A/N: Hello! Sorry for the bit of delay. I haven't been uploading as frequently because of college starting up again, but rest assured! I'm literally at chapter 13 already. I just need extra free time to actually proofread and upload the chapters. I'm also trying to make chapters a bit longer (with this one having the most words so far, least until I upload the others). A bit slow, but I promise it picks up soon~~~

That's pretty much it for updates. Enjoy! Don't forget to leave a review :D

Chapter 10

"What a weirdo," Gray said, wiping beams of nervous sweat from his forehead, "I couldn't stand being in that stupid mansion for any longer."

Erza turned back to him, watching as he began undressing. She chuckled, "No wonder you were so nervous, I'm glad you were able to compose yourself for that long."

"Shut up," Gray averted his eyes from the other, "It's hot out here."

The group began walking through the park, back to the hotel. This wasn't much of a vacation anymore, unfortunately, and Erza felt somewhat guilty that so many people would be forced to leave the hotel so suddenly. While she couldn't quite shake it from her mind, she knew it was for the best. Natsu seemed excited, having not had anyone or anything to fight in the past three days. Laxus felt as though he were the only one out of the group with a bad feeling in his gut. Though it seemed like they were finally making progress, his trust in Vincent lowered ever since he got a look at the man's face...and it lowered further when he brought up Gajeel.

"Laxus!"

The dragon slayer looked down at the group to see who was calling him. The group had all turned to him, all with concerned looks on their faces. "What's wrong? You look uneasy," Erza asked. Laxus scratched the back of his neck.

"...'ts 'cause I am," He admitted, sighing and letting his hand swing to his side, "I don't trust Vincent. Not a bit."

Cana frowned, remembering how Vincent talked about Gajeel the way he did. Was Laxus that offended? Earlier that day, Laxus actually kissed Gajeel at the beach in front of them, and it looked pretty damn romantic, but she never imagined Laxus being so defensive of him. Cute as it was and as much as she wanted to tease the dragon slayer, she also remembered just how on edge Laxus was because of Gajeel's illness, and the fact that Natsu and his friends showed up...and are unaware of their relationship.

She was glad Natsu and the others were here, but an on-edge Laxus didn't mix well with five oblivious mages.

"You don't...you know what," Erza said, "I don't completely trust him either. He's an egotistical maniac, but as much as I'd hate to say it, now our guild is on the line. Tomorrow afternoon we begin our investigation. From what we have I'm certain that we'll find something and prove that jerk-off wrong."

"Hell yeah, you said it Erza!" Cana cheered, surprised at her use of the term 'jerk-off.'

Laxus rolled his eyes, forming his left hand into a fist impatiently. As they got closer to the hotel, all that was on his mind was Gajeel. He didn't want to leave him in the hotel room, despite Wendy, Juvia, Mirajane and the exceeds being with him. Since the first incident at the aquarium, they'd both been hearing the same things...but it affected Gajeel so much more, and Laxus never considered it as much as he did now. Now, and after all he'd done just to give his friends a week on vacation, Gajeel was lying in bed, unconscious, and Laxus couldn't even stay to make sure he rested well. Really, he felt like a shitty boyfriend.

As they entered the lobby of the hotel, the group began discussing plans. Laxus however immediately left the group without saying a word and went to the elevator by himself. He knew they'd give him weird looks, but Laxus couldn't give a damn at the moment. Once he reached his floor he unlocked and swung open the door to his hotel room. The living room was empty, meaning that everyone was still in the bedroom. When he entered, he found Gajeel still asleep on his bed. Pantherlily slept on the bed beside him, and the other two exceeds slept in the corner, on some spare pillows. Wendy fell asleep beside Juvia on the floor, and Mirajane sat on a chair she'd pulled closer to the bed, reading a book.

She looked up, somewhat surprised to see Laxus enter so suddenly, and frowned at his disappointed expression; Gajeel hadn't woken up yet. She placed the book on the seat as she stood, walking silently towards the lightning mage, who stared over Gajeel's sleeping form.

"He hasn't woken up," Mirajane confirmed, "But he's stable. He isn't as pale either and his breathing seems fine."

Laxus was relieved, "Thank god," he muttered, "Been feelin' guilty about leaving 'im here."

