Chapter Text
Paper Moon
Chapter Seven
Laurel Grove Forest
Laurel Grove
Fiore
Any embarrassment that Lucy felt vanished, her eyes wide as she stared at her giant team mate. Elfman was half-morphed into something that vaguely resembled a leopard, there was spots all over his skin, and he had taken on a more yellow tone. He seemingly had tripped over one of the thicker roots and was face down in a pile of leaves.
The whole situation would be laughable. If only she didn't have the urge to scream.
It at least gave Lucy the time to try and stop the rapid beating of her heart. She felt the little hairs on her arms start to stick up. She glanced at a particularly charged Laxus and wasn't surprised at the ominous aura that was coming off him. They were definitely of the more aggressive variety.
"What the fuck are you doing here Elfman?" Laxus raised a questioning eyebrow and crossed his arms, his expression a mixture of suspicion, boredom, and irritation. Lucy cringed, he was deadly serious and she almost felt bad for Elfman. If he hadn't single-handedly ruined her moment, she would be more inclined to worry over him.
When the mage still hadn't lifted his head from the ground, Lucy started to worry. What if he seriously hurt himself? Elfman isn't exactly the most graceful in the guild. She leaned forward a bit, "do you think he's okay?" She asked as she went to stand next to Laxus. Elfman could have done more damage to himself than she thought. Lucy instantly felt bad for wishing he would dis-occupy the world.
If Laxus sensed her worry, he didn't show the slightest bit of empathy or acknowledgment. Instead, he snorted rather loudly. "Of course he is. If one little trip was enough to take him down, well, let's just say he wasn't a much of a man as he thought." He paused, "I wonder what Evergreen would think of that..." Laxus seemed rather lost in thought as he trailed off, no doubt planning something mischievous.
However, this was not the time to be messing around, there were too many questions right now. At her pointed glare, Laxus sighed and walked over to the Strauss brother, mumbling something about 'overreacting, bossy women' with Lucy tagging close behind. He stopped and moved his foot a bit, somewhat lightly tapping at Elfman's side. When he got no reaction, Laxus shrugged and delivered a minor shock to Elfman. He could feel Lucy's disapproval and for some reason that made him smile wickedly. It was nice to see her a bit angry.
As he predicted, Elfman shot straight up and looked around wildly. After a few seconds, he seemed to recognize where he was and now was looking from Laxus to Lucy. His mouth was slightly open just looking at them. There were a few choked noises before he found his words. "Er, Lucy! Uh, Laxus! What are you two doing here?" Lucy narrowed her eyes, was it her or did Elfman sound… tense? What a terrible liar.
Wonder what his problem is. And what's with the spots? Why was he in the middle of transforming? And how did he find where we were?
"I should be asking you that. What the fuck are you going here?" Laxus repeated his question, his arms crossed, this time much more firmly and Lucy watched the range of emotions cross Elfman's face. Right this second it was a face of terror and she wasn't sure if it was because of Laxus or if it was something else entirely.
"I-I don't know, um, why I'm here." If that was his best shot at lying, than Lucy was certainly surprised at how long Elfman had survived. It was that awful. And Laxus definitely did not believe it. Laxus's eyebrow twitched.
"Right. So you just happened to trip over our campfire in a forest that is very difficult to find. And you don't know how you got here?" At Elfman's nod, Laxus face-palmed himself. "Listen, it's obvious you aren't telling us the truth. And normally, I would take that personally. But, because we're lost," I knew that Laxus had no sense of direction! "and it's getting dark, I'm willing to overlook this little incident in favor of some sleep." He narrowed his eyes at the transformation mage. "But come morning, you will lead us out of this place."
He then turned to Lucy, his expression softer, "get some sleep, Blondie. We have a long day ahead of us."
She couldn't do much but nod and sink down to the bedroll. As she pulled her blanket over her, Lucy couldn't help but feel rather let down. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to happen, all she knew was that this ending was not what she had in mind.
Hopefully morning would bring some clarity. And some answers.
***
Lucy felt something shake her shoulder, jolting her out of her sleep. She sleepily looked around and frowned; she was still in the forest.
So it wasn't all just a bad dream… I can't believe I was actually going to kiss Laxus. Her face reddened as she recalled yesterday's events. She couldn't really bring herself to regret anything though. She just hoped Laxus would return her feelings somehow.
Lucy rubbed her eyes and saw both Laxus and Elfman sitting and eating some form of fish. Where did they find fish? They took notice of her and Laxus called to her, "About time. We were worried we'd have to perform CPR." Lucy shot him a glare and he chuckled. "Hurry or your breakfast is gonna get cold."
She stood and walked nearer to the fire. She sat on the log she occupied last night and accepted the plate that Laxus handed her. "So-" Lucy said after taking several bites, "what's the story with this?" She gestured at Elfman with her fork.
Laxus shrugged, "I didn't manage to get a thing out of him. Not that I really cared, we're still leaving this godforsaken wilderness, and I don't care if Flamebrain or Fullbuster come along." There was a drop in her stomach, Lucy guiltily had forgotten about Natsu and Gray.
"It's not manly to leave a man behind!"
