Well, here's another chapter, though don't be expecting a lot of LaLu here. That won't happen until next chapter. This one centers around Laxus making a discovery or two, as well as what becomes of Lucy and Evergreen. Hope you enjoy!

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

CHAPTER 31: FRIENDS

Laxus' POV

It was the end of the day, and the girls still weren't back. And even thought I was trying not to, I was worried. This whole thing with Ever was starting to freak me out. She'd never taken one of my girlfriends away for so long. Truthfully, it was unusual for her to take an interest in any of my girlfriends, but on the rare occasions that she took one aside, it never lasted longer than an hour.

And neither did the girl, come to think of it.

I paused at that thought, my head coming up with a start. I was suddenly struck by the thought that each of the girls Ever took off on her own had always come back and broken things off with me. Right after spending time with my female teammate. And somehow, it had never even occurred to me to question that.

"Holy shit..." I stared out across the room, eyes seeing not the living room I'd designed and decorated but the faceless women in my past.

My mumbling pulled Freed from his book. "What is it, Laxus? Is something wrong?"

"No. I mean..." I wasn't really sure how to answer that. On the one hand, the women in the past were long gone, and none of them had ever meant much to me. That sounded pretty bad, but it was the truth. I honestly hadn't cared what happened during their time with Ever. This time though, I was with Lucy, and the pretty blonde had come to mean the world to me. And now, not knowing what Ever said, or did, on these little trips was making me anxious as hell.

My green-haired teammate marked his page and closed the book, turning his full attention toward me as he set the heavy tome on the table to his side. "You sound confused."

I nodded. That about covered it, along with a heavy dose of shock and fear. "Did you know Ever was...scaring away the women I dated?"

Freed grinned. "Are you just now realizing that?"

"You knew? What about Bickslow?" I was completely dumbfounded. Had everyone known what she was doing? Why hadn't they told me? I shook my head. "How did I not see it?"

"You cared very little for those women, Laxus. It's not surprising that you didn't notice their absence."

Shifting uncomfortably now, I swiped a hand through my hair. "It's not that I didn't notice exactly. I just..." I paused, realizing I was about to argue something I'd already acknowledged, then sighed, defeated. "I was a class A son of a bitch."

The Rune mage frowned. "It was not my intention to make you feel badly. I was simply explaining why you might have missed Ever's intervention." He leaned forward earnestly, determined to convince me of his intent. "Truly Laxus, you've done nothing to warrant shame."

I waved his apology aside, standing to my feet and walking to the wall-length window across the room. "It's fine, Freed. The truth is I was an ass. We all know how I treated those women."

"Laxus, you were nothing if not brutally honest with them about your restrictions. They understood them and chose to get involved with you anyway. What happened after that is on them, not you." Leaving his own seat, he crossed the room to stand beside me. "Besides, you were going through a hard time."

Turning to him, I laughed. Leave it to him to try to swing this in my favor. There was no one more loyal than Freed, but this time, it was completely unjustified. "You're a good friend, Freed. The best friend anyone could ever ask for, and I appreciate you trying to excuse my behavior, but it's unnecessary. I know what I was before."

I'd learned a lot about myself in the last couple weeks. A lot I wasn't proud of, for sure. But in the long run, I knew it was for the best. I was changing because of it, and that was a good thing. Because if not for that, I wouldn't be feeling like one day, I could be a man worthy of a woman like Lucy. Of being Gramps' grandson. Of becoming master of Fairy Tail.

Obviously, I wasn't ready yet. I still had a lot to learn, a lot to change. There was so much to make up for. Regardless of what Gramps said, I knew I hadn't earned our guildmates' respect yet. And I needed that if I could ever even consider taking Gramps' place like he wanted. The members of Fairy Tail deserved to have a leader they could look up to and depend on. That wasn't me. Not yet. But one day, with Lucy at my side, I knew it could be.

"And now?" Freed asked quietly, thankfully not arguing the point.

It took me a moment to work out what he meant. I'd been so stuck in my own head thinking about Lucy and the others that I'd forgotten what we were talking about. "You mean, what am I now?" He nodded, and I thought about his question, wondering how to best go about answering it. "I'm not sure. I guess now, I'm...someone else. Or at least, I'm trying to be."

