A/N: Happy Thanksgivings to all even though I'm aware this is an American holiday. I just wanted to say thanks to all my readers and especially to those who've liked and commented. Desna, 19vanelkc, Flamey Owl, sassykitten1701, hanami2510, nelly1210 and westerngoddess you're comments help drive my creativity. Thank you!

-Chapter 17-

Cristoff stealthily made his way back to the bedroom carrying a breakfast tray to surprise his mate. Last night had been the end of their second full moon together and Lucy was still passed out thoroughly exhausted. He'd been left awake and full of energy still but at least she was able to satisfy his lust fully before she just couldn't handle it anymore. His ample use of healing and rejuvenation magic on her throughout the night also sobered his happy magic drunk ass up enough that he could actually think beyond his dick's need. There was no vouching for his judgement still since he'd been more than a little tipsy but his mate had done enough. He had hopes for the future that as they spent more time together the gap between their endurance levels would lessen and eventually she could fully handle on a full moon. As it was Lucy had needed fewer breaks to recover this time around, he thought. Couldn't quite be sure since the influx of magic tended to make his memory a little hazy, so either Lucy was rapidly improving her endurance with all the "training" they'd been doing or the piece of his soul nestled in hers was changing her. As odd as it was to think about it seemed likely. Having a piece of Nurem's soul in his had changed him physically, all the dragon slayers were too, so it stood to reason things would follow a similar course. Lucy had seemed a little intoxicated herself yesterday but he might have been imagining things. Gods if she was he couldn't wait to just get completely lost in her next month. He'd always been a very happy drunk and to be able to lavish and be lavished like that in return each month? Gods it would be perfect. They could lay out on his balcony and just bath in moonlight together wrapped up in each other all night long until they both passed out exhausted when the moon set.

Cristoff stopped and took a deep steadying breathe. The sudden rush of desire, of real need to hold Lucy just then had almost brought him to his knees. He loved her so much already. She was incredibly intelligent and driven, compassionate and forgiving to almost a fault, had a wicked temper that would keep him on his toes and was the most fucking passionate woman he'd ever known.

Walking into their room had him setting the tray down quickly before he dropped the damn thing. She'd shifted to her side when he'd left and the sheet had fallen leaving most of her body uncovered, her golden hair spread like a halo on her pillow, the faintest of marks that looked vaguely dragon like wrapped around her wide hips. He wasn't sure what he wanted more in that moment; to either sketch her looking like the angle she was so he would never forget this moment or to join her and make passionate love to her again and again trying to get the mark of his magic on her skin darker. Lucy's brow furrowed slightly as one of her hands moved over the bed until finding his pillow. She shifted pressing her face in it then relaxed again.

Cristoff hoped she would still seek him out when she learned of his less than brilliant idea this morning. Still a bit goofy from the after effects of the night he thought it would be a brilliant idea to read her journal and he wasn't proud he did it without her permission. Last week he'd seen her writing in it and been curious what was in it ever since. Sober it was a barely there temptation, tipsy it had proved to be impossible to resist. 'What if it held the reason she was still holding something back from me?' his addled mind justified. He wouldn't have noticed her reticence without their bond, she was so good at hiding it, but it twinged every so often and he was able to recognize her fake smile until that feeling went away. There was also her off handed comment about giving her the perfect gift and he wondered if something in there held the key to what it would be. 'What better way to figure out the perfect gift than to read her journal?' was the final drunken thought before he delved in.

He'd not had the chance to get to know her or court her much at all before they absolutely needed to mate and even now, while he knew every little thing about her body and how it reacted, the past month they spent more time getting accustomed to the physical and magical adjustment than finding out how they would live together in the real world after this or the emotionally painful things they each carried. He supposed that would come with time since neither of them was in a hurry and would be together forever but he did want to find that perfect gift before he proposed marriage, something he hoped to do soon. He was a true romantic at heart and Lucy deserved everything he could do for her.

An hour after of reading the text had him fully sober, livid beyond acceptable levels at her close friends and more than a little worried. He'd crossed a line he knew he couldn't take back but he needed to talk to Bickslow about her suicide attempt. Maybe Bickslow had already healed her, they were very close friends, but he needed to be sure. She hadn't written about it and it seemed like something she would have.

