Next chapter here! Hope you're all enjoying this fanfic. I know I'm having a blast writing it! I want planning on posting it yet but I was told by my impatient friend GemNika, that I should update already. So... Looks like you get another chapter lol

THE TWELVE MONTHS OF FAIRY TAIL

Chapter 2

Lucy moved to the cracked door and stuck her head out, scanning the room before calling out to the next guy. "Gray, you ready?"

The ice mage stood to his feet, his usual chill expression on his face as he trooped over to her. He got nearly all the way there when he was abruptly shoved to the side.

"I've got better things to do than wait all damn day. I'm going next," Laxus declared, folding his arms across his chest and glaring defiantly down at Lucy.

His attitude instantly set her on edge, her perky mood going right down the drain, and she frowned up at him before pointedly turning away and facing her team-mate. "You're still next Gray, if you want to be."

She could almost feel the angry gaze boring into the back of her head, and if she wasn't mistaken, there was a slight growl as well. Though she felt quite certain that the man rarely experienced such defiance, Lucy didn't care. She hated that kind of inconsideration.

Her dark-haired friend stood back up to his full height, curling his lip up at the lightning mage in disgust. "It's not a big deal, Luce. I can wait. I'm not an impatient ass like some people. Besides," Gray added with a smirk, "It'll be a hell of a lot nicer around here after he's gone."

Lucy giggled at his response, then sent him off with a cheerful wave. She turned, her face immediately folding into a scowl as she addressed the next in line. "Well, come on then Rudeness. Let's get it over with."

Not waiting for his reaction, she spun on her heels and stamped her way back into her impromptu studio. She let herself hope for a single instant that he'd become so annoyed at her attitude that he'd decide to back out, but the idea fell flat as soon as she thought it. There was no way he would do that. Not even Laxus was foolish enough to go against Mira in full Demon mode. And that's exactly what would happen if Laxus didn't contribute like he'd been instructed to.

The Celestial mage sighed and moved to the center of the room. She'd had no time to consider Laxus' pose at all, neither of them actually, and now that Mr. Pushy had decided to act the part of a petulant child, it was going to be even harder to come up with something enticing. At this point, she was so piqued by his behavior, she almost considered making his pictures complete flops, but that's not the kind of woman she was.

She was a Celestial Spirit mage, one that honored her promises, even if they'd come with a frustrating, pig-headed Dragon Slayer with a god complex. She'd just have to put aside her personal feelings for the big jerk and do her job. She'd done it before. She could do it again.

"Oi Blondie!" Laxus shouted at her as he clomped into the room behind her. "What the fuck was that?"

She turned a bland look in his direction. "What?"

If it was possible, his face darkened further, and he narrowed his eyes. "You should be careful how you talk to me."

"Why's that?"

She knew she was treading on dangerous ground. She'd heard the kind of temper Laxus had, but she hadn't grown up in a hostile house with her father without learning a few things. A bully never backed down unless you made him. She stood up tall, ignoring the fact that he towered over her.

"Do you have any idea how easily I could-"

And there it was. Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you could kick my ass six ways to Sunday, but it won't change anything. I'll still say exactly what I want to you. If you don't believe me, ask Gajeel." She looked up to find his eyes slightly wide at her casual reference to the Iron Slayer's attack, but she didn't have time to address it. She had work to do. "Besides, we both know you won't do it, so why don't we cut the bullshit?" She moved to stand just in front of him, her head tipping back so she could fix her gaze on his. "Neither of us is getting out of this. So why don't we just do what we came here to do. Then I can get on with my day, and you can move onto whatever else is more important. Okay?"

Surprisingly, he said nothing. He just continued to stand there eyeing her like he'd never seen her before, and then, with a quiet grunt, he crossed his arms. "Fine."

Internally sighing at his acquiescence, Lucy nodded, then waved a hand to her right. "Great, over there then...please."

