Battles

. . .

"For once in your life, do the trees a favor and stop consuming their oxygen." Cobra was really not in the mood for any of this. The little time he'd had to spend with Lucy as his Claimed only showed him how much more he wanted her to himself full time.

But every minute longer they stayed on that Island he knew was risking Acnologia's arrival and as much as Cobra wanted to play with Lucy, he wanted to be alive more.

"Much to the chagrin of his second soul."

"Would you just shut the fuck up, already?"

. . .

The moment his fangs sunk into her neck, the entirety of the past month flashed before her eyes. Things she hadn't remembered doing, fights she hadn't remembered starting, came flooding back into her memory and she felt tears well in her eyes.

But as soon as those emotions hit her, another wave of lust came crashing into her mind. Suddenly being wrenched back to the present, she realized that she was draped across Laxus' lap and he currently had his fangs in her neck as his tongue drew circles across her skin.

She shivered involuntarily as she felt a connection with the lightning mage begin to form. Trying to push the overwhelming need to ride him aside, she began to feel emotions that could only have been coming from the large blond. Intense worry for her safety, regret at not having gotten to the island sooner, fear at whether she would recover, and overtop everything, an incredible sense of need and heat for her body.

When Laxus finally withdrew his fangs, Lucy gasped. Laxus watched in awe as both sets of fang marks closed on her neck, the purple ones disappearing completely and the ones he just placed maintaining their presence with a faint yellow glow.

Laxus choked back the impulse to make love to the woman in his arms, but there was no hiding the raging erection he was sporting beneath her. But Lucy didn't have as much self-control, or rather, she didn't truly desire to control herself. She had been heartbroken when Laxus left after his expulsion. She knew it was the right thing for him to do, but it still stung.

With the loss of her freewill to whoever that man was, she had never been able to truly process her feelings towards the lightning mage. But now, with him here, having clearly changed for the better and being able to feel everything he was feeling for her somehow, not to mention his hard-on under her body, she just didn't want to hold herself back.

"Laxus!" she exclaimed, as she sat up in his arms and tried to kiss him.

He stopped her, "Lucy, are you okay?"

"Yes!" she responded instantly. "I finally feel like myself again." She tried to move back in to kiss him but he stopped her again.

"Are you not in pain? Do you not understand what has happened to you?"

Lucy shook her head. She didn't truly understand what had happened, but she saw enough glimpses to understand that something had been controlling her the past month and that now she was finally free of that. "All I know is that I'm finally me again. And that it's all thanks to you."

Laxus sighed in relief. He had been so worried that she wouldn't return to her normal self or that the poison would somehow cause her to be unresponsive and he'd be too late. A great weight had been lifted off his chest at her words. He knew he'd need to explain to her everything that had happened, the implications of their new Mating bond and how he was going to make sure that this time, nothing happened to her, but for now, he just wrapped his arms around her and breathed in her beautiful scent.

She let him hold her for a few minutes, somehow intuitively understanding that this was something he needed to do. When he finally lifted his head, she looked into his stormy gray eyes and the pair both moved to press their lips to one another.

The feeling of his soft lips moving against hers made everything feel right in the world. She hadn't realized how much she missed the feeling of his thick arms wrapped around her. Sitting in his lap, she allowed her hands to trail down the large expanse of his chest and she groaned into his mouth.

Laxus used the opportunity to push the kiss deeper. Pushing his tongue into her mouth, she tangled her own with his, letting him taste the flavor of her that he truly missed. A deep feeling of contentment rose up in Laxus' chest, almost to the point where he was guilty of purring. Moving to wrap her body with one strong arm, he tentatively allowed the other to move across her body, feeling the curves he so desperately missed.

Lucy's fingers on his chest, tracing his well defined muscles, had him harder than ever and when she adjusted herself so that her ass was rubbing up against his erection, he nearly lost himself. Both of them pulled back, panting at the lack of oxygen.

