Chapter 21: The War with Alvarez

"Hey, guys—we're back!"

Laxus Dreyar turned his head as Natsu Dragneel set foot on the Fairy Tail guildhall's entrance along with Happy, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Wendy Marvell, Carla—and Lisanna Strauss. He couldn't help but notice that both the fire and take-over mages were holding hands.

So, they ended up going steady after all, he thought, mentally saluting the pinked-haired boy. He was eating breakfast with the Thunder Legion on one of the guildhall's tables. His blonde lover had chosen to sit with Levy McGarden over the bar counter, talking to the script mage, Cana Alberona, and Mirajane Strauss—all four of them red in the face and rather giggly.

Then, he frowned when he suddenly realized Natsu and his team's expressions. They all looked angry.

"Hey, what's up, Natsu?" shouted Wakaba. "How was Caracole Island?"

"Listen up, everyone!" said Erza, her voice stern. "Where is Master Makarov?"

"He's in his office," replied Mirajane. "Is something wrong?"

"I'll go and get him," said Gray and dashed toward the staircase of the guildhall with Juvia tagging along with him.

Laxus finally stood up; the Thunder Legion mirrored him. He nodded at Erza. "What's going on, Erza?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

It was Natsu who answered him. "When we were in the island, we met up with a couple of idiots from the Alvarez Empire. They said the peace negotiation's off and told us to prepare for a war in three days. Can someone explain to me what the hell did they mean about a peace negotiation?"

The lightning mage could feel his innards turn. He glanced at Mirajane, her face pale as a ghost. Aside from Makarov, it was only him and her who knew about the peace negotiation that his grandfather had struck with Alvarez to prevent the empire from invading Ishgar.

Kuso. We're back to square one!

Erza glared at Laxus accusingly. "Laxus, did you know anything about this?"

"It's not my grandson's fault," came Makarov Dreyar's voice from the second floor. He was looking at the Fairy Tail guild members from the balustrade. "I had asked him and Mirajane to keep this a secret from all of you."

"Secret? What secret?" prompted Lucy Heartfilia, her face puzzled. "Mira?"

Chair creaks and uncomfortable whispers could be heard in the guild. Everyone was looking at each other in confusion.

The guild master cleared his throat, his face grim. "My children, I'd like to apologize for keeping something so important to you. I thought it was for everyone's best interest. But it's time that I share it with everyone."

"What the hell are you talking about, gramps?" growled Natsu, letting go of Lisanna's hand and jumping onto one of the tables.

Laxus sat back down on his seat and closed his eyes in distress as he listened to his grandfather reveal everything to his comrades: the reason for disbanding the guild, Makarov's disappearance for a year, the peace negotiation with Alvarez—and Lumen Histoire.

"My children, I can't tell you how sorry I am that this all happened," lamented Makarov. "I was only trying to protect all of you."

The guild was silent for a moment. It was Natsu who broke it. "Well, there's no time to go all soft about that now." The fire mage grinned broadly. "If they want to wage war against Fairy Tail, then let's give it to them!"

Laxus looked at the pink-haired boy. They were in a desperate situation now, but like always, Natsu's spirit boosted everyone's morale, including his. He grinned.

Baka.

Suddenly, he felt someone place a small hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and was now looking into the brown eyes of Lucy Heartfilia, and guilt instantly stabbed him in the chest.

"Forgive me," he said, holding her hand. "I… I couldn't tell you."

But Lucy shook his head, her eyes empathetic. "It's okay. I understand," she told him.

"Master," said Erza. "What's our plan?"

Makarov grunted. "Three days… We should prepare for an attack," he said. He turned to Cana, who was sitting on the bar counter. "Cana, can you check with your cards on the best defense and counter-attack that would increase our chance of winning against Alvarez?"

"Leave it to me," said Cana, winking.

Makarov went on, "I'll be contacting the Magic Council through the communications lacrima. Everyone else, we need to get in touch with the other guilds and their masters. We have to warn them and the citizens about the invasion."

Laxus' fear was confirmed. There was really going to be a war, and everyone's lives will become endangered. Could he protect them all? Could he protect Lucy?

"Hey," came his lover's soft voice. She had seated herself beside him, leaning against his arm. "It's going to be okay. We've been through tough battles before. This is just one of them. Fairy Tail's going to win!"

"You just stay by my side, okay? So, I can protect you," he told her, raising her hand to his lips and kissing her fingers.

She nodded, smiling. "We're going to protect everyone."

It's been three days, and everyone in Fairy Tail was in their respective positions, getting ready for the upcoming invasion. Any moment now, Alvarez was going to strike.