His brow lifted at the sincerity of her request, but he didn't understand that she had been raised a lady and certain habits died hard. Regardless, it cost her nothing to observe the most basic of niceties. He was doing what she wanted, so she could afford to exercise a little kindness.

Laxus moved into position and waited for her direction. It surprised her. After his initial fit, she'd expected nothing but demands about his pose, complaints about her slowness, scowls and grunts of annoyance. She hadn't anticipated this quiet stillness. It stumped her, and quite frankly, she didn't know what it meant.

Give her a smarmy, entitled man, and she knew just what to do. She could cut him down in two seconds flat, but a snarky man suddenly turning agreeable...that left her completely in the dark.

"Um...just give me a second to figure out what I want to do."

He nodded silently, and Lucy frowned. What was he up to? This was one of the most uncooperative men she'd ever met, and here he was obeying without question. What the hell was his angle?

Spinning around, she forced her mind past her concern. It didn't matter what he was planning. She only had to get his pictures done, and then she could shoo him out the door. No more problems. She faced him again, her mind shifting into photographer mode, and promptly realized that she had been thinking way too hard.

The solution was simple. This man was defiance personified. It was who he was, and his photographs should show that. They should embody the essence of him, not just the part that was mage, but the man himself.

Her lips curled at that, and she began to snap out her orders, flicking her hand in concert. "Take your shirt off."

Once more, his brow raised, this time in amusement. "You're a bossy little thing."

"Yeah yeah," she said, moving toward him with purpose. "Now, get moving. I don't have all day."

She waited until he'd pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it to the side, before she eyed him critically. She had to admit, to herself if no one else, he was fit. More than fit, to be honest. The man was ripped in ways she hadn't been sure was possible, and try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from mentally tracing every crease of muscle he'd exposed. Snapping her head up, she blinked, then pointed.

"Turn your body sideways with your side facing the camera. Mhmm...now, stretch your arm out and curl your hand back like you're taunting an opponent."

Laxus tossed her a questioning look, and she sighed, then moved into the position she wanted him. "Like this." She turned and held her hand out at him, curling it back as if telling him to 'Bring it'. "We're going for serious here. Like you're just about to kick someone's ass." Giving him another demonstration, she tipped her head down a bit and hardened her jaw, trying to look fierce.

She knew she'd failed when the large man burst out in a laugh. "I don't think that's your look, Blondie. Why don't you keep to the sexy stuff?"

Lucy's eyes widened at his words. Had he just called her sexy? She could feel a blush burning its way onto her cheeks, and she whipped around before it could become fully visible. Letting a man like this know he'd embarrassed her would only lead to more and more of the same.

The blonde woman shuffled back to her camera, then turned around with her professional smile firmly in place. "Alright, let's try it."

Laxus smirked knowingly, but moved himself into the position she'd asked for. His body shifted perfectly into place, just like she'd shown him, and as he lifted his head, he closed his eyes as if trying to center himself. Then suddenly, his eyes flew open, their stormy depths lit with determination.

It was just as she'd seen it in her head, all but one thing. Before she could ask, he activated his magic, wrapping his entire being in bright flickers of lightning. It was stunning, and it took Lucy a moment to remember her job. The button depressed and the shutters came down over and over again. She changed her angle just a bit, then added several more photos to the group until she was satisfied.

A happy smile climbed her face, and she found herself gushing, "That was perfect!"

"Does that surprise you?" he answered, his muscles shifting enticingly as he dropped his arm and turned to walk over to the wall.

She pouted at his arrogant reply, but found the expression dropping a second later as she watched him lean an arm against the wall and slip off his shoes. She licked her lips, unable to ignore the play of the muscles in his back. She'd never seen anything like it. He looked like he'd been sculpted out of solid rock, like something out of a make believe story about demigods.

Startled at the turn her mind had taken, Lucy shook her head, but apparently not quick enough.

