Such a Cliché Chapter 12, a fairy tail fanfic

Chapter 12

June 3, X794; 4:12 PM

"Lucy…" Laxus groaned.

Lucy jumped from her seat, as the hair on her arms stood on end. "Y-Yes…" she squeaked out, observing as Laxus shifted uncomfortably from where he was lying down. "Laxus?" she probed, trying to identify if the man was awake.

'Did he hear me?' That thought ran in her mind. A few seconds later, Lucy decided that it was okay if Laxus heard her saying the 'seeing me' piece because she had already said it hours prior.

"But what about those other things?' Lucy panicked. She was not that sure if the things that she had said about his body being that of a god, or how she had basically said that he could suffocate her life with his forearms and she would thank him…or him being smart, a hard worker, and emphatic.

Lucy buried her face on her palms, silently pleading, 'Why?! Why me?!' That was the question: why, indeed, was she always on the receiving end of something embarrassing?

"Lucy…" Laxus moved again, his coat falling from his upper body to reveal that he was still asleep, with his arms crossed over his chest.

'He's sleeping,' Lucy observed. 'Thank God, he's still sleeping!' she breathed out a sigh of eternal relief before she went over to him. She picked up the coat and draped it over to him. She then took a look at his features. Laxus' expression was anything but peaceful. His thick eyebrows were furrowed. He looked troubled. Perhaps, this man is having a nightmare.

'Well, if I was in his shoes, I don't think I'd also be getting a good sleep,' Lucy remarked before deliberating whether to wake him up or not. Deciding on letting him rest, Lucy stepped away from the sofa couch.

"Lucy…" Laxus mumbled again. "I…like…you…"

Thump. Beat. Bam. Lucy's heart swelled and jumped at the same time. Did she hear that correctly? Did Laxus just say that he likes her? She felt warmth budding in her cheeks that she was not able to take another step.

RIIINGGG! RIIINGGG! RIIINGGG!

"Huh?" Laxus woke up. "Wuzzat?" he murmured as he rubbed his eyes. Tentatively, the man propped himself up.

Lucy turned her face away, and made her way towards her seat. She felt her heart hammering loudly against her chest and the heat that made its way to her cheeks. She can also hear her blood thumping in her ears. She pursed her lips and then gritted her teeth, adamant not to make a single squeak nor sound that would betray whatever she was feeling at that moment.

"Lucy?" Laxus called, this time his voice sounded awake.

Lucy felt his curious, questioning stare at the back of her head. 'Why won't he turn around?!' she mentally groaned. Lucy refused to return the man's gaze. "Y-Yes?" she heard herself squeak. Shoot.

"Yes?" she said again, this time in a more sure voice, but she still had her back facing the man. By that time, Lucy felt herself calming down, with her blood, heart and face returning more or less to their regular function.

"Uhhh…" Laxus uttered. "Can we talk?"

'Huh?!' Lucy panicked, her blood pressure and heart rate probably skyrocketing at odd miles per hour. 'Talk about what?' she internalized. 'Talk about how I may or may not have emotionally dumped all my dirty little fantasies about him…right to his sleeping form?! Over my shining, shimmering, splendid body!'

"Lucy?" Laxus called again, this time in a more careful manner; as if he was coaxing some wild animal to come towards him.

Lucy mentally slapped herself. She had to wake up. She is a lady for crying out loud! This was not the time to act like a complete buffoon. 'Besides, this is just like a common literary cliche, wherein Character A confesses out of the blue, only to realize that Character B is already asleep or were not even paying attention, further extending an already waning non-existent plot…or, or this is just a red herring event, wherein Character C would seem like they were going to confess, only to end up saying something else that would infuriate the already annoying (oftentimes tsundere) Character D! Yeah, yeah! This would be just like that!' Lucy imagined herself pumping her arms up into the air in a victory pose.

'I may even add such a scene in the sequel that I'm writing!' she resolved. 'Minus, an annoying tsundere, of course.'

Feeling ready to face Laxus with all of the mental preparation, Lucy, the ever-graceful lady, turned and gazed at the man with a smile that could launch a thousand ships. "Yes?" she said in a sing-song voice that suspiciously sounded like the cutesy voice of a moe character.

Laxus' eyebrow raised in confusion, and looked at her as if she grew another head.

Lucy felt even more embarrassed. 'Why? Why me?!'

"Are you sure you're okay, Blondie?" The man said out of concern, his voice skeptical.

The fact that Laxus said it out of actual genuine concern, and not in a teasing and snarky manner made Lucy feel even more mortified. That meant Laxus actually believed that there was something wrong with her.

