You sigh into your arm as you lean dramatically across the table. Laxus is bantering with Natsu in the corner of the guild hall, and you wish for a change he would stop messing with Natsu and talk to you. It wasn't like you've been friends for the past few years or anything.

      "You could try to make it less obvious." Lucy sits down in front of you with a laughing smile. "You're looking at him the way Natsu looks at a bowl of food."

       You make a face. "I hope I don't drool as much."

       Your friend laughs but gives you a nudge in the shoulder. "You're not exactly giving him any opportunities to tell you how he feels. You know you need to get up and talk to him once in awhile, right?"

      Ah yes, conversation. Your worst enemy. "But what if I say the wrong thing? I always say the wrong thing!"

      "I'm sure it's not that bad," Lucy gives you a push towards him, and you reluctantly get to your feet. You give Laxus a nervous look and manage "He looks busy, maybe I can just come back later-"

      "GO!" Lucy pushes you off your seat, and you land face down on the floor with a groan. You've always managed to say something awkward every single time you've had a conversation with him, and you're fully aware this time will be no different. Maybe this time, since he was occupied with something else, he wouldn't notice.

      You get to your feet, heading over to Laxus. You glance over your shoulder, giving Lucy a sharp look to reprimand her for pushing you. She raises her glass of water as if giving a toast, smiling merrily back at you. Then you slam into what felt like a brick wall.

      Something wet soaks your F/C shirt, and you give your head a hard shake as you look up. Your face pales as you find yourself staring at Laxus, who is giving you an odd look. You notice the empty glass in his hands, the contents of which dripping down your shirt. Squeaking in surprise, you leap back, apologies spilling from your mouth.

      He sets the glass down on the nearby table, summing up the situation in an instant. "Quit apologizing, it was an accident. Besides, you ran into me, I spilled a drink on you. We're even." He frowns at the stain on your shirt. "Sorry about that."

       "No, it's fine," you rub the back of your neck, unsure what you're supposed to do with your hands. "I needed to take a shower anyway."

      Laxus lifts an eyebrow.

     Your face flushes as you shake your head vigorously. "That was the wrong thing to say, wasn't it? I'm sorry, I just don't know what I'm supposed to say, and- "

     "What do you want to say?" Laxus raised a finger to cut her off.

      You break off, staring at him. "What?"

      "You don't have to say what you're supposed to say," he says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "You say what you want. If you don't, what's the fun in a conversation if you're always worried about saying the wrong thing?"

      He has a point. "Oh. Well. So I say what I want?"

      Laxus smirks. "That's what I do."

     "Alright," you take a deep breath. "Do you want to hang out more? I feel like we haven't really talked in forever, and I... miss you."

      He shrugs his shoulders, raking a hand through his golden hair. "Yeah, sure. Wanna meet up tonight?"

       "Seriously?" You brighten. "Yes!"

         He shrugs again. "Cool. It's a date."

      Your face turns bright red, and he coughs as he realizes what he said. You blink in surprise as he clears his throat, saying tightly "A date as in an appointment. An appointment, like a time and stuff. Not a... well, I mean..."

      You have never seen him falter in his words before, so the slight red in his face makes you smile. He was oddly cute when he was blushing. You take his hand in yours, rubbing a thumb over the back of his hand reassuringly. "Remember what you said, Laxus," you smile. "Say what you mean."

       Laxus looks surprised at your hand in his, but his fingers relax to entwine with your own. "I guess what I mean is... " He scowls, looking away. "What I mean is that I always seem to say the wrong thing around you."

      "You?"You gawk at him incredulously. "You never do! I'm always the one who says stupid things!"

      Laxus just stares at you, as if unsure how to reply. His hand tightens around your own, but his eyes don't leave your face. "At least when you do it it's cute. I'm left just sounding like an idiot."

       "Never," you say firmly, and he gives you a slight smile. You return the smile, suddenly feeling a lot better. You had never entertained the thought that he might have felt awkward around you as well. Nor the fact that he thought you were cute.

      Face going red, you smile up at him. "Well... maybe... to save us a lot of confusion... this could be a date?"

       He blinks once. Then he smiled faintly. "Alright. It's a date."

Hello, friends!! Here's another update, this one for fairytailrocks14  since she requested one with Laxus! Hope you guys liked this one, and have a great weekend!

--gajevyx99