WARNING: Rated M for Explicit Graphic Depictions of Violence, Graphic Depiction of Rape/Non-Consensual Sex, Graphic Sex, Graphic Physical and Mental Abuse, and Mental Instability. Please read at your own discretion.

I do not own Fairy Tail; All major characters depicted in this fan-created fiction story belong to Hiro Mashima.

This chapter is Beta-read by the awesome YungVodkaDikost, if you haven't read any of her stories, you should go check them out!

Chapter 21

"So you mean to tell me that I single-handedly took out Natsu.. Our Natsu? As in Natsu Dragneel? Sorry Levy, I just can't seem to wrap my head around that one. I mean, I'm usually the one that's always getting kidnapped, or ends up having to be rescued on missions. So to think that I could actually even use the shadows to beat the crap out of him is pretty chilling to think about." The blonde haired woman leaned back against her desk chair she was currently occupying while her mind tried to process the load of information the solid script mage has decided to share with her.

Of course, the celestial wizard knew that it was a possibility that she could use the foreign shadow magic within her as her own if she learned the proper way of controlling it, but that wasn't the case in this situation.

The feeling she received from the shadows before her mind went blank, was almost as if it had completely taken her over, possessing her till she was nothing but a captive in her own body.

The voice that lived deep inside the darkest parts of her mind had somehow taken over and that was the only reason she must have been able to use the magic in the first place.

But to think that that magic had been able to toss around the 'never give up' pyro like he was nothing but a mere toy had her mind reeling.

How much magic did she really have housed within her body? And could the possibility of her taming the future as well as the present shadow dragon slayer's magic be something she could accomplish with the right type of training?

"Believe it, bunny girl. I don't know what the hell is going on inside that body of yours, but I get the feeling that it's trying to merge all your magics together. Since the playboy wasn't even able to open a gate while you were using those two shadow magics, I'd even say it has the potential of even changing your celestial magic." Lucy snapped straight up in her chair while she looked around the room in fear, she didn't want to lose the ability to summon her spirits!

They were so much more than just her magic to her, they were her friends and the thought of never being able to see them again had a hole forming in her heart from just at the idea.

"Gajeel, don't scare her like that!" Levy slapped the back of the iron mages head earning a grunt and a scowl from the larger male as he crossed his arms back over his chest. Lucy suppressed a chuckle as she watched the bluenette stretch her body up in an attempt to close the gap of their obvious size differences while trying to appear bigger than the little woman actually was.

A snicker was heard across the room as the blonde dragon slayer also tried to keep in his laughter.

"What? I'm just telling it how I see it. Geez shrimp, can't you ever keep your hands to yourself?" Lucy watched as the petite solid script mage blushed before turning her head away from the iron dragon slayer.

Those two really did act like an old married couple.

"I wouldn't have to hit you if could show a little bit of compassion for Lu's situation!" Lucy let a small giggle slip passed her lips as she watched the two Fairy Tail wizards bicker while still sitting on her tiny loveseat.

While of course, she was still worried about never being able to use her celestial magic again if Gajeel's words rang true, she didn't want that to ruin her visit at Fairy Tail.

All that mattered at the moment was that she was still able to use her magic, which brought out a sort of comfort to the blonde fairy.

"It's okay Levy, I understand what Gajeel is trying to say. Thanks for looking out for me, though. I really appreciate it." The blonde woman smiled as she observed her two guildmates stop arguing with one another long enough to nod in her direction, a smile and small blush on the bluenette's face as she gave her a thumbs up with a wink.

Of course, the smaller woman would always look out for her, just like she would do the same for her.

"It's okay, Lucy. I don't think Rogue's magic will try and merge with your celestial magic, if anything the Rogue from the future and the present Rogue's magics are the ones that are trying to merge together, celestial and shadow magic are just too different for that sort of thing to happen." Lucy's eyes glanced toward her fellow celestial wizard while the silver-haired Saber shifted in her seat at the blonde's small kitchen table. It really was somewhat of a relief to hear that Yukino had been thinking the same thing that had been running through the blonde's mind.