Laxus raised an eyebrow coolly, "ah so now you talk." Elfman clamped his mouth shut. "C'mon don't get shy on us." He smirked and turned towards Lucy.
"Did you sleep well?" His gaze was intense and brought tingles to the tips of her toes. It was almost shameful to maintain such eye contact. She was powerless to do anything but nod. "Good. I'm glad." He cleared his throat. "Elfman says we're only about four miles from the house. If he managed to find us, no doubt he can tell us the way out." Lucy didn't mention the only reason they couldn't find their way out was because a certain someone couldn't find his way around even with a celestial spirit helping out.
Lucy smiled at him, "Great! Then we can get to the bottom of all this." A nice long bath would do wonders to soothe her buzzing mind. At this point the reward was moot, she just didn't care for it anymore.
"Nice to see you in accordance." He nodded at her food, "let me know when you're ready so we can head out."
For a brief moment, she missed Laxus's gaze on her.
Laxus got up and started packing up the supplies- the view was certainly enjoyable, she was thoughtful for a moment before shoveling all her food in her mouth quickly. No need to postpone the inevitable too long.
"Ready!" Maybe she could just tell him her feelings. By confessing, she wouldn't be left in this uneasy state. Yes, she resolved, that's just what I'll do. When we get back to the guild, I'll tell Laxus about my feelings.
Laurel Grove Forest
Client's Mansion
Fiore
After walking back in relative silence, sparing a few glances that Lucy and Laxus kept exchanging, Lucy was very glad to see the old mansion peeking through the trees. Finally! Now I can give this guy a piece of my mind. Let's see him refuse with Capricorn and Taurus banging on his door.
There was a tiny amount of shame considering they didn't really finish the job but she figured it didn't really count. At least now they would get some answers. Lucy broke out in a little jog only to stop in her tracks at a loud yelp.
"Wait!" She turned questioningly at Elfman. He was sweating and had his hands out. Lucy looked over at Laxus and saw he was just as equally confused.
"Elfman? What's wrong?"
His eyes darted around nervously. "Wouldn't you rather wait for Natsu and Gray to come back?"
He had a point. On one hand it would be better to wait for the other two. Who knew what could happen and rushing into battle unprepared really didn't sound enticing.
Laxus answered for her. "What for?" He sounded almost offended. "What good would the other two do? We'll just debrief them later."
"What if it isn't safe?" Laxus just stared at the giant mage.
"I'm easily stronger than both those two knuckleheads." This time he really was offended. "And Lucy can hold her own, no problem. Not to mention we have you, I'm sure you wouldn't just watch your teammates fight while you stood back." Laxus was baiting Elfman, his tone having a challenging lilt to it.
"Well yeah-"
Laxus cut him off with a devilish smile. "Great. Glad to see that squared away. Now go ahead, Blondie."
Lucy rolled her eyes and started her way back to the front door. She heard another strangled noise and she turned.
Laxus had a spark in his hand and he waved it threateningly at Elfman. "Why does it seem like you don't want us near the house?" Elfman visibly gulped. "Are you hiding something big man?" Without taking his eyes off Elfman, "Lucy go up to the house."
She gave Elfman one last worried glance- his face was looking particularly tight. She narrowed her eyes and wrapped her hand around the doorknob.
Lucy nearly shrieked as the doorknob melted in her grasp. She jumped back on the porch and could do nothing but watch as the mansion seemingly faded away. Her jaw dropped as the color faded and all was left was more forest area, the house instead becoming a clearing.
She was frozen in place. What just happened? "WHERE DID THE HOUSE GO?" Lucy screamed. Just my luck! Lucy finally moved from her spot and turned to look back at Laxus and Elfman.
Laxus had no expression on his face, his eyes flashed as he turned to Elfman. "Elfman. Where did the house go?" His voice was surprising calm and it was utterly terrifying.
Elfman nodded beneath his sweat. "I'll-I'll tell you, but I need Natsu and Gray there. They can explain."
"What? What do Natsu and Gray have to do with all this?" Lucy was completely bewildered. Her teammates? What could they possibly know that she didn't? And if they did know something, why didn't they include her? A small part of her childhood fear of being unwanted flashed throughout her body.
Laxus placed his hand on her shoulder, as if to reassure her. He cleared his throat, "Fine, we'll wait for them." He moved to sit down but Elfman stuck his hands out.
"Wouldn't you rather go back to the inn?"
Laxus sneered down at the other mage, "Why" his arms crossed, "does it seem like you're trying to get rid of us?"
Elfman was sweating bullets, "Well who knows when they'll get here? I'll wait here for them. I'm sure you wouldn't mind a bath."
"Are you saying I smell bad?" Laxus was fucking with him, Lucy could tell but she wasn't sure Elfman could.
"NO!"
"Whatever. Fine, Lucy and I will go back to the hotel and you can wait for stupid times two here, that work for you?" Lucy stared at Laxus. What were they doing now? Why were they waiting for answers? And why did Elfman get to stay, he was the shadiest one there!
Well, a shower did sound promising.
But it was so out of character for Laxus to be this amenable. Lucy just hoped Laxus knew what he was doing.