"Lucy," he whispered, placing his forehead against her own. She closed her eyes briefly and Laxus revelled in the feeling of being able to hold her like this. Reaching out tentatively with his dragon senses, what he saw between them had him ecstatic. Where there used to be a sickly green line, embedded like an anchor into Lucy's heart, there now was a line the color of Laxus' eyes, that was sparking with hints of lightning. But what had Laxus truly in awe was there, at the spot where his line attached to her, was a small golden thread, weaving its way back towards him. It was faint and he had to really reach out to see it, but there was no mistaking it, it was there, and it originated in her heart.

He couldn't stop himself from moving back in to kiss her. He pulled her body to his and smashed his lips against hers. She moaned at the feeling and Laxus indulged himself by palming her breast overtop her bathing suit. He delighted when she responded with groans of appreciation, only serving to spur him on further.

Leaving her lips, he began to trail heated kisses down her jaw line, before finally reaching her neck. He tongued the newly formed mating mark tentatively and purred when she didn't exhibit any pain. He moved further to the nape of her neck where he began to suck the skin there, tasting her for all she was worth.

Lucy shivered at the contact, letting her head fall back to give Laxus a larger canvas. His hand hadn't stopped moving overtop her bathing suit but she needed more from him. Reaching up, she moved to untie the string to her bathing suit. A very real part of Laxus wanted to let her, but he stopped her by bringing his hands up around her neck. She looked back at him with uncertain eyes and he sighed.

As much as he wanted to continue, he didn't feel like it was right until Lucy knew the full truth about the Conquest and about the part he played in it; he at least owed her that much. "Is there something wrong?" she asked with uncertainty.

"God no," he breathed, pulling her closer to him. "I want you so bad, Lucy," he said with truth.

"But then-"

"But you deserve to know everything that has happened in the past month before we continue. So as much as I would love for us to continue, I want to be fair to you."

"Okay," she responded. She hesitated, "so does that mean we have to stop completely?" It was clear to her that Laxus wanted her, the physical evidence was hard to ignore.

Laxus didn't bother to respond with words. Instead he moved back to smashing his lips against hers and the two began their dance once again. Leaning back into the soft sand, he pulled her down with him gently and let her straddle his body. Her hips ground into his erection and his brain was all but short circuiting.

He'd be lying if he said he was at full power. The Voids had certainly taken their toll on him. That coupled with his fight with the other slayer was putting him close to exhaustion. And if that wasn't enough, he was inexperienced with using his dragon senses on such a regular basis. All three things made it hard for him to even sit up straight.

As if Fate were laughing at him, an airship flew overhead with a tremendous noise. The blondes instantly startled and Laxus reached out once again with his dragon hearing. "Natsu! You can't beat this guy! We need to fall back! He's too strong," he heard Gray's voice call out.

"Shit!" Laxus cursed under his breath, sitting back up.

"What is it?" Lucy instantly responded in concern.

He turned to fix her with his piercing gaze. "Do you know what's going on here? All the battles I heard when I got onto the island. Is this part of the trials?"

Lucy shook her head and opened her eyes wide. She had been so caught up with getting her sense of herself back and seeing Laxus that she had completely forgotten everything that had happened over the past day. "Oh god, how could I-" she started to tear up and was momentarily unable to form words.

Laxus made soothing circles on her back. "It's okay Lucy. No one blames you for what happened, and it wasn't your fault. Just tell me what's going on."

She kept her head tucked into his shoulder, crying silently. "A dark guild came to the island during the trials. I got separated from the others. It was like I was watching everything outside my own body but it's all rushing back to me. I hope everyone's okay."

Laxus furrowed his brow. He pulled the girl in close, vowing he would protect her from whatever this new danger was. He'd be damned if he let her down twice. "Come on," he said gently, encouraging her to stand. She followed him as they walked briskly back to the beach where he had dropped his bag.

Reaching in, he pulled out his Lphone and dialed his number one contact. "Freed. I'm on Tenrou and I need you to give me a status report, fast."

. . .

Freed's eyes went wide the moment he saw the number show up on his phone. "Laxus?" he asked incredulously.