The two different shadow magics in her forming together were possible but celestial and shadow magic was too different. Even when the future Rogue gained Sting's white dragon slayer magic, they were still both types dragon slayer magic.

Lucy's magic was a completely different type as it wasn't caster magic at all, it was holder magic meaning she needed her keys to even use it, so that put her mind at ease.

"I was thinking the same thing, Yukino." The blonde was sure the relief was apparent in her eyes when she turned to look at the ebony haired Saber who remained leaning against the same wall as earlier. His visible crimson eye locked onto her brown ones while a feeling sort of akin to worry touched her heart, worry that did not belong to her.

Lucy studied the impassive male's face, trying to make out the unreadable expression but her attention on the shadow mage was severed when she heard the soft vibrations of a lacrima going off.

The blonde Fairy Tail wizard's eyes darted to the loveseat just in time to watch Levy as she brought out a small travel sized lacrima, making the sound of vibrations reverberate louder throughout the room. The blue haired mage held up the small device, drawing everyone's attention to the object when a picture of the red-headed Titania appeared.

"Levy, I have urgent news, you're still with Lucy, I presume?" Lucy's face grimaced, just what could have possibly happened now? She was hoping to enjoy her time back at home, not worry about anything. She could only hope that Fairy Tail wasn't involved in another major fiasco.

"Yeah, Gajeel and I are here. We even picked up some hitchhikers on the way." Levy pointed the lacrima to where the red-headed fairy would be able to get a good picture of the three Sabertooth members sitting at Lucy's kitchen table. The three waved before the bluenette woman moved the device back to where she was in full view before waiting for the Titania to continue.

"I see, then Yukino will be able to join us as well. We have all come to a decision to visit the local hot springs for a 'girl's night' tomorrow. The boys will also be attending by having their own 'guy's night'- separately, of course. We all want to reconnect with you, Lucy. Is this acceptable?" The blonde felt everyone's eyes land on her as they curiously waited for her reply while a certain ebony haired slayer moved off the wall in favor of crossing his arms over his chest.

The blonde was nervous, while she would love to reconnect with all her girlfriends of the guild, she wasn't good around large crowds anymore. So the thought of being crowded in with a large number of women made her feel slightly anxious just at the thought.

The celestial mage in question bit her bottom lip, causing her teeth to worry the soft pink flesh.

The longer she took to reply, the more she struggled within herself to come up with a suitable answer.

"I'll go, and I'm sure Levy will be there as well. Plus, the guys won't be far away, right? If it becomes too much for you to handle, Rogue can bring you back home, so what's the harm in just trying?" Lucy felt her tension ease as her brown orbs slid from the smiling form of Yukino to the nodding bluenette still holding the lacrima device.

However, it wasn't until her questioning gaze landed on the shadow dragon slayer, who was slowly nodding his head with a small ghost of a smile did she finally decide to voice her answer.

"Okay, it sounds like it could be fun. We'll give it a shot!" The blonde nodded her head with a determined look on her face. This would be a good chance to finally overcome some of her fears. Plus, as long as Levy and Yukino were there and she knew Rogue wasn't too far out of range, Lucy felt she would be able to handle a girl's night with her family, no problem.

"I'm glad to hear that, Lucy. Also, Sting and Yukino, if you haven't already made preparations on where you two will be staying for your visit in Magnolia, I can arrange a guest room at the guild hall. I can only imagine Lucy's apartment would be too cramped with so many people." Sting rubbed the back of his neck while Yukino sighed with a small scowl on her face.

The Sabertooth Master was supposed to be the one in charge of taking care of their lodging accommodations. Though it would seem the slayer had all but forgotten about that particular task. So the fact that the three Saber's were being offered another accommodation, other than Lucy's apartment, was heaven to Sting's ears.

"That would be great, Erza. I'll take you up on that offer; I'd also like to visit the hot springs as well when you all go." Sting laughed as he continued rubbing the back of his neck, he would love to use the excuse that he wanted to catch up with Natsu, or hang out with his partner, but the fact was that he just wasn't ready to be away from the silver-haired woman just yet after their mating.