Putting all those feelings aside he knew he'd fucked up and planned out this morning accordingly. A bit of pre-damage control to maybe lighten the blow... His plan was simple enough really, all he had to do was tap Lucy's connection to her spirits and Virgo popped up with lemon crepes, strawberries, cream and hot chocolate by the time he was back from the garden with a few dark blue anemones in hand - Loke assured him they were her favorite. He placed everything on a tray and would serve her breakfast in bed.

A growl rumbled low and soft in his chest as his mate tried to seek him out again in her sleep; they'd come a long way from her half asleep attacks on his person. He hoped it was enough.

Lucy's brows furrowed at the sound of Cristoff's growl confused when she didn't feel the corresponding vibration in her slowly waking mind. She could smell him but she didn't feel his warmth pressed against her so she opened her eyes to see nothing but a pillow. She turned toward the sound and saw her mate by the door in nothing but his boxer briefs staring at her transfixed with a breakfast tray on the nearby dresser. Smiling she sat up and patted the bed near her inviting him in. "Good Morning," she said through a yawn while she stretched her arms overhead.

"Good Morning," he responded picking up the trap again and setting it on her lap before joining her on the bed.

"You brought me breakfast," she said leaning into his side already dipping a strawberry in the sweet cream. He kissed her shoulder then wrapped an arm around her humming his assent. "Is this your way of telling me we can't hide away here any longer?" She held a bit of her crepe to his lips.

"I thought you'd enjoy it," he said after swallowing the proffered food. "But my father did call a little while ago to see if we could join him later today. Seems Vander is back from Seven." Lucy just nodded sipping the thick chocolate drink. "Oh, and I may have read your journal," he said casually knowing it was better to tell Lucy immediately than for him to be caught knowing something he shouldn't rightfully have a clue about especially because of what he read. It was the most delicate way of putting it but there really wasn't without adding willful manipulation to his list of sins.

Lucy set her cup back on the tray and kept her eyes fixed on her lap. She was angry that he'd read through her private thoughts without asking, not that she would have said yes even if he had. She didn't even like people reading her unfinished novel; those were her private thoughts.

Her spirits had encouraged her to keep the damn thing after pulling her from the brink 3 years ago because she couldn't talk about any of it. While she didn't write in it every day, all of her darkest thoughts, her deepest pains, were poured into it along with her goals, plans, and hopes for the future. He was her mate and she'd hoped to one day share all of those things with him but the fact remained, they were still relatively strangers… She'd trusted and then he does this? Knowing he actually knew everything about her now when she still knew nothing of him left her feeling more exposed than being naked ever had.

"Why?" was all she could say. It was hard for her to not fall into feeling betrayed immediately. She'd warned him not to read her unfinished novel but not her journal, didn't think she needed to, so he'd not actually done anything to break her trust really. Already she started to feel a real need to share some of it with him too, so rationally speaking this just made things easier. But that was being rational and she was way more emotional at the moment. It was her old defenses creeping up on her again, she knew it, but that did stop the urges she felt to push him away, to reject him before he left her now that he knew all of the darkest parts of who she really was.

"I was still a bit drunk when I picked it up but honestly? I knew you were hiding something painful and that it was most likely written in there. After I started a part of me thought it would be easier than having you talk about it since you always change the subject when you get even a little uncomfortable," he said tucking her bangs behind her ear. "It wasn't until after I read it that I realized I'd serious fucked up and you had every right to want to wait a little longer before sharing… I am sorry. I had no idea."

Lucy was starting to pull away from him but he tightened his hold around her. "I love you," he said desperately. The words were out of his mouth before he even had a chance to think in his panic. All he knew was that Lucy had blocked their connection shortly after his confession and given what he now knew about her he was afraid she'd leave him to protect herself.

Lucy stopped trying to free herself at those three simple words and finally looked at him, her mate. She saw the same terror she felt reflected in his deep blue eyes. Hers teared up as Cristoff practically rammed his current emotions at her through the part of his soul she held pushing past her block. Equal parts love and anguish thrummed through her, echoing her own emotions so closely they resonated until the hold on her own emotions broke free.

