Chapter Text
Step Nine: Meet the Fox
Lucy felt a little bad for the Lunar Slayer since Vander had done absolutely nothing to try and keep the man even somewhat contained and he managed to actually sleep with at least half the population indiscriminately which had the usually easy-going Slayer less that happy as he took in the glares of men and women alike who he had no doubt pulled husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends and gods knows who else into his suite even days now, days after the full moon, as he sat at a squared table that had a giant white umbrella to shade them from the sunlight shining through the clear blue sky with Laxus, Bickslow and Lucy. The only real comfort he got from it was that he at least knew they all had a night of uninhibited pleasure to remember from their vacation.
The little Celestial Mage gave his leg a few reassuring pats under the table before her easy voice tried to ease the middle Pradesh's mind, "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't sleep with you, Charming."
"Only because you have a piece of Vander's soul and the sun wasn't fully set, Princess," as he gave the blonde a winning smile. The moment Bickslow had told him that they were together and that the Seith Mage was the one who clarified monogamy was a must, Cristoff almost fell from his seat. He adored his brother and wanted nothing more than to see him happy and in love with someone that deserved him. While he wouldn't deny that he had his sights set on seeing what the enchanting blonde of Fairy Tail was like as a lover when he first met her, he quickly shifted away from that the moment he watched her eyes light up at the sight of the towering blunette, pure, unadulterated joy flashed in the deep chocolate pools when she did. Throw in the fact that the Draco had wanted her to have his key, that she had the ability to equip the Celestial Dragon's Stardress and she was quite literally perfect for not only Bickslow himself but their whole family, and the Dragon Slayer was sold. He was actually pretty excited to tell their father and siblings that the little spitfire had bested Vander while sparring. It made him more than curious at just how this woman wasn't S-Class at least.
Laxus' deep voice broke his thoughts, "Where is the little shadowfuck?"
Bickslow let out a rumbling laugh before he answered easily, "Dad was pretty pissed when Cris told him he pretty much left him to his own devices under the full moon and 'requested' his presence at the Pradesh abode. He shouldn't really be surprised, it's not like he hasn't done it before."
Warm chocolate eyes turned to the hulking raven-haired Slayer next to her with a look of shock before looping her arm around his as if she could protect him from it retroactively, "That's horrible! I mean, not horrible because you know...you know what you're doing but that's...deplorable and morally reprehensible." Her shoulder slumped a little as she thought about it, "Actually, yeah that sounds about right for Vander."
With a deep chuckle, Cris moved his arm from her hold to drape it over the back of her chair, his eyes shining with brotherly affection, "If it weren't for the fact that it'd make Bix a fuckin' creep, I'd say you were a long lost Pradesh, Princess."
Sliding the giggling blonde a devious smirk, the blunette elbowed Laxus' side before drawling, "You'll have to fight Bossman for her. Laxus wants us to be Dreyars when we get married."
"Piece of cake, lightning boy, but I think the easier solution would be for you to just be a Pradesh yourself," the younger Pradesh brother gave the hulking blonde a wink from across the table.
Blinking absently at his flirtatious words, the blonde dragon's voice was bored as he leaned back in his chair, "You want to get married, moon boy, or are you offering up one of your other siblings?"
"And you say Bix and I are bad," Lucy's voice was filled with her own playful laughter before getting up to get another strawberry smoothie, her hand running over the tanned broad shoulders of the grinning Seith Mage as she did.
As a wide smile took up residency on his face, Bickslow turned back to his brother, his voice bright, "I know you told Dad about her, little bro. What'd he have to say?"
"The usual when the prospect of one of us settling down comes up," waving his hand in a careless gesture as he droned on, "When will you be giving him grandbabies? When are you bringing her home? Does she have any brothers or sisters for the rest of us? He was really impressed that you managed to find the mage Draco had requested his key go to though. You know picky that dragon is and he wouldn't ask the Spirit King to give it just anyone. As far as I can tell, I'm surprised he hasn't taught her his magic."
