Chapter 7: Worried Spirits

As I stopped throwing up my entire breakfast I wondered how much longer I could hide getting sick from Laxus. It seemed that after Laxus had told Master what happened, and because no one knew why I had been attacked since I wasn't telling them, they had decided it was best for me to stay with Laxus. Since that had been decided I've been avoiding Freed because I'm embarrassed to explain to him why he never had to add me into the wards. Laxus is the one who started this mess so he can deal with whatever strange ideas his team have no doubt come up with by now.

I've been getting sick for the last two weeks in the morning, but as soon as I drink that drink Porlyusica gave the recipe for I'm fine. So it's only at home that I have to avoid Laxus, but with the nose of a dragon slayer it has been really difficult to hide the smell of vomit from him. Even after brushing my teeth three times the one morning he still smelt it, so I had to tell him that something had disagreed with my stomach the night before. Unfortunately that excuse can only be used so many times before people begin to get suspicious of it. I really would try making the drink myself, but the one time I had it had tasted like charcoal, so I've had to wait until I get to the guild every morning. The drink was full of vitamins I needed, but it also worked really well at keeping morning sickness at bay.

Really though other then the fact that I have to hide my morning sickness from Laxus I have really enjoyed living with him. Even though there have been a few very awkward mornings where I've somehow found myself in Laxus's bed. I'm unsure if Im sleep walking over to him during the night or if I've been having nightmares again that he's decided to take me to his room to sleep. There was always the option of asking Laxus how I keep ending up in his bed, but a part of me gets really embarrassed, and I've just decided to leave it alone. As soon as we both are out of bed we act like nothing even happened anyway and it's not like we've been caught so it doesn't really matter well other then the fact that it's screwing around with my heart.

Living with Laxus has also kept me from feeling lonely. Not being able to summon my celestial spirits really sucks, and I hate the fact that they have no idea what is going on with me. Or do they I really should have asked Aquarius when I was younger if spirits can tell why they aren't being summoned for a long time. Especially after being frozen for seven years I should have found out if they had known I was coming back, or if they had spent those years in misery not knowing when they would be able to be summoned again. Then again Aquarius had probably really enjoyed being able to be with Scorpio uninterrupted on dates for so long.

After the attack a couple of weeks back Laxus has rarely let me out of his sight. Luckily though after Mira and Cana had explained what had happened and that Laxus was the one who rescued me no one really put much stock into it. However I have noticed Gajeel and Natsu giving Laxus weird looks when they think no one else is looking. Almost like the two first gen slayers are teasing Laxus about something that they know of and that he doesn't being a second gen. I've also noticed that in the last couple of weeks that Gajeel has accepted that he lost the bet because he's been paying for Natsu's meals the past couple of days.

"Oi Lucy I need a shower, you probably look fine," Laxus's voice filtered through the bathroom door although his voice sounded a little strained. Another thing I've noticed about living with Laxus is that he has an obsession with having his showers in the morning leaving the bath to me at night. He is the only guy I've actually noticed in the guild who gets clean daily instead of only once a week. My now extra sensitive nose really appreciates it because even with Porlyusica's miracle drink it tends to be really hard to be around some of the guys without vomiting.

Usually I try to be out of the bathroom before he gets up, but when we sleep in the same bed most nights it is a little hard for me to wake up without waking him especially since I found out that Laxus is a big cuddler. Finally explaining to me why he never brings girls here or lets them spend the night because one night stand king Laxus probably doesn't want them to think that just because the tough guy is a cuddler that he is going to commit to them. Really it would be perfect blackmail to use against Laxus if it wasn't for the problem of explaining how I know this.

"Just give me another minute Laxus," I called back out to him trying to figure out a way to quickly expel the scent of vomit from the bathroom. Hiding my condition from Laxus would be a lot easier if he had two bathrooms in his place instead of one. Finally finding a bit of my floral perfume I splashed enough of it around my wrists to hide the scent from me and the bathroom.

Opening the door without watching where I was going I blushed as I ended up walking straight into a shirtless Laxus. No matter how many times I see him without a shirt it always gets to me and I'm pretty sure that his dragon senses have let him know that he turns me on at times. My hormones have been all over the place and half of the time I have to restrain myself from jumping his bones because of how much he's been teasing me. Heck with how awkward Laxus is around other people I'm not even sure if he is teasing me on purpose or is just acting the way he normally would in his home. It's not like I can right out tell him to wear a shirt all the time without showing him that it's more of a problem then I'm willing to deal with.