Mira nodded. Of course he would. She watched as he walked around the other side of the bed, out of Juvia and Wendy's way, and knelt over, listening to Gajeel's breathing. He wasn't wheezing as loudly, so his breathing was at least okay. It was warm as well-he could feel it through Gajeel's slightly parted lips. Laxus observed Gajeel for a moment, and then, as if there were no witnesses, left a kiss on Gajeel's cheek. When he looked back at Gajeel, he noticed the other's mouth close. He felt it. Gajeel's still there.

He looked up, hearing Mirajane quietly waking up Juvia and Wendy from the opposite side of the bed. Juvia appeared, yawning and stretching her arms, and then Wendy stood up, scratching her side. She walked over to the corner and woke up Happy and Charle, and made her way back to the bed with Laxus. She sat down as the others exited the room. Pantherlily sleepily rose up and floated awa resting on the bed with his partner.

Mirajane sighed, stretching her legs out, "Did it go well?"

"In a way," Laxus said, "I ain't gettin' any good vibes from him. He's an asshole...and I don't trust him."

"That so? Yikes," Mira said, disappointed, "I really just want this situation to end...whatever that situation may be. Laxus...have you heard anything? Since you left?"

"...No. I haven't heard anything."

Gajeel's eyes opened. As he focused his vision, he realized he was completely surrounded by an opaque black. He felt like he was falling, floating down in a void space with seemingly no end. When the dragon slayer tried to turn his head, he found that he could not move, and he could not speak. He could only observe with his eyes.

Desperately, he tried looking around, getting a view of everything he could despite being unable to move his head, and found nothing but black. He wasn't able to see if anything or anyone was beside him, but he was certain nothing was there as he couldn't sense anything. Upon realizing his inability to sense anything, he began to panic. Where was he? What was going on? Why couldn't he feel anything? As Gajeel took in his lack of surroundings, he felt more and more fear.

"You."

What?

"You."

Gajeel looked around again, swearing that he'd heard a voice. It echoed through his head, loudly, as if it came from right next to him. He so desperately wanted to yell out for whoever was calling him, but couldn't even open his mouth. The next thing he heard made his body go cold. Laughter. Again. It was loud and sharp, getting louder with each passing second. Gajeel's senses had suddenly gone from numb to hyper, and he felt as though he were going to explode. His heart raced with fear as he heard the same voice, overpowering the already loud laughter.

"I want your power."

My power?

"Your magic."

The laughter caused a migraine, and he shut his eyes in a fruitless attempt to somehow ignore the noise.

"I. Want. You."

Gajeel sat up in a cold sweat.

He looked down, panting, staring at his shaking hands. He was moving, but he was freezing cold and nauseous again. His ears began ringing and he clamped his hands over them. Slowly, he looked up, realizing that he wasn't in some kind of abyss. He was in Laxus' hotel room. At Spirit Park. It was two in the morning.

"Gajeel?"

He turned to see Laxus laying beside him. At the edge of the bed was Pantherlily, seemingly unbothered. Laxus sat up, holding himself up with his arm, and turned on the lamp beside the bed. They stared at each other. Laxus appeared exhausted, with bags under his eyes and a more groggy tone. Gajeel was sickly, still, his hands remained over his ears. He looked worried, and Laxus was quick to figure out why. He pulled Gajeel back against the bed, wrapping him in his arms.

"You're with me, okay? You're fine," He whispered. Gajeel stared, slowly moving his hands away from his ears. Laxus was warm and welcoming, and the other dragon slayer relaxed into him. He shut his eyes and let Laxus nuzzle into his hair. They breathed in each other's scent as they relaxed against the bed.

Gajeel spoke lowly, not really wanting to talk, but he felt like his heart would burst. "This is fucking weird," he said, "It's fucking weird. And I feel gross. I don't know what the hell is going on, but it's making me feel disgusting and...weak. Like-like I'm gonna combust any minute."

"You'll be fine, alright?" Laxus said, lips pressed against Gajeel's forehead. His voice made Gajeel shiver, "We're going to figure this out. Soon. I promise you. But you need sleep, so let's just focus on that, okay?"

