A/N: Okay, so this is the last update till Friday, or Thursday, depending on how tired I am after the journey home. I will try and update as soon as I get back, but it will take time to write stuff up.

You were lucky to get an update today, my computer monitor broke and we had to go and get a new one. :S

Well, enjoy! I'm sorry for another cliff-hanger, but you know you love it really! ;) xx

Lucy's POV

It was gone midnight by the time I' had enough of the party. I'd spent a month with the Raijinshuu, and had become used to the quiet banter, and to deal with a full blown Fairy Tail party, though nice, was slightly over-whelming.

Freed was leaning over the bar talking to Mira, and Ever was pretending not to be flirting with a blushing Elfman, and Bix was busy in a drinking contest with Cana and Bacchus.

I was just about to stand and leave when Laxus collapsed onto the bar stool behind me, his beer hanging weakly from his fingertips.

'Heeyy Blondiieee...' He mumbled, grinning as I frowned at him.

'Laxus, are you drunk?' His face screwed up from my question and he scoffed, before suddenly turning slightly green and nodding slowly, groaning as he rest his head against the wooden bar top.

I sighed, before pulling one of his arms around my neck and jerking him so he was mostly upright.

'Freed, I'm taking Laxus home; he's down for the count.' I called out, smiling as Freed nodded at me with a grin, before returning to talking with Mira. He'd missed her a lot more than he'd expected, and I knew they had a lot of catching up to do.

I said my goodbyes as I dragged a staggering Laxus out of the guild, smiling as I turned down peoples offers of drinks.

The noise quieted slightly as the heavy guild doors shut softly behind me, the music and shouting turning into background noise.

I had no idea where Laxus lived, and shrugged as I started to drag him along the street towards my apartment.

'Blondie, stop moving the world. Why are there two of you?' He stared down at me, his grey eyes unfocused and glazed slightly. I laughed slightly; drunk Laxus was way funnier than sober Laxus.

'Why didn't your maid lady give me more treats?' He mumbled, losing interest in me as he stared down at the cobbled street, frowning as he struggled to place his feet securely on the ground.

'Maybe you should have asked nicely.' I giggled as he tripped over a small cobble before he regained his balance, his weight pulling me halfway down with him.

I squeaked as the floor came closer, but found myself being yanked upwards into a muscular chest and being held in a pair of familiar strong arms. I'd come to recognise every contour of his arms during our training; how his skin stretched across his muscles, how his arms flexed when he clenched his fists to hide his annoyance. It was all familiar to me.

'Careful blondie; floor's hard.' His voice slurred out as he looked down at me, his breath brushing against my face so I got a nice whiff of beer, vodka and some strong red wine.

I smiled as I gently pushed away from him, sliding under his arm and carefully guiding him along the street.

During the month at Tenroujima, I'd become even closer to all of the Raijinshuu, though Laxus tried to stay aloof I now knew him just as well as Natsu or Gray.

'Blondie, you're so short; tiny...' I rolled my eyes as I pulled him up my staircase towards my apartment.

'Yeah, thanks; first it's cause of the hair, now its cause of my height. When are you just going to call me by my name Sparky?' I asked, leaving him leaning against the wall as I fiddled with my keys to unlock my apartment. He chuckled, the sound deep and amused as he turned to stare at me, swaying on his feet slightly.

'Secret.' He told me, grinning as he tapped my nose with one of his long callused fingers.

I rolled my eyes as I dragged him into my apartment, voting to let him take the bed, I gently shoved his hulking, staggering mass onto the downy mattress and comforter; his usual black, fur lined cloak spread out beneath him as he spread his arms out laughing, stretching the material of his black turtle neck.

'Okay, keep your secret, it's time for beddy-byes Sparky.' I bent down and unlaced his shoes, sliding them off his feet before he pulled himself up onto the bed.

'You be sick on my bed, you're buying me a new mattress; and bed set, got it Sparky?' He nodded, his eyes already heavy lidded and half shut. I smiled and went to put his shoes by the door.

By the time I'd come back, he was fast asleep, a light snore emanating from his chest and rumbling around the room.

I smiled as I threw my black cloak onto my armchair before dropping onto the sofa; I had no energy to get changed, and the jeans and crop top I wore were comfy enough.

I shut my eyes, and found myself remembering a time during my training when Laxus had actually opened up to me...

Flashback

'That's good blondie, you had much better control of that one's direction.' I had graduated into forming small balls of magic, and throwing them, controlling them with my mind to hit the centre of a target. I took deep breathes, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.

Laxus's training always exhausted me magically and physically, so I was always tired after a session.