Surprising both brothers, Laxus leaned forward on his elbows, "He's been trying to believe me. Blondie doesn't want to learn it and then become too reliant on it. She likes using her spirits and she doesn't want to neglect them by becoming a Dragon Slayer. The first time he brought it up with her, they fought so badly that she didn't call him out for months because he was pushing something she didn't want on her. Big foul on the dragon's part. When Loke of all her spirits pleaded Draco's case to her, she summoned him out and that's when he granted her his Stardress. Honestly? If Blondie becomes a Dragon Slayer, she'd be right up there with your scary as shit sister."
Cristoff's voice was serious, taking the two men across from him aback at the uncharacteristic tone, "She's going to have to figure it out soon. If you're serious about her, you'll have to always keep one foot out the door until she decides. You know what will happen if you get married and she finds her mate and it's not you. I'm not losing my brother."
"I've already talked to Draco about it actually. We both decided to at least wait until we are on solid ground before he gives me a piece of his soul."
None of them had noticed the blondes sudden appearance at the end of the table, which was disconcerting on a variety of levels but the Lunar Slayer responded carefully, "So you will become the Celestial Dragon Slayer and then you will see if Bickslow is your mate and then what?"
Giving the blunette a sheepish smile as she returned to her seat across from him before looking up into Cristoff's deep blue pools, "And then we go from there. I refuse to spend my time wallowing and worrying about something that is completely out of my hands. I have full faith in the fates and I don't believe them to be cruel or unfair. I spent the first fifteen years of my life with other people making my decisions for me, where to go, what to learn, how to act, who to be and who to be with. I'm hoping that maybe I've somehow paid my dues. If it turns out that he isn't my mate, well, we will deal with the fallout of that as well. Either way, I plan on enjoying the time I have with him." Taking a steadying breath, she turned her attention back to Bickslow's visored, unreadable face and she realized she really hated that infuriating piece of metal, "I was going to tell you tonight so we could...talk about this together. I understand if you want to keep your distance until we figure this out though. I'll do whatever would make this easiest for you, Bix."
"You weren't kidding when you said trouble finds you," was all he gave as his even reply.
Lucy could feel her heart breaking inside her chest. She could feel the tears burning behind her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall if this was his decision, she wouldn't make it harder for him by dragging it out even if it hurt like hell. She knew the situation they were in was tricky and complicated but that seems to have been the status quo for the two of them. That didn't mean that it wasn't worth it for her. He made her laugh like no one else could, pushed her harder when she needed it while managing to be her safe place. No, it definitely felt like her chest was being pried open at his careless words.
Instinctively, Cristoff felt the pull of her emotions and for a flash of a moment, he almost regretted pushing this conversation but they needed to figure it out before someone got hurt worse than this.
She closed her eyes to try and steel her nerves, her voice as even as she could make it but her heart ached and all she managed was a shaky, "I understand."
When she was meet with silence, she opened her eyes cautiously to take in the sight of Vander mid-bite as the one and only Arman Pradesh was giving her a very bemused look from the head of their table.
Her mouth floundered for a moment as she realized she was standing in the middle of her idol's dining room in a retro style bright pink bikini with high cut bottoms that did very little to cover her extremely toned body and a top that looked almost like a sports bra save for the bright blue over-sized zipper that she had pulled down in the heat of the day to reveal a lot of her ample chest and nothing else.
The Shadowquip had quickly gotten over his surprise before he burst into loud, deep laughter as the handsome diplomat just looked between the two expectantly.
xXxXx
Laxus smacked the back of his best friends head a little harder than usual as he gruffed out, "Way to fucking go, idiot. Now she's Mavis knows where and she thinks you don't fucking want her."
Running his hands over his face, his voice was quiet and defeated, "I didn't mean it like that. I like trouble, hell I'm usually causing it. I didn't think she would," making the same exploding sound and motion as Vander had only more aggressively, "all the way to Bosco, which is where she is. Vander is on house arrest so it's not like she's missing...again."