In a rush Cristoff felt her feelings and held her closer whispering in her ear everything he could about his most intimate thoughts and feelings. He'd wanted to reassure her that nothing had changed, that he would never leave her, but his instincts took over and all he could do was cling to her while he emotionally word vomited. He talked about the Boscan princess again with her cold brand of sadistic pleasure. How she loved cutting him repeatedly because he could heal without scars marring his skin. He also talked about a few others like the female captain that had unlocked his cell one full moon so she and four other women could use him to their hearts content. It took place after a particularly difficult job he'd been on and he was not in the mood to have sex with anyone. He was away from home still so he couldn't lock himself up with his usual provisions and have Kaleb or Farron watch over him. Vander, being the ass that he was, would probably still let a few people in at least to keep himself entertained. He'd learned long ago he was helpless to fight off the effects of his moon lust.

The captain had been ordered to clear her ship of all personnel while Arman got the docking station shut down and emptied for the night so he could be secluded and his pheromones were too far from anyone to be caught up in. The woman knew exactly how he felt, why he felt that way. She'd been there when it happened so there was no excuse but it turns out she'd wanted him for some time. Was too excited about getting an opportunity especially during a full moon and used him shamelessly. Let a whole group of women from her crew use him too. They all got away with only being stripped of their ranks for what he saw was rape which should have meant their deaths. The women said they went to the ship because they forgot to do something crucial not realizing his potency. By the time they were on the ship it was too late and they were drugged by his pheromones and couldn't be held responsible for their actions. The tribunal agreed and they were only punished for breaking a direct order. It was complete bullshit. One of the women had participated in one of the larger orgies Vander had organized so knew perfectly well what she was doing and if she knew so did the rest of them. His father had been livid and somehow managed to get them at least reassigned to a gunner ship in Atla so Cristoff didn't have to worry about running into them. It was a bit of a consolation that they now had to do the worst jobs on a ship in the worst environment any of them had had the pleasure of experiencing. Even when he escorted his father or brother there for an assignment they always managed to avoid that particular ship. Cris had never really talked about how that whole situation had made him feel until now. At least with the princess it was his decision, however much it would cost his family he still could say no. Those women were his comrades and the betrayal had been painful. He didn't doubt that his family knew how he felt but they all just let him keep his peace and move on.

By the time he'd run out of words Lucy was lax in his arms, red eyed from crying and looking up at him. "Tomorrow," she said when her voice cracked. Clearing her voice she started again. "We can see everyone tomorrow."

The dragon slayer nodded in relief. Lucy hadn't once returned his confession of love that morning but at least she was still in his arms bond open. He could feel it though, pulsing through her. She wasn't ready to face it yet, hell, he hadn't been either and he'd grown up surrounded by a loving, if a bit unorthodox, family. He was willing to wait though, unwilling to press his mate any further than he already had in his impatience. Being in an actual relationship was harder than he'd expected.

-DTRE-

"So, where are the love-birds?" Vander asked lounging on the sofa in his father's temporary office in the house he'd claimed on Lucy's estate. It was the one nearest the main house so he could make sure the mages guarding the area did not get accidentally caught up during the full moon.

Arman looked at his youngest briefly before sitting at his desk shuffling some documents. "Your brother in all his brilliance almost ruined his relationship. They are going to need at least another day before Lucy is ready to see anyone else."

"And here I thought I would be the first of us to fuck things up." Vander smirked remembering the past week as Safra, Gin and he had fucked their way across Seven and Fiore together. Gin's ability to transform had been an amusing thing to explore and when Safra and Gin teamed up on him…a shiver ran down his spine. He'd finally met his match in those two. The things they could do when they put their minds to it.

"I have yet to hear from either you or Bickslow that you are even promised so don't think too highly of yourself." Arman was never very subtle with his children. He maintained that manipulation like that was better left to people you didn't actually love since it had the potential of destroying a relationship if it didn't go well. That was an unacceptable risk to take with his children.