I shrugged, uncertain how to explain myself, but he nodded again. "She's good for you."

I looked up to find a soft smile on his face, and I couldn't help but return it. "She is." I returned my gaze back to the outdoors, grin falling as once again, I was reminded of where Lucy was. Or rather, with who. None of the changes I'd made would matter if Ever managed to scare Lucy off. "But now, she's off with Ever. What if...What if she tells Lucy about my past? What if it's too much for her?"

"Laxus, I think you're worrying needlessly."

I shook my head, my chest tightening with renewed anxiety. "Freed, you don't understand. Lucy...she's not like me. She's innocent, and-"

"And what? She doesn't have a past of her own? She's never really struck me as the sort of person to stand in judgement of such things," he pointed out. "Besides, haven't you already told her about your past? About your previous lovers?"

My mind went back to the casino, to the conversations we'd had. Had I told her who I'd been before? How I'd lived? I couldn't remember. Considering how much it would have changed her opinion of me, I was leaning towards a big fat 'no', but at this point, I had no idea. "I...don't know."

Freed's brow arched at that, shocked. "You don't know? How can you not know?" Forehead wrinkling, he studied me. "You're usually very precise in your dealings with women, Laxus. It's not like you to be unclear."

"I know. I know it sounds bad, but in my defense, this was different! I mean, she's...different." I stopped there, frustrated at my inability to explain why I'd done things with Lucy the way I had.

"Well yes, I can see how you'd feel that way. I mean, she is a guildmate, but still...you have to admit it's unusual."

I sighed. I couldn't deny his assessment of the situation. Wasn't that exactly what I'd been thinking from nearly the very beginning? But what he didn't see was that Lucy's status as my guildmate had nothing at all to do with it. In the beginning, when I had just been interested in her body, I'd have been fine with catching a night with her, regardless of her being a part of Fairy Tail.

That wasn't the issue. It was just her. There was something about Lucy that got to me. I couldn't name it, couldn't explain it. It just was, and I'd been powerless against it. I'd had no control of it, or myself around her. And now, I could safely say that I was smitten, completely and totally enamored with her. But how did I make Freed understand that when I had only barely come to terms with it myself? Face screwing up, I groused, " You don't get it! There were other things on my mind!"

My teammate refocused his attention on the scenery outside, his lips quirking upward. "Now, that I believe. Based on what I walked in on yesterday..."

"That's not what I meant!" I argued. I didn't want him thinking my interest in the beautiful blonde was strictly a means of getting into her pants. Though if the truth were told, he wasn't far from the truth. Or he hadn't been in the beginning. Her body had definitely been the thing that caught my eye at first, but now, it was so much more than that.

Amusement evolving into a full-on laugh, Freed glanced over at me. "I know, but I couldn't resist teasing you about it. At any rate though, I don't believe you have anything to worry about. Lucy can hold her own. She doesn't seem the type to be bullied into anything."

I nodded. Of course he was right. Lucy was tough, and she had more conviction in her little finger than most people had in their entire bodies. She wasn't the type to be swayed once she'd made her mind up. Then again, this was Ever, the most tenacious female I'd ever met. And when that one got her sights set on something, she went after it full force. If she believed what she was doing was right, she'd never stop.

God, who was I kidding? This was going to be a nightmare. The two of them together, on opposite ends of an issue, both equally as headstrong? I wouldn't be surprised to hear that entire towns had been leveled.

"This is so bad."

Freed chuckled. "It'll be fine."

"How can you say that? They could kill each other!"

"Okay, now you're being dramatic."

My head shook. "Think about it, Freed. They're both stubborn as hell. You know what Ever's like, but what you don't know is that Lucy can be just as obstinate! They're going to butt heads. Hard. That's bad. And if by some miracle, they don't hurt each other arguing over who's right, there's still the chance that Ever could tell Lucy something bad about me. Something she can't deal with. She could walk, Freed. For good."