Lucy deflated. All this mental gymnastics takes too much energy out of her. 'This is not good for my health,' she sighed once again.

"Yup," Lucy said this in the most normal way. And it actually did sound normal! "What were you saying?"

Laxus stared at her for a moment, as if searching something in her face. The man looked serious and all business-like, before his expression returned to normal…which is a relaxed version of serious and business-like. He gestured for her to sit. "Come here," he said, patting the cushion beside him.

Lucy complied. She sat down and looked over Laxus, suddenly concerned. "Okay. What's up?"

The said man turned his Miniature Communication Lacrima on, the screen lighting to reveal an encoded message. The sender read: Old Fart.

'We all know who that is,' Lucy remarked. "What did the Master say?"

"Here," Laxus handed her the small device.

Effective immediately, I request the immediate return of all mages who are not currently engaged in an official guild-sanctioned quest. Please report back to the guild hall on 1100 hours, June 5, X794. Urgent matters require our attention. Thank you for your cooperation.

Lucy finished reading the message and returned it. "That was a group message," she stated the obvious.

"Yes," Laxus answered.

Lucy felt her right eye twitch at that one comment. Here she was, starting a conversation to clear the air and awkwardness, but apparently, His Royal Majesty would not even deign to give her with a proper response in the form of an actual coherent sentence consisting of more than one word.

'Calm down, me,' she said to herself. There was no use getting angry at someone just because of one word. This is beneath her. 'You're a Heartfilia. Pull yourself together. You're a Heartfilia. Pull yourself together,' she repeated the phrase mentally before turning around and standing up.

It took her a few steps and an awkward silence before she heard Laxus shifting in his seat. The cushion of the sofa squeaked. "Will you go?"

Lucy did not need to clarify what Laxus meant. He was asking her if she would return to the guild, and leave him here with his father.

Intending to get a little revenge for his dry response a while ago, Lucy grinned to herself before facing him once again. "Yes."

Lucy saw Laxus return her grin with his cocky smirk that shows his canine teeth. "I deserved that,' he said.

"What about Mr. Ivan?" Lucy gestured towards Laxus' father. Ivan still remained soundly asleep.

"Well…" Laxus' already deep-set eyes further intensified, casting wicked shadows across his face. Combined with his lightning-shaped scar and trademark smile, Lucy felt the smoldering heat of his gaze. A shiver ran down her spine, and Lucy realized the reason why Laxus is not one of the Top 10 Perfect Boyfriends. It was not that he was unattractive. He truly is. It is that he is not a Prince Charming because he is a Black Knight - imperfect, rugged, devilish, debonair.

Lucy had often wondered why female characters in novels often got manipulated into making a bizarre decision just because the male character that they were talking to was described to be the most handsome, most powerful, most affluent, most yadda yadda in all of the land! Her gender equality sensibilities were honestly triggered by such a degrading portrayal that women only look at the social position and power held by men.

'Not all are blinded by all that glitters!' she used to cry out.

Although, there are theories out there that support the idea wherein a person basically calculates the value of a possible life partner by means of what they have and can do, such repetitive and incessant portrayals basically oversimplifies women as obsessed with a man's looks and status!

She had lambasted such female characters before. Those were unbecoming of them, especially if she were to remember that majority of those female characters are described to be a nobleman's esteemed daughter who have had years of etiquette, training and education to be intelligent, critical, and cultured. They should not be fooled into making a stupid decision just because of a face! God, do the authors of those novels even know how to do some basic research?!

'Do all of the harsh training we endured to join the High Society all mean nothing?' Lucy had lamented before. Remembering about it, made her grit her teeth in annoyance about how people often degrade noblewomen's brutal experience in learning to scrutinize people and their intentions.

That was the case before, until of course, Laxus decided to act in such a manner. Lucy was stunned beyond words. 'Bloody hell,' she cursed inwardly. 'I never thought that it could actually happen in real life,' she remarked as she held Laxus' gaze.

'Enough of this,' Lucy woke herself up. This is uncharted waters. This man was about to say something that she feels that she is not ready to hear. The signs said so. The eyes, the smile, the sudden lowering of voice register, this proximity…all of this was something that should not be.

'You like, Laxus, right?' she asked herself. She also knew that answer to that. She does. She does like him. If things had been different, she would have allowed herself to be lost in this man's gaze. If things had been different, she would readily say yes should he ask her out right here, right now. If things had been different, she may even have taken the first step to ask him out on a date.

"Lucy, I…" Laxus held her eyes.

