"Fuck, baby, you feel so good."

"Oh my god, more, Gajeel. Please, more!"

"Good fucking girl, baby. God, your pussy is fucking incredible."

"Deeper deeper deeper! Don't stop, Gajeel! Please don't stop!"

It was the slight chill across her shoulders and legs that began to wake Lucy up. Her abdomen and sides, however, were strangely warm. It took Lucy's brain a few sleep-addled seconds to realise that Gajeel was straddling her thighs, with her shirt pushed up to under her bra and his hands gripping her sides, as he decorated her stomach with hot, open kisses. Lucy lifted her head to look at him through half-lidded eyes, and when he caught her gaze, he smirked. Gajeel slid down her body, trailing kisses from her ribs, past her belly button, down to the waistband of her shorts. Then, with a cocked brow and a ridiculously sexy grin, he slid her shorts down her legs. Lucy, now suddenly wide awake, lifted her hips to allow him to maneuver the garment down to her ankles, where she promptly kicked it off. Comfortably positioned between her bent knees, Gajeel tipped forward to deeply kiss Lucy on the mouth.

"What's all this?" she asked, brushing her lips against his as she spoke.

"Were you having a naughty dream, Lucy?" Gajeel questioned in response. The glint in his eyes told Lucy that he already knew the answer. She swallowed thickly.

"Tell me what it was," he purred.

"It was you and me-" Lucy started.

"Obviously."

"Shut up. And we were in bed. Together."

"Like every night so far?"

"No. We were…" Lucy blushed furiously.

"Tell me, Bunny. I want to know."

"We were having… Y'know."

"We've discussed this many times, I don't know why you're suddenly bashful."

"It's one thing to talk about it, it's a whole other thing to have a very vivid dream!"

"Tell me." Gajeel commanded, his voice now firm. Lucy felt a shiver of desire run up her spine.

"You were on top of me. I was on my stomach. I could feel the cool pillow against my cheek. You were holding my hair with one hand and pushing me down into the mattress with the other. And you were whispering all these things in my ear. I could feel your warm breath on my skin. And the sound of our bodies connecting… God, it was so good," Lucy's eyes fluttered shut as scenes from her dream came back to her. A fresh wave of wetness seeped into her underwear.

The scent wafted up to Gajeel, reminding him of what woke him up in the first place. Hearing her soft moans and smelling her arousal was undoubtedly the best way to start his day.

"Fuck." Gajeel whispered. "I could smell you getting wet and, Bunny, it drove me insane. I had to know what was turning you on so much."

"You. You're turning me on," Lucy whispered. She hooked her legs around Gajeel's waist, forcing him to fall forwards onto her. He braced himself on his elbows at the last second to avoid crushing the blonde below him.

Lucy pushed her hips up into his groin, knowing that Gajeel would be able to feel her damp panties. As if in a trance, Gajeel slowly pushed her shirt up over her bra before hooking a finger through one of the straps and pulling the cup down to free her breast. Lucy hissed as the cold air gusted over her nipple, instantly hardening it.

"Fuck, Lucy," Gajeel strangled out. Lucy held her breath in anticipation as Gajeel slowly lowered his head to her pink nub.

"Gajeel," Lucy moaned, her voice brimming with lust.

The Iron Dragon Slayer lifted his head, leaning forward to press an urgent kiss to Lucy's lips, full of want and desire. Then, with his breath ghosting across her body, he moved his face back down to her breast. His lips were parted, ready to suck her nipple into his mouth, when he suddenly froze. He was less than an inch away from her aching nub when he flicked his head to the side.

"Put your clothes back on," he gritted, removing himself from between Lucy's legs. "We have company."

Lucy awkwardly rearranged her bra and top, getting up onto her feet and pulling on her shorts before following Gajeel, who'd bolted out of the tent. The sun was yet to rise above the horizon, but the sky had lightened into an orange-purple hue in anticipation of dawn.

Gajeel's arm was a club as he stood, knees slightly bent as if ready to pounce, facing a tree.

"What did you hear?" Lucy whispered, but Gajeel didn't respond. He bared his teeth, growling at whatever was in the canopy. Lucy was about to repeat her question when a tiger/parrot leapt out of the tree. It was smaller than a regular tiger, but not by much. Instead of a snout and whiskers, it had a red beak, clashing horrifyingly with its orange fur. Instead of black stripes, olive green markings adorned its body. It opened its beak and a sound somewhere between a squawk and a roar left it. Even from her distance, Lucy could see purple ichor staining its small, sharpened teeth. It's claws were extended as it flew towards Gajeel, but the creature was no match for the Dragon Slayer. With a swift blow, Gajeel sent the monster sailing several feet back before hitting a tree and then the ground. It's back was bent unnaturally as it stilled on the forest floor.