"If her magic will let her travel that far. It's a pretty big jump from here to home, Bix," Cristoff added in an offhand fashion before leaning forward and flicking his older brother's ear, "Though that was seriously the worst thing you could have said to her. I know it was a shitty way to get it out there but she handled it selflessly. She basically signed herself up for the same thing I'm going through and signed away her right to chose who she loves and she did that so you wouldn't have to spend the rest your lives second guessing if there is someone meant to be her soulmate to love her better than you could. Instead of being half an adult, you ran her literally into the arms of our little brother in a country where she won't find a shortage of men and women who will gladly help her through her heartbreak because I'm here to tell you, you just broke that little blonde's very large heart."
"I should kill you, right? That's standard big brother protocol when insensitive asshats fuck with their little sister." Laxus was seething. Not only had they lost Lucy again before they even made it to Roze but the thing he warned both of them would happen if they didn't think it through fucking happened and it was all because of a poor choice of reaction by the Seith Mage. As his best friend, he wanted to smack him upside the head hard enough to knock some sense into him and as Lucy's big brother, he wanted to break his face.
Unknowing of the blonde Slayer's inner monologue, Bickslow leaned back in his chair, "Well she has to come back for the job so I can just explain to her then and if she doesn't come back, I can call Van. See if he can get her to talk to me."
"I don't think you get it, Bix. Did you not hear me when I said she didn't talk to one of her spirits for months when she got upset? You know how much her spirits mean to her and you just tore her great big bleeding heart out. Just like I fucking said you would. I'm not even being a dick when I say that I'd be surprised if she talked to you as anything more than cordial guild mates."
The Lunar Slayer had hit his capacity for the way this had blown out of proportion and it had literally just happened. So the bulked up Lunar Slayer interrupted the Lightning Dragon's display, "I think that's enough, Laxus. Let's go call Vander right now to make sure she's okay and that she's with him and then, as Lucy said herself, we go from there."
Bristling at the other dragon, he ground out, "And if you felt from Xally what you just felt from my sister? Would this be enough?"
He cringed at the thought of his little sister going through what Lucy was and conceded to a point, "I'm not saying I don't understand Laxus, but you aren't doing anything productive right now and as much as this whole situation is fucked, I would like to see your little sister with my big brother. So get over yourself and focus on her instead of Bickslow's admitted idiocy."
In a very tense moment of agreement, the three impressively built mages made their way to Cristoff's suite to have a little privacy while they talked to the Shadowquip and hopefully, their missing Celestial Mage.
xXxXx
When Vander finally decided to answer his comm after Cristoff had tried to call him five separate times, he had a smug grin on his face, "Big bro, I was wondering when someone would try to find our little Starshine."
With a deadpanned look, his older Dragon Slayer brother answered easily, "Oh right because this is the first time I tried to call you."
Cristoff and Bickslow both winced when they heard their father's voice from where he had been doting on Lucy on one of their living room couches, "Which of my sons are you talking to, Vander?"
"Bixy and Cris decided to finally check on our little princess," was his easy response before the older Sound Mage with pale green eyes motioned for his youngest son to hand him the comm.
Knowing exactly what sort of mood Arman Pradesh was about to be in, Cristoff all but shoved the his comm to Bickslow who only had time to glare at him before he recognized the formal decorated Ambassador of Bosco tone that meant business, "Bickslow, I would like to hear your side of this quarrel and it had better be good."
Groaning as he saw the familiar golden silk of the beautiful Celestial Mage brush across his fathers arm letting him know that she was sitting right there but he couldn't talk to her directly, he pulled his visor from his face and kept his deep baritone as close to even as he could with the exasperation he felt, "I definitely did not say the correct thing when the most amazing woman I've ever met in my life made an incredibly difficult decision and offered me an out because she is selfless and understanding and she wanted to make sure I was comfortable even though that meant she wouldn't be. I would like to talk to her if she'll listen, Dad."
He watched his father's eyes soften before Lucy's softly smiling face came into view, her voice quiet, "Hi."