The thought had my stomach curling into knots. What if I lost her? What if, right now, she was out there brushing her hands of me and all my issues? What would I do? Before Lucy, I'd never had to worry about being hurt. It had been easy to live without any of those other women. But now, just the thought of Lucy not being in my life was unbearable.

Maybe that was ridiculous. Considering how short of a time we'd been together, it should be impossible, but it was true. I needed her.

Unable to wait any longer, I reached into my pocket. Thankfully, my communications lacrima was never far away. I fisted the small orb and held it up, hoping that I might finally be able to reach Ever. Sadly though, it did what it had done every other time before; it pulsed for several seconds, then dimmed, refusing to connect. "Why won't she answer?"

"Laxus..." Freed dropped his hand lightly onto my arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's going to be okay. Lucy is one of the most forgiving women I've ever met. Do you honestly believe she'll hold your past against you? Take a minute and really think it through, and this time, take into account everything she's forgiven already."

What he said made sense. It did, but to the part of me that was both irrational and anxious, they were just words. And words could just as easily mean nothing. I wasn't sure anything short of having Lucy back in my arms could silence these fears.

"You love her, don't you?"

My head came up abruptly, his perceptiveness shocking me, not that it should have. Freed was easily the smartest man I'd ever met, and not just in that annoying bookworm way. No, he had full 360-degree coverage with intelligence born of books, experience, observation, and common sense. And he noticed things that the average human routinely missed. Still, where had it come from? "What did you say?"

Freed offered me an encouraging smile. "You love her."

I swallowed hard, wondering whether it would be best to bite the bullet and admit it out loud or keep my mouth shut. I'd never loved anyone like this, never needed a woman in my life like this. And I didn't know how to do either. Or how to look my friend in the eye and say I loved my girlfriend with all my heart.

Thankfully, Freed appeared to understand my dilemma, and he simply continued. "I assume you haven't told her yet."

And there it was. Acceptance. Understanding. He didn't make a huge deal out of it or demand I tell him the truth. He just...let me know that he was there for me. As a sounding board or to offer advice. And this was why he would always be one of my best friends. Deciding to just go with it, I shook my head. "It's...it's too soon."

"In my experience, it's never too soon if it's the truth," he hummed, patting my arm before turning in direction of the kitchen. "I'll get dinner started, and then, if you'd like, we can talk some more."

I stood there, listening to him move around the kitchen, gathering things from the cupboard, and thought about what he said. Was he right? Should I go ahead and tell Lucy how I felt? A part of me wanted to, but another part, a larger part was terrified of what would happen if she didn't feel the same way. And my mind seemed only too happy to imagine scene after scene of her breaking my heart. Lucy was kind and generous, but if she didn't love me in return, there wasn't a chance in hell she'd lie about it.

No, it was too soon. I needed to wait, give myself time to make her really fall for me. And then, once she started showing signs of loving me in return, I would tell her the truth. Only then, when the risk was minimal, would I tell her everything.

"In my experience, it's never too soon if it's the truth."

Freed didn't understand. He couldn't. He'd never been in love like this before. If he had, he would get it. He would see why I needed to wait. As it was, while I appreciated his desire to help and all, I would stick with my own plan. Because how could he really help without ever having been in love himself?

And then it hit me. He'd said, "In my experience..."

Dumbstruck, I spun around, heading straight for my friend. "Wait...what do you mean, 'in my experience'?"

From his place in the kitchen, Freed laughed. "Finally caught that, did you? Took you long enough!"

Lucy's POV

"Are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, he's not even expecting us." We'd finally made it back to Magnolia, and while I'd been prepared to head home, Ever had decided we should drop in on Laxus. With no warning. For some reason I didn't quite understand, she seemed almost excited about it. Personally, I wasn't so sure it was a good idea. Laxus and I hadn't been dating for very long, and even I knew how he felt about his privacy. "Maybe we should call first."

Evergreen tossed an indulgent smile in my direction. "You worry too much. Trust me, Lucy. He'll be happy to see us." She paused, then laughed. "Well, he'll be happy to see you. I'm sure he'll have something to say to me for dragging you away for so long and ignoring his calls, but he'll get over it."

