A belated birthday gift for indraaas! I meant to get this up earlier, but I totally conked out once I got home. Also, I couldn't decide which story idea I wanted to go with for a LaxLu - I just had so many good ones! I fully intend to write them all eventually, mark my words.

I love the fact that Laxus gets motion sick, and that Lucy traveled around before meeting Natsu. So was born this idea.

I hope you enjoy it!

Overcrowded trains were the bane of travelers. Normally, Laxus wouldn't deign to use the metal contraptions – his motion sickness notwithstanding, he also couldn't handle so many people pressed so closely together. Springing for a private cabin was an option, but there was little point when the ride back to Magnolia was so short. And he did like the praise he could overhear for Fairy Tail's – and his – strength. Though now he was wishing he'd just ridden a lightning bolt back to the guild after all. It was faster, and less nauseating. Thanks to his enhanced hearing, the press of sound in the crowded train car was already making him a little queasy. Once they were no longer stuck at the station, his motion sickness would kick in as well. Laxus had already paid for his ticket, however, so there was no way he was leaving now.

The dragon slayer stared resolutely out the window, hoping that the hyper-focus would calm his insides down a little. Inside his head, he repeated the mantra of, "Don't vomit, don't vomit, don't you dare vomit and make a fool of yourself." He was so intent, that a few minutes before the train was set to depart, he failed to notice the approach of another passenger.

"Um… excuse me," a timid, feminine voice asked shyly. "Do you mind if I sit across from you? Most everywhere else is full."

Laxus jolted in his seat, whipping his head away from the window to fix a glare at the blonde girl wringing her hands in the aisle. She flinched, but remained where she was, a determination behind her brown eyes that undercut the rising red of embarrassment in her cheeks.

The train had indeed filled up a great deal, Laxus noted. His intimidating aura had scared away the other passengers from his general vicinity. Which made this girl more daring than the rest, he supposed. All the same, he didn't want company, and she looked like a bimbo. Probably not smart enough to be intimidated like the rest of the car's passengers. She looked talkative, too.

He opened his mouth to tell her to shove off, when suddenly the train gave a lurch – Laxus's stomach soon following. Closing his mouth with a snap and no longer trusting his voice, he gave the girl a curt nod. Dealing with her seemed the lesser of two evils.

As the train pulled away from the station, Laxus redirected his gaze out the window again. His forehead pressed against the cool glass, he struggled to hold onto the contents of his stomach.

The girl, meanwhile, slid gratefully into the bench across from him. She gravitated towards the window as well. Mercifully, she remained silent for a long while – allowing Laxus to concentrate on his breathing.

But good things rarely last, and eventually she broke the silence out of what Laxus could only assume was profound boredom.

"Nice day out, isn't it?"

Laxus grunted, hoping to shut the line of communication down before it could be established.

She became quiet, but it lasted only for a few moments. "So… where are you headed?"

"Magnolia," he managed to respond around the bile rising in his throat.

His participation in her small talk seemed to spur her on, as she perked up considerably. "I've heard that's a really pretty city. Work, pleasure, or heading home?"

Much as he didn't want to talk to this teenager, he felt compelled to for the sake of the guild's image. "Heading home."

The girl fell silent.

Finding her sudden reticence strange after she'd been the one to provoke the conversation, Laxus spared a glace at her. Her hands were curled into fists on top of her legs; her gaze was fixed on them, and her entire frame shook slightly. After a few deep breaths, she looked up and gave him the fakest smile he'd ever seen. "That's great!" she said. "What's Magnolia like to live in?"

Curiosity was getting the better of him now. "Pretty ordinary," he told her, his eyes narrowing.

She nodded as if he'd said something profound. "Ordinary is good," she stated. "I'll keep that in mind." Then she let out a laugh that trembled a little too much to be convincing. "I'm on a journey, myself. But once I've gotten my fill of that, maybe I'll check out Magnolia, see if I want to settle down there."

The confession interested Laxus more than it should have. She looked at little young to be traveling alone and talking about settling down in the future like an old bachelor. Then again, given his grandfather's penchant for taking in strays, he wasn't too surprised. Younger children than her had found their way to Fairy Tail and in far worse condition. Mirajane's demon parts and Erza's missing eye sometimes worked their way into his nightmares, even after all these years. Not that he would ever dare admit it aloud. And certainly not to their faces.

He decided to just come right out and ask the girl. "How old are you?"

An icy stare met his question. If she wasn't so blonde and fully clothed, he would have assumed that Gray was sitting in front of him.

"What?" Laxus asked in exasperation. What was her problem?

"That's something only creepers ask," she informed him bluntly. The effect was somewhat ruined when someone knocked their suitcase into a booth, making a loud metallic sound that had the girl jumping in surprise, and her eyes darting about frantically for the cause.

Laxus rolled his eyes, and then immediately regretted it as his stomach performed somersaults at the sudden additional motion. He breathed out heavily through his nose in a futile attempt to put a clamp down on his insides.

She must have taken it for a sigh, because she focused on him again and let out a huff. "I just turned sixteen a few days ago." The girl rolled her eyes at him. "Which, for your information, is a perfectly normal age to be emancipated in Fiore."

