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Lucy wasn't too comfortable with public affection of the romantic kind. She wasn't sure if it was because she had so little experience or if it was just because everyone at the guild would go on about it for days if they saw even the slightest hint of hand-holding. It was honestly ridiculous but luckily for Lucy, Laxus was in the same boat.
Neither of them were particularly accustomed to outwardly bold and earnest affections of this nature. At least it had given them both the space to move slowly without the other feeling any kind of hurt. They could progress without a need to rush because neither of them were quite bold enough to push to the other. And even when Laxus took the first, larger steps, Lucy never felt like he was put off by her own pace at all.
They got more comfortable in private first. Sitting with their sides touching, holding hands, cuddling. It all came in good time, they enjoyed all of these things as they pleased. It was only in public that they preferred to stay more conserved lest they trigger Cana and Bixslow's big mouths or Mira's absurdly detailed plans for their future together. Team Natsu wasn't much better but Lucy hadn't really expected otherwise of the lunatics.
Once they'd grown entirely comfortable with one another in private, Lucy decided it was the perfect time to enact some more loving phrases into their life beyond the monikers of 'blondie' and 'sparky'. And then, without barely even thinking of it one day as Laxus passed her the salt across the table she said;
"Thanks, babe."
And Laxus just about expired on the spot. They were totally alone in his house mind you, no one else could have heard what she'd said and yet his face was redder than Erza's hair.
"You...okay?" Lucy frowned, concerned when he almost choked on his dinner.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Laxus swallowed thickly, shovelling a another forkful of potatoes into his mouth as if to prove his point.
"You sure about that?"
"Yes, I'm sure!" Laxus snapped, lips pursed in a manner Lucy had come to know was the biggest indicator that Laxus Dreyer, S-Class Wizard, one of Fairy Tail's finest, was embarrassed.
She bit back her teasing but couldn't keep the smug little smile off her face. Something about his bashfulness emboldened her. Laxus wasn't the kind of person one could hold many things over. Not many things like this that wouldn't cause true emotional damage that is- which, of course, as never her goal. And so, the next time Lucy levied a pet name towards her boyfriend, they were standing at the bar, half of the guild present and minding their own business.
"Hey, babe, could you check later if I left my red nail polish at yours? Can't find it anywhere at home." She'd said it so suddenly, so casually, that it took almost even her by surprise.
Aside from Laxus turning that hellish shade of red once more, Mira was the first to react with an excited little squeal. Then the hall exploded with laughter and comments of 'how cute' and 'how sweet' and Cana's 'ew, I'd rather they'd screw in front of me than do this shit'.
"You good, babe?" Lucy frowned at him, fighting with all her will to keep the grin off her face.
At the repeated use of what was quickly becoming Lucy's favourite word, Laxus stood up so quickly that the bar stool he had been sat on toppled backwards loudly. With fists clenched at his side, Lucy did worry that she'd pushed it a little too far.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Lucy reached for him, that grin forcing its way through. "I'm just messing with you, I'll stop."
"No, I-" Laxus hissed through gritted teeth, sending silence washing across the hall as everyone listened intently. He turned his face away from Lucy, blush creeping down his neck. "Don't...hate it."
The guild immediately erupted once more, Natsu and Happy making kissy faces at one another, both Cana and Gajeel pretending to dry wretch. But honestly, Lucy couldn't hear any of it over the sound of her own heart thundering away in her ears.
She felt her face flush and tried to laugh it off, only making it worse by nervously saying;
"So, I can, like, call you 'my darling'?"
Slowly Laxus's head turned to face her. He nodded stiffly and then promptly passed out on the guild floor.
And that was the day Lucy was certain she'd taken it too far, even for herself. The day she had K.O'ed one of the strongest wizards she'd ever met with the mere use of a pet name. Her stomach did erratic backflips for hours afterwards.
The guild ranted about the world-class event for a week while both she Laxus made themselves blessedly scarce, each of them taking a solo job to escape the giggling and gossip at least for a few days. They eventually moved on like they always did though, even Mira found something else to croon over. In that time, Lucy had kept the pet names to herself.
Yes, perhaps Laxus had claimed to not hate it but his reaction before had been rather extreme and well, now it was Lucy who got jittery at the mere thought. Somehow knowing Laxus might want her to say those things was a lot more embarrassing than just giving him a shock to the system.
It wasn't until nearing on two months after Laxus had taken his impromptu nap of the floor of the guild- and Bixlow had drawn little love hearts all over his face with Evergreen's eyeliner- that the topic was bought up between them once again.
Lucy had purposely not mentioned it, largely for her own sake as that emboldenment she'd received was practically dead and buried now. That's why it took her so off guard when Laxus to randomly brought it up one afternoon while they were walking back to her place from the guild.
"How come you stopped calling me, like, babe and stuff?"
Lucy almost tripped over her own feet, saved by Laxus's hand on her shoulder.
"D-Don’t you remember what happened last time?" She stuttered, straightening herself. "I called you ‘my darling’ and you passed out cold. Literally on the floor. In front of pretty much everyone we know."
"How else am I supposed to react?" Laxus groaned.
"Maybe not by losing consciousness?"
"But you're all- like- you're..." Laxus growled, frustrated as he tried to string his words together more clearly. "You're just...unbelievable...It's insane to me that someone as great as you likes me enough use those, you know, those kinds of words..."
Lucy chuckled awkwardly, cheeks bright pink.
"If it's any consolation, it's insane to me that someone like you gets flustered over this sort of thing at all."
"Great." Laxus scoffed. "So, everything is insane."
"Well, yeah, but I feel like that might be a requirement for being a member of Fairy Tail."
"You're not wrong..."
"So...I really can call you babe and stuff?" Lucy peered up at him, fingers curling in the hem of her skirt. "Because I'm not risking it of you're going to faint every time."
"That was an isolated incident, okay!" Laxus huffed. "...And we should avoid the pet name stuff at the guild anyway. Not unless you want me to electrocute the entire building with everyone inside."
"You didn't answer my question." Lucy rose her eyes to look at him more seriously. "Yay or nay?"
Laxus stared back for a moment and then sighed like this was all some great expense of effort.
"Yay." He grunted.
"Alright, then." Lucy swallowed, still a little awkward but growing bolder by the second as she grabbed his hand. "Let's have pasta for dinner tonight, sweet pea."
"Okay, that ones not on the table." He dismissed immediately.
"Pumpkin?"
"No."
"Stud Muffin?"
"Fuck, no."
"Honey Bunny?"
"What about me screams rabbit to you?"
"Pookie-kins?"
"And now you're just making shit up."