We'll Guide You There

Chapter Three: The Giant Crab

"I'm sorry for calling you for something so selfish."

"It's fine, Lucy. You're my mistress and I enjoy helping you." Cancer ran his fingers through Lucy's hair. Blonde locks spilled through his fingers. "What should we do? Would you like it up or down?"

She hummed, her feet swinging under her. "Would curls look okay? Or would that be trying too hard? It's only our first date and we aren't going anywhere special."

"First dates are special in themselves." He looked at her in the mirror, meeting her eyes and smiling. "Curl's can be casual but are elegant at the same time. It's a nice choice."

She gave him the barest of smiles, an expression full of the shyness of a seventeen year old, and murmured, "I hope Laxus agrees."

He hummed as he began combing her hair out. "Is that who you've been perusing? Leo and Virgo spend a lot of time watching you but I've had a lot of clients in the spirit word lately."

"I don't think it's necessarily perusing," Lucy declared. Her eyes fell from his. "I mean – I was so afraid of him after Fantasia but he saved us at Tenrou and he sought revenge, at least partly, for me at the games. I started making an effort to talk to him after that. I didn't want to hate someone who had done so much for me and I don't have the memories of him before his...spiral like the others did. I didn't know that my feelings would grow like this and even when they did I was fine with just being near him when I could."

As he pulled a curling iron from his belt, a tool from the spirit realm which would guarantee the curls to come out the way he wanted without ruining her hair, he prompted, "And what changed?"

"I'm not sure honestly," she muttered. "Last week everything was normal and then I get back from my mission and he asks me out. I think Mira was probably involved..."

Hearing an underlying worry in her voice as he wound the first strands of hair around the tool, he said, "I've seen Laxus before, I do occasionally have enough time to join Leo and Virgo, and I don't think Mirajane was the only reason he asked you out. She probably just pushed him towards confessing any feelings he had for you."

"I hope so." She sighed softly. "I don't know if I could go back to being just friends after getting my hopes ups like this."

E/n: Mirajane matchmakes responsibly. She makes sure the people like each other before risking ruining their friendship.