Family is Everything
Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail
Summary: Natsu accidentally claims Gray as his mate, leading to some unexpected consequences. Gratsu/MPREG
Author's Note #1: Man, do I love drama.
Chapter 12 – Doctor's Appointment (Rated T)
Laxus sighed, his head resting in his left hand while his other swirled his drink around in his mug. He was sitting at his usual table with the rest of the Thunder God Tribe, but he tried to ignore everyone as his thoughts wandered back to Natsu.
The lightning mage wondered if the fire mage was all right. About three hours ago, Gray had entered the guild looked pissed as hell. He'd shot him a glare before grabbing Sting by the wrist and dragging him out of the guild. Gray's overall presence had made Laxus worry about Natsu all over again. His urge to protect him seemed to renew itself.
Help!
Laxus's head shot up at the voice. He turned to Freed. "Did you say something?"
Freed raised his head from his book as he looked at Laxus with concern. "I didn't say a word. No one did."
"Then who—?"
Help! Please!
This time, the voice sounded more urgent. Laxus stood and stared intently at the guild doors.
"Laxus?" Freed found himself growing more and more concerned.
"Something's wrong," Laxus found himself saying. His feet began carrying him to the door.
Help! Please! Hurts!
"Laxus!" Freed shouted, trying to get his attention. The guild finally turned their attention to the lightning mage.
"You don't hear it?" asked Laxus.
"Hear what?"
"The voice. Wait. I think it's…in my head."
Makarov had been watching his grandson intently for the past few minutes, and he could never recall a time when Laxus had looked so disturbed.
"Do you want me to have a look at him Master Makarov?" asked Porlyusica. "Hearing voices is rather unusual."
"Hm," began Makarov, worry working itself onto his face, "perhaps you should."
"Quiet!" snapped Laxus as he tried to focus on the voice seeping into his mind.
Hurts! It hurts!
"Laxus, let Porlyusica take a look at you. You don't seem well," said Makarov.
"I suggest you listen to your grandfather, Laxus," added Freed.
Slowly, something seemed to click in Laxus's mind. He knew whose voice it was. "Natsu. It's Natsu. Something's wrong. I need to get to Natsu."
Laxus finally had Gajeel and Wendy's attention.
"Something's wrong with Natsu?" Wendy gasped.
"How the hell do ya know that?" questioned Gajeel.
Laxus shook his head. "I hear his voice…in my head. I need to get to Natsu."
"I think he's at home right now," said Wendy. "Let's go."
"No. I need you here with Porlyusica. Be ready. I'll be faster on my own," replied Laxus.
Everyone watched as he bolted out the door. A sudden flash of lightning signaled that he'd just used his lightning step.
Wendy turned to Gajeel. "How is it that Laxus can hear Natsu's voice?"
"I don't really think it's his voice. I think it's whatever Natsu's feelin' that Laxus is sensin'," replied the iron dragon-slayer.
"But how is that possible between Laxus and Natsu? I thought connections were only possible between mates."
Gajeel frowned in thought. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"I still don't see why we couldn't have taken a train. It would've been a lot faster," stated Gray as he trudged beside Sting. The Sabertooth Master had decided that they should walk to the Sabertooth Guild.
"I told you already. We're going to tackle some smaller missions along the way. You need the money, right?"
Gray sighed in agitation. "Whatever."
Sting chanced a glance at the ice mage, noticing his mood still hadn't lightened. "You wanna tell me what happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've been pissed this whole time. Even before we headed out. What's going on?"
Gray stopped walking and raised his head. He stared intently at the slowly moving clouds before taking a deep breath. "I got in a fight with Natsu."
Sting's head snapped in Gray's direction. "Explain."
"Ugh. Laxus took Natsu shopping for clothes. It was a gift. But I could smell Laxus all over Natsu. It made me angry. And I told Natsu to take the clothes back."
The white dragon-slayer's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Why?"
The temperature around them slowly began to drop. "I don't want anyone else providing for my mate. Why doesn't anyone understand that?!"
"I think you're blowing things out of proportion," stated Sting as he brushed off the ice forming on his clothes. "And you need to relax. You're freezing everything."
Gray mumbled and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What was that?" asked Sting.
"I said I did the same thing at home. I kind of froze the house. I know Natsu was telling me to stop, but I wasn't listening. He had to use his magic to get me to stop." Gray suddenly found himself being shoved. "What the hell was that for?!"