"Behind you, Gajeel!" Lucy screamed. Gajeel whipped around in time to see a boar with the tail and hooves of a horse come charging at him. Another sickening blow and the monster limped off with a gaping hole in its chest. It staggered away for a few feet before collapsing to the ground with a wheeze.

"If only I had been this strong the last time I was here. Might not have almost died then," Gajeel mumbled, stretching his arms above his head.

"Gaj... Look at her," Lucy said in a loud whisper.

The bound spirit was slumped over, her chin on her chest. Her eyes were closed. Lucy walked up to the spirit, grateful that her ankle was no longer slowing her down. The spirit didn't react as Lucy approached it. It didn't even react when Lucy was a foot away. The blonde crouched down and slowly extended her hand, watching for some kind of movement. Gently, she cupped the spirit's cheek. It felt like she'd dipped her hand into a flowing river. The spirit's skin was cool and almost undulating, yet solid and supple. Lucy felt like she had been parched and the spirit had just quenched her thirst. And underneath the calm, refreshing skin, Lucy felt the familiar warm pulse of magic. The Celestial mage sighed in relief.

"She's alive. I can feel her magic energy. Should I call my spirits?" she asked, turning to look at Gajeel.

He shook his head. "No point, I think. Like Loke said, we just gotta wait it out. I'm sure she'll be fine," he said compassionately.

Lucy nodded. She got up and began walking back to the tent when she heard a hiss and then a shout. She spun around to find Gajeel, his body now solid iron, wrestling a large, fanged possum. The creature was nearly as big as Gajeel, and purple ichor dripped from its bared fangs. The viscous liquid fell onto Gajeel's shoulder and ran off in putrid rivulets.

Without waiting to see who was winning, Lucy dashed into the tent. She grabbed the key she was looking for before rushing back outside.

"Sagittarius!" she called loudly. In the next second, the horse archer stood by her side, and another second later, without any command from Lucy, the monster had eight arrows lodged in its body.

"I had that under control," Gajeel grunted as he shoved the dead creature off of him. His body changed back to warm flesh, and with a disgusted groan, he wiped away the remnants of the ichor.

"A 'thank you' is good enough," Lucy shot back.

"Thanks Sagittarius," Gajeel muttered petulantly.

The spirit nodded at Gajeel before turning to Lucy. "Anything else, Miss Lucy?" he asked with a bow.

"No, thank you, Sagittarius," Lucy beamed as her spirit bowed once more before vanishing.

"Why today? We haven't had a monster come at us in a while, so what changed?" Gajeel immediately questioned.

"I think it's the spirit. The monsters were scared of her, remember? But she's unconscious. Maybe that's why they're back. Her presence was protecting us."

Gajeel nodded. He didn't look entirely convinced, but Lucy couldn't blame him. Just when they were starting to let their guard down, the monsters returned, and so did Gajeel's nightmares. Lucy knew that tonight would be difficult for Gajeel. He was already getting jittery and nervous. She watched him pace up and down, his eyes frantically scanning the trees. There were sounds indiscernible to Lucy that would catch Gajeel's attention and he'd swing his head, his long mane whipping across his back. This went on for several minutes. Lucy stood patiently, watching him scope the place. She didn't bother telling him that nothing was in the trees, because a very large part of her was worried that horrifying monsters lurked mere feet above their heads.

Eventually, she approached her Dragon Slayer. She placed her hand on his back in an attempt to calm him. At her touch, Gajeel flinched away with a hiss.

"Your scar… I'm sorry, Gajeel, I forgot," Lucy apologised. That light touch against the large cut running down his back was enough to jolt the memory of its occurrence into his already frazzled mind.

"It's fine, it's fine," Gajeel said with a vague shake of his head.

"We'll be okay," Lucy tried. When Gajeel gave her an exasperated look, she shrugged. "Fine, I don't know that we'll be okay, but Gajeel, you going into this tailspin won't help anyone. We've been dealing with monsters this entire time. Today will be no different."

"What if they're hungrier? Or more aggressive? We don't know anything, Lucy! These Woods are a goddamn riddle, and you and I have no idea what is up and what is down. Even with the spirit, everything we "know" comes from mildly educated guesses. So if the monsters go away and then suddenly come back, I am going to be worried, because it means that, once again, you can die." Gajeel enunciated his words with pronounced claps.

He gripped Lucy by the shoulders. "I know you'll fight me on this, but please just stay in the tent? Feel free to call your spirits, I don't care. But you stay inside. Please," he begged.

Lucy shook her head. "I'm not leaving you out here alone."

