wouldn't deny her - hell, Wendy never denied anyone - but it was more the getting there part that had Lucy stumped.

Gritting her teeth like the big tough mage she wasn't, Lucy pulled herself upright on the towel rack and staggered into the shower, fiddling with the cold knob to make her shower cool, but not too much. Half way through her cool shower and a single dry heave later, Lucy found herself groaning and amending her schedule for the morning; she had to apologise to Gajeel. She didn't completely remember what she had said to him, but she did remember throwing herself at him and sobbing on him, which was a massive no-no when it came to the personal space-sensitive Iron Dragon Slayer. Biting her lip and groaning, Lucy lathered her hair with shampoo while she tried desperately to remember what the fuck she had said to him. She remembered him grinning at one point, which either meant she had amused him or he was going to try and kill someone; likely the latter, what with his temper.

She dragged herself out of the shower with much less enthusiasm than when she had entered, and that was saying something, because she was miserable when she had pulled herself into the glass shower. Towelling herself off roughly, Lucy didn't bother to wrap herself in her towel as she walked back out into her apartment, heaving straight for her drawers and pulling on her most comfortable panties and bra. She wasn't in the mood for lace and frills today, so it was a regular black satin set that was so comfortable she always took them on long missions. Lucy yanked a pale green sundress from her closet, something that came to her knees but showed a fair amount of cleavage, slipped on a pair of flat shoes, pulled on her belt with her keys attached, and made out the door.

She knew the way to the guild like the back of her hand, and could do it blindfolded, but today, she took it easy, going from awning to awning to avoid the direct sunlight as much as possible. Her hair was drying quickly in Magnolia's usual heat, leaving it slightly frizzy at the end, but Lucy couldn't bring herself to care. The only thing she could think of was to find the two Dragon Slayers in the guild at the moment, and hopefully Wendy first, because she would need all her faculties to try and diffuse Gajeel from turning her into putty.

It wasn't surprising that the first person she stumbled across when she threw open the guild doors was Cana, and the older woman gave her a sympathetic look at the telltale signs of Lucy's hangover. Been there, sister, her eyes said, and Lucy nodded emphatically as she passed. She was hoping to just magically stumble across Wendy the moment she entered, but there was no way it would be that easy, because sitting there, at the end of the bar in his own personal little bubble, was Gajeel.

Lucy paused, calculating her odds of just turning around and slinking away rather than facing the Iron Dragon Slayer, but if the past was something to go by, then Gajeel was already well aware that Lucy was there. He had tracked her across Magnolia back then with just his sense of smell, so odds where that he could sniff her out right now in the confines of the guild. She bit her lip, and acted like the big person she really wasn't - Erza wasn't here to save her right now -- and bellied up to the barstool beside the Slayer.

He turned an eye to her, and Lucy thanked her lucky stars that he wasn't trying to tear her lungs out, and laid her head down on the counter in a disturbingly familiar fashion that she couldn't quite recall. She peeked up at the Dragon Slayer through blonde lashes to see him looking resolutely at his plate of metal chips, but there was something faintly amused about his aura today that made Lucy think that she owed him a rather large apology.

"So," Lucy said, garnering his attention, "How big of an apology do I owe you?"

She didn't like the fact that he answered by curling his lips upwards into a vaguely malicious smirk - that never meant anything good. Lucy got the distinct impression that he was silently laughing at her, even if it was just the sudden brightening amusement in his red eyes. She wanted to grumble and walk away from the Dragon Slayer, but something in the back of her mind said that she really owed him an apology, and Lucy knew it was right. She had been a horrible mixture of depressed and drunk last night, and that never boded well, because she had been told on multiple occasions (Erza and Cana, mostly) that she lost most of her sense of decency when hammered.

Stars knew what she did to Gajeel last night, but it mustn't be all that bad since she was still standing.

"Don't be a jackass," she warned, and Gajeel's smirk widened.

That's it. Screw the apology. Lucy sniffed and, rising out of her seat, flipped him the bird. If anything, it seemed to amuse him more, because even though she couldn't see his face from this angle, there was a slight shake to his form that suggested that he might actually be laughing at her.

And she found out why.

Her bout of anger and sudden movement had been fuelled by adrenalin, which seemed to wear off immediately, leaving her feeling very motion sick from her hangover. She wobbled unsteadily and grit her teeth to stop the oncoming dry heaves, and that bastard was laughing to himself! Making a mental note to completely avoid the hostile Dragon Slayer from this point onwards, Lucy staggered away to find somewhere to lie down until Wendy found her.