"You're going to have to wait until the summer solstice next year for anything like that to happen between Safra and me," Vander said using one of his daggers to clean under his nails. He could feel his father's dissatisfaction practically smothering him at the news. Looking up with his palms raised in supplication to his father he said, "Hey, not my fault. Their joining ceremony for sýzygos only happens once a year during the summer solstice. Fairies like dragons only have the one mate and we won't know for certain I'm it until then. Getting promised when we might not have a potential future would be idiotic." It wasn't a pleasant thought for Vander, he really enjoyed his time with the two fairies even when they weren't having sex. They were both playful – Safra in her almost childlike innocence of the larger world and Gin with his fascination with obscure facts. He'd decided to remain positive and continue to go with the flow for now. There was one decision, something that would change his life dramatically, that he had to make over the next year before he could even be part of the ceremony. Something, that if their joining failed, he couldn't take back. He had a year to decide if the risk was worth having a real chance with Safra. For now he was going to enjoy doing more "research".

"So you will wait until you know the commitment is possible." It wasn't a question, more acceptance at the logic no matter how frustrating. "Where is our little fairy? I thought she'd be here with you?"

"Oh, she's out enjoying the forest now that we're somewhere safe. Nice protections you've had setup. Is that really how far Lucy's estate goes?"

"Yes, the couples staying here took it upon themselves to set it up as a thank you for what has essentially been a very inexpensive and long vacation."

"Well we took some extra time to walk the perimeter and added a bit more to it so Safra and Gin could freely roam around. No one here should mind her and Gin frolicking naked, right?"

Arman just raised an eyebrow at that. He knew very little of who Gin was, only that he was a fairy as well, born not transformed, and that he was Safra's best friend. He assumed given his son's nonchalant attitude around the man that they'd become lovers as well. It was odd behavior for his son to actually take a lover instead of his one-time trysts but with Safra being a potential mate it made sense. This Gin person was an anomaly.

"Don't look at me like that," Vander said rolling his eyes. "Over this last week I've felt more in control over my magic than ever before and I think it's because of them. We can have Bicks take a look if you don't believe me."

"Does Safra not mind you sleeping with Gin as well? You did say they were best friends and past lovers." To Arman Vander and Safra might as well be promised and while some couples chose to include others in their intimacy, it wasn't typical, then again Vander had always been an exception to every rule.

"About as much as I mind her sleeping with Gin or Gin minds Safra sleeping with me." At his father's incredulous look he sighed. "I know this is weird, even for Boscans since Safra and I probably should be considered promised but it works. I'm not sure why or how it works but it does and I'm happy. Why rock the boat?"

"I just worry that it won't last son and that you'll be hurt in the end."

"Eh, there are just so many what ifs here. I think it's best if I take a page out of the fairies book and just see where this takes us all," Vander said before getting up to leave.

"Like that isn't what you would normally do anyway." Arman's tone was cynical but his expression still fond. "Where are you going?" Arman asked.

Vander smirked and winked at his father before disappearing into a shadow and leaving. Arman shook his head reminding himself that Vander was only 22 and finally able to enjoy being free for the first time since he was 15. Smiling as he looked out the window where he saw three naked people by the edge of the forest he said out loud, "I wish I would have enjoyed life just as much when I was still that young." Though even back at home he'd have gotten on the wrong side of the law if he'd run around without clothing on. They may have open communal baths and be very comfortable with their bodies but they wore clothing out in public, more out of respect for them as opposed to seeing it as indecent.

-DTRE-

Cobra sat in the corner of the guild hall watching the daily brawl break out. It was more like hourly ever since Lucy took off on her last job over 2 months ago. It had been a little longer than that since anyone other than Erza or Bickslow has seen her since the Pradesh brothers practically kidnapped the celestial mage right as she had gotten home form a 4 day job. The entire guild was restless especially Natsu. It had been funny watching the slow change in everyone's behavior. Laxus was tense and a lot more irritable than even before Team Destruction got back from the 100 year mission. Natsu picked more fights with Gray and everyone else while Erza was less inclined to stop them since once the fire dragon slayer woke up he was at it again. No one realized until then how much Lucy calmed him down over the years. Cobra knew now why the slayers were acting oddly after a short talk with Gajeel. Knowing the root cause, though, didn't stop their behavior or change how annoying they all were.

