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Although the members of Fairy Tail which were left on the ground were not the strongest, Laki knew that they could hold their own against the enemy at hand. The main members of Tartaros were floating in the sky in what appeared to be a magical cube, leaving all of their underlings beneath them, in the town below. There were hardly any talented wizards between them all.
“Wood-make: the strength of a mother’s love!” An avalanche of wood appeared, fell onto the enemy and obliterated the majority to the north. Macao and Wakaba took the west, and Laki could hear Jet and Droy to the east. She was tired through working on her own, but it was worth it to protect her town, and she was obligated to help her guild.
A tingling went over her head, and Laki shook it off, confused. But then a voice was in her mind, familiar to her, and she allowed herself a moment to relax before the enemy attacked again, listening to Warren dutifully.
“Sabertooth have joined the fray! The twin dragons and their celestial wizard have just retrieved the demon Minerva and are heading back up to help out Natsu and the others. They told us that their guild will begin to destroy the Faces to the south if we focus on keeping these Tartaros goons at bay. Good luck, everyone.”
Laki was moving before she realised, moving through the fallen wizards and clouds of dust towards the members of Sabertooth. It had been months since she had last seen Minerva, and her chest ached knowing that that was about to change.
It had started slow, small, just casual meetings and friendly encounters. Laki loved her guild, but sometimes she felt like they did not understand her; she spoke in a convoluted way and had unconventional interests. She was odd to them. But not to Minerva. The tigress understood her implicitly, without prompt, and they bonded over their shared absurdity. Laki saw the irony in the fact that they found a place to belong through bonding over their lack of, but there was no mirth on her lips; no humour. Only longing, a gut-quaking need to hold Minerva again, to see her face and smell her skin.
The grand magic games had been difficult, because even though her guild was scorned and resented Sabertooth after how Minerva has treated Lucy, Laki was attached to the blonde wizard through custom alone. Her heart was with Minerva, and she knew that if it had come to it she would have protected the tigress above anyone else.
But then Minerva had fallen to the dark side, had taken Laki’s heart with her, and knowing that there was nothing she could do to help the woman she loved was a torment worse than any other that Laki had known. And through it all, she could not tell a soul, still respected Minerva’s wishes to keep their relationship between the two of them. Her heart may have broken, but her loyalty was still strong, a paper shield from the pain of losing Minerva.
Through her daze, Laki could still hear her guidmates shouting her, wondering what could be more important in that moment than the battle at hand, but she ignored them. The majority of the enemy had been taken down, and she had every faith that they could handle the rest. To her then, the most important thing was reaching Minerva; everything else fell away, insignificant to the turn of the earth.
Tartaros’ minions appeared in her path, but Laki did not slow down, pressed her hands together and created with her magic as she sprinted.
“Wood-make: the chasm of sky between two falling stars!” Wood cascaded from her fingertips in a giant geyser, launching the weaker enemies through the air and out of her path. She paid them no mind, instead focused on her sense of direction and keeping her breathing as steady as she could.
She ran until her legs ached, pushed herself further and further until the fire in her lungs was so strong she felt the heat spread to her head, making her dizzy. The ground was closer than she remembered, and Laki pondered that for only a moment before she impacted with it hard, her hands barely saving her face from damage. Although she had worked on her magical tolerance over the years her physical stamina still required some work, and she heard Wakaba’s voice in her mind, mocking her, telling her how weak and weedy her body was. The guild had always been the same, saw her more as a novelty item than a person. She was too young to be with the older members, not strong enough to be with the younger ones; Laki just wanted to belong, and she felt like she did with Minerva. It was freeing, and she craved the sensation.
Blood dripped from her damaged palms and lavender strands of hair fell into her eyes, but Laki gritted her teeth, ignored how her limbs trembled and spasmed as she forced herself to stand. Laki corrected her glasses on her face, stared up at the sky, and felt the tears come. She had been desperate to see Minerva, so much so that she had abandoned her guild mates, and it was overwhelming, the depth of her dependency on the other woman. Laki remembered every kiss and caress, hidden behind walls and their own words, keeping their feelings secret from the people they loved even if it hurt them the most.
Her shaking fingers grasped the gold necklace which sat heavy around her neck, a deep blue zircon sat proudly in the centre of the long chain. Blue was Minerva’s favourite colour, was the colour she wanted embroidered into the furniture which she had paid Laki to create for her. Those first real and deep conversations were precious to Laki, marked the beginning of everything. When Minerva had asked for embroidery reminiscent of the city of Ruscus, Laki had shyly admitted that she had never been, and Minerva had offered to take her. It was only a weekend, but it was bliss, and Laki learned to love the colour blue too, if it made Minerva happy and brought them together.