That's not to say that the blonde Sabertooth master wasn't excited to see Natsu again, because he really was stoked about that as well.

"Of course, I'd expect nothing less from Sabertooth's guild master. You are more than welcome to join Rogue and the other men on their guy's night. We will all meet up at the springs at noon tomorrow. Levy, could you please guide Sting, Yukino, and Lector back to the guild on your way to Fairy Hills?" Lucy watched as Sting gave Rogue a thumbs up before the ebony haired slayer rolled his eyes and turned to look at her.

She could feel the shadow mage's annoyance through their bond which caused the celestial mage to stifle a giggle at just how much the twin dragon slayer actually acted like real brothers.

"Alright, thanks Erza. I'm going to be leaving here soon so we won't be too long." After receiving a firm nod from the scarlet-haired beauty Levy ended the connection before putting the lacrima back in her pocket. A yawn escaped the blue-haired solid script mage before she stood with a stretch from the loveseat, followed by a tired looking Gajeel.

The light filtering through the apartment window had started to fade as the coming night approached. Time had seemed to escape them all as they finally realized the sun would be going down soon, signaling the end of the day.

Lucy glanced over to the window, taking in the beautiful golden hues while they spilled through the gaps in her blinds. How could she have slept most of the day away after returning back home from the guild earlier this morning?

Not to mention the lewd and heated wakeup call she had received after her nap. It has definitely been a long day for the two of them, that was for sure.

"Okay, well I guess we will see you all tomorrow at the hot springs. Be safe back to the guild." Lucy saw the four wizards and one exceed out of her apartment, of course not before getting a hug from both the solid script and celestial mage before they departed.

Sting tossed a wave of goodbye over his shoulder while throwing one last glance at his ebony haired partner while Gajeel just grunted his goodbye. Frosch flew in the doorway while waving goodbye to lector who had promised to play with the other little exceed tomorrow.

The blonde celestial wizard let out a sigh when she closed her door with a soft click, the sound echoed throughout the now silent apartment before she turned to look back at her remaining house guests.

The day had been a complete emotional roller coaster for her, and the fairy had no doubt that tomorrow would be just as- if not more, hectic then it had been today.

Despite only being awake for a couple of hours, Lucy was still drained both physically and mentally. Between her anxiety of seeing everyone at the guild, her fear and embarrassment due to Natsu's indiscretion, and then giving into the pleasure of the shadow dragon slayer's touch she was exhausted.

A light blush crossed over Lucy's cheeks at that last thought when she remembered the shadow dragon slayer's bone-melting touches.

Chancing a glance at the said man, Lucy took in his perfectly structured body while he bent to look within the depths of her stocked fridge. Nervousness washed over her form as she leaned against the closed front door while thoughts of the dragon slayer's confessions slipping into her mind as if they begged to be remembered.

"Do you know how long I have wanted to hold you? To feel your body pressed into mine…?" Lucy felt fire burn low within her belly as she remembered his heated words; The ebony haired male had put himself out there to tell her exactly how he felt about her, making sure that there would be no room for any miscommunications.

"I will never hurt you in the ways you were in the past, that's not my intention. I want you to know that I don't have it within me to hurt you, Lucy." The blonde felt her eyes follow the slayer's movements as he reached deeper within the confines of her refrigerator. Her heart had never felt so full, almost as if a piece she never knew was missing had been put back into place, filling the gaps of her broken heart and mending to where she finally felt somewhat like her old self again.

"Will you let me stay by your side, even though I don't deserve to?" Lucy blinked when she remembered his heartfelt words. How could he think he didn't deserve to stay by her? If anything, she didn't deserve his affection.

No matter how much the ebony haired mage would tell her, Lucy still felt like she was and would always be a burden to him.

"Any particular reason you are staring at me, Lucy?" Lucy felt the blush spread further up her cheeks as her whole face flamed with a brilliant pink. She hadn't realized she had been staring at the male the whole time she had been deep in her memories.