"I'll explain later. Do you have any information?" the voice he hadn't heard in over a month replied back.

"Yes. The Guild is under attack by a dark guild known as Grimoire Heart. Bickslow and I just defeated a rather pesky member called Rustyrose. Erza has just taken out a mage named Azuma but she is quite exhausted. My understanding is that Lucy previously defeated another member but I am uncertain as to her whereabouts," Freed relayed succinctly.

"Don't worry about Lucy, she's with me and she's okay. From the sound of it, Gray and Natsu are on an airship fighting what may be their leader. Here's what I need from you." Laxus fell back into his role as group leader with ease.

Bickslow was to report to the beach where Laxus and Lucy were and they would try and make contact with the airship. Meanwhile, Freed was going to attempt to round everyone up at basecamp so they might address the threat together and take care of their wounded. Even Freed had to admit the plan was tactically sound.

Within minutes, Bickslow arrived, floating on his totems and calling out to Laxus. Even amidst the terrible trouble the Guild was facing, you could always count on the man to be chipper. "Hey Bossman, long time no see." His eyes flashed green briefly as he looked at Lucy and a smile broke out across his face. "Cosplayer, fucking good to see you like this."

Lucy smiled sheepishly, having a feeling she would be filled in more later about what Bickslow really meant. "Bix, do you think you can get me up there?" Laxus asked, pointing to the airship sailing slowly past.

"No problem, Boss," was his confident response.

Laxus hesitated. He was so nervous to leave Lucy again for even a short amount of time, but he didn't want to risk her safety where he was going. "Lucy, I want you to go back to the base camp with Bix."

"No," she instantly responded.

Laxus winced at her answer. He'd seen her with her team when she got like this; there was likely no winning. "Lucy, please."

"No, Laxus. Those are my teammates up there and I can help. I'm not as weak as I look. Please, let me help. Don't take that away from me."

Laxus looked into her eyes and assessed her strength. He reached out slightly through their newly formed bond and let out a breath when he realized that she was rapidly healing and gaining strength. "Okay, but I need you to stay close to me. If something happened to you again, I-"

She cut him off before he had the chance to say more, letting her fingers reach up to trail against his chin. "I get it. You don't have to say it. We'll talk it all through later."

Laxus nodded and looked at his friend. "Can you get us both up there?"

"Sure thing man. Should I stay and fight?"

Laxus shook his head. "No. I want you returning to help Freed. Chances are, there are other battles being waged all over the island. We need to gather our numbers. Our strength comes from each other and they're trying to tear us apart. We can't let that happen."

Bickslow smiled and nodded. "Glad to have you back, Laxus," he said with a clap to the man's shoulder. Laxus returned his knowing gaze before him and Lucy were sailing into the sky towards the airship.

. . .

It was no use. Lucy had given the last of her strength summoning her spirits and she was nearly unconscious in the corner of the airship. Laxus had landed several good hits on the leader but, damn, this man was powerful. Laxus grimaced. If only he hadn't wasted all that power fighting the other Slayer or lost a good deal of his reserves traveling through the Voids, this fight would have been over in minutes.

He looked back across the mostly dismantled airship now. How they were still flying, he didn't fully understand. Natsu was the only one that appeared to have any energy left.

"Fuck," Laxus cursed under his breath as he called out to the man. "Natsu! It's up to you now! You've gotta take him down!" Natsu stood to his full height and pounded his fist into his hand. "You ready?" Laxus signaled to him and Natsu intuitively understood him. As if by instinct, Laxus shot the remainder of his power out to Natsu. The entire ship watched in awe as lightning and fire merged around the slayer's body.

With the last of Laxus' strength, he moved to Lucy, pulling her into his arms and closed his eyes. There was nothing more he could do but put his trust and faith in Natsu to deliver the final blow.

. . .

"Laxus! Laxus! Wake up!" He blinked his eyes and found himself back at the impromptu base camp. Freed was shaking his shoulders while a little blue-haired girl he didn't recognize was pressing bandages into some of his larger injuries.

He sat up, trying to shake his head clear and look around. "Where's Lucy!" he almost yelled in panic.

