Thorn in his Side

Chapter 2 -Mard Geer vs Laxus

"What the hell is so funny, you stupid child." Mard asked with a slight growl to his voice. He glared at her but she only laughed harder.

If Mard had his full strength he could crush her for laughing at him. Then again, the sound of her voice was like beautiful music to his ears. He took in his surroundings a bit more clearly, the fog of Zeref's magic dissipating from his body slowly.

Lucy, as she was actually called, was in fact more beautiful than his fleeting dreams allowed him to remember. She leaned against the desk wearing not much on the whole of clothing. Her shirt looked too tight and did not fully cover her torso. A skirt so short, he bet if she bent over he'd know the color of her underwear. Every curve and so much of her creamy skin was on display for him. He shouldn't be thinking the thoughts he was thinking but damn he did it anyways. Least Zeref wasn't there to read his mind.

"You're cute too." Lucy said with a laugh and Mard blinked. She simply held up her hand and made a motion of pulling on the thread that was visible only a moment ago.

"You can read my thoughts?" He asked and tried to feel through the connection. All he got in response was a feeling of amusement, embarrassment, anxiety and determination. How the hell does one small person have so much going on at the same time?

"No, but somehow I can sense your emotions. You're simultaneously, curious, angry and" she leaned forward with a wink, "turned on."

"I demand coffee! This shit show should never and I mean never happen before coffee. I have a tattoo I didn't ask for, I'm now human, my hair feels ratty, I have a coffee stain on my pants and now I have you." Mard let his temper flare and damn it, Lucy went right back to laughing. She was joined by that ridiculous short decrepit old thing next to her. He hated this place so much, hated this day and he closed his eyes in frustration. Right now, it would probably not be a good idea to test how strong his magic was.

"Alright, alright." Her voice changed and he felt delicate fingers wrap around his hand. The connection pulled in feelings of sadness, still amusement, and something else. What do they call it? Compassion or Composting? Humans and their damn vocabulary. "Let's get to our new home and get you some much needed coffee. Okay, let's just make this day a little less traumatic with a fresh cup. Do you like light or dark brews?"

Mard blinked, she was being nice? "Dark brew." He answered and she cupped his cheek. Damn it! He was staring right back into those eyes.

"Good choice, it's my favorite." She replied and he found his head tilting into her hand, just a fraction of an inch.

"Master, I don't think it would be wise to announce Mard to the guild right now. How about we skip out through the back?" Lucy said and the small weasel agreed. He handed her a slip of paper before Lucy looked at him and then back to the small man.

"Before you ask, it's fully stocked with food and base necessities. Courtesy of Zeref." The short man of aging doom said.

"I'll have Virgo grab my things from my apartment then. I'll call when Mister Grumpy Mcgrumpyface gets coffee and settles."

"What?" Mard said trying to figure out what the nonsense she just spewed meant.

Lucy let out a laugh, "Sorry, Former Underworld King Grumpy Mcgrumpyface."

"Mard Geer. Mard if you must, but not whatever ridiculous name was. No other silly names, I will be addressed properly." He stood up and bristled. She was more petulant than any small child and getting on his last nerves. Getting? No. Lucy had broken all of his nerves.

"I think we'll go now." Lucy said as she took Mard's hand. She looked and felt so much more at ease than he was. Yet he could feel through the new connection that she was only putting on a good show. Inside Lucy may kill him, her anger and annoyance was higher than his.