The Seith Mage couldn't help but let out a breath of relief before he matched her smile, "Hey, Kitten. Will you come back so I can apologize for being an idiot?"
Her smile widened a little before her lilting voice came through softly, her eyes swimming with sharp determination that told him whatever she was about to say wasn't something they were going to talk about because she had decided for herself, "I'm going to stay with Arman and Vander so Draco and I can work on my Dragon Slaying Magic, but you don't have anything to apologize for Bix. My emotions got the better of me and before you could even explain yourself, I was gone. It's no one's fault so there is nothing to be sorry for."
The blunette was trying to put on a brave face for her and it was surprisingly easy for him as he asked earnestly, "How long will that take?"
She gave an honest shrug before settling on, "Draco seems to think I'll be a natural and that it'll take no time at all since I already have a 'mastery' of my Celestial Magic. The hardest part of the process will be taking a piece of his soul and that's only because I'll have to get used to having a dragon to guide me and instincts that will be so...new to try and handle. It'll be really hard to get used to the heightened senses and urges, especially in a place full of so many unknowns."
Laxus' baritone called from where he had been shockingly quiet throughout the whole conversation, "All your stuff is here, Blondie. Are you just going to wear your bikini the whole time?"
With a roll of her eyes, she casually answered her brother's inquiry, "Actually, all my stuff is here. Van and I grabbed it shortly after I had to introduce myself to Arman-"
The oldest Pradesh's voice chastised her with a soft tone, "Please, Lucy, we're practically family already. You don't need to be so formal with me."
Her smile widened and beamed at the Sound Mage before she started again, "To Papa Pradesh since Vander couldn't rein in his emotions long enough to," glaring over the comm at the leather-clad Shadow Mage before smiling back down into Bickslow's deep red eyes, her voice lilting and bright, "I'll miss you while I'm here you know."
Rubbing his hand over his bottom lip, he gave her a lop-sided smile before his own deep drawl returned to him, "Yeah? I'll miss you more I think. Laxus will definitely try to kill me in my sleep now."
When her infectious laughter sounded through the comm, Bickslow could have swore his chest felt a hundred pounds lighter, "Poor Bixy, I'm betting you'll find some way to keep him at bay. I need you to stick around for awhile yet."
Raising his brow playfully, "Why's that?"
Shit-eating grin spread across her lips as she spoke playfully, "I'd miss my babies too much."
He couldn't help but break into his own easy laughter. This felt so right. Their easy back and forth full of laughter and teasing and easy smiles, and if she wasn't worried about next step of their relationship, he certainly wasn't going to either. She was absolutely right when she said their was no use getting worked up about things outside their control. While Bickslow had a less than shiny view as far as the fates go, he would take a page from Lucy's endless optimism.
His father's voice sounded, "Would you mind if I talked to my boys, Lucy darling?"
"Not at all." Giving the Seith Mage a brilliant smile, "Tell Cristoff goodbye for me and Laxus? I know you can hear me and you better not do anything stupid until I get back. I'll be able to go toe to toe with you when I do. I'll see you soon, Bickslow."
"I'll see you soon, la mia luce stellare."
She handed the the comm to the older Boscan with a peck of a kiss to his cheek before wrapping her arms around herself to walk outside and take a breath. She knew this was going to be one of the hardest things she's ever had to do and that there was a chance for this whole thing to backfire and leave she and Bickslow to be nothing more than a casual fling destined for nothing more than that but she wasn't going to spend her life shying away from things because they're hard. Not when there was someone worth the trouble on the other side of things.
She felt Vander's presence before she heard him as he stood next to her, his voice soft, "How're you doing, sugar?"
Letting a sigh, she stared over the Grass Sea fondly as her voice came through distant, "Honestly? I don't think I'll know until I can look at the man I'm falling in love with and find out if I have to give him up."