"Now, that's a much better look for you," he complimented, his face amused as his hand slipped down to the zipper on his pants. He watched her as he edged the tiny bit of silver down and smiled appreciatively as if he knew her breathing had picked up.

He probably did. Stupid dragon slayer.

And why was teasing her like this? It wasn't her damn fault he was so tempting.

She called a halt to the less than innocent trail her thoughts had taken and forced herself to turn away. "Let's get this one done, so you can head out."

A chuckle sounded behind her, one brimming with masculine pride, and then she felt him move up inches from her back. She spun around and gaped at the sight of him so close in only a snug pair of boxer briefs. Against her will, her eyes instantly scrolled down his body, taking in the way he filled out the simple black underwear. A squeak erupted from her mouth as she stumbled back. "W-What are you doing?"

His lip curled at one corner. "Just giving you a close up."

Swallowing hard, she shook her head, then pointed toward the far wall. "O-Over there please."

It took all she had not to follow his trek, but somehow she tamed the urge to watch the way his ass moved beneath his slight clothing. She would be lying if she said she wasn't tempted, and Lucy was nothing if not honest. But that didn't mean she would be sharing the information any time soon.

"Now what, Blondie?"

His question successfully pulling her back to the job at hand, Lucy looked up, then twirled her finger. "Turn around."

Laxus faced her with a smug grin. "You want another look at my ass?"

Her cheeks bloomed at his insinuation. But it didn't matter that it was true, because he was never going to find out. "No, that's how we're doing the photo." She drew in a deep breath as he followed her instructions, then added, "Okay, step forward just a bit until your body almost touches the wall. Good...now, put your hands on the wall, about shoulder level, then move them out...maybe about a foot."

She watched as he did what she'd said and promptly felt the air in her lungs release as the muscles around his shoulders bunched. Holy shit.

Sounding wildly pleased with himself, Laxus asked, "How's that?"

"G-Good..." She drew herself up, determined not to let this man get to her and grabbed for her camera again. "Alright...um, turn your head...like you're trying to look over your shoulder."

The lightning mage hummed, his voice coming out slightly muffled because of the wall, "And what am I supposed to be trying to look at?"

She studied him for a minute, wondering if he was being serious, then seeing the little grin on his face, Lucy realized he was still trying to mess with her. "You're going to be looking at Mira if you don't quit screwing around," she huffed, trying to cover for her earlier fumble.

Laxus laughed and turned his head, one eye straining to seek her out. Lucy frowned, not liking it, then moved closer to his line of sight and checked her camera angle. "No, not happy. Go with intense." She paused, trying to find the best way to explain what she wanted him to do. "Okay, this is probably going to sound stupid, but... imagine you're trapped in that position, but just out of the corner of your eye, you can see a woman or...or something. Like the one thing you want more than anything else."

She sighed, thinking she'd botched the explanation, then went still as Laxus folded his face into the exact look she'd wanted. Only he was staring straight at her. Her skin prickled at the weight of that gaze, and she felt her heart trip in her chest. Taking a shaky breath, she raised the camera to her face and shifted into the perfect spot to capture everything Laxus was portraying.

By the time his session ended and he was dragging on his clothes once more, Lucy was a jittery mess. She couldn't quite fathom how he'd managed to break through her earlier annoyance and make her so hot. Even now as she walked him to the door, her mind was swamped with pictures of him, and it took all she had not to go full red in the cheeks.

Still, she couldn't quite keep the direction of her thoughts from her face, and sure enough when they reached the doorway, Laxus just had to notice. He grinned down at her, then raised a hand, tracing the color with his finger. "Care to share what you're thinking about?"

A horrified, "No!" shot from her mouth before she could contain her reaction, and then she flushed even more. Why couldn't she have said something clever?

Laxus chuckled, his grin turning distinctively smug as he leaned in and whispered huskily, "It's okay. I've got a great imagination."

A/N: So...who else do you think is on this list of men? Toss out a guess or two. I may or may not confirm... lol