The blonde squeaked when the slayer slowly stalked towards her, all thoughts of the food in the fridge completely forgotten with every step he took to close the distance between them.

"I- I didn't mean to stare, I was just so lost in thought that I didn't even realize I was looking at you." Lucy felt the cool wood of her apartment door as it met her flesh, a clear indication that she wouldn't be able to back away anymore from the ebony haired male. His strides were wide and before the blonde could blink, the master of shadows had slipped his way right up in front of her, leaving no room for an escape.

"Are you sure that's the only reason, Luce? I could have sworn I felt something through our bond. I believe it was desire." Lucy felt a jolt of electricity shoot from her belly to her womanhood as she took in the heated and predatory gaze the Sabertooth mage pinned her with.

It would seem the tiger had caught his fairy.

Rogue brought one of his hands up to rest on the wood of the door right beside the blonde's head, while the other moved to caress the exposed skin of her waist.

"You do know that I can smell you, right?" Rogue moved in to nuzzle the side of her neck, making the blonde whimper while she reached up to grab the silken stands of his ebony locks, enticing a growl from the already turned on slayer.

Lucy could feel the hand on her waist as it slowly slipped down to grasp at her curvaceous hip before pushing her flush against the door.

"I swear, it's getting harder and harder to contain myself around you, Lucy. Everything within me is telling me that you are- without a single doubt- mine. I feel such strong emotions coming from you and when you mix the scent of my magic, along with the smell of your desire, you become extremely dangerous for me." Lucy felt the way his strong hand kneaded the skin of her hip while his other came to rest on her cheek before moving his head down so that he could place a gentle kiss on her forehead, causing another pang of desire to slip through her body.

The blonde watched as her slayer's nostrils flared while he took in the fresh wave of her arousal, causing another pained groan to slip past his lips.

"R-Rogue I-" Lucy was cut off as the loud grumble of her stomach echoed throughout the room causing the blonde to look away shyly.

Leave it to her stomach to ruin the mood.

The ebony haired slayer released his hold on the blonde while moving his body further away from hers so as to unpin her from the door. He gave her a small smile before he turned to head back to her kitchen as if nothing had just happened between the two of them.

"What would you like for dinner? We missed lunch so you have to be at least half as hungry as I am." The blonde stammered as she watched the male resume his place in front of the fridge before giving her a small smile while bringing his index finger up to his lip before pointing at the little green exceed who had passed out on the couch as soon as the other mages made their exit.

The blonde nodded silently while she made her way over to the kitchen as well.

"You made breakfast this morning, so it's my turn to cook dinner, so get out of my kitchen." The slayer could feel his magic surge through his body the longer the celestial mage let her hand linger on his shoulder, proving that he had not yet recovered from their little moment - even though he put on a good front.

"Fine. Make me your favorite food, then." Lucy smiled as she put on her apron, glad that the slayer had decided not to fight her on the subject.

She wasn't an amazing cook like Mira, but she wasn't horrible in the kitchen, so hopefully Rogue wouldn't hate her cooking.

"Coming right up!"

The blonde set to work.

Lucy sighed, the small exhale of air had caught the shadow mage's attention causing him to avert his eyes away from the hypnotic swaying of the blonde's full hips while she walked in front of him.

The dark haired male mentally sighed as well, the further they walked down the cobblestone street the sooner it would inevitably lead the both of them to the local hot spring resort, where they would be split up from one another.

The ebony haired slayer silently followed after Lucy while staying a few feet behind while he tried to keep his distance from the delectable blonde. It wasn't that he didn't want to be close to her, because in truth that would be the complete opposite of what he truly wanted; but Rogue had started to wonder if maybe his constant close proximity would start to feel like he was pressuring her.

The dragon slayer could feel Lucy through their bond and though he never felt any indication that she was feeling pressured or forced, the ruby-eyed mage couldn't help the nagging voice in his head that whispered maybe he was overstepping his boundaries a little too much lately with the blonde Fairy.