Gajeel continued to threaten anyone who even approached his little mate Levy or their son. He had a good reason for it too outside of his dragon missing its kin. His mate was livid that she missed her best friend's birthday plus she was just physically exhausted. There was nothing else Gajeel could do but make sure Levy and his son weren't bothered while at the guild. Lucy was the only person who could watch their baby for an entire night other than Patherlily but since Lily lived with them that wasn't much of a break. Mira always brought him back after only an hour hyper on sugar while an exhausted Lisanna put as much space between Tysun and herself as possible.

Little Tysun, at only 7 months old, was having serious problems too, making both parents even more irritable. He had stopped sleeping through the night so he was often grumpy all the time now instead of just when not around his family, 'Kin,' the poison dragon slayer corrected the term mentally.

He'd only started actively learning dragon culture along with Laxus a little more than a month ago since neither of them had been raised by dragons. After Gajeel's initial brief talk - well, more like Gajeel forced them into learning a few things because of how they were all behaving - Laxus and he realized that it was essential they learned more. Cobra at least had an easier time learning than Laxus since he could actually listen clearly to the piece of dragon soul even if it didn't offer up much. It was better than nothing.

Tysun had started crying inconsolably through the night about 2 weeks ago if he wasn't held and constantly rocked so Gajeel, Pantherlily and Levy found themselves sleeping in shifts. Since Levy was still breastfeeding she ended up getting the least amount of sleep of them all. That was about the time when Cobra heard the little guy's crazy scary nightmare at the guild when Tysun had briefly nodded off. He'd told Gajeel right away since no child deserved to be that afraid ever.

The baby slayer was still too young to understand that Lucy was only on a mission and thought she had been killed and was gone forever. His nightmares involved her being hunted down and killed, a concept he only understood because Gajeel had taken him out hunting so often, while he couldn't do anything. No matter what his parents said Tysun was convinced they were wrong. Before when Lucy was "on a job" she called him before bed over The Com every night. He would hold his mother and take in her scent while Lucy's smooth voice told him a story about adventures and love and everything would be perfect. But she hadn't for longer than he could measure and he missed her knowing she would never return. His only solace was his kin and he would have nothing to do with anyone else until missing Lucy didn't hurt so much.

If Lisanna's soul was to be believed, Tysun really didn't want anything to do with anyone else and was a terror now even if his kin was in sight. The only way Mira could get him to do anything other than scream was to ply him with something sweet. Before this Tysun had usually been an angel for anyone in the guild as long as he wasn't away from one of his kin for too long.

Cobra remembered the day Levy had asked Lucy to be his godmother. The high pitched deafening shriek was bad enough to a normal person's hearing, the slayers had all cringed in pain. He almost passed out. Ever since then the blonde had taken her role seriously spending as much time with him as possible. Tysun had loved Lucy from day one and according to Gajeel claimed her as kin the second he could distinguish her smell from everyone else. When he smelled her enter a room his large dark red eyes scanned the area carefully. When he saw her he would coo and hold out his arms then cuddle her happily after she scooped him up. It had been impossible for Lucy not to love him right back. There was this fucking endearing little trill that her soul would make when she held him which was often occurrence at the guild. She'd even take him for a few nights a month so Gajeel and Levy could have some much needed alone time. She loved playing with his spikey blue hair and had used Cancer's powers often to entertain Tysun with all the different looks she came up with. There was a little part of Cobra that wished he was Tysun at times, growing up surrounded by love and attention instead of fear, abuse and neglect.

Cobra smirked hearing Gajeel's latest plan to torment Bickslow and Vander for wreaking havoc with his small family when Bicks walked causally by the brooding slayer. Black Steel Gajeel was just waiting for Vander to show up before enacting any of them so Bickslow couldn't warn his brother.

Gods Cobra felt for the tyke too. He'd apparently claimed Lucy as kin the last Christmas while they enjoyed their drunken heart to heart. There was tangible relief and understanding wafting off the lightening slayer when Gajeel explained what kin were and how or why those kinds of bonds were formed.