"Careful there Lucy," he told me his voice still sounding oddly strained as he held me at arm's length from him he stopped me from falling without pulling me closer which I was really grateful for. I already end up cuddled to his half naked form during the night I don't need to during the day as well.

As he let me go I wondered if the slowness of his arms leaving mine was to make sure I didn't fall again, or if he was purposely lingering. Walking away from him, although I couldn't stop myself from turning back to look at him and admire his form, I had to admit that Laxus really was getting to me. If I'm lucky he only thinks its lust and nothing else, but I'm worried about how our friendship is going to survive if he finds out I have deeper feelings for him.

Shaking my head I decided to just finish getting ready for the day. Mira had stopped bugging me about my mystery man instead asking me questions about Laxus. Like is he treating me alright, or doing anything I don't like. Things like that, but she never asked me if I had feelings for him which I'm glad for because I don't need her figuring things out.

Lisanna has also been listening in on these conversations and always seems like she wants to say something, but she always holds herself back. Making me wonder what she wants to ask me, but always stops after she looks at her sister. Either she wants to tell me something Mira doesn't think I should know, or she wants to ask me something and isn't sure how Mira would respond. Either way it has been driving me absolutely bonkers trying to figure out what has Lisanna in such a tizzy.

The good thing about Mira having stopped interrogating me about my mystery man is that I can finally eat at the guild again without being afraid of being ambushed. Otherwise Laxus would have started worrying or wondering why I never eat anything until after I drink Porlyusica's drink. I really don't want to have to lie to him about anything even though I have been omitting a lot of things he should know. Yet if Laxus ever directly asks me about it there is no way I can lie to him, after all Celestial Mages don't lie to people. Not to mention that I don't want to lose Laxus's trust by telling him lies.

A while later after no more embarrassing instances Laxus and I were at the guild. Master's decree of me staying with Laxus until they know what's going on or the people targeting me are captured has made it easier to enter the guild. Now I don't have to worry about someone spreading rumors about us being together, or saying something to Laxus that makes him feel obligated for me.

Mira had made the both of us breakfast and my drink for me which Bisca has been looking at strangely the last few days. I'm almost certain that the guns magic mage knows that I'm pregnant, or at least suspects it because of the drink I have. Really I've been expecting Bisca to say something to me but she just sends me smiles anytime our eyes meet and doesn't go into anything more. If it had been any of our other guild mates and they suspected my condition I was certain that everyone would know. Perhaps I should have a talk with Bisca soon to find out why she hasn't asked me about it or told anyone what she obviously suspects. Or maybe she just thinks it's rude to ask me, everyone knows how sensitive I can be about my weight with Happy bugging me about it all the time, so she probably hasn't wanted to say anything in case she's wrong.

Right now even though I still go to Laxus's office we aren't really working on paperwork like everyone suspects. Even Freed thinks we are still swamped in paperwork and we've allowed them to think that so we can have a bit of peace. I think that the Raijinshuu might be bugging Laxus because he seems to be hiding in here now and sending me for food at lunch. Maybe I'm silly willingly spending more time with Laxus when I am always around him, but I enjoy our time together and enjoy being able to talk about anything that comes to mind without our guild mates interfering. Since they and the Master believe we are still swamped in paperwork it makes it so no one bugs us, and no one is suspicious of us being up here alone. Not that there is anything too be suspicious about since all we really do is swap mission stories and hold those types of conversations.

"Lucy-chan, sorry to bug you but you have a visitor," Mira said poking her head into the office.

I was just glad that for appearances sake we had both been hovering over what looked like paperwork, but was really Laxus just doodling an image of Freed after a mission that made him want to confess his feelings to a certain white haired mage. Apparently it had taken Laxus and the other two members of the Raijinshuu to stop Freed from marching into the guild and confessing to Mira. Laxus said that he wanted his team mates to be happy, but they were all certain that it was too early for Freed to admit his feelings especially considering that he had been under magics influence. Better for him to confess when he truly felt ready instead of being forced to.

