Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
AN: I have been watching too much Jerry Springer and Steve Wilkos these days. Hence the inspiration for this one-shot. After all, I could totally imagine Laxus as a bodyguard. Just something short and sweet. I have a bunch of one shots sitting in my computer that need to be completed, so this is one of them. If you have any requests, let me know in the comments.
It was a typical day at the studio. Everyone was getting ready for the newest episode of the Gildarts Clive show. Laxus Dreyar, head of security, made sure his co-workers were close to the host and guests to prevent fights from escalating too far. After all, the crowd loved it when things got physical. Drama as Gildarts would phrase it.
"Elfman and Gray, you two stand there. That's where the boyfriend is coming in." Laxus pointed to one entrance. "Natsu and Loke, you two stand here. That's where the girlfriend is coming in." Laxus pointed to the other entrance. "I can tell this is going to get really crazy," he muttered under his breath. Then again, every day was crazy and despite working here for years, Laxus still couldn't get used to it.
Today, a pregnant woman was confronting her boyfriend about cheating on her with her sister. If the allegations are true, she's going to break up with him and raise her child by herself.
"Hey, Laxus." Gildarts walked up to him with a coffee in hand and gave him a fist pump. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, just want to make this a safe environment as possible for you," responded Laxus, scanning the area. Laxus has been on this show since the day it aired and took it seriously. Plus, it paid very well. "Is the girl ready?"
"Yeah, such a shame, too. Girl's really pretty and nice from what I gathered. It's always the pretty ones who get screwed the most." Gildarts shook his head. Suddenly, he remembered something. "Oh, she brought her cousin along in case things get physical. She can't exactly fight in her condition, you know." Gildarts rubbed his belly for emphasis.
"No problem." After some more directions towards the camera crew and his staff, Laxus headed towards the back to meet with the guests on today's show. The seats were starting to fill up, so now Laxus had to direct the guests. They were kept in separate rooms on opposite ends to prevent pre-live show fights. Because where's the drama in that?
Laxus went to meet with Sorano, the sister of the girl. After a few seconds of chatting with her, he could tell he wouldn't like her. Mind you, the guy is at fault as well, but who steals their sister's boyfriend because they are bored and to prove they are prettier than them?
Let's hope the sister is not as crazy, thought Laxus as he let out a long sigh when he reached the door. He adjusted the clipboard under arm and knocked on the door. A voice said, come in and Laxus came inside the room.
There sat two women on the couch. One looked almost identical to Sorano, except Yukino had short silver hair and a noticeable baby bump.
However, Laxus's eyes went to the blonde woman sitting next to Yukino, rubbing her back and whispering words of encouragement to the woman who looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"You just stay put. I'll do the talking." The blonde handed a tissue to Yukino, who wiped her tears and blew her nose. "The baby comes first."
"Thank you, Lucy," sniffed Yukino. "I really mean it. I know I've been hard to deal with lately, but I appreciate the love and support you are giving me. I just hope I have the courage to face Sorano and Sting."
Laxus kind of felt bad for the girl. She really looked like a nice girl who got caught up with the wrong people. "If you change your mind and don't want to do it. It's fine. The show hasn't started yet." Laxus often suggested this to some of the guests. It's not easy airing your dirty laundry into the world. "You don't even have to meet them. I can talk to Gildarts and I can tell you the results of the lie detector test."
Lucy gave Laxus a grateful thank you look and glanced back at Yukino. "He's right. I know it was your idea to come here, but if you're not up to it, we can go back home. I have some chocolate ice cream sitting in the fridge."
Yukino shook her head. "I appreciate it, however sooner or later I have to face them. It's better if the world knows what kind of people Sorano and Sting are. A part of me knew something wasn't right between the two of them, but I faced the other way because I didn't want to raise this baby alone."
"You're not alone, Yukino. You have me, Erza, and Rogue right by your side." Lucy pointed her thumb to herself. "And if things get too hectic with Sting here, we have Mr. Muscles right here to put him down in his place." She directed her thumbs towards Laxus.
"Thank you, Lucy," sniffed Yukino, her tears starting to subside as she dried her face. "Let me freshen up. The makeup artist worked so hard and I don't want to ruin her work." Yukino got up and walked towards the bathroom.