"How mad do you think he's going to be?"

I hated the thought of Laxus and Ever fighting about me. Well, truthfully, it wouldn't really be about me, but it still felt that way. And they'd been friends for a long time. I didn't want anything to change that. When we'd been out on the road, Ever had been awful, and at that point, I probably wouldn't have cared what happened to their friendship. I'd have considered it her own fault for how she was treating me, but now, after hearing what she was trying to do for Laxus, I was hoping he would go easy on her.

The brunette rolled her shoulders. "It's never really bothered him before, to be honest. In fact, sometimes he didn't even really notice. Then again, he's never dated anyone from the guild before. So I guess it could go either way."

She didn't seem overly bothered by it, but I was worrying enough for the both of us. "I'm so sorry, Ever."

"What? Why are you sorry?" she asked, laughing. "You didn't do anything!"

I shrugged. "I know, but I don't like the idea of you two fighting, especially about me."

Evergreen's face went soft at that, her smile turning understanding as she pulled me into a quick hug. "Lucy, Laxus is one of my best friends. Even if we get into it, we'll be fine. We always are." She gave me a little squeeze before pushing me back and flashing a mischievous grin. "Besides, just think about how confused he's going to be when we come back as besties!"

"Besties?" I laughed, following her down the trail to Laxus' house. "Who said we were besties?"

"I did! And no, you don't get a choice in the matter!" she trilled, turning to walk backwards so she could grin at me.

I sighed, fighting a smile of my own. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do."

"I'm glad you're finally seeing the wisdom of giving me my way." Evergreen winked, grabbing my hand and tugging me forward. "Now hurry up! I'm starving, and I'll bet anything that Freed's cooked dinner already!"

At her reminder of the time, my stomach growled. I hadn't realized it before, but it had been hours since we'd eaten. And I'd heard all about Freed's cooking skills from Evergreen on our way back to town. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to get there.

In only a few short minutes, we'd reached the edge of the lake, and Evergreen finally stopped. "Ready?"

"Well, I would be except I can't really fly," I said sarcastically. "Got any fairy dust in your bag?"

Ever rolled her eyes, pointing to her back where a pair of pretty wings had appeared. "Who needs fairy dust when you have your very own Fairy?"

I laughed. "You're going to carry me?"

"Duh!"

I looked at her, then considered the distance across the lake. I could already see the whole thing playing out in vivid detail. "Um...yeah, that's not going to happen."

"What? And why the hell not?" she asked, hands on her hips.

Lips twitching, I poked at her arms. "There is no way you're making it all the way across that lake carrying me with those noodle arms. And I really don't need a bath right now."

Her expression turned decidedly offended, and she pursed her lips. "I'll have you know I can carry Bickslow with these noodle arms'!"

Grin cracking, I arched an eyebrow. "Is that right? And how long did it take you to drop him?"

"I didn't drop him at all, you jackass!" she laughed, reaching out to smack my arm. She went still immediately after, then leaned in, her nose twitching. "Oh and you really might wanna rethink that bath. Cause um...you stink."

"You are such a bitch!" I giggled, giving her a little shove.

It wasn't even hard. Barely a tap, but I hadn't considered how close she was to the edge. Before I knew what had happened, she was going down, and without even thinking, I threw my hand out. Which turned out to be a mistake, because the minute her fingers closed around mine, I felt myself pitching forward too.

We hit the water with a loud splash and a pair of undignified squawks. We went under together, our hands still clasped, but as we swam toward the surface, we separated. I pushed my hair out of my face to check on her and promptly burst out laughing. Her glasses barely clung to one of her ears, the left side tipping dangerously low on her chin, and her once perfect bun drooped halfway down the side of her head.

"Oh my God, Ever! You look ridiculous!"

Sputtering, she splashed a wave of water in my face. "Me?! You look like a drowned rat!"

I returned fire, but I couldn't stop laughing. It had been a while since I'd done anything so absurd with one of my girlfriends, and it felt really good. Especially considering who was right there beside me laughing.

So wrapped up in our water war, we didn't notice the two men come out on the porch until Laxus' voice broke through the noise. "What the hell..."