The sofa in the corner was a dark red lumpy thing, which Lucy was fairly sure was bought purposely because its so uncomfortable no one could sleep on it. Of course, they probably never took into account the vast alcoholic habits that most of the guild seemed to have - which was where Lucy was, napping off her hangover through the constant brawls and yelling, hoping that Wendy would notice she was there. She woke up briefly when soft hands pressed a damp cloth on her forehead, knowing that those hands belonged to Mirajane, but kept her eyes closed and imagined it was her mother. Mirajane came back every hour to change the cloth and to throw a light blanket over her legs.

When Lucy next woke up and felt well enough to stand, the sun was setting outside and her head was only throbbing dully instead of screaming bloody murder. Mirajane had left her a bottle of water and a bottle of aspirin at the foot of the couch, and Lucy made a mental not to hug the crap out of her the next chance she got. It looked like it was going to be one of those nights where Fairy Tail resembled a nuclear fallout shelter, so Lucy popped a few aspirin before plotting her timely and much needed escape. She had just plotted her escape route, completely avoiding Cana because that would just result in more drinking, when a shadow fell across her.

Mirajane knelt down beside Lucy, her gentle hand resting on Lucy's knee and a kind smile on her face. She looked so much like her mother there that Lucy instinctually threw her arms around the older mage's neck, pressing her face into her neck. Mirajane chuckled kindly, rubbing Lucy's back softly and with affection. Lucy dislodged herself and smiled sheepishly at Mirajane, who just putted her knee once more with motherly affection.

"Thank you, Mira-san," Lucy said, sounding every bit as pathetic and groggy as she felt.

Mirajane just smiled affectionately. It was something she did on an almost daily basis for most of Fairy Tail's members, after all, and she was a very affectionate woman to her guildmates. Lucy wobbled upright and walked with the oldest Take Over Sibling to the gaping doors of Fairy Tail. The night was looking to be a cool one, and there was already a bite in the air and the sun hadn't even set yet. Lucy wanted to get home quickly, get some food into her and write another letter to her mother to stick in the cabinet above her desk.

Just as Lucy was stepping outside, she remembered what she had meant to do within the guild; apologise to Gajeel.

"Mira-san, have you seen Gajeel lately?" Lucy asked her

Lucy wasn't sure that she liked the oddly knowing smirk that crossed Mirajane's lips.

"Gajeel-kun is doing a job for the Master," Mira informed her.

"Funny, don't remember him leaving," she muttered, more to herself.

"He left shortly after you passed out this morning," Mirajane helpfully supplied.

Lucy bade Mirajane a last fond farewell before exiting Fairy Tail's courtyard and following the canal back to her apartment. She pressed her hands in close to her body, warding the cold away from her already cool fingers, and pondered the implications of her day. Admittedly, she hadn't gotten anything done but napping, which had certainly helped with her hangover, but left her feel more awake then she should have at this hour. She never did find Wendy, the little Sky Dragon Slayer strangely absent; or right in front of her face - noises just meshed together inside Fairy Tail. She had found Gajeel, but only ended up insulting him instead of apologising.

Bad Lucy. That was exactly the opposite of what she had set out to do today, and now she'd have to apologise doubly the next time she saw Gajeel, and hold her tongue even if the jackass did smirk. Lucy stopped down on the street, looking up at her apartment.

The window was closed.

Lucy sighed, grabbing her key ring to fish around for the one that opened her apartment door and not a spirit gate. The window to her apartment was always open if Natsu was there; alternatively, if Natsu broke in. It was his favourite method of entering and exiting, and Lucy swore that she had only seen him use the door once before, and that was because Erza and Gray were with him. Closed window meant no Natsu, not that he had the time for her anymore, what with Lisanna around.

Fuck. She just made herself sad again.

Lucy pinched her cheeks to stop the depression looming around the corner and unlocked her door. It was depressingly silent inside her small yet spacious apartment, lacking the usual rumbling of Natsu's snores and the rummaging of Happy for food. Lucy sighed, resigning herself to a mild blues tonight, and went into her bedroom to dig out some warm clothing. She ended up completely forgoing pants in favour of the boyshort panties she was already wearing, and slipping into a long-sleeved shirt to keep her upper body warm. Grabbing a book from her bookcase, Lucy dropped it on the small table in her bedroom, and made to sit down, but found herself pausing.