Until then Laxus had been so confused why he felt so fucking protective when it came to Lucy. It was more than just her being a member of his guild and feeling guilty over how he treated her at first. He'd felt the need to keep her close and protector since the first day he showed up at the hall and she was there with Natsu which only served to piss him off even more. He couldn't accept caring for someone so obviously weak, someone who would choose to a lesser dragon to care for her, been so tied up in his own shit and been too ignorant to recognize that he had already claimed her as kin and was just jealous for her attention. When understood what was going on an old memory had played in his mind. He was 12 years old and had just taken a serious beating from his father.

-DTRE-

Laxus wandered aimlessly feeling so lost and confused. He'd taken the job his father told him to so he could prove how strong he was even though it was S-classed and his gramps would be pissed about it. He even managed to complete it successfully and quickly without too much trouble. He teleported to Shirostume using the passing storms to boost his magic so he could make up the distance with fewer jumps. No one knew he could turn into lighting and travel this way, he'd been waiting until he had better control before surprising his father and gramps with it. When he got back he was already planning his grand entrance so everyone would know just how strong he was getting; then his father would have no excuse not to be proud of him.

The monster he was supposed to slay had ended up being some aquatic squid thing that had moved from their nearby lake killing people as it went to a popular onsen. When he got there he met with the mayor and business owner right away and confirmed there was no one or nothing else that was in the outdoor bath before leaving in another flash. From there he pumped the squid full of enough volts that it hadn't stood a chance, collected his reward and even made it back to the guild triumphant earlier today before his gramps had even noticed the job was missing. It had been less than 24 hours and he'd completed an S-class mission at 12! His gramps was proud but understandably upset at his breaking the rules so Laxus took his punishment well. His father, on the other hand, had taken him home, strapped him down and beaten the living shit out of him. He still had no clue why.

Laxus wondered around Magnolia for hours ignoring the physical pain his was in, in a state of shock from the turn of events, until he heard a man yelling at someone just like his father had just done to him. Rage coursed in his blood at the injustice of it all and he found himself following the screams of a child and yells of a man. When he turned the corner he saw a little blonde haired girl crouched in the corner of the alley sobbing. He smelled blood and could see bruises were already forming against her pale skin. A grown ass man was standing over her with a wooden bat raised.

"This'll teach you not to ever try to escape again you little bitch!" the man sneered.

Laxus saw in that little girl the helplessness he'd felt by the hands of his own father. But this time instead of just letting it happen, accepting that she must have deserved it like he had earlier, he acted.

No one deserved being treated like this. Before the man could bring the bat down to bear on the girl again Laxus was between her and the man left hand catching the weapon mid swing. He gripped the offensive tool until it shattered in his grasp and noted the terror in this man's eyes.

"Who the hell are you? This is none of your business. Move on." The man ordered but couldn't quite hide the fear and uncertainty in his voice.

"Don't think so," was all he said before bringing down some lightning from the heavens. He felt like a God raining down justice from about and watched as the man convulsed and shit his pants before dropping unconscious to the pavement. Laxus stood there motionless looking down at the pathetic excuse on a man and swore he would never be like him or his father when he felt small arms wrap around his waist. Looking behind him the biggest innocent brown eyes met his gaze filled with adoration and love. His heart clenched in an unfamiliar way but he brushed it aside and rested his hand on her head.

"Thank you for saving me mister! You were amazing!"

"It's just what any Fairy Tail mage would do," he said uncomfortably at the praise. She was still hugging him and it had been a long time since he'd felt that kind of affection like it.

"Wow, I'm going to be a Fairy Tail mage when I grow up so I can be strong and save people too!" she exclaimed. "I use Celestial spirit magic but mommy says I have to get stronger before I'm allowed to summon any spirits. It takes a lot of magic to even open a silver gate key and my mommy only has gold ones now. They are so much more powerful too! I love mommy's spirits! Well, Aquarius can be mean but the rest are all really nice." The little girl rambled on as he dragged the unconscious man behind him as they walked toward the local rune knights' station, both of her hands holding his free one.

"Yeah?" he asked amused at her constantly running monologue like she hadn't just been beaten ten minutes ago. He was amazed that she was all smiles, now going on how people shouldn't hurt other people or spirits and she would use her magic to make sure people didn't once she had magic enough to do it.