"You're such an idiot! How could you let Natsu use magic?! He's not supposed to right now! That's what Porlyusica said, right? It could harm the babies!"
Gray now looked a tad guilty.
"You are supposed to protect your mate! Do you have any idea how hard you're making things for Natsu?"
"I am protecting him!" Gray protested.
"If you're doing such a great job of protecting him, why does he come crying to Rogue every day," said Sting, pain showing in his eyes. "Do you have any idea how often I have to watch my mate console yours while he cries about you? I've never seen Natsu like this before. He's a strong person. He always has been. But whatever it is you're doing that turns him into this person, you need to stop!"
The guilt continued to grow within Gray. "What does…Natsu say?"
Sting glared at him. "If I tell you," he started, "you need to swear you won't get angry."
Was what Natsu said really that bad? "Okay. I won't get angry."
"Promise me."
"I promise!"
Sting sighed. "Natsu says he's afraid to talk to you. He thinks you'll snap at him because you've become more aggressive lately. Not to mention possessive."
"I…I don't snap at him," Gray defended.
"I think your record speaks for itself," snapped Sting. "You got pissed off and froze your damn house because of some clothes. You don't think that's being aggressive? Plus, you don't want anyone helping you out because your stupid pride gets in the way. It makes you too possessive over Natsu. You're slowly alienating him from everyone because you don't want anyone near him."
"I…I…"
Sting turned his back on Gray. "You're such a shitty ma—!"
The ice mage stared at Sting apprehensively when the white dragon-slayer hastily spun around, his eyes staring down the way they'd come. His expression had become one of concern.
"Sting?"
"Something's wrong," he said. "Rogue is panicking. He's scared."
"What? How do you know that?" questioned Gray.
"The connection."
"The connection?"
Sting started heading back toward Magnolia. "You can't feel Natsu? What he's feeling?"
"No," replied Gray. "Should I?"
"You should," said Sting as he began running, Gray following closely behind. "Maybe that's why you're being a shitty mate. But we'll figure that out later. We need to get back to Fairy Tail. Fast. Something's frightened Rogue badly. I need to get to him."
"Natsu, wake up," begged Rogue, patting the fire mage on the face. "Please?"
The shadow dragon-slayer didn't know what to do. He didn't want to leave Natsu all alone, and it wasn't like he could carry the fire mage either, lest he risk his own pregnancy. What was he going to do?
A flash of lightning striking the house shook Rogue out of his thoughts. He stared fearfully at the charred hole in the ceiling. His eyes drifted downward and landed on a person.
"Laxus?" Hope filled Rogue.
The lightning mage knelt in front of the other two dragon-slayers. "What happened?"
"N-Natsu began clutching his stomach. He said he was cramping. He told me to go for help, but I couldn't leave him alone! I didn't know what to do!" cried Rogue.
Laxus ruffled Rogue's hair comfortingly. "It's gonna be fine. I'm taking the both of you to the guild. Porlyusica and Wendy are on standby."
"Wait. How did you know we needed help?"
Laxus gently picked up Natsu in his arms. "I heard him call out to me. Now, grab onto my arm. I'm going to use my lightning step. We'll be at the guild in no time."
Porlyusica and Wendy bustled into action the second Laxus stepped into the guild holding Natsu, Rogue at his side.
"Get him to the infirmary quickly," ordered Porlyusica.
Rogue stood in the doorway of the guild as he watched Laxus take Natsu away, his body trembling.
"Hey. I got ya," consoled Gajeel, pulling Rogue into his arms.
"Sting. I want Sting," mumbled Rogue over and over again.
Gajeel guided Rogue into a chair. "Lector! Happy!"
The two Exceeds rushed over, Frosch in hot pursuit.
"What can we do?" asked Lector.
"I need you two to bring Sting and Gray back. Now!"
"Aye, sir!" cried Happy. Both Exceeds flew out of the guild as fast as they could.
Frosch, however, gingerly climbed into Rogue's lap and hugged him. He smiled when the shadow dragon-slayer wrapped his arms around him. Frosch did all he could to offer Rogue comfort.
"He hurt him again," muttered Rogue. "I think that's why this is happening."
Gajeel sat next to his friend and rubbed his back. "Tell me what happened."
"Gray…became angry with Natsu. He froze the house. I found Natsu trying to melt the ice with his magic. It's all because Laxus bought him some clothes."
Gajeel growled. They really needed to have a serious talk with Gray. Or a beating. He was leaning more toward a beating.