"Give me Loke. Or Virgo. Or both. I'm fine with that. But Lucy, if I know that you are in harm's way, I will not be able to fight. I will spend every second watching you and making sure you're fine when I should be watching the trees. So please. Do this one thing for me."

Lucy opened her mouth to argue, but when she saw the desperation in his eyes, she clamped her lips shut and nodded stiffly.

"Loke is going to be with you the entire time," she reiterated, to which Gajeel nodded in agreement. Lucy got up on her toes and pressed a quick but frantic kiss to Gajeel's lips. Pulling away, she cupped his face gently.

"If I have any reason to believe you are in danger, I will come outside. I don't give a fuck about any monsters. So you better be careful and stay safe. Understood?" she instructed sternly.

"Understood," Gajeel's lips curled into a soft smile. "These bitches don't got anything on me anyway," he said, the cocky twinkle returning to his eyes.

"There we go," Lucy giggled, turning around to walk away. She gasped when she felt Gajeel's hand swat her ass, and turned to give him her best coquettish smile. With a final wink, Gajeel bounded towards the trees before leaping up into them and out of sight.

Lucy could feel her magic energy sapping away as Loke fought outside with Gajeel. Lucy could hear the terrible sound of growls and screams. She heard Gajeel and Loke shout instructions at each other. Occasionally, things would fall silent, and one of the men would stick their head into the tent to check on Lucy, until the other called him back. The monsters were attacking with renewed vigour, and the last time Gajeel poked his head into the tent, he was drenched in sweat and looking exhausted. It took all of Lucy's self-control to not reach out, grab him, and hold him close to her. She absolutely hated sitting in the tent, and she was having an imaginary argument with Gajeel in her head, where she was yelling at him for leaving her out.

I can't believe I'm sitting here when Loke is out there fighting. I should be with him! I should be with Gajeel! God, I hate Gajeel right now. I can't believe he's treating me like I'm useless. I can help! I can fight monsters! I'm good with the whip! Gajeel doesn't know anything. He just underestimates me. I should go out there anyway. Stand by my spirit while he fights. But… I know where Gajeel is coming from. My reflexes are not as fast as Gajeel's or Loke's… He just wants me safe, and I'd get in their way. I can fight. I know I can. But I'd struggle holding my own against so many monsters… But I could still help. One more person will lighten the load. Okay, I'm doing it. Fuck Gajeel's dumb orders. Loke is fighting and I need to be with my spirit.

Having talked herself into going against Gajeel's instructions, Lucy affixed her whip to her side before stepping out of the tent.

"Go inside Lucy!" Gajeel immediately yelled. He was a few feet away from her, slicing through a large alligator/pig.

With his head turned to face her, he didn't notice the winged snake that flew at him.

"Gajeel!" Lucy yelled. Before she could process what she was doing, she ran towards the creature and flicked her whip at it. The winged snake went careening into a tree, and fell to the ground, stunned, at which point Loke promptly blew it to pieces.

"See?! You distracted me!" Gajeel screamed at the blonde.

"Distracted you?! I saved your fucking ass!"

"I wouldn't have needed saving if you just stayed inside like I asked!"

"Not now, guys!" Loke yelled, cutting through their fight. He didn't look as tired as Gajeel, but Lucy knew her magic energy was low and he'd have to go back soon.

"It's almost dusk," Loke continued. "Tonight's the full moon. Hopefully she'll wake up as the moon rises and the monsters will leave."

"Loke, I'm going to run out of magic energy soon," Lucy said frantically.

"Hold out for a little longer, Princess. And stay inside. You need to conserve your power," Loke bit out as he proceeded to dismember an unidentifiable creature.

Lucy threw Gajeel one last look, but when he didn't turn to meet her gaze, she stalked into the tent, zipping it shut behind her.

Screwing her eyes shut, Lucy channeled her magic energy into Loke, willing it to last her and her spirit until dusk.

"Just a few more minutes," Lucy muttered. She chanted this like a mantra for the next half hour until, finally, she heard the rapid scampering of multiple footsteps.

Another minute later, and her tent door unzipped.

"All done, Princess. The sun's set, the moon is on the horizon, and the spirit has started stirring. The worst of it should be behind us," Loke let her know softly.

Lucy let out a breath that had been stuck in her throat.

"Rest now. You've had my gate open almost all day," Loke said kindly.

"Where's Gajeel?" Lucy croaked.

"He'll be here in a minute. I just wanted to let you know first. And Princess…" Loke trailed off.

Lucy raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Go easy on Gajeel. He was worried and he cares about you. He doesn't think you aren't capable. He just wanted to do whatever he could to keep you safe," Loke exhaled deeply after giving Lucy a knowing look.