He wrapped his arm around her slight frame and leaned his chin on the top of her head and held her as she finally let her tears fall.
xXxXxXxXx
A week of solid training even more intense than the year between Fairy Tail's disbandment had been rough to say the least. Lucy was crouched in her strappy black sports bra and a pair of black and dark blue spandex shorts with scales of the deepest blue with a few scattered golden littering among them covered her from just below her ears down to the backs of her hand and down her sides, her nails elongated golden talons as she smirked down at the Shadowquip, her fangs poking through her pouty lips as she spoke smugly, "Pinned ya again, Red. I'm starting to think you're losing your touch."
In a flurry of motion and a shadow jump later, Vander switch their positions before poking the end of her nose, "My touch is just fine, Starshine."
Rolling her golden eyes at the youngest Pradesh, she shoved him off her body with an ease that still made the tall, lean man shiver before bounding over and looking up into a pair of swirling gilded eyes eyes attached to her immaculately dressed dragon in his spirit form, her voice antsy, "Well? Can I please get back to my job now? The rest of the team will be landing in Joya like right now and I would kind of like to be there," giving the man a toothy grin, the points of her fangs pressing into her lips as she cooed at him, "Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease, you know I'm ready. I have perfect control of my Slaying Magic and Dragon Force, I've adjusted to the influx of magic and the rush I get under the stars, I listen to my dragon and I almost have Celestial Gate travel down. I've been working my ass off from the time I wake up until late in the night when you let me sleep and I haven't even left this house once since I've been here!"
His deep voice was smooth as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Okay, okay, I get it. You're ready to go back to Joya but I want you call me out the moment you get there or I'll come out myself in dragon form and cause a scene."
She couldn't help the second roll of her eyes as she gave the tall man a few pats to his arm and she dropped her dragon force, her voice almost bored as she made her way back into the house to get ready to have arguably the most important moment of her life, "Don't worry Draco, I will. I know Cristoff has been looking forward to seeing you again."
He watched as her long hair disappeared through the doorway before Vander's casual tone sounded from where he had come to stand next to the spirit with his arms crossed over his chest, "They grow up so fast don't they?"
"I still don't understand how you managed to score a Soul-Bond with my daughter," his voice flat as he stared at the now-smiling Shadowquip Mage drolly.
"It's a great story. You should have Starshine tell you some time," before vanishing and leaving the spirit to roll his eyes and return to the Spirit World to wait for Lucy to call him out again. He wasn't kidding about coming out on his own. He would be watching to make sure she got where she needed to be because for some reason, her Gate travel was finicky and she would almost always fall through her gates as they materialized above the ground instead of like a doorway she could step through. She of course just assured him that she would just crouch when she summoned the Gate to solve this problem and Vander didn't help when he told her it made her look like a badass when she fell like an avenging angel through a golden portal in the sky. Even he had to admit, if that was her only hiccup after only a week with her Dragon Slaying Magic, she was a gifted mage to say the least.
Lucy wasn't particularly surprised to see Vander's lithe body sprawled across her bed when she turned around with a towel wrapped around her body about to take a shower as Virgo packed the few things she kept here. She was thankful that Arman let her stay in Bickslow's bedroom where she could sleep in his familiar cedar and sandalwood scent. She didn't tell anyone, not even Draco, that being in his room was the only thing that got her through the first night with her dragon soul for fear they would make her stay longer. Not that she didn't love it here, especially after she met Farron and Kaleb a few nights ago and almost fainted when the oldest Pradesh child told her she would make an excellent ambassador for Fiore. No, she loved being in a home full of love, laughter and acceptance but she missed her team, she missed her brother and she missed her Seith Mage.
Her voice was bright as she dropped her towel and stepped into the shower, calling to the handsome Boscan, "Are you coming with me to Joya or do you have to leave, Red?"
She should have known he wouldn't stay in the bedroom as he heard his voice from right outside the glass of her shower. The man loved trouble and she attracted it in spades so any time he didn't have meetings or wasn't running errands with Arman, they were together. He helped her with the finer points and mechanics of the parts of her magic she hadn't been able to grasp right away since at least a part of their magics were alike. It almost made Lucy think the reason her gates were almost always holes in the air instead of doorways was somehow Vander's doing.