"...Alright, fine." Gajeel breathed, shutting his eyes. Laxus pulled Gajeel up and kissed him, passionately, on the lips. The iron mage's lips were cold, but Laxus could feel him calm down and become more at ease. His eyes fluttered open as the dragon slayers parted, ruby iris' staring into Laxus' own. For a moment, Gajeel felt like nothing had happened. They were enjoying themselves as they'd planned to.

The pain in Gajeel's gut would return in the morning, however. The nightmare he had stuck with him, pounding his head. He sat up in the bed, blinded by the sunlight illuminating the bedroom. Gajeel groaned, his stomach not letting up. He processed his surroundings for a moment, pulling his leg up and resting his head and hand against his knee and letting his long dark hair droop just over the bed.

The first thing he noticed was Laxus not being in the bed. He wasn't in the bedroom and Gajeel couldn't sense him in the living room. In his place was a folded yellow piece of line paper. At the end of the bed was Pantherlily, still curled up and sleeping. The rest of the room was a bit of a mess, having been filled with so many people. Chairs and pillows were moved around, and some of his own clothes he'd been wearing the other night had been removed, likely in his sleep, likely by Laxus. The clock by the bedside read "9:37am." He must've slept in.

He turned to unfold the note on the bed beside him. It was a message, written in pen a bit sloppily and rushed. Gajeel quickly recognized it as Laxus' handwriting. The message read: "We're all in the lobby. Meet us when you wake up & get something to eat. -Laxus." Gajeel ran a hand through his own hair, moving long strands from his face. He stood from the bed, waking the exceed, and pulled on jeans and a t-shirt.

"Oh, Gajeel," Pantherlily spoke, "How are you feeling?"

"What do you me-oh, right. I'm fine," Gajeel answered, "Stomach hurts...head hurts."

Pantherlily lasily rolled off the edge of the mattress, flying up before he hit the ground. He flew over to his partner, getting a good look at his face. "You certainly look better."

"I guess...what the hell happened last night?"

"Well, from what I know," Pantherlily began, "You passed out. You got sick and we had to call a healer. Laxus left to inform the park owner of our-rather, your sightings. I'm not exactly clear on how that went, but at least we're making some progress."

"Mmm…" Gajeel slipped on a pair of sandals and made his way for the bedroom door, note in hand. He placed the note in his pocket, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I'm gonna go eat somethin'," He said, opening the door and dragging his feet through the living room. Pantherlily flew behind him, and the two made their way to the lobby.

Suddenly, Gajeel was fully awake. He was met with a rather unpleasant surprise; Natsu and his friends were here. He stood there, shocked. What the hell were they doing here? Everyone sat around a circular couch in the lobby, talking and laughing. Laxus turned around and saw him standing there perplexed. He stood and walked over to Gajeel without warning to the rest, who looked on curiously.

"You sleep well?" Laxus asked in a low voice. Gajeel stared at him, then back at the group, and then back at him once more.

"What the hell are they doing here?" He asked. Laxus opened his mouth, about to say something, but then his eyes widened, realizing he didn't know either. He shook his head as he sighed and motioned towards the group, inviting Gajeel and Pantherlily to sit with them. Laxus stood behind the couch, letting Gajeel take his own spot. Cana gave Laxus a smug look, making the other roll his eyes. Gray stared at the two, meticulously. As they sat, Gajeel was greeted by Erza, but he only stared at them with slight annoyance.

"What's going on?," Gajeel asked as he sat down, "What the hell're you all doing here?"

"Oh! Uh…" Lucy spoke up, then paused.

"We can't enjoy Spirit Park?" Gray interjected, "We're allowed to be here y'know."

"I'd've preferred you stayed in magnolia," Gajeel gritted his teeth, "'Sides the whole point of a vacation is t' get away from everything you wanna avoid. My head's fucking killing me…"

Juvia watched as Gajeel held a hand against his temple. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked, "Juvia was worried about you."

"I'm fine," Gajeel moved his hand back down, hunching over and staring at the floor. Juvia frowned, tilting her head. He glimpsed over and found Natsu staring at him with big inquisitive eyes. He glared at the other dragon slayer, sitting up and and watching as Natsu's eyes seemed trained on him. "What the fuck. Do you want."

"Natsu-!" Lucy smacked the back of his head, causing him to nearly fall off his seat.