He wasn't used to dealing with strong emotional desires that had to do with lust and adoration before, so to say that he was a little out of his element would be a huge understatement. On top of that, Rogue didn't have any experience in dealing with women to begin with; making it even more difficult for the shadow dragon slayer.

Being as this was his first time ever feeling the emotion before, he didn't really know what to do with himself. He didn't want to act like he was coming on too strong, but at the same time, he didn't want to keep himself too closed off and distant from her in fear that it would drive a wedge between their slowly forming relationship.

To put it simply; the ebony haired Sabertooth mage felt unsure of himself.

The celestial maiden was by no means weak, but her mind was in a fragile position and he was worried that if he kept trying to get closer to her; and if she wasn't ready for that, he would end up pushing her away from him.

The Sabertooth slayer had never once wondered who his life mate could be, but now that he thought he had found her, he wasn't ready to lose her over his foolish and rash actions.

Rogue felt a wave of uneasiness wash over him while he watched what he could only assume was the resort they would most likely be staying at coming into their view.

From what he could tell, the resort had a nice tranquil atmosphere while still being lively enough to draw in people. The building was surrounded by small local businesses and many attractions that could easily sway consumers to visit Magnolia's small hotspot for tourists.

The shadow slayer felt a knot form in his stomach. He wanted to be supportive of the blonde Fairy Tail wizard reconnecting with her family and friends, but he didn't want her to force herself into something she wasn't ready for just for the sake of other people's feelings.

Rogue concentrated as he tried to gauge Lucy's emotions through their shared connection. Usually, the ebony haired male wouldn't even have to concentrate to feel her turmoil boiling within her, but it would seem the celestial mage was starting to get the hang of controlling her own emotions.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know." Red irises met molten chocolate eyes as the blonde haired woman stopped walking to look over her shoulder to give the slayer a reassuring smile, causing warmth to fill his chest.

How the celestial mage could still smile like that while trying to assure him even though he could still feel her nervousness through their bond made him shake his head; she was too giving, too thoughtful for her own good.

"If something happens, we will leave; but I'm not going to run away before at least trying." Rogue's eyes softened while he felt pride swell within him at watched the blonde angel in front of him turn to continue walking.

It still amazed him how strong she really was, he was a fool to assume that the fairy walking before him now was nothing more than just a common guild member. There was so much more to Lucy than just her losing matches at the GMG, and there was so much more to her magic that they didn't even get to see.

He was wrong to go off of what he has witnessed at the GMG to judge her.

"All the other slayers including Sting are already there, I'm guessing we are the last to arrive." As if on cue, Rogue watched as the doors to the resort's inn swung open in the distance to reveal not only Sting but the iron dragon slayer as well followed by their respective women.

The dark-haired saber inwardly sighed, today was going to be difficult not only for Lucy but for him as well. Rogue was a recluse by nature and preferred to keep to his usual routines along with enjoying peace and quiet in his free time.

The Fairy Tail guild was the very definition of Chaos. Add Sting to the mix, and they had everything that could possibly give Rogue a terrible migraine that would take him a few days to recover from.

The shadow mage had immersed in his own thought, so much so that when he heard a soft feminine giggle directly in front of him his eyes shot up to meet Lucy's brown orbs not even a foot away from his own face.

He hadn't even realized she had stopped walking again, let alone turned to stare at him.

"I can feel your irritation, Rogue. I'm starting to get better at this, I can finally feel some of your emotions!" The slayer blinked, usually Lucy wasn't able to feel his emotions, at least not as well as he was able to feel hers.

A smile formed on the shadow mage's usually stoic face as he gazed at the excited blonde's face. Their bond was strengthening, a revelation that had the slayer almost purring with satisfaction. It elated the Saber to know that they were on the right track so far.

"Um. I feel that too.." His crimson eyes darkened when the blonde's blush spread across her face. If Lucy was now able to even slightly feel all his emotions, there was no way he would be able to hide the amount of desire he felt for her.

He wouldn't be able to hide his random arousal or mild fascination when he would sneak glances at her throughout the day. He would have to be careful when it came to his own emotions now if he wanted to keep from scaring the celestial mage away from him.