When Yukino left to go to the bathroom, Laxus turned around to face the blonde on the couch. "Mr. Muscles?" He raised his left brow in disbelief. He was cursed at, insulted at, even scolded, and sometimes spat at, but no one ever called him Mr. Muscles. Laxus was proud of his physique, continuing to stay in shape since leaving the police force to work full time here. He wasn't sure if he should feel flattered or mocked at the blonde's words. Then again, Laxus took a closer look at her and she was hot, so he was leaning more towards flattery.
"You have muscles, don't you?" Lucy leaned back on the couch and gestured to his biceps. "Besides, I don't know your name."
Laxus raised another brow at this. She didn't know his name? He was known to be the head of security on the show. "I'm Laxus Dreyar." Laxus raised his hand for a shake. "Head of Security."
"Lucy Heartfillia." Lucy raised her hand as well for a shake. "Yukino's cousin, which I think you are already aware of."
"Gotta say. Not everyone volunteers to be on this show, especially to fight on someone's behalf," stated Laxus in an impressed tone. Sure, there were people who wanted a few minutes of fame but the show offers the truth for people who want to fight out and expose people for who they are.
"Oh right. I'm supposed to 'fight'." Lucy used her fingers to emphasize the word fight and let out a long sigh. "If only Yukino wasn't pregnant, but even then she wouldn't inflict violence on her sister."
"What about your other friend? Erza, you said?" Laxus recalled Lucy mentioning that name.
"Erza!" Lucy sat straight in her seat. "Unless you want to see it rain blood or the show to get shut down, you do not ask Erza to fight your fights for you." She suddenly shuddered, recalling an unpleasant memory. "My ex is still paying off damages to his car. I've been single ever since."
Laxus couldn't help but grin inside. So she's single? Nice! "What did she do to your ex's car?"
"Oh nothing! Wink Wink. After all, the culprit is still at large and it looked to be an accident," grinned Lucy.
"Okay, hypothetically."
"Oh hypothetically. She may have left some air freshener cans in his car in the extreme Magnolia heat, which may or may not have caused a fire." Lucy shrugged her shoulders.
"Damn. Wouldn't want to mess with her."
"She means well," defended Lucy. "Erza is fiercely protective of her friends. She even tried to teach me a few moves to try on Angel, although that didn't really go well." Lucy rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "She's not a very good teacher." Lucy recalled the fight lessons and the bruises she obtained from it. There was a lot of slamming and wrestling moves involved.
"I could teach you a few moves," shrugged Laxus nonchalantly.
"What," blinked Lucy owlishly. "Are you allowed to do that?"
"Before I did this gig, I was a cop. I have basic self-defense training and a belt in martial arts. Besides, I can't physically hurt the guests, but if someone else were to do it. Well, I won't get in as much trouble." Laxus gave Lucy a sly grin. "There may or may not be an intentional delayed reaction in stopping the brawl."
"You love the drama too!" Lucy stated as a matter of fact. "I knew it. Men love drama just as women do."
"There's never a boring day on set. So back to the matter of hand. I'm going to teach you how to do a heel palm strike." Laxus got into a fighting stance as he demonstrated the move to Lucy, who was watching attentively. "Hold your dominant hand like this, flex your wrist and jab it upward either towards the nose or the throat," explained Laxus as he slowly showed each step to Lucy. "This will catch them off guard and have them stagger backwards, especially if they are running headfirst towards you." Laxus demonstrated once more and stepped to the side to allow some room for Lucy to take the floor.
Lucy hesitantly took a fighting stance, feeling uncertain of her pose and wondering if her posture was correct. She looked to Laxus for confirmation, who gave her a nod of approval which boosted her confidence. Her posture strengthened, putting her arms in place with her game face on.
Laxus couldn't help but chuckle at the blonde's 'game face'. So cute, he thought, moving forward to fix her posture. "Raise this a bit higher and strengthen your core. Keep watch of your opponent's height." He moved her arm along his to demonstrate the move a few times until she got the hang of it and let her do it a few times on her own.
Lucy's cheeks grew warm when she felt Laxus stand behind her. "Is this okay?" She asked in a hesitant voice, grateful her voice didn't crack due to their close proximity. She did notice a lot of females in the audience. They probably came because of Laxus. All the men on the show were good looking, however, Laxus was on another level.