It was, but the fact that she used that word specifically was raising alarm bells in Laxus's head. He had never claimed to be good at interacting with other people, and yet he was finding it surprisingly easy to read between her lines.

Maybe because he'd been there. His grandfather had had no right to boot his old man out of the guild, but it wasn't as if Laxus could claim that Ivan was a doting parent or even a halfway decent one. He remembered well tiptoeing around his own house and jumping at the slightest noises. The thought of leaving and never looking back had occurred to him more than once growing up.

And it was rapidly becoming apparent to him that that's exactly what the girl across from him had gone through with.

She wasn't clued into Laxus's silent epiphany however, and she remained stuck on the issue of her freedom. "Besides which, I'm a wizard. I'm more than able to take care of myself."

Laxus outright snorted at that. Wizards? Being competent? The thought was laughable. Especially if one used the Fairy Tail guild as a reference. "If you think wizards are capable of looking after themselves, you'd be pretty disappointed by a lot of the ones I know."

Interest sparked in her eyes, and she leaned forward. "You know a lot of other wizards?!"

Puzzled, he stared blankly at her. "What, you haven't met any before? Even though you are one?"

"My mother taught me everything I know," she said softly, the hint of a soft smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "But she passed away… a long time ago. Most everything else I know comes from reading Sorcerer Weekly magazine."

Pretty sheltered life, then. "Well, now you've met one more. I'm a wizard, too."

"Really?! That's awesome!" she declared. "Are you in a guild? I've been thinking about joining one to earn some cash once I run out of pocket money."

Laxus considered it. She didn't look very strong to him. But looks could be deceiving. Freed certainly didn't give off an aura of lethality, but he definitely wasn't someone you wanted to run into when he was in a bad mood. "I am in a guild. Did you have any in mind?"

She tapped her chin with a fingertip. "I was considering Phantom Lord."

He physically fought to restrain a snarl at the rival guild's name. "They're a strong guild," he managed, begrudgingly. "But they have a nasty reputation." A deserved one, too. Laxus may have had some problems with the riffraff that now saturated Fairy Tail, but there was a difference between doing some… internal housekeeping, and what Phantom Lord was capable of. Their master was completely unhinged.

"I was also considering Fairy Tail," she told him.

"What kind of magic do you practice?" Laxus asked her instead, avoiding talking about his guild.

"Celestial spirit magic."

He wasn't familiar with that one. Must be one of the less common ones. "What's that involve?"

Reaching down for her belt, she drew out a keyring and displayed the gold and silver keys on it. "These are gate keys for summoning celestial spirits. I open their gates and they assist me in fights or whatever else I need. Not all of them are combat spirits, but a few are. Gold keys are more powerful than silver."

That really was an uncommon magic, and not to be trifled with even if it was a holder magic. Laxus nodded appreciatively at the impressive collection of keys, three of which were gold. "How do you get them to do your bidding?"

"I make contracts with them," she explained, returning the keys to her belt, which Laxus now saw also held a coiled leather whip. "So I guess you could call it a business arrangement. But they're also my friends."

Laxus wasn't so sure about the usefulness of being friends with one's magic, but the business aspect made some sense to him. "So what, do you have to do anything for them in return?"

She nodded. "Sometimes. Cancer mostly just wants to style my hair, and Horologium needs his clock winded every once in a while. It's pretty manageable for the most part." Then she winced. "Except for Aquarius. She just wants to wash me away…"

"They sound weird," Laxus commented.

With a shrug, she couldn't help but agree with him. "You're not wrong there. I love them more than anything, all the same."

A chime sounded throughout the cabin. Now arriving in Magnolia, the automated voice said over the intercom.

"I guess this is your stop!" she said cheerfully. "Thanks for letting me sit with you. Honestly, I was feeling really queasy when I boarded the train, but talking with you helped keep my mind off it. I really appreciate it."

Oh that would have been bad, Laxus realized. If she had given into her stomach and started heaving, his sensitive nose would have forced him to begin hurling alongside of her. Though now that he thought about it, his own motion sickness hadn't been nearly as bad as normal. Odd.

He grunted in response.

She stuck her hand out to him. "I'm Lucy, by the way. I don't think I introduced myself earlier."

Laxus eyed the proffered limb warily. After a moment's hesitation, he reached out and shook it. "I'm Laxus."

They fell silent as the train pulled into Magnolia station. Laxus nearly heaved a sigh of relief once the motion ceased. Lucy's prattling had eased the worst of his queasiness, but it hadn't eliminated it entirely. He stood up, grabbing his bag. Then he paused, and then turned towards her slightly. Laxus wasn't sure what was prompting him, but he felt compelled to say something all the same.

"Good luck on your journey, Lucy. Maybe if you get strong enough, we'll cross paths again."

"I'd like that," she told him.

He hesitated a moment longer. "Oh, and uh… Happy birthday, I guess."

A genuine smile spread across her lips, much prettier than the fake one she'd given him before. "Thank you, Laxus. You know… I think you're the only one who's said that to me this year. Good luck with your guild."

Laxus wasn't sure how to respond to this, so he just nodded and took his leave of the train.

Lucy, huh? Strange, strange girl.

Somehow he didn't mind her at all.