Lucy was still too irritated with Gajeel to want to heed Loke's advice. "Thank you, Loke," she said sincerely, not wanting to engage with him about Gajeel.

Loke took the hint, and with a nod, flickered away in a shower of golden sparks.

Not a minute later, Gajeel trudged in.

"You're injured. I can help. Though I'm sure a big, strong man like you doesn't need me to fix him," Lucy mumbled passive-aggressively.

Gajeel breathed heavily through his nose and the pair locked eyes, both glaring at each other, waiting for the other to succumb. Finally, Gajeel averted his gaze and sat down next to Lucy.

"I'd really appreciate the help. Thank you," he grumbled softly.

Lucy balked momentarily before quickly collecting herself.

"Okay," she whispered, standing up. Quickly bounding around the tent, Lucy retrieved everything she needed to clean and bandage Gajeel's wounds.

"Are these going to get infected? Do you need the spirit?" Lucy whispered as she wiped the few scratches he had.

"No, these are from hitting trees and the ground. I made sure none of those suckers clawed me."

"You're sure?" Lucy double-checked.

"Yes, I'm sure. They just bruised me," Gajeel assured. "It's gonna hurt like a bitch tomorrow, but I'll be fine. Nothing's bleeding, nothing's broken. That's what's important."

Sitting behind him, Lucy gently rubbed salve onto the purple spots appearing across Gajeel's bronzed torso and arms. They sat in silence for several moments as she carefully addressed his injuries.

"I think you're amazing, Bunny," Gajeel finally whispered. Lucy paused her ministrations. "You kept Loke's gate open all day. That can't have been easy. And when you stopped that snake? That was incredible, Lucy. I know exactly what you're capable of, and I think you're amazing. Me asking you to stay inside today wasn't because I didn't think you could fight, or because I thought you'd slow me down or get in my way. It had nothing to do with you. You are so brilliant. You really are. You're smarter than anyone I know. Maybe except Levy and Freed, but they're just abnormal. Besides them though, you're the smartest person I know, and you're an incredibly strong wizard. I think you could even make S-Class. Please, don't be mad at me," he asked softly.

"Then why? Why did you make me sit in here like some weakling all day?" Lucy asked, voice thick with emotion. She was angry at having been left out, but touched at what Gajeel said, and the combined emotions caused her eyes to well with tears. Gajeel turned to face her.

"Don't cry, Bunny," he begged, wiping an errant tear away with the pad of his thumb.

"I felt so useless. And it hurt when you said I distracted you. I just wanted to help. This was supposed to be my mission," Lucy said petulantly, more tears slipping out of her eyes.

"I know. I'm sorry. I honestly am. You didn't distract me, I just stopped caring about anything except keeping you safe, even if that meant putting myself at risk. I asked you to stay inside because I need you safe. And keeping you away from the fight was the only way I knew how. I'm sorry you felt useless - that wasn't my intention. And Lucy, think about it. I wouldn't have been alive if I fought alone. Loke kept me alive, and you kept Loke with me. So, though you may not have been out there next to me, it's because of you that I'm not some gross pile of flesh and blood and bones now." Gajeel allowed himself a small smile.

Through her tears, a small giggle escaped Lucy's lips. "That was unnecessarily graphic," she laughed, drying her eyes.

"Do you forgive me?" Gajeel asked, cupping her face.

Lucy pretended to consider his question. "Maybe," she grinned slyly.

Gajeel rolled his eyes before leaning forward and capturing her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. He gripped her waist and pulled her onto his lap, encircling her in his arms. Lucy twisted her fingers into his hair, moaning and tugging at his locks when he bit down on her lip.

"Tomorrow," he whispered into her mouth.

"I can't wait," Lucy purred back before letting her lips drift down to his throat.

With teasing touches, kisses, licks, and bites, Gajeel and Lucy spent their last night in the Woods as the spirit outside rose from her slumber.

A/N: We're almooost done with the Woods! And, in good news, I have a decent idea of where this story is going, and don't worry, not only is there proper smut coming up, but there will be more plot even after we're done with the woods! So hopefully you are enjoying this and will stick around for everything that's yet to come! I know this feels like it's kinda not going anywhere and every chapter is just them fighting monsters and kissing, but I pinky swear, this was the last one like that! I just had to go through the process because I worked myself into that corner! But you will have fresh, new, non-monster content from the next chapter!

As always, please hit me with your stunning thoughts! Your reviews mean the absolute world to me and I read and re-read each one!

(Okay so FFN is glitching severely and chapter 11 is not staying up as of Nov 3 2020, and it's been like this for four days, so if you want to read the next chap, head on over to AO3 where it's being cross-posted! Hopefully this resolves itself soon!)