"Dad is sending me with you until I get pulled back here. He and Cristoff are both suspicious of King Illium so I'll be there to assassinate the king of Joya if need be," his voice easy as he started drawing in the condensation of the glass from the heat of her shower.
"That fills me with warm fuzzies...I already had this sneaking suspicion that I was getting into something more than just an easy go here-do this-go home job. I have this particular knack for being a key piece to evil plots that need to be foiled."
"At least you're self aware, sugar."
There were a few minutes filled with an easy back and forth of melodies between the two before Lucy quieted and her voice came out small, "I'm nervous to head back, Vander."
He knew she wasn't talking about nefarious plots anymore but he also knew there was no point in the little blonde working herself in a tizzy this close to finding out if she and Bickslow were mates so he did his best to pull her laughter from her lips as she got dressed in a pair of low-slung blue and gold tribal harem pants and a cropped white high neck sleeveless shirt. She had decided to let her hair air dry and let it to it's natural wave around her hips before braiding the her bangs to the side to keep them out of her face.
After an hour and a very weepy goodbye by both Arman and Lucy, the Celestial Mage steeled herself. She let Vander go first since she needed to visualize where she wanted to go when she used her Gate Magic for now and then summoned her gate to follow her Soul-Bond.
xXxXxXx
"Well I'm telling you, Ever, that this is where we are going to be waiting until Blondie comes back from Bosco. This is her mission and we aren't gonna do it without her," Laxus snapped back the brunette who was complaining about the bugs that were eating her alive being this close to the shallow marshy water where they had been waiting after the yacht dropped them off barely an hour ago.
With a huff, she snapped out her fan and started fanning herself out of pure haughty sass.
Laying out with his hands behind his head in the grass, Bickslow was thankful he didn't have to wear his visor as a light breeze ruffled his hair across his forehead, his voice easy, "It could be worse, Ever."
With a roll of her eyes, she obliged the Seth Mage, "Could it?"
With a smirk, he drawled, "You could be a neurotic prostitute with a stone cold heart...Oh wait," leaning up on his elbows in mock surprise, his voice airy, "You already are."
Before she could scramble over to the cackling blunette, he had effortlessly backflipped and twisted away from where she was laying in the grass to lay across his babies, his head propped up on his elbow as he laid out on his side, "Gotta be quicker than that, Medusa."
"I can show how it's done if you want, honey."
Vander's smooth voice came from directly behind the Fairy Mage as she shrieked and clutched her chest, "GET AWAY FROM ME YOU HORRIBLE BOSCANS!"
The chorus of laughter that erupted from the rest of the mages was quickly interrupted when a golden tear formed right next to where Bickslow was floating with his babies before Lucy's crouched form fell from it in a whoosh, effectively silencing everyone save Vander, who was thoroughly amused with the looks of stupor on each of the Fairy's faces as he continued to laugh.
When she straightened, she sent her nakama a beaming toothy smile. The new point canines glinting under the bright sunlight as she spoke casually, "Hey, guys."
Ever immediately threw her arms around the blonde, her voice filled with the relief she so desperately felt now that she was joined by another female again, "Thank Mavis you're here, Lu. I have missed you and the estrogen you provide this group of neanderthals."
Freed's offended voice sounded from his very obviously upset face, "I am not a neanderthal."
Shooting the man a glare from over Lucy's shoulder, her voice a hiss, "You are not above them Freed Justine."
Giving the brunette a genuine squeeze before pulling back, her voice bright as she chattered, "I missed you too. I didn't even get to do any shopping while I was away. Of course that didn't stop Arman and Farron from bringing me some of the traditional clothing that Bosco is known for," stepping back to show off her new favorite pants that were equal parts cute, comfortable and functional, "like these. I managed to convince Farron to bring me a set of the genie-looking outfits in a pretty green that I think you'll really like-"
Laxus suddenly crossed the little clearing to put his hands on either side of her face before pulling her lip up to inspect her little fangs, his voice deep, "That'll take some getting used to," before wrapping her up in a tight hug.