Her window was still closed. It would let in a horrible draft and cool down her charmingly warm bedroom, and it would let in the sound of the busy street beneath, but Lucy still found herself sliding across her bed to wrench it open. The bracing cold of the night air blew across her face, and Lucy retreated back to her table, warped a blanket around her hips, and opened her book.

The book she'd randomly selected came from the very smutty end of her romance novels - it was basically porn in writing form - which she was just going to use as a gapfiller before writing yet another letter to her mother. But then she drifted into the plot, and the next thing she knew, her clock was chiming on midnight and she knew that she should really be getting some sleep, but that little voice in the back of her head just asked why? There was nothing in particular she had to do tomorrow, and there were no current jobs she could do alone and hope to return in one piece - nobody at the guild seemed to want to team up, all going after the payday's by themselves.

She was just resigning herself to finishing her trashy romance novel and the sleeping the rest of the morning away when a scrambling noise greeted her ears. It sounded suspiciously like the noises Happy made when he was too tired to fly, and that meant that Natsu was back! Finding it hard to contain her glee, Lucy scrabbled over to her window, completely forgetting that she wasn't wearing pants, and stuck her head out into the darkness.

Nothing

The butterflies that had risen in her stomach fell, and of course Natsu wouldn't be back now - he had only left a handful of days ago, and that wasn't enough time to pull off massive destruction in the way that only Natsu could. She let out a strained sigh, folded her arms over the windowsill to rest her head there comfortably, staring out into the darkness of the city, and the lights of the stars. Lucy could feel Loki stirring from her keys, knowing that the lion could feel her wavery emotional state, and was just looking for an excuse to cross over to her.

Lucy did appreciate Loki, she really did - the lion had always turned up when she needed him, without question and preamble - but their last few meetings had been met with a few disturbing love declarations. She was used to the banter, really - he wouldn't be Loki without the banter - but it was beginning to get more passionate and he had that look in his eyes. It made Lucy nervous and wiggly and desperate to escape whenever he brought it up.

Sighing, and resigning herself to the end of her novel and then to bed, Lucy made to shut the window before her, only to pause again. Those scrabbling noises were back, along the awning under her window, which was Natsu's favourite method of entry, and Lucy stuck her head out once again and peered down. She could make out the small form of an exceed scrabbling its way along her awning to the window, only falling short every time it hit the higher slope of the fabric to meet the window.

Lucy's hand shot out on instinct, curling its way around the small furry body to drag it upwards to the window frame. What was wrong with Happy that he couldn't get up the awning? She tugged the small cat-like being up to the wooden window frame, into the light and gasped.

"Pantherlily?"

The dark exceed was covered in wounds, his small teeth grit in pain as he grabbed onto the window frame to support his injured frame.

"Lucy," the exceed gulped. "Help."

She immediately scooped up Pantherlily, mindful of his shallow but numerous injuries, and cradled him to her bosom protectively. Lily was a fairly strong warrior, and for him to be in this state… Gajeel! Gajeel was never far away from his treasured exceed partner, at least, never willingly, and that could only mean something went terribly wrong on the mission that Master Makarov had sent him on.

"Lily, where's Gajeel," Lucy asked, finding her voice trembling.

Pantherlily gasped, his small teeth gritting so hard that Lucy thought they were going to break.

"Outside," Lily hissed as his wounds were jostled.

Lucy dumped the exceed onto her bed, mindful a little too late of his wounds, and dashed out her door. She didn't care, or even remember, that she didn't have pants on; the only thing going through her mind was if those were the wounds that Lily sustained, then what of Gajeel? She stumbled over the threshold of the apartment complex door, grasping it for support while whipping her head around, searching for any trace of the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"That way!"

Lucy looked up, seeing Pantherlily poking his head out her window, his small fingers jabbing downwards to the left, and Lucy took off in the vague direction. She listened and searched for any sign of the less than subtle Slayer, hoping that his usual habits of being as subtle as a rampaging elephant were active and made known. About a minute of frantic running had her staring at a blood trail coming from down the road in front of her, and turning into the narrow alley to her right. Without a thought to her own safety, and without her keys, Lucy ran into the mouth of the alley, eyes searching until…

"Gajeel!"