"Thanks Mira-san," I told her with a smile. Turning my eyes over to Laxus I smiled even brighter as I saw the look in his eyes it was obvious he wanted to show Mira his picture of a blushing Freed, but that he wasn't going to since it would seem odd that we were goofing off instead of doing the work we supposedly still had to do. "I'll be back in a little bit Laxus," I said it like we still had a lot of work to do, but really I just wanted to hear more funny stories.

"Take all the time you need Blondie you've earned a break," he told me gruffly. Making me turn back around to see Mira once again glaring at Laxus I really need to figure out what the heck her problem is. Laxus shouldn't feel nervous being around me because of Mira acting strangely and I don't want Laxus to end our friendship because of Mira warning him away from me. Or maybe the way Mira and Cana have been acting about him being near me is the reason he's kept our friendship a secret, because those two for some reason had told him before to stay away from me.

It was only when I had followed Mira out of the office that I had realized my mistake. I had called Laxus by his name without honorifics without him saying anything to reprimand me for it. Although it did seem that Mira tended to not pay attention to me when she was glaring at Laxus, so at least she didn't realize that I hadn't called him Sparky. It was only him calling me Blondie and acting gruff that made me remember that we weren't supposed to act like friends in front of other people. Seeing each other as much as we are now though is making it harder to remember the rules since we don't really have time apart from each other.

Looking around the guild hall it didn't really take me long to figure out who was here to see me, although it seems that Natsu and Gajeel have their own visitors as well. It surprised me just how often Sting and Rogue will come over to see Natsu and Gajeel especially considering that Sting is now Sabertooth's Master. Yukino was with them looking around probably wondering where I am since I'm usually not seen far from Natsu, or at least I didn't use to be. I wonder if people think that it's weird how I'm now around Laxus so much and rarely see Natsu, or maybe they think he's just leaving me to work so he can spend time with his girlfriend.

Although as I watched the twin dragon slayers of Sabertooth from the second floor I realized how tense they seemed and how Sting's eyes didn't seem to leave Yukino. I could tell that at least for them it wasn't the social visit I was expecting and I wondered what dragon related news they would have to share with the other slayers. Especially since they also seemed to be keeping an eye on Kinana and Lisanna as they greeted everyone it made me worry about why exactly they were here. Even Yukino seemed a little worried as well, although not to the scale that the other two were.

"Lucy-sama I'm so glad to see you safe," Yukino's voice rang out as she gave me a quick hug something very unusual for the younger mage.

"Why wouldn't Lu-chan be safe Yukino-san?" Levy asked her eyes turning to me with worry as Gajeel glared at Yukino for upsetting her.

Considering that Yukino was staring at the key ring on my hip I realized exactly why Yukino at least was here. I had been wondering just this morning how my spirits would be reacting to me not summoning them. Obviously they must have talked to one of Yukino's spirits and asked her to check in on me for them to make sure I was alright, and probably to demand an explanation as to why I hadn't summoned them and why they couldn't come through the gate on their own.

Even though Yukino could see I was fine I could still sense that she was worried even if she was hiding her worry deeply enough that only the other slayers seemed to be paying attention. Making me wonder just what sort of reasons my spirits had come up with about why I had suddenly stopped summoning all of them. The only ones who I could even figure out there responses for were Virgo and Loke both probably thinking I was punishing them for some strange reason or another.

"Um Lucy-sama's Celestial Spirits asked mine to get me to check up on Lucy-sama since she hasn't summoned them in so long. They are also very concerned since they cannot come through the gate on their own. Although Virgo-sama seems to think it is some sort of punishment. Capricorn-sama is very worried though and begged for me to come ask you a question Lucy-sama," Yukino said looking around like she was afraid of something.

Although by the very worried look on her face I wondered if Capricorn had used the word curse. Did Yukino know that my family line was cursed was that why she seemed to be so concerned? I wouldn't find it odd if Capricorn thought it was the curse acting up considering that my mother was unable to summon them in the end. Maybe he believes that I have been hiding it from him that the curse had activated in me as well. Did he believe that I was dying and is that why he was more worried than the rest of my spirits?

"What question would that be Yukino-chan?" Mira asked staring at me with concern in her eyes. My guild mates still worried about me constantly since they had found out that I couldn't use my magic, and were worried about the cause as well. Although they didn't show it since I wasn't acting worried about it.