"Natsu seemed so depressed. And then…he was in pain. He said his stomach was cramping, and he passed out. I didn't know what to do. I was alone with Natsu. I knew he needed help, but I couldn't just leave him."
"Hey," said Gajeel. "You did everything ya could. He was safe because ya stayed with him until help arrived. Don't worry about it. Ya did good."
"I'm worried he'll lose the babies," whispered Rogue. "And if he does, I'm almost positive he'll follow. He…hasn't made a connection with Gray, so there's no reason he would—."
"Stop talkin' like that. He's gonna be fine. So are the babies," said Gajeel. "And he might not have made a connection with Gray yet, but…somehow he made one with Laxus."
Rogue finally looked Gajeel in the eyes. "How…is that possible? Connections are only made between mates…right?"
"I'm not sure."
"You don't think…Laxus was supposed to be Natsu's true mate, do you?"
"I feel like I don't know anythin' anymore."
"Well?" inquired Makarov when Porlyusica came out of the infirmary.
"Natsu is fine physically. It was a good thing you brought him here when you did, Laxus," she started. "He's still in his first trimester, and cramping often results from normal changes that occur during a baby's development, which is the case here. Cramps can generally be described as pulling sensations on one or both sides of the abdomen. I think his emotional state and using magic made the situation worse than it actually was."
Laxus sighed in relief. "So the babies and Natsu are going to be all right?"
"The babies are fine; however, I am concerned for Natsu's mental state," replied Porlyusica solemnly. "I've been doing my research. It seems Natsu hasn't made a connection with his mate. Am I correct?"
Wendy nodded. "That's true, but…"
"But?" inquired the healer.
Wendy glanced at Laxus briefly before turning her attention back to the older woman. "I think Laxus established a connection with Natsu."
"Is that so?" Porlyusica crossed her arms, deep in thought.
"I…what?" asked Laxus.
"You made a mental connection with Natsu," repeated Wendy. "As far as I know, that only happens between mates. It just seems odd that you made a connection with Natsu, and Gray hasn't."
"Laxus," started Porlyusica, "do you have any idea what brought this on? Have you felt different lately?"
"Well, the minute I found out Natsu was knocked up, I felt a bit strange," replied Laxus as he scratched the back of his head uneasily.
"Strange how?"
"I…felt the urge to take care of him. Protect him if need be. And then this afternoon, I was starting to feel worried about him."
"Were you thinking about him a lot?" asked Porlyusica.
"I guess you could say that. And that's when I heard his voice, I guess."
"What did this voice say?"
"Um…help. Please. Hurts. I didn't know who it was at first, but then I just knew who it was and where to go."
"So you really did make a connection with him," commented Porlyusica.
Makarov began sputtering. "Does that mean Laxus is Natsu's mate?!"
Laxus's eyes widened.
Porlyusica responded by smacking Makarov in the back of the head. "No, you imbecile."
Makarov sighed in relief, as did Laxus.
"Then why can I sense him?" asked the lightning mage.
Porlyusica turned her attention back to Laxus. "I want you to try something. Focus on Wendy."
"What?"
"Just do it."
"Fine." Laxus took a deep breath and let his thoughts wander to Wendy. She was a nice little girl, always sweet and endearing. Wendy would make a fine woman some day. And he'd make sure she was treated with the utmost loyalty and respect.
Natsu…
Laxus discreetly looked over at Wendy, the urge to console her overwhelming him. He could feel it. He could feel how worried she was for Natsu. Stepping toward the young girl, he patted her head, which caused her to look up.
"Natsu's going to be fine. I'm sure of it," he said. The minute the words left his mouth, he could feel Wendy's spirits lift.
"It's just as I thought," Porlyusica stated. "It seems Laxus can create a connection with the dragon-slayers. Congratulations, Laxus. You just became the alpha of your little dragon clan."
Laxus blinked a few times as he let the information sink in. "Excuse me?"
"But I think that piece of information should be the least of your worries," stated the healer seriously. "If Gray doesn't establish a connection with Natsu soon, I'm afraid Natsu won't make it. He's been in an incomplete mating for far too long. As I said before, he's fine physically. But the connection is the final piece of the mating. Natsu won't last much longer without it.
"If anything, Laxus's connection to him at the moment is the only thing preventing him from…fading away, I'm afraid. You need to bring that ice mage back here as soon as possible. Natsu's life and the lives of their children depend on it."
End Chapter