'Okay blondie, take a break.' He said after I'd missed the target another five or six times. I gratefully slumped onto a fallen tree trunk, taking deep gulps out of my water bottle and watching as Laxus came and sat beside me.

It was late evening, and the sun was setting over the ocean; Bix, Ever and Freed were at camp making dinner while I got in my last session of the day with Laxus.

I smiled as I watched the sky morph and transform into a beautiful range of reds, oranges and yellows as the sun sank into the dark blue waters.

'You're getting better blondie. No one can say you're weak anymore, that's for sure.' I turned and raised an eyebrow at him, smiling.

'Not even you?' I teased, shoving against him with my shoulder.

'Specially not me. The only reason I'm this strong is because of my asshole of a Father.' I turned to face him to see his jaw clenched tightly and his hands pulled into fists as they rested against his legs.

'I don't think that's true. You were already strong before he implanted the lacrima in you; after all, a lacrima can only do so much. You've gotten stronger and stronger and developed by yourself, not because of him or that ball of lightning magic.' I spoke softly, staring out at the setting sun so I wouldn't have to look at him as he took in my words.

For a while, we sat in silence, watching the sun descend as the sky slowly became darker.

'Thanks blondie... not many people get what it was like, having those kind of expectations and the pressure to get stronger. No one said it to my face, but I could hear them muttering about me, "Isn't that the Drayer kid? Shouldn't his magic have manifested by now?" God I hated them. They didn't even consider I was my own person, all they saw was the grandson of Makarov Drayer and the son of Ivan Drayer, both impossibly strong mages, and I was the dud. Ended up believing it all too.' He scoffed, running a hand through his spiky hair as he stared down at the floor.

'Then dear old Dad got impatient, and decided it was "in my best interests" to stick that... thing in me. I could have died, but afterwards, once the pain was gone... I had magic. The whispers stopped, at least that's what I thought. They just changed. "Look! That's Makarovs grandkid!" You know, I ended up hating gramps for being famous like he is; I wasn't Laxus to them. I was just Makarovs descendent. That's why I hated weakness, people who were weak were alone. They weren't worth being recognised as themselves, just as a weakling.' I stared at him, watching as he breathed deeply as he bared his pain to me.

'When Gramps chucked Dad out of the guild, I knew he was right. I knew it needed to be done, and I knew Gramps hated himself for throwing his own son out of his guild; But I hated him for it. The whispers came back again, "Look, that's Drayer's kid, you know, Makarovs kid who he threw out? That's that guys son. You think he's crazy too?" I couldn't take it, so I blamed Gramps for everything. All they spoke about was Makarov this, Makarov that. Damn, I was so pathetic!' He clenched his fists tightly as he pressed them against his legs, his shoulders hunched over slightly as his body tensed with the memories and emotions.

'I became the dickhead you used to know; I hated everyone and everything, except the few people I considered to be strong or who managed to be stubborn enough not to be scared off by my attitude or lack of care. That's when the Raijinshuu were formed, I was fifteen and was training for the S-class exam that was going to go on after my sixteenth birthday, and they helped me out. I passed because of Ever, Freed and Bix letting me train with them. I was still an ass, even to them, but I knew they saw me as me, so I put up with them. Everyone else was just like those people, whispering about me behind my back, "He's going to be the next guild master? Is Makarov insane? What, he's Makarov's grandkid? No way!" You know, that kinda hurt after hearing it every time a newbie came to the guild. ' He laughed it off, raising his head to look up at the darkening sky. I shivered lightly, but sat still, waiting for him to finish.

'I hated being judged by my Grandfather's successes, and only being recognised because of my name. That's why I wanted to be stronger than everyone, so I could walk down the street and hear them say "That's Laxus" not just the Great Makarov Drayer's grandkid.' I smiled sadly as he finished speaking, and reached out to lay a hand over one of his fists.

'You know what Sparky, no one in the guild has ever called you Makarov's kid. We all know and love you for who you are, as Laxus. Sure, I can see some resemblance between you two, but you're completely different. You're Laxus, he's Makarov. No matter what happens, that will never change. You don't need to be strong to be you, you just have to recognise that the people you love, also love you for who you are, not because of who your relatives are or were. You want to know why I never go anywhere blabbering about my last name? Because then I'd have money grubbing scammers at my door, wanting to pinch up Heartfilia the Heiress. I understand how it feels to be judged on your name, but to all of us in Fairy Tail, you're just Laxus. Not Drayer. Just Laxus.' I heard him hold his breath, before his fist relaxed and he grabbed my hand tightly.

'Thanks blondie.' He whispered, giving my hand a gently squeeze before he stood up and walked off towards the camp.