"He um he uh wanted to know um if Lucy-sama has uh been affected by the thing that uh took Layla-sama's life," she said her eyes down casted as she stuttered out the question. I let out a breath of relief realizing that Capricorn hadn't used the word curse, so that I wouldn't have to explain about my family. Plus with my mother having changed her name it made it less likely for my grandmother to hear and realize who I am.

Although by the wide eyes around me and the tears in some of them I could see that they were fighting to not ask me if I was dying. Natsu looked like he wanted to break something as they all waited for me to confirm or deny what Capricorn was asking. I was just glad that no one asked me what had taken my mother's life since I really didn't know how to explain it to them without lying and without alluding to a curse.

"Yukino-san can you summon one of your spirits any will do, I want Capricorn to know right away that I am in perfect health. I just can't summon my spirits for a while, but I will as soon as I am able," I told her taking her hand in mine and staring her deep in her eyes. "I promise you as a Celestial Mage that the condition affecting my magic right now has a very low chance of killing me."

I wished I could tell her that I wouldn't die, but sometimes in childbirth it is inevitable. There was no way I could lie to her, but I wanted her to know it is very low. Although by the gasps around me I realized what I had said to reassure her had made my guild mates worry. With how worried they are it won't be much longer before I will have to tell them the truth, although I still don't want to have to be questioned about the father. Especially if they ask me if I love him since I'm still not one hundred percent certain if Laxus remembers or not, and at the same time I don't want him thinking I am in love with someone else.

"Open gate of the Keen eyes, Lynx," Yukino called out pulling out a silver key I had never seen before. Appearing in front of her was a man whose eyes seemed bigger then humanly possible and he had lynx paws for feet with matching tail and ears. His hair was a tawny color with his eyes being a slightly darker shade.

"Yes Yukino-sama?" the man asked bowing down deeply although I could see his eyes following everyone around. I wondered if he was supposed to be some sort of spying key since he was called the gate of the Keen eyes.

"I can't summon the others today, so would you be able to take back a message to Lucy-sama's spirits. Telling them that she is fine and just can't summon them for a while, is there anything else you need added Lucy-sama?"

"Um yes. Would you also be able to tell them not to worry and that I will explain everything to them when I can. Also tell Loke that I'm under Sparky's protection for the time being until I can use my magic again, so not to worry about if I'm protected or not. Oh and tell them I'm only working in the guild for now and not taking any missions, and that I miss them all. Thank you Lynx," I told him with a smile.

"Of course Lucy-sama I will make sure your spirits are well informed. Is that everything Yukino-sama?"

"Yes you can go home now," she told him with a smile. It was nice seeing Yukino interact with her spirits showing me that there was another celestial mage who deeply cared about her keys like I did.

Turning around I was a little shocked to see Natsu and Gajeel looking at me with amused looks. I wonder why they would be amused because of my conversation with Yukino's spirit. Those two have been acting really strange lately and it's really getting on my nerves, and I'm certain that it all has something to do with their bet. Glaring at them I smirked as they jumped up and did the Happy impression it always amused me that I could be just as scary as Erza when I wanted to be.

"Thank you for that Yukino-chan, I was worrying about my spirits earlier, but I guess my brain is a little fried at the moment because I didn't even think of asking you to send them a message," I told the other mage. Her timing really was great for me, although I could still tell that Natsu and the other slayers were acting a bit off. I almost expected Cobra to come through the door at that moment to check on Kinana considering that they were keeping close eyes on all of the girls who were mated to dragon slayers.

"Oi Luce do you think Laxus would mind us talking is his office. We need to have a slayer meeting without being overheard," Natsu interrupted before I could start on a normal visit with Yukino.

Looking into the four slayers eyes I wondered what exactly they needed to discuss with Laxus. Maybe something that Laxus needs to learn that as a second generation slayer he wasn't taught like the others. Although it's a little odd I know Wendy is off on a mission right now so shouldn't they be waiting for Wendy to come back before they have this meeting?

"I don't see him minding, but what about Wendy?" I asked watching as their faces seemed to pale slightly.

"Just trust me Luce this has nothing to do with Wendy right now," Natsu told me before waving to the other slayers. What could have all four of them so worried and why wouldn't Wendy be a part of it?