"Make sure that your fingers are pointing up," whispered Laxus, caressing Lucy's soft fingers as he stood behind her, straightening her arm out. "Wouldn't want to break those pretty fingers."
"Y-yeah," Lucy stuttered with red cheeks. "I won't be able to write if that happens." Her editor would probably kill her.
"Author or journalist?"
"I do a bit of both," admitted Lucy, trying to control her breathing. "I work for a women's magazine."
"I guess we are similar fields. Having to deal with drama constantly." Laxus smirked when he saw the tips of Lucy's ears turn red. "I think you're ready." He noticed Yukino coming back into the room and stepped back.
"Just try to relax. We won't let Sorano hurt you. She'll try to get under your skin." Laxus reassured Yukino, who gave him a shaky nod. "After the results of the lie detector test, I hope you start a plan for your future and your baby's future." A cheating bastard wouldn't be the best influence on an innocent child. "I'll give you another minute with your cousin and then we'll be on camera."
"Are you ready, Yukino," asked Lucy, grabbing Yukino's hand and squeezing it for comfort.
"Yes," she nodded. "Let's go."
A Few Minutes Later: After Sting Failed the Lie Detector Test.
*Crack.
"Holy shit!"
"Right in the nose!"
"Woooo. You could rough me up anytime, baby!"
The crowd got wild when Lucy punched Sting right on the nose after it was revealed he did cheat on Yukino on multiple occasions. He tried to grab her, which warranted Lucy to punch him with the move, Laxus showed her. She shook her wrist to remove the stinging from her hand. Her wrist felt slightly sore but the blood gushing from Sting's nose was worth the pain. She walked backstage with Yukino by her side. They got what they came for so now it was time to go home.
"Here's your gift basket! Compliments from the host, Gildarts." A blue-haired girl chirped, giving both Lucy and Yukino a gift basket almost half their size. It ended up with Lucy carrying both because Yukino couldn't lift anything heavy.
"Mind guiding me and opening the trunk of the car, Yukino." Lucy's voice was muffled from the baskets as she tried to navigate down the stairs of the studio.
"Let me help you with that." A familiar gruff voice called out from behind. Laxus lifted the baskets from Lucy with ease. "That was some strike," said Laxus in an impressed voice. "Not everyone gets a bloody nose on the first try." When Laxus saw Lucy and Yukino leave the stage after their piece was done, he ran after them.
"There was a lot of anger and frustration behind that strike. He had that coming a long time ago. Thank you for the help." Lucy closed the trunk after Laxus placed the baskets in the back. Yukino was already sitting in the car in the front passenger seat. "I guess I'll see you around?" Although Lucy highly doubted she was going to see him again.
"Here is my business card if you need anything. Crazy friend, stalker, self-defense techniques or maybe an answer to the question of if you would like to have dinner together next Friday?" Laxus pulled out his business card that had his personal number on it. He rarely gave them out, only giving it to a select few people. "Maybe we can get to know each other in a more private and intimate setting?"
Lucy took the card from Laxus, her cheeks flushed red as she clutched it to her chest. He wanted to be flirty and make her weak in the knees? Well, two could play at this game. "As long as you show off some of your moves after." Lucy gave Laxus a flirty wink. "I'd love to find out what else you learned at the academy."
Beeeeeep.
The sound of the car horn broke the blondes from their gazing spell. Lucy let out an eep and jumped into place, wrapping her arms around Laxus's biceps. When she realized what she did she let out a cough and scrambled off of Laxus.
"Lucy, I'm glad you have a date and all but you promised me ice cream." Yukino gave Lucy a knowing grin and a playful wink. "You can ogle, flirt, and grope Mr. Muscles next Friday. Bye Laxus! Thanks for your help and give my regards to Gildarts."
"Bye." Lucy gave Laxus a wave and scrambled into her care, waving goodbye once more from the driver's seat. "See you next week."
"See you," muttered Laxus softly, watching the car drive away. Once it was out of sight he went back into the studio where he was greeted by Gildarts.
"Huh. Usually couples break up on my show," admitted Gildarts in awe. He saw the whole thing. Laxus asking the blonde girl out. "This is a first. A couple forming on this show. I'm happy to do an episode dedicated to the both of you. Ow!"