"It would appear they are taking a dip," Freed added smoothly, his voice chock full of amusement.

I spun in the direction of the house, biting my lip to keep from giggling, but one look at the confusion on Laxus' face and it came bubbling out. "Hi!"

From beside me came another splash of water, Ever's voice following. "Don't look at me like that! It was all her!"

"Not even! You pulled me in!"

Ever shot me a bland look, and I could just imagine her hands on her hips under the water. "And exactly who was it that pushed me in the first place?"

"Weellll..." I began, fighting another laugh at the mascara beginning to streak her face.

"Well, nothing," she retorted haughtily before turning to swim toward the guys. "Ass."

Squawking indignantly, I sent another wave of water at the back of her head. "Bitch!"

She turned slowly to look at me, and the absolute lack of emotion showing on her face had me cracking up all over again. I didn't know how she did that, but I'd learned enough about Ever in the last several hours to no longer trust her expressions. She was wickedly good at hiding her true emotions, and if she was trying to seem intimidating hard enough to reveal nothing, I was probably going to be just fine.

Her lips curled slowly, and she shook her head, turning to once again lift an arm to Freed. "I swear you've got a death wish."

I couldn't help another giggle as I made my way over to Laxus and held my own hand up. He grabbed it immediately and offered me a wordless grin. I tipped my head as he pulled me up and onto solid ground. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet since our appearance, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Was he upset at me for being gone for so long and not calling?

"Hey Laxus, is-"

He didn't wait for me to finish, instead grabbing me and yanking me forward for a hug. The action had me grinning like crazy, happy that he'd apparently missed me as much as I'd missed him. Still, I was soaked, and no matter how eager I was to climb into his arms, it was probably for the best to wait until I could get cleaned first. Pushing him back, I rose up on my tiptoes and pressed an apologetic kiss to his lips. "Let me just get out of these wet clothes first."

Arms dropping to his sides, he nodded and moved back so I could step ahead of him into his house. "Do you have something else to wear?"

Looking back at him, I smiled. "I'm sure Virgo will bring me something. Unless you wanna donate some sweats to the cause?"

Laxus flashed me a grin, one finally clear of any residual discomfort, then wagged his eyebrows. "I do love seeing you in my sweats." His expression turned devious, and he leaned in with a soft, "Of course, out of them is even better."

Laughing, I gave him a shove which moved him not even a little bit. "Perv!"

Behind us, Ever made a puking sound. "Oh my God, Laxus! Spare us the spank bank details!" She let out an immediate yelp, and I looked back to see her rubbing a spot on her ass. "What the hell was that for?!"

It took me a moment to realize he'd shocked her, and I had to bite my lip to avoiding laughing at her misfortune. "Sorry Ever!"

She eyed me critically, then pursed her lips. "Why does that feel like a lie?"

"It's not!" I laughed, holding up my index and middle fingers together. "Scout's honor!"

Ever snorted, pushing past us to get through doorway. "Right...like anyone believes you were a Girl Scout."

We entered the house on a chorus of laughs, and I instantly shivered. It was cold as shit! I needed some dry clothes, and fast. At this point, I didn't even care what they were. Touching a hand to my keys, I called to Virgo and was happy when she appeared right away, arms laden. "Clothes, Princess?"

"Thank Mavis for you, Virgo!" I gushed, teeth chattering as I reached for the bundle in her arms. "Did you happen to bring something for Ever too?"

"Of course, Princess," she replied in that monotone way she had before turning to the other female in the house. She bowed low, holding out a folded set of clothes to the brunette. "For you, miss."

Ever reached for the stack with one hand, pressing the other to her chest with a smile. "How thoughtful!"

Virgo stood abruptly, her lips curving slightly with eagerness. "Punishment?"

The Fairy mage drew back surprised. "Say what now?"

I laughed at her expression, then waved Virgo away. "No punishment, Virgo. But thank you so much."

The Celestial Spirit pouted for a single second, then bowed once more and disappeared, leaving me to sigh. "I really need to find her a Dom."

There was silence for all of a single second before Evergreen broke through with a squawk. "A...a what?!"