Her arms snaked around his body before she mumbled into his chest, "I missed you so much, Laxus." While she was able to be around people without her senses getting overwhelmed, Lucy's dragon immediately recognized him as kin and she was quickly taking in the soothing scent of thunderstorms and it caused her first, completely involuntary, purr to rumble through her chest. The noise surprised her enough to lean her head back to look up at the hulking blonde with owlish eyes before the two burst into belly laughter.
When her melodic laughter finally died down, she immediately pulled away to look for Bickslow. He was the sole reason she spent the last week with Draco killing herself to make sure she had control enough to be around him again.
Oddly enough, she smelled him before she saw him and when they finally made eye contact, her warm chocolate meeting his deep red, she let out a breath of relief and made her way over to where the towering man was waiting for her, his hand rubbing the back of his neck in a moment of uncertainty that rarely hit the Seith Mage, "Hey, Starlight. I like the fangs. They're kind of a turn on actually."
Putting a hand on her hip, she made a show giving him a big, goofy grin before quirking her brow up and teasing, "I haven't tried them out yet. Want to be my new pincushion, sweetheart?"
"Depends. Will you be gentle with me?" His eyes were shining with mirth as he drawled.
An airy chuckle left her pouty lips before she gave him a devious grin, "Probably not, but you seem like the type to like a good rough fu-"
"Just shut up and kiss him already, Starshine. Everyone else will turn their back to give you some privacy. I won't but maybe that'll make it hotter for you," the youngest Pradesh yelled playfully to the little Celestial Mage.
She granted the deeply tanned man hovering just in front of her a genuine smile, "Well, what do you say, Bix? You ready to do this thing?"
"I've been ready to do this thing for awhile, Starlight," was all he breathed out before ducking and taking her lips with his, his left hand on the exposed skin of her hips and his right tangled in her hair to cradle the back of her head.
He would have pulled back to ask if...well, if they were mates and this wasn't about to be the last time he could bare to hold her but he got his answer from the overwhelming hunger that pulled him in for more. That and the way she growled while she pulled him down just to wrap her legs around his waist and deepen the kiss in an ungodly arousing animalistic show of desire.
Her thoughts were a frantic jumble of her dragon's need to claim, to dominate and test her mate, and the sheer elation she felt at knowing that while she had chosen him the moment Plue crawled up on his shoulder, her dragon had also chosen him. She wouldn't have to give him up ever and that was the high she was currently riding as she ran her tongue along the seam of his lips to demand entrance. His lips split into a smile as he let out a few breathy laughs which was all she needed before her tongue was taking in his intoxicating taste of sweet red wine and bittersweet chocolate before he leaned his forehead against hers so they could catch their breath, "Thank...gods..."
She pressed another kiss to his lips before trailing more down to his chin, "I kind of...already...knew," she breathed as she ran her tongue along his pulse point. Her dragon was elated and Lucy moaned at the way his blood was pumping under her ministrations.
"As much as I love watching you play tonsil hockey with my sister, there was a reason we came to Joya," Laxus' harsh tone was at odds with the shadow of a smile curling at his lips.
Vander gave him a mock look of confusion, "There was? You mean to tell me this wasn't the most elaborate attempt to finally land Bix a woman who wasn't a brainless bimbo with boobs?"
The Lightning Slayer rolled his eyes before waving his arm to get them moving.
"Wait! Where's Cristoff? I have to call out Draco and I..." the moment she said his name, the Dragon Spirit had appeared and wrapped the little blonde in a tight hug, petting her hair as he whispered how proud he is of her, "...want to make sure he sees him." Unceremoniously pushing the broad spirit with long hair like the night sky that she honestly couldn't tell if it was black or deep blue an arms length away. The Dragon Spirit had a bipolar personality that made him a militant, hard man with a dry sense of humor while simultaneously being a clingy, over-emotional father only to Lucy and Cristoff.
When she finally spotted the Lunar Slayer coming from the little shack of a building at the beginning of the pier, her dragon instinctively knew that he was kin and closer than that, a true draconian-sibling.