Lucy felt a tear trickle down her cheek. "Oh, my…" she said, wiping the tear streak with the back of her hand before fanning herself. "Hoooboy!' she exclaimed, nervously laughing. "Something must have been caught in my eye. Laxus, you really shouldn't have started a staring contest," she laughed awkwardly, walking away from the man. "You're really strong, Laxus! Even in staring contests, you beat everyone! That's an S-Class Mage for you!"

'What on Earthland am I even doing,' Lucy chastised herself. 'I'm making a fool out of myself.'

"Lucy," he called again. "Please..."

"Yes?" she said, continuing towards the door. She needs to exit this room. It was suffocating. She has to go…now! Before anything…

"I like you," Laxus confessed.

The sky above was a vast canvas, adorned with shimmering stars that twinkled like distant lanterns. Erza took the lead, walking in comfortable yet measured and alert steps against the paved road. Behind her were Gray, Natsu and a hovering Happy. They were silent, probably observing their surroundings should bandits decide to launch a surprise attack.

The concrete wall that demarcates the Boundary Forest was becoming more and more visible as they continued their trek. The cool, moist wind blew towards them, gently rustling the leaves of the nearby trees and the patches of grass that decorated both sides of the road.

Erza inhaled the fresh scent of pine and earth before she felt the Miniature Communication Lacrima vibrate in her pocket. She stopped walking for a moment to read the contents of the message sent by the Master:

"Technically, we're not really required to be there," Gray mentioned.

What Gray said was true, Erza affirmed. However, she has this sinking realization that the Master may be announcing matters regarding the S-Class Promotion Trials and Grand Magic Games. There were only a handful of times that their old man had specifically given a total rendezvous order.

"You wouldn't want to miss this," Erza said with a knowing smirk.

"W-Why?" Gray stuttered. "Do you know something?" he inquired.

Erza kept her mouth shut. There was a specific instruction not to reveal the contents of their previous meeting. For the most part, she was successful in maintaining the secrecy. And she would like to keep it that way, thank you very much.

Instead, Erza segued the conversation to a very safe topic. "By the way, boys," she began as she increased her pace, leaving Gray semi-jogging after her.

"Oi!" Gray called out. "Erza!"

Erza laughed good-naturedly. "Let's just finish this mission as fast as we could, so that we can return earlier than scheduled!"

"Does this have to do with why you were late earlier?!"

Erza did not budge. "By the way, Gray, Natsu, Happy," she addressed all three boys. They were now catching up to her.

'Natsu's silent today,' Erza observed how the pink-haired Dragon Slayer was just looking around the foliage. On a closer look, Natsu does not seem to be sensing for ambush. Instead, he looked like he was preoccupied.

"Natsu! Hey!" Erza called again. This time, Natsu looked at her.

"Yup?" Natsu replied.

Erza shook her head for a moment before starting some light conversation. "I have a question."

Gray sighed in resignation. "What is it?"

"Okay. Answer me honestly," Erza cautioned. "As a male observer, how can you tell if a man is interested in a woman you know?"

"Ha?!" Natsu exclaimed, his voice confused.

"Is this about Jellal again?" Gray asked in exasperation. "For the last time, as a guy, we know that Jellal is always ready to swear undying love to you. That guy is too obvious."

"Yeah, Erza!" Happy agreed, his voice suspiciously too cheerful. "He liiikkkeesss you, so much so that he would probably ask you to bear him 12 children!"

"T-That's-!" Erza felt her face heating up, and imagined smoke coming out of her ears. "T-That's…n-not it!"

Gray merely raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Well?"

"It's about Lucy," Erza confessed.

"WHUTTT?!" That was the collective gasp that came from all three boys.

"Lucy? What happened to Lucy?" Natsu demanded.

"Did she encounter some troubles?" Gray exclaimed. "Is that why she's not home yet?"

"We have to go back, Erza!" Happy was about to turn around and leave.

"Hold it," Erza spoke calmly, holding up her right hand as if to stop them from jumping to conclusions.

"But Erza-!" Natsu spoke over her.

"Nothing's wrong with Lucy," Erza intervened, her voice louder than before. "Calm down."

"Okay," Gray's voice was calmer but still unconvinced. "So, what's up with Lucy?"

"Well," Erza hesitated. She felt her cheeks heating up. She had never been as proficient in love talks, and she had to gossip about it with these two!

"Erza," Happy hovered towards her, his expression worried.

"Did Lucy ever ask you two about relationship advice?" Erza struggled to say that. 'Damn, that was embarrassing.'

"Ha?!" Natsu's voice seemed to rise an octave higher, probably because he himself cannot believe that they are going to talk about something like this now. "Did you eat something, Erza?"

Erza merely repeated the question with a straight face to convey that she was, in fact, serious.

