Love-struck - Laxus x Reader

Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from Fairy Tail.

Laxus goes on a date! This one took a while to write, but here it finally is! This is another prequel snippet to the story I'm currently writing :')

"Come on Laxus, it's only dinner", chided Evergreen, waving a crisp, white shirt and dark formal trousers in his direction. Fed up with listening to the excuses Laxus had angrily thrown at them all afternoon, she had finally cornered him in his room.

"I'm not meeting her. Not tonight or any other night." Laxus leaned back against the doorframe and crossed his arms defensively.

Three days ago, a young woman had approached Laxus outside the Guild. With the Thunder Legion blocking all escape routes, she had confessed her feelings to Laxus and invited him to dinner at a local restaurant. Bickslow had cheekily accepted on his behalf.

Evergreen shoved the clothes into Laxus' arms and sat on the sofa, swinging one leg over the other defiantly. "She seemed nice. Of course, nothing compared to me, but for your average common girl, she was quite pretty."

"You know it has nothing to do with what she looks like. Now shut up about this," he snapped.

"Laxus..." Freed lowered his voice and placed a hand on his friend's tense shoulder. "It's been over two years. I believe she would want you to be happy, not suffering in your memories of her." A golden spark of electricity surged up his arm and he jerked his hand away in surprise.

Laxus turned to face Freed, his glaring eyes putting a swift end to the conversation. Evergreen played with her hair and glanced around. A lengthy, tense silence filled the room. Laxus eventually lowered his gaze to the ground, let out a long, shaky sigh, and slowly dragged himself to the other room, clothes in hand.

"Fine," he grumbled. "But I'm not staying long."

Laxus found the cold evening air soothing. His mind was still reeling from Freed's words and the weight of uncertainty lay heavy on his shoulders. The memories of Y/N had slightly faded over the past 2 years, and he wasn't sure he wanted to let go just yet. The supposed suffering that those around him saw was worth it for the fragments of what he had left of her.

He turned into a street and found the woman close by, illuminated by the light pouring out the restaurant window. The woman spotted him across the small crowd of passers-by and waved both hands enthusiastically. He froze. His heart pounded loudly in his ears as it surged towards his throat, and his stomach turned. Y/N was peering into the restaurant window near the woman, fiddling with the sleeve of her coat, bobbing from one foot to the other in an attempt to stay warm. She turned and her eyes, twinkling in the light, found his. She broke into a wide smile and beckoned him over.

"Hey, over here!" called the woman.

Distracted by the woman's voice, Laxus glanced in her direction and Y/N disappeared. He slowly forced air into his deflated lungs, his body trembling from the shock. With the slow clicking of the woman's heels growing louder, he cleared a painful lump in his throat, straightened his back and regained his composure.

"Hello, Laxus." She tucked her hair behind her ear, her smile revealing her dimples.

"Hi," he replied brusquely. "Let's go inside."

He gestured to the door of the restaurant and followed the woman inside; taking one long, last look at the spot where Y/N had been, he sighed slowly. The air within was thick with sweet floral scents and the chatter of content customers. A winding, iron staircase led up to the dining area, oil paintings of romantic scenes blanketed the walls, and colourful flowers dotted through ivy hung down from the ceiling. A well-dressed waiter rushed to meet them, eager to lead the way to their table. On their way up the stairs, the woman occasionally stopped to admire a painting, a finger delicately tracing the patterns on the frame. As Laxus went to sit down, his head hit a hanging rose. He grunted in surprise, stumbling into the table, causing the crockery to rattle against the wood and sending a solitary spoon clattering onto the floor.