The closer he got to the group, the more prominent his minty smell became and when he was close enough for her to hug him, her nose immediately wrinkled and she blurted out, "Gods, you smell like sex and mints. I don't...I don't know how-...what I'm supposed to do with that."
Completely ignoring her outburst, he wrapped her in a bear hug that rivaled Bickslow's before nuzzling into her hair, his deep voice soothing, "Welcome to the family, Princess. I'm so happy to have another little sister."
She chuckled before pulling back and walking back over to put her arm around her mate's, gods did that ever sound nice, waist to watch the emotional reunion. Bickslow's easy voice teased his little dragon, "What happened to your shoes, Starlight?"
Wiggling her toes in the grass, she gave a little shrug before answering, "I haven't had to wear shoes for the passed three weeks and I like being barefoot."
"My babies! I want to hold you both at the same time," Draco's smooth voice cut in before motioning for her to come to his free side impatiently as his other arm stayed firmly around Cristoff's comically larger frame with a very 'proud dad' face.
Giving Bickslow an apologetic smile before she rolled her eyes to the Celestial Dragon Spirit and walked over to be pulled into a crushing hug, Cristoff's cheek smashed against the spirits right side and Lucy's cheek smashed into his left with his arms around their necks in a vice-like embace.
"Is this an open group hug? Can anyone participate?"
"Don't even think about, shadow boy," the dragon gruffed out as he rubbed his face against his children's.
Finally managing to get her hand on his jaw, she struggled to push his face away as she huffed out, "Don't...you think...this...is...a bit...much!"
Giving her finger a little warning bite and a low growl, she immediately lowered her hand and nuzzled an apology into his hair before he finally let them loose. Both slayer's with beaming smiles on their faces as he did.
"Now we just need to get Cris a mate and then Arman and I can have little dragons running underfoot. You and Bickslow should start immediately so we don't have to wait," he said matter-of-factly as he crossed his arms over his chest, obviously very proud of his assessment.
Laxus practically threw her to far over his shoulder before he started walking down a path leading towards the very large, very steep Dragako Mountains with his sister's frame draped over his broad shoulder, his deep baritone rough, "Nope. Not happening on this trip so get your asses moving. We've got a mountain to climb."
"Put me down you big oaf. I'm not going to get pregnant," leaning on the palm of her hand as her elbow braced her upright, her voice even, "Charming's got me covered, right?"
"You seem to get hefted around a lot, Princess," was the Lunar Slayer's teasing reply.
Rolling her eyes as a smile split her lips, her voice lilting and bright, "Yeah, yeah, but at least this way I get a free ride up the mountain of death."
"That's right, my little star. You are a dragoness, these men should treat you as such."
"Goodbye, Draco. Thank you for coming out and I'll be sure to call you out tomorrow to make sure everything is okay," bristling when Laxus purposefully hefted her higher for no other reason than to jostle her, which earned the hulking man a swift kick to the gut that had him doubled over, clutching her legs for support.
He wheezed out, "What...the...fuck...Blondie."
Ruffling his hair as she gave him a sugar-sweet smile before bouncing in front of her dragon, "Seriously though. Thank you for everything and I will call you out tomorrow."
He gave her a wide closed-mouth smile before cupping her cheek, which she instantly leaned into, and disappeared back into the Spirit World.
Vander was snickering from his spot next to Bickslow, his voice low so the two blonde dragons didn't hear as she told the Lightning and Lunar Slayer's about her week of training but full of its usual mirth, "At least you already know Draco. Could be worse as far as in-laws go."
"Have you met Draco, Van? I'm pretty sure the passed thirty minutes of my life have been a hallucination between becoming a Dragon Slayer's mate and Draco being...affectionate. How was she? I mean, for the training. I always liked watching her train. Little thing is a ridiculously quick study."
Giving his brother a clap on the back, he answered with an easy, "Dude, she just became a kick-ass Celestial Dragon Slayer in a week and she's done it with a gritty determination that had Kaleb raising a brow. Quick study doesn't even begin to cover it."