Light flashed in the sky just metres away from where she stood brought her back into the present, and a dark shadow followed after. Laki’s heart raced, knowing the source of that magic and yet being terrified to approach. Was she good enough? Minerva had always said that she was but it was different now, they were different. But her feelings remained rigid, unchanged, and her heart knew what it yearned for most. Who it yearned for.
Clenching her fists and stealing herself, she took a tentative step forward. The air was thick with smoke and uncertainty, but Laki pushed through it until she stood staring at the back of Sabertooth’s master and his shadow counterpart. Laki hid just out of view, hoped that the chaos of battle shrouded her scent enough so that it was lost to their sensitive noses, her gaze fixed on the form Sting held in his arms like a new bride. It was too dark to see any details clearly, but Laki could hear, and that was telling enough.
“Stay here, Lady Minerva. We will be back for you when we can.” Sting lowered the person onto the ground and Rogue nodded at him before they moved away, blurring into one entity in the night air.
Laki did not hesitate, her fear acting as a catalyst more than a force to weaken her resolve. The pain of rejection would be nothing compared to the pain of losing Minerva; Laki knew that it was worth the risk.
“Minerva…” Laki cleared her throat but the words were still caught, wavered. Minerva turned her head, eyes wide, and tried to stand. She failed, fell back to the ground and winced.
They had left her on soil, dry but still dirty, and Laki almost smiled at how Minerva would complain about the state of her clothes later. The breeze was less harsh here, and Laki stumbled forward into it, until she fell to her knees by Minerva’s side.
For a moment, they stared at one another, overwhelmed and in shock, searching for… something. Laki, for permission; Minerva for forgiveness. They both found what they needed, and then their lips were together, teeth clashing and Laki’s glasses pressed awkwardly between them, but it was the most comfort Laki had felt in months, and it was intoxicating. Minerva tasted like blood, and sweat, but Laki opened her mouth and invited Minerva to do the same, gripped Minerva’s hair as the other woman’s hands crumpled into the fabric of Laki’s red cloak.
She did not realise that she was crying, not until Minerva’s thumb traced away the tears, their lips connected by a breath. Minerva was crying too, heavy and warm tears that were almost violent in their earnestness.
“Laki, I’m so sor-”
“It’s okay.” Laki pressed their foreheads together, ran her hand up Minerva’s leg until she found the other woman’s fingers and connected them with her own trembling ones.
Months of pain, and worry, and longing, they all fell away when Minerva kissed her again, slower. An apology and prayer all in one as her tongue traced Laki’s bottom lip.
“No, it was never okay. I shouldn’t have-” Minerva began, pressed her words against the curve of Laki’s neck, and the purple-haired woman shivered through them.
“But you did, and we’re both safe. We’re together.” She squeezed Minerva’s hand, driving the point home, and cupped Minerva’s cheek with her spare hand. “I thought I lost you, Minnie.” Laki whispered.
Minerva’s inhaled heavily, chest rising and falling in uneven spurts,
“For a moment, you had.”
When their bodies collide again, it was not earth-shattering or monumental, it was simply right, as it should be; like coming home. Laki fell forward, her arms on Minerva’s shoulders, her thighs straddling either side of Minerva’s waist, and the blood and bruises and scars did not matter, only Minerva did. Her skin was rough, her hair matted, but she smelt the same, and Laki knew in her heart that even though they had both changed, this feeling hadn’t, and the bond they shared remained unwavering.
Minerva held her jaw still as she peppered kisses up it, and when she bit down onto the soft skin there Laki gasped, quivered in the grasp of the tigress. Rule one of their time together had always been to never leave a mark, to not let anyone suspect their relationship, but they were both desperate, filled with need and lust and souls which had yearned for months, finally able to reach out and grasp the object of their desire.
But this was not the setting for an intimate reunion. Laki pulled away enough to see all of Minerva’s face, and she loved her, loved her so much and so wholly, more than she had ever loved anything or anyone, including her own guild. Minerva was consistently inconsistent, could be arrogant and blunt and borderline intolerable, but she was home, and Laki never wanted to leave.
There was no magical energy surrounding Minerva, and Laki kissed her one last time before standing. The other woman understood, as an S Class wizard would, and let Laki go, scout a better position where she could watch for oncoming enemies and protect the woman she loved. Knowing that Minerva had that much faith in her made Laki’s face heat, but she pushed those thoughts away, instead focusing on finishing this battles so that she could finally be in the safe embrace of Minerva’s arms once again.