"She's fine!" the little girl responded, trying to push him back down. "She's just resting, like you should be."

Laxus looked at Freed and the Rune Mage understood. "Everyone's here-and alive. It was a hell of a battle but we all managed to make it out alive."

Laxus nodded his head in understanding. He looked out across the camp and spotted his Grandfather talking with Erza. She looked like she was in rough shape too. He avoided making eye contact. He didn't have time to deal with the questions now, he needed to get back to Lucy. There was something within him, stronger than the last time they had begun the Mating, that was driving him towards her and he was helpless to ignore it.

As he tried to stand, his legs gave out and he found himself back on the ground. So he dragged himself over to where she was laying as fast as he could. Her breathing was even and he looked back at the little healer in question. "Is she okay? Is anything broken?"

Her blue locks shook from side to side. "Nothing broken. She's just resting from magic depletion." She walked over to Laxus' side and his eyes widened as her hands began to faintly glow. "This is incredible, she was almost completely depleted a few minutes ago, but she's much improved now."

Laxus didn't need to hear anymore. He gathered Lucy in his arms and she blinked awake at the movement. "Laxus?" When she had woken up, she somewhat thought everything that had happened to her had been some incredible dream. It all seemed too good to be true. "Is that really you? It wasn't a dream?"

Wendy backed off from the couple, opting to check on the others that needed help.

"I thought it was all a dream," she breathed and hugged him closer to her body. Laxus reveled in the warmth of her body against his and silently thanked his inner soul for bringing him to this place. For years he had resented what the Lacrima had done to him, expelling his father from the Guild and breaking apart his family. But if it meant that he got to have Lucy, even for just a short time before the Mating faded, he was grateful.

"It wasn't. I honestly wish the whole thing was though. Lucy, I'm so sorry," he nearly sobbed into her shoulder, suddenly losing his composure.

"Laxus, it's fine-" she began to say but he only hugged her tighter.

"It's not though. You only say that because you don't understand. When you do, you'll leave me. And you'd have every right to. But you've got to know I'll make it up to you-somehow," he said, the tears streaming down his eyes.

Lucy pushed against his chest lightly and he allowed her to move him back. She tilted his chin up so she could look at him. "Laxus, I don't fully understand everything that happened to me, and I promise, we'll talk about it. But what I do know, is that, whatever happened before, you came back for me, and that makes up for a hell of a lot in my mind."

Laxus looked back into her wide brown eyes. "How can you be so forgiving? You don't even understand everything yet, but you're already ready to forgive me."

Lucy turned to look out at the trees. "It's just how I've always been. I can't hold a grudge. There's too much living to do in this world to be carrying around extra baggage." She turned back to look at him and smiled.

Before he could respond, the sky quickly darkened and an eerie cry sounded across the camp. Everyone stood still, frozen in place, as a magnificent black dragon flew overhead.

END CHAPTER 34

. . .

Hello lovers!

Can you believe we are at chapter 34?! So crazy. Updates should hopefully be quick in the next few chapters because I do have some of it written already and other parts planned out.

So, I think we should all take a moment to go over details and clarify a few things because I got a review which I believe makes this necessary.

Conquest bonds are one way bonds that result in the loss of one's self control and free will. Mating bonds, on the other hand, are two way bonds formed through mutual acceptance and trust. It would not form without that person's trust and acceptance to the bond and it DOES NOT take away either Mate's free will. You cannot control someone through a Mating bond like you could through a Conquest bond.

So no, when Lucy decided, of her own free will to assent to Laxus and trust him, she did not give up her free will or agree to be controlled by him. Just want to make sure that is 100% clear to everyone. Also, if you have questions about the story, you can always leave me a PM if you don't want to make your review public. But I will say that if you have an issue with an aspect of the story, leave your name so I can at least address it or PM you myself. I definitely don't want anyone confused about anything going on!

Okay, nuff said. I hope everyone enjoys their upcoming weekend! Here's to hoping you get a three day weekend!

All the love!

Musicera