Natsu and Gray flinched before they visibly mulled it over, eyes avoiding Erza's scrutinizing expression.

"Well…" Natsu began, scratching his cheek with his finger.

"Not…really…" Gray's voice rose at the last word.

"Boys," Erza said with a glare.

The two boys, along with Happy, flinched again. "Really!" they insisted in unison.

"But you know something, right?" she pressed. They did not need to reply since their reactions basically gave them away.

Erza rubbed her temples. "Nothing's going on. I'm just curious because Mirajane said something about Lucy," she confessed. That got a positive reaction from the boys.

"Is this about Laxus?" Natsu brought the topic as if that was just a normal part of their everyday conversation.

Erza nodded her answer. That was the only viable response she could think of. That, or she could unceremoniously drop her jaw drop to the ground.

Gray sighed and relaxed his posture. "It's old news, Erza. It has always been obvious that Laxus likes Lucy."

"Yeah, yeah. I get that," Erza began. "Mirajane also said the same thing. But how did you know?"

"Ah…you're asking if it's a male thing that we know," Happy said in apparent realization.

"Well, Laxus' eyes always follow Lucy whenever they are in the same place," Gray offered his observation. "Boys do this most of time, especially if they have female friends. We're always on the look out if some bastard is about to harass our female friends," he added as an explanation.

"Yeah! Yeah! There was even that time he would approach her to ask her to join in on one of the Thunder God Tribe's missions," Natsu exclaimed. "Man, I was so jealous!"

At this, Erza raised an eyebrow in question. "Wait. It seems that you're okay with this?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Natsu inquired, his voice filled with genuine curiosity. "Laxus is a good guy."

"No, no. I just didn't expect this reaction," Erza was left dumbfounded. "I actually expected that both of you would rage, overreact and threaten Laxus's life. I was half prepared to even hold you both down to prevent a fight."

"Come on, Erza," Gray said in a light joking tone. "We grew up with the guy. He may act like a cocky asshole most of the time, but he's a decent person."

"Ne, Erza. Are you worried that Lucy's going to be taken advantage of?" Happy's voice was also filled with concern.

"I guess," she admitted. "This is still Laxus we're talking about. And Lucy is our precious friend. I don't want her to get hurt."

"Fair point," Gray agreed.

"Come on, guys," Natsu beamed. "Lucy is strong. She can handle herself. And she can handle Laxus if he decides to become a bastard."

"I must say, that was mighty mature of you," Erza smiled proudly at the pink-haired mage.

Natsu merely grinned as a response before addressing Happy. "Happy, bring out the Surveillance Lacrima."

The blue Exceed then proceeded to unravel the green cloth tied to his neck, and a celadon green-tinted crystal ball with a miniature wolf figure lying on top of it appeared.

"Aren't we fancy today?" Gray said with a chuckle.

"Are you going to scout the area for hiding bandits?" Erza asked. "I thought you could just smell them?"

"Nope," Happy answered, holding the crystal ball as he floated midair. "Natsu and I are going to record this mission."

"Yup!" Natsu cheered. "We're going to upload this video in B-Cube to earn more jewels." He took the crystal ball.

"I didn't know you could do that," Erza muttered to herself. "How can you earn?"

Natsu began to poke and prod the Lacrima, turning it on. "Well, Lucy said that I can upload recordings of our missions on B-Cube using a personalized Archive Account. Then, when a certain number of people followed my Archive, watched and reacted to the recordings, my account could be monetized." Natsu stopped for a moment to look at Happy. "How many did Lucy say?"

"Aye!" Happy raised one of his arms. "1,000 Archive followers, and 4,000 hours of watch views."

"How many did you have?" Gray asked.

"We already reached 4,000 hours of watch views this last March. As of now, we have 3,000 Archive followers," Happy replied.

"Woah! That's amazing!" Gray said. "I should probably consider making one."

"Though I don't think it's that surprising," Erza offered. "Natsu is pretty much well-known in Fiore. He even has an epithet, Salamander. He's bound to have fans."

"Yup! Lucy also said the same thing. She said that Sorcerer Magazine earns through how many people read the articles. Most of the contents there are about me," Natsu smiled proudly. "So, I might as well try using my reputation to earn jewels.'

"Damn. Lucy's devious," Gray oohed.

"What's with the need for more jewels?" Erza asked curiously. "Are you going to buy something expensive?"

"Not really. The extra jewels are for renovating our house."

"Okay. That makes sense," Erza nodded. Natsu and Happy's house is basically run-down by this point.

"And I'm saving for when I ask Lisanna to marry me," Natsu added.