If the blonde only knew all the pent-up feelings he's had to keep locked inside himself, if she knew how much he really did want her, he was pretty sure she would be completely put off. Rogue felt that Lucy didn't need someone that lust after her as much as he did right now. So he would make sure to keep his emotions in check since he now knew she was now able to pick up on him through their bond.

"I see. I honestly don't think you are ready to handle both of our emotions yet." A hurt look flashed across the celestial mage's eyes before she quickly recovered with a small but fake smile. Even though he was determined to keep the celestial mage from his inner desires that of course involved her, Lucy was still somewhat of an open book to him. He had caught the hurt expression before she tried to cover it.

"I don't want you to hide from me like you do from the rest of the world... I thought I could be someone that you could open up to because I don't want you to carry your burdens alone anymore…" Lucy let her voice trail off as she held one of her arms at the elbow with her other while looking away from the male's intense gaze.

So many questions were whirling around in the slayer's mind and as Rogue was about to say something, a familiar and irritating voice in the not-so-far-off distance caught bother their attention.

"What the hell are you two doing just standing out here? Everyone has been waiting for you two for hours now!" Levy pushed at the blonde trying to get her to move faster toward the inn that was only about 20 feet away. The ebony haired slayer sweat dropped as he watched the blue haired mage scolded not only Lucy but him as well as she reached out and pulled him by the ear, causing both the iron dragon slayer and Sting to snicker as they neared the doors to the entrance of the inn of the resort. Frosch made a quick exit as he flew into the air to hover above the mages before flying straight into the inn, no doubt to try and find the other exceeds.

"About damn time you two showed up to the party, what took you guys so long? It's already 3pm!" The blonde Sabertooth master smirked as he wiggled his eyebrow suggestively while darting his eyes from the shadow dragon slayer to the celestial mage.

Rogue sighed in relief when the short solid script wizard released his ear, letting him stand at his full height while he rubbed his abused extremity.

"Frosch ended up taking a nap right when we were getting ready to leave, and we didn't want to wake him up." Rogue made sure to let his mask of indifference slip back into place as he hit his blonde guild master upside the head for insinuating bad things between him and Lucy.

"Ekk! You two would make such good parents! Oh my, do I see babies in the near future?" Rogue reeled back when the white-haired satan soul takeover wizard appeared out of seemingly nowhere before she circled him like prey while hearts danced within her eyes.

The sabertooth slayer raised his visible eyebrow as the Fairy Tail model whispered about how she would be the best aunt ever to his and Lucy's unborn children. Red eyes slipped from face to face as he silently asked for someone to save him from the woman's overbearing and frightening aura she was letting off as she closed in on him.

"No! Mira, no. It's too early to start that type of talk!" The ebony haired saber breathed a sigh of relief when Levy pushed the model out of his personal space. The white-haired fairy had a terrifyingly creepy presence that surrounded her while she gave a quick and somewhat innocent smile before she was pushed back into the inn.

The wicked aura had caused him to subconsciously move closer to Lucy while contemplating if he would be the one to make them leave early.

"Is she already drunk, or is this a normal occurrence?" Rogue found himself asking while he watched the solid script mage continue to try and push the oldest Strauss sibling back into the entryway of the inn. It wasn't until he heard the unique and oddly annoying laugh of Gajeel that he finally looked back at the small group that was still standing outside.

"Geehee. Don't worry about those crazy women; the only thing you have to worry about is the men of Fairy Tail. You're with us, Ryos. So say bye bye to bunny girl for the night." Rogue found himself in a headlock by the iron dragon slayer as not only he but Sting started dragging him away from the Inn's entrance, in turn, away from Lucy.

The shadow mage flailed about while he tried to loosen Gajeel's constricting grip before he finally decided to dissolve into his shadows so he could easily slip from the older male's grasp.

But it was too late, he was too far away and from the looks of it, Levy and Yukino had already corralled Lucy into the inn and away from him.

Thanks for all the love! 3