"Daddy says I have to wait until I have at least another foot before I can start beating up bad guys but I don't understand that. I only see people with two feet. Where is the third one?" she rambled on about various hiding places people could be using for their third foot. Laxus was desperately trying not to laugh and grin but just nod his head as he listened politely. "It could be between their legs. I saw daddy naked once when he was wrestling mommy and he had something between his legs that I don't have. It didn't look like a foot but who says all feet look the same?" One of her tiny fingers touched her chin as she looked thoughtful. He was seconds from losing it, this cute little girl was just hilarious.

"See, but then mommy doesn't have a third foot, maybe that's why she doesn't use her magic to fight!" she exclaimed triumphantly at her epiphany. "I know I'll have one when I get older because I'm going to fight. There were three men that stole me from home and I got two of them. Geez I can't believe I missed the third!"

That sobered him up a little and made him extremely curious how this little spitfire was able to take down 2 grown men alone. He didn't even have to ask how before the girl took up sharing her adventure.

"The men snatched me from my house yesterday and tossed in this this warehouse. Today when they left to get food I scooted these really big buckets to the edge of the floor above their table. They were so heavy even I couldn't lift them," she nodded as if that was a valid measure of weight. "When they came in I pushed the buckets over and got two of them but missed the third," she frowned. "When he ran up the stairs and grabbed me I gave him a good ol Lucy kick and hit must of hit his third foot because he wasn't able to fight anymore. He dropped me and I ran out the door. I almost got away but I tripped and fell. Then you came and just bam! He was done." Gods was this girl priceless.

The station was in sight when she stopped walking and was quiet for a moment. Stopping he looked back at her, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"What's a fucking little punk ass bitch?" she asked in her sweet high-pitched voice with a very serious face and that was it. She was his from that day forward. Even though he didn't even know her name, said only 10 words to her and handed her over to her parents. That little girl was kin.

-DTRE-

Cobra laughed so hard tears were forming in his eye that day. That was so like Tink to be just the same as a little tot. Laxus chuckled too at the memory. No wonder he'd been more and more aggressive and angry over the years, he hadn't seen his goddamn kin for nine years pissing his dragon off only for her to show up again with Natsu Dragneel all over her. He'd had to rub it into the fire-cracker that he'd claimed Lucy first.

So it made perfect sense Laxus was on edge again. Cobra had claimed her as kin only 7 months ago and he already missed the sound of Lucy's soul to the extent that he had to have Mira start adding snakeroot extract to all his drinks at the guild so he could spend time with Kinana without the chaos getting to him. He was also a bit miffed that he hadn't been on the job with all his friends in the first place. Yes he'd been out on a job hunting these creepy large insect things that were trapping and killing village children if they strayed into the surrounding forest but he'd just finished it and been heading back to the guild when they all took off. He'd missed them by a day!

The worst part of it all was he still had no clue what those creatures were even with Levy and Freed's help looking for an answer. Those insects had a seriously potent poison that tasted wretched and they attacked only small children and animals. They were a threat to not only the people themselves but the very environment they lived in. The whole thing screamed dark guild and/or forbidden magic, two things Vander specialized in and he'd hoped to pick his brain about them when he first got back only to find him gone.

When Erza showed up a month ago and told her old team what was happening the reaction of everyone was fucking priceless. Erza had called together Lucy's old teammates with Juvia following her beloved Gray to their usual table. It was enough of an event that Cobra decided to listen in as Erza as matter-of-factly as possible, even though her soul was in an uproar, dropped the bomb that Lucy was away mating a dragon slayer. Wendy turned bright red and almost passed out, Gray sprayed beer out of his mouth as he choked on his drink dousing Juvia in the process. Natsu sat there silent with the most hilarious dumbstruck face Cobra'd even seen; even his soul went silent at the announcement. Happy, who'd been flying happily in circles over the table crashed into a nearby pillar. Charla dropped her tea and Juvia - that was the best part - Juvia jumped up on the bench and screamed joyfully, "Love rival has a mate!" Chaos instantly erupted in the guild with shouts, questions and hoots hollered in an undecipherable cacophony of noise. As to be expected Mira was passed out on the floor with her siblings hovering over her trying to wake her up. Levy raced across the guild to question Erza as Gajeel held their son, both of their red eyes focused on the red-head. Laxus had been enjoying a beer with Evergreen and Freed but it was obvious he was listening intently on Levy's interrogation whispering quietly what he heard to his friends. When Bickslow's brother Cristoff was said to be the dragon slayer in question the mug in Laxus' hand shattered while Freed's and Ever's eyes went wide. Out of everyone those three new the man best since they were all so close to Bickslow and his family.