'Come on blondie; food's ready.'

Flashback Ends

I grinned up at the ceiling as I heard him groan and mumble in his sleep, before his snores became louder and I swear I heard the bed shake slightly.

I sighed and twisted around so I was as comfy as I could be on my sofa, smiling as I used his snores and gently breathing to lull me to sleep.

Laxus's POV

I groaned as the pounding in my head got louder and louder. My eyes felt heavy, but I forced them to open a crack, before shutting them tight as light penetrated my sockets. It felt like someone had shot me in the head with my own lightning.

'I am never drinking again.' I heard a giggle beside me, and turned to face the source of the noise, sniffing to identify who it was.

'How many times have you said that before sparky?' I grimaced, my eyes still tight shut as I turned my head back to face the ceiling.

'Shut up blondie.' I muttered, ignoring the delicious smell of eggs and bacon that was suffocated the air with its scent.

'You'd better get up and eat before Natsu shows up and nicks all the food.' She called out from the kitchen area. I growled at the thought of that pink bastard stealing the food that rightfully belonged to me.

'You can growl as much as you want Sparky, but if you don't move your ass now you ain't getting anything!' I forced my eyes open and sat up, my head spinning at the sudden manoeuvre.

'Eugh. I hate alcohol.' I mumbled as I slowly walked across to collapse into the chair at the table.

'Could have fooled me last night.' She said, placing a plate piled high with bacon and eggs and hash browns in front of me. I felt myself waking up as the food finally registered, and quickly began to eat it, swallowing it down quickly to rejuvenate my hung-over mind.

'Slow down sparky, you'll choke.' She said, laughing as she placed her own food on the table; a plate with a significantly smaller amount of food on it than what was before me.

'Are you anorexic or something blondie?' I asked around a mouthful of buttered bread and bacon. She glared up at me before neatly cutting into her food.

'No, you're just a weirdo dragon slayer with a stomach that has more room than a black hole.' I grunted and smirked as I took a large bite out of my bread, before shovelling in some more bacon.

'Whatever blondie. Fancy a mission soon? I know you've gotta pay off the rent to this place.' I looked down at her as she thought about it, calculating how long she had left to pay her rent.

'I know, but I think I should go on one with Team Natsu if you don't mind. I feel kind of guilty for leaving them like I have twice now. Besides, I promised to go on missions with them, even though I'm not officially part of their team anymore.' My eating pace slowed slightly as I realised that Blondie still wasn't an official member of the Raijinshuu either.

Didn't she say she was going back to the idiot crew? Damn I hope not. I shoved the thoughts from my mind as she took my now empty plate away from me, and watched as she walked back into the kitchen, her hips swinging from side to side.

It had been pretty difficult for me to control myself on Tenrou, and I could tell Bix was the same if not worse. At least I didn't have to physically touch her during our training; Bix had to get up close and personal.

I felt the dragon in me stir, agitated at the thought of him close to her, but suppressed the growl that tried to claw its way out of my throat. Bix would never do anything like that without blondie's agreement; despite his perverted reputation, he was actually quite the gentleman where women were concerned. Of course, he didn't include Ever in that, as she was a team mate, not a woman according to him anyway.

'Fine with me blondie. Just be careful, you're a lot stronger now than before, and I know you have a strong hold on it, but it's easy to slip up. Stay alert, and stay safe. Call me if you have any trouble, you got it?' I told her, pointing at the small communication Lacrima I'd had designed into a necklace for her to wear as an emergency comms device should she be in trouble.

She smiled at me, rolling her eyes.

'You got it sparky. Now come on, Mira has a massive batch of her hang-over remedy waiting for you at the guild.' I groaned at the thought of that sickly green mixture that passed off as a drink somehow; though it look more alive than the corpses buried in Magnolia Cemetery.

Unknown POV

'Master, I await your commands. I assume you retrieved the object you desired?' The cloaked figure sat in a throne that was carved out of a blackened tree trunk, the bark torn and breaking off into jagged angles with deadly sharp points. On the armrest, there was a blackened wooden box, and the cloaked man lay a pale, bony hand on top of the box, as though to protect it.

'You can assume correctly. You know the plan, now it can finally be put into action.' The kneeling figure rose from the ground, his head bowed as he backed out of the room.

The person in the throne stroked the box, his long sharp nails scratching slightly at the wood as he cackled to himself.

'The time has finally come... I shall not lose to you, Heartfilia, and Fairy Tail shall fall along with you.' Luminous red eyes peered out from the dark hood of the cloak as the person threw back their covered face and laughed manically; causing the magpies that had been resting on the throne to screech before flapping away frantically as the sound echoed in the still air.