Lucy awoke the next day in her bed. She didn't remember getting into it last night. Maybe Laxus had carried her there.

Laxus.

Lucy felt the sheets beside her and found them empty. She started to feel disappointed but then heard sounds coming from the kitchen. That had to be Laxus, or at least, she hoped it was. She grabbed her robe and went out to find him.

Laxus had poured himself a bowl of cereal and was shoveling large spoonfuls into his mouth. Dragon slayers sure liked to eat.

"Morning," she said with a smile.

"Morning," he said though a muffled bite. He swallowed. "I'm going to head over to Bacchus's apartment today and pick up your money."

Lucy fidgeted with the belt of her robe. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Of course, why not?" He poured himself a glass of orange juice and took a sip.

"Don't you think that will make him more angry?" She took a seat at the table but didn't touch any of the fresh fruit she usually ate for breakfast.

"Nah, he's usually pretty good about keeping his end of a bet." Laxus finished his cereal and took his bowl to the sink to rinse it out. "Of course, he expects others to uphold their end too."

"I bet he does," Lucy grumbled under her breath.

"Hey, don't be mad about it. There was no way I was going to lose to that drunk-ass. We've gone head to head several times over the years."

"I guess." But Lucy still felt uneasy about the whole ordeal.

"How much does he owe you anyway?"

Lucy did the math in her head. "840,000 jewels."

Laxus whistled. "Not bad. Looks like you won't be worrying about your bank account for awhile."

"Yeah." Silence stretched out between them.

Laxus walked behind her chair and wrapped his arms around her, nestling his face in her hair. "What are you going to do today?"

Lucy shrugged. "I guess I'll go to the guild and see if I can pick up any missions."

"Good luck. The S-class exams are coming up. All the rook…" He stopped himself. "All the members are going to be fighting over missions. You'll be lucky to find anything left on the board."

Lucy slumped. "You're right. I forgot about that." She picked up an apple and looked at it. "Well, maybe I'll stop by and see what's going on anyways."

Laxus leaned down and kissed her. "Don't worry about it. Do you want to grab a bite to eat when I get back?"

Lucy's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't just a one night stand, she thought. "Sure."

"Great, I'll stop by when I get back. Should be around seven or so. Bacchus lives out near Centurus so it will take awhile."

She walked him to the door and he pulled her against his chest. He kissed her again, sliding his tongue into her mouth. His hands ran down her backside and gave her a small squeeze.

She laughed and swatted at him playfully.

When Laxus left, Lucy got dressed and made her way to the guild. Laxus had been right. The castle and mission board were both completely empty.

Lucy sighed and flung herself into a chair. She would hang out for a little while and see if anyone stopped in. Otherwise, she was going home to run some errands before her date with Laxus.

"Hey gorgeous." Lucy turned around and saw Bickslow standing there. If possible, his toothy grin was even bigger than normal today.

"Oh, hey," she said.

Bickslow pulled a chair out and sat next to her.

"Aren't you going on extra missions so that you can get into the S-Rank trials?" asked Lucy.

"Nope." Bickslow put a foot up on one of the nearby chairs. "If I get in, I get in. No use in cramming. It's not really my style."

"Oh." Lucy sat there. Bickslow was still smiling and it was starting to make her uncomfortable. "Is there something you want to say to me?"

Bickslow flashed her a set of white teeth. "Maybe I just want to get to know you a little better."

"Yeah?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah." Bickslow looked pleased with himself. "Well, there's one thing I want to know."

Lucy sat silently. He was waiting for her to say "what?" but something told her she wouldn't like the answer.

He hesitated then shook his head as if he was clearing it. By the time he looked back at her, he looked like he was about to start laughing. "So, did my boy get it in last night?"

Lucy shot out of her chair and starting stalking to the door. Her face was blazing and she was pissed. What made Bickslow think he could ask her that? She heard him calling her name behind her. It sounded like he was apologizing but Lucy was too angry to care. She almost made it to the door when she felt a sharp pinch on her ankle.

"Ouch, what the hell was that?" Lucy looked down and saw a black spider with streaks of purple, blue and yellow running along its body it. She looked closer. The colors seemed to be moving in shimmering waves.

"Holy crap, this thing is crazy looking."

"Oh man, that's a Lady Su-Daxer spider." Bickslow was by her side, looking at the multi-colored arachnid.

Lucy held out her leg. The spider had crawled down to her shoe and seemed content to just sit there. "Kill it," she said briskly to Bickslow.

Bickslow shook his head and ran to the bar. He rummaged through the cupboards and reemerged with a Mason jar.

"Lady Su-Daxer spiders are extremely rare. They're worth a lot of money on the black market." He held the jar next to her shoe and flicked the spider inside.

"Why the heck would there be a black market for spiders?"

Bickslow gave her a wicked look. "Because they will get you crazy high."

Luffy fan: As always, thanks for the reviews and thanks to randigirl for beta-reading.