Erza and Gray choked and did a double take, so much so that they almost slipped and landed their asses to the cold, hard ground.

June 3, X794; 7:31 PM

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Good evening, Laxus. What brings you here?" Dr. Medella said, looking up from what looked to be a medical journal.

Laxus remained standing by the door to Dr. Medella's office, waiting for her permission to enter.

"Come in," Dr. Medella said, putting down the medical journal to her table.

The office was surrounded by crisp white walls. Large silver cabinets lined the sides. Warm light shone from above. In the middle of the room near one side of the wall rests a large executive desk. Neatly stacked papers were placed on the left side, while a lamp was placed on the right side. In the middle-front area was a desk nameplate that read: Medella Roth, MD, Mag.D.

Dr. Medella was sitting by the chair behind the desk, and she gestured for him to sit on one of the two seats placed in front of the desk. "What brings you here?"

Laxus did not take the offered seat. He had been in that seat that afternoon for the actual medical consultation regarding Ivan's condition. He is not looking to become too comfortable in this place.

"Here," he extended his right hand towards the old woman and gave her the piece of paper that Lucy wrote on earlier. "Here are some of the chemicals within Ivan's system; although, we have yet to determine the exact dosage."

"We?" Dr. Medella raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, we," Laxus answered hurriedly, intending to end this conversation here and now. "An acquaintance who is a Magic Sensor."

"Is this Magic Sensor a medical practitioner?"

Laxus heard the skepticism from the old woman's voice before he hesitantly replied. "No…a mage."

Dr. Medella shifted in her seat. "Okay. If that's the case, would you say that this diagnosis is pretty accurate?"

Laxus considered the question for a moment. When they met here in Crocus, Lucy was able to deduce that he had already woken up. From that, he can conclude that Lucy is a good Magic Sensor since she was even capable of identifying whether he was conscious or not. She did so without even looking at him. "Pretty much," he replied.

Dr. Medella turned to stand up, saying, "Well…I'm impressed. Although this is not my specialization, I'm well-versed regarding Magic Sensing since I've spent so much time studying and practicing it during my internship and residency," Dr. Medella looked at the piece of parchment again. "Mithril, Orichalcum, Blue Rose, Unicorn Blood, Mermaid Scale, Agoaophotis, Olieribos, and Bicorn Horn."

Laxus saw some semblance of a smile making itself visible in the creases and folds of Dr. Medella's face. "Well, Laxus. Tell this acquaintance of yours that they are free to become my apprentice should they decide that the Mage life is not working for them," she chuckled.

Laxus felt relief for a moment. It is not that he does not trust Lucy's skills. In fact, he trusted her diagnosis so much that he wanted her to be recognized for such an amazing display of talent. Seeing Dr. Medella's reaction right now gave him that feeling of security that Lucy was the most trustworthy and the best person to confide in.

"I will be sure to convey that to Lucy," he said proudly before he angled his body to begin exiting the room.

"Lucy?" Dr. Medella repeated. "This wouldn't happen to be Her Grace, Duchess Layla Heartiflia's only daughter Lady Lucy Heartfilia?"

"W-What?" Laxus stood still for a moment, unable to process that string of information. "Y-Yes," he had simply answered the question. "Lucy Heartfilia is a member of Fairy Tail. She's the Magic Sensor."

"Oh," Dr. Medella looked contemplative for a moment. "I see."

Laxus raised an eyebrow but did not see the need to pry regarding the relationship between Dr. Medella and Lucy, though he cannot deny how he was curious. So, he waited, and waited if the doctor would share the reason.

He was only met with silence. Dr. Medella's eyes seemed lost. Laxus took that as a sign to leave the room. There was no need to press the doctor for information.

'Given that Lucy is from an affluent family,' Laxus started thinking. 'There's a good chance that Dr. Medella had been acquainted with the Heartfilias either as a family friend or a family doctor.'

If it was the former, it would be a private matter that Laxus should not be privy to. If it was the latter, Medi-Mages like Dr. Medella would have likely sworn to Doctor-Patient Confidentiality. This would mean that even if Laxus asked, this old woman is legally - or even magically - bound not to disclose any information.

"I will be leaving tomorrow for guild matters," Laxus said, finally catching the attention of the doctor. "The reason I gave the list of possible contaminants in Ivan's body is so that it could help in looking for some cure," Laxus said gruffly. He was still on the fence regarding how he should speak about Ivan Dreyar.

"Very well," Dr. Medella said, walking towards him and guiding him to the door. "This is a great help, Laxus," she assured him, putting up the piece of paper.

Laxus hesitated for a moment. "T-Thanks."