Laxus leaned down and whispered in Gajeel's ear if he wanted something to eat. Gajeel shook his head, but Laxus insisted he ate something. Sighing, Gajeel leaned back on the couch while Laxus left the group to bring the other some breakfast. Gray's eyebrows lifted as he observed the short conversation. They were never this close at the guild, let alone in public. He wasn't even certain the two were friends. When he saw them kiss, not many people were around. In fact, the only ones around that they knew were Mirajane, Juvia and Cana. Pantherlily was there as well, of course, but other than that, the beach was practically empty, and the two relished in that. They weren't just touching, they were kissing, holding each other, whispering in each other's ears.

Now that everyone was together, of course, they were much less affectionate, but Gray could tell something was still there. They were talking to each other, first of all, and they were still whispering to each other. Laxus was the first person that greeted Gajeel, and he even offered him his seat without saying a word. They were really together.

Gray turned to Natsu, who kept looking between Laxus and Gajeel. He saw something too, but he didn't see everything Gray saw. Suddenly, his straight face turned into a shocked, wide-eyed expression when he realized why Natsu was staring at Gajeel the way he did at first; Gray had no memory of Gajeel ever wearing that shirt before. For a moment, he thought the dragon slayer had bought it recently, but it was much too large for him. He was wearing Laxus' shirt. By the way Natsu was looking at the two of them, Gray could tell that Natsu knew they were together as well.

He knew to keep his mouth shut about it. Besides, he'd never admit to anyone that Natsu was right.

"I'm a little concerned," Lucy spoke up, "The park is supposed to be evacuated by noon, and it's almost ten. There's still people here, and it doesn't look like there's an evacuation team around at all."

"Lucy's right," Erza said, "We may have to revisit Vincent. He did give us a time limit, after all, and I don't want anyone to be in any danger."

Gajeel sat up, turning his head towards the group. "What the hell are you guys talkin' about? Who's Vincent?"

"Vincent Aurli is the owner of Spirit Park," Erza answered, "He lives in a mansion at the opposite end of the park. Up on the hills near the ocean."

"Yeah, 'nd he's an asshole that likes dragon slayers," Gray muttered, stretching his arms across the couch and crossing his legs, "Took particular interest in you, actually."

The dragon slayer's frowned, a look of disgust clear on his face. He moved hair out of the way of his face, keeping his eyes on the ice mage. "...What? Me?" Gajeel motioned to himself, "What does that asshole want with me?"

"Curious about your magic. Natsu didn't tell em' though," Gray reassured him, "Laxus shut 'im up before he could say somethin' stupid."

Before Natsu could stand from his seat and charge at Gray, Laxus appeared, a vicious glare on his face causing Natsu to quickly return to his seat. He came back with a platter of food; A stack of pancakes drizzled with syrup and butter, scrambled eggs, home fries and orange juice. Gajeel looked at the other with furrowed eyebrows and Laxus shrugged, handing him the platter. After a moment of looking around, Gajeel huffed and ate his breakfast.

"What he say, then? About the park?" Gajeel asked with his mouth full.

"He said he'd evacuate the park by noon...today," Lucy answered. Gajeel sat up, dumbfounded. He watched a group of people walk by, clad in beachwear. There were young children talking about the rides they planned to go on, and a couple, entering the lobby, discussing a restaurant they wished to go to.

"Well he's doing a bad fucking job," Gajeel complained.

"We know," They said in unison.

"That's it then, I'm going to talk to him right now," Erza stood up, followed by Lucy and Cana, "I don't know what makes him think he can just put our guild on the line of this investigation, and then not even strike up his end of the deal? If he can't do it then we'll have to do it ourselves...but we'll only have two hours...and we only have two days to do this."

"Not even, more like a day and a half," Cana said, "We'll go with you. I don't want you going to that creep's house alone."

A day and a half? That's fucking ridiculous. With what Gajeel had been through they might need way more than a day and a half to search the whole damn park, as much as he wanted this to be over with. Before he could say anything, the three left the room, leaving the rest of the group to keep chatting. Juvia brought up something about worrying for the three, and Mirajane calmed her down. Gray and Natsu started arguing over nothing, and Wendy started having a conversation with the exceeds. It started feeling like he were back at the guild. He started feeling nauseous again.

He wanted this vacation to end more than ever now.