The citizens of Magnolia had already left the town after learning about the invasion. They had been instructed to get as far from the place as possible.

Laxus and Lucy had returned to their apartment building. They kept peering out the window inside Laxus' unit. The streets were awfully quiet now, and the sun was about to set. They reckoned that the invasion would take place in the evening since nothing had happened all day.

The celestial mage heaved a sigh.

"What is it, Lucy?" he prompted. "Are you nervous about the invasion?"

"Y-yeah," she stammered. "Well, it's not just that. I'm… I'm just thinking about something else."

"Care to tell me?"

She bowed her head. "I know it isn't the best time to talk about this, but it's been bugging me somehow. I can't help it."

"Oi, if it's something that's bothering you, then you should tell me about it right away," he told her firmly. Then, he smirked. "I'm a pretty good neighbor. I'll listen."

She let out a chuckle. Then, turning serious again, she leaned against him. "It's about those… times in Akane beach."

Flustered, he cleared his throat. "Ah? What about them?"

She hesitated for a moment, and then looked at him straight in the eye, blushing furiously. "I wasn't… exactly safe at that time. And we… we didn't use any protection."

"Oh," he uttered huskily, recalling how he had drove into her so recklessly, passionately, without thinking. "Yeah... Yeah, we didn't." He could feel the heat rising to his face; he knew where this conversation was heading.

"If… If ever I'm…" she began, her hands balling into fists.

Watching Lucy's tears forming in her eyes, Laxus found himself saying, "It's going to be okay."

She sniffed. "How is it going to be okay?" she asked him, wiping her eyes.

"Well," he said slowly, rubbing his chin, "Mira and the Thunder Legion had already teased us about planning a wedding, yeah?"

She gaped at him. "Are you kidding me?" She punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Don't… Don't joke about something like that," she told him weakly.

"What's so bad about it?" he asked her, suddenly realizing that marrying this girl wouldn't be anything but glorious. It was way too early to jump into that, though, but he knew he loved her. And maybe she could learn to truly love him, too, in case she was still uncertain.

Lucy didn't answer him and continued to stare out the window. Sighing, Laxus cupped her chin with his fingers and turned her face to his direction. He gazed into her eyes and then bent over to give her a soft kiss.

"If you decide to marry me, then we could move in together," he murmured as he pulled back from her. "My apartment. Yours. Some place else. Anywhere you want."

Blushing, she looked up at him. "I thought you wanted to remain neighbors with me."

"That was before I fell in love with you. Now…" He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. "Now, I want us to share a home together."

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because we're in a dangerous situation right now?" she choked.

He buried his face in her neck. "How can you say that, Lucy? I love you. I've told you."

He could sense her weeping now. Then, he felt her pulling away from his embrace. She stared into his eyes.

"I… I do… love you… too… Laxus," she said in between sobs. She hiccupped and then hugged him tightly.

"You do?" he whispered, his heart racing.

Days ago, she had said that she loved him, yet he had thought that maybe she just got carried away in their lovemaking when they were in Akane.

But now she said she loved him. Again. For the second time. Nothing else seemed to matter to him now.

"Yes, I do," she replied in a steadier voice. "I do love you. When the war is over, I want to be with you forever."

The sound of firing cannons could now be heard from a distance. That only meant one thing: Alvarez had begun their invasion.

Laxus drew back and cupped his lover's face with his hands, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. He smiled slightly at her. "We'll win this war, Lucy. And after that—" he gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. "You're going to be sorry you're ever neighbors with me because I'm going to keep coming to your bed and making love with you."

She finally smiled at him. "You're wrong. I'm not going to be sorry at all."

"Hey, is everyone ready and taking positions?" came the voice of Fairy Tail's telepathy magic user, Warren Rocko. "Laxus—you're up! We need a massive amount of lighting to smash their airships."

"Got it," growled Laxus. Then, he turned to Lucy. "Are you ready, neighbor?"

She nodded at him, her eyes blazing. "Ready as I'll ever be."

He grinned. "Let's go win this war. Together."

*THE END*

A/N: As much as it pains me to end this story, I'm going to have to stop right here. XD

I really enjoyed writing Just Neighbors. And I'm kind of surprised at how the events turned out—I honestly didn't have a plot planned out. Lol.

I'm really thankful for the readers and those who have left reviews (and tips on how to better my writing – thank you, thank you! Hopefully, I can apply them in my next fanfic).

I'll be writing more LaLu fanfics soon.

Thank you!

xoxo,

madaquarius