Cobra had met Cristoff before and understood their initial reactions. Cristoff had only been in Magnolia for three days total over the two trips he'd seen him and the man had partied hard with his brothers for most of that time. The only time he wasn't with his brothers he was either asleep or balls deep in one of the five women he'd slept with over the brief trip. Cobra had no issues with the man but swore to himself that if his dragon ass ever cheated, lied or hurt Lucy once he'd soon taste a poison that even his magic couldn't purify.

It was the day after that announcement that Gajeel started to teach Laxus and him about all the dragon stuff they hadn't understood including what kin were and how you claim them.

The pink haired pyro had made himself scarce most of the time after that but picked fights constantly whenever he was around. He'd even taken to sleeping in Lucy's bed judging by the residual scent of Lucy on him. Cobra was only glad the smell was faint enough that Tysun couldn't smell it on him since his senses hadn't developed that strongly yet. Who knew how the little dragon slayer would have reacted.

"Mira's trying out a new recipe and wanted your opinion." Cobra looked up and saw Kinana placing a plate of food in front of him. "She really liked that book you found for her about poisonous plants and animals."

Cobra smiled faintly as Kinana sat next to him and picked at his food. He was glad he had his best friend back. It had taken a while for them to get reacquainted but now it was like no time had passed. Taking a bite himself he learned back analyzing the flavors. "Too bad her boyfriend wasn't too happy about it," he smirked before taking another bite.

"Erik!" Kinana chided playfully. "Don't tell me that's why you got her that."

He rolled his eye. "You really think I care enough about Ichiya of all people to even spare him a thought? I still don't understand why Mira's with him…" He didn't either. Mira was beautiful, kind, caring, an amazing cook and hugely powerful mage. If she didn't have a least a dozen demons hiding out in her soul and was bat shit crazy he might of fucked the hell out of her… Probably still would have if she hadn't smelled like Ichiya all the time. The man was loud, annoying, flirted with anything in a skirt, has a fetish for Erza's smell of all people and smell like he hadn't bathed in years and used roses and oranges to mask the smell. If he wasn't actually in love and completely dedicated to Mira he'd of been the first person to tell the takeover mage so she would break up with his ass and find someone better. "Pissing him off was just a happy coincidence."

"So why did you?" Kinana asked then lowered her voice to a whisper. "You don't like her do you? Because she does love Ichiya," she said voice full of concern.

Cobra just snorted and waved his hand dismissively. "She makes some of the best food I've ever tasted so I figured it could only benefit me if I gave her a list of new ingredients I would enjoy," he smirked.

Kinana tucked a piece of her dark plum colored hair behind her ear. She should have known that was what that was about. If Erik ever found someone he actually was interested in he would have told her just like she would have told him.

"Damn straight you better so I can make sure he's not using you just to get his rocks off," Cobra voiced between bites confirming her unvoiced thoughts. He dropped one arm around her and squeezed a shoulder before he froze. It was still far away, he had to really focus to hear it, but it was there. It was brighter and happier than he'd ever heard with an additional harmony that made it fuller and sound complete but it was still her. He looked across the hall and met Gajeel's piercing gaze and nodded slightly before turning to Kinana's questioning eyes. "Lucy's back," he explained. The words were barely out of his mouth before he regretted it. He should have known Natsu was keeping an eye of him since he would be the first to know when Lucy was back.

Equal parts brilliant and idiotic, Natsu pretty much reserved all his brilliance for a real battle and anything to do with his old partner. There was no doubt she was his kin since Lucy was a weird combination of mother and little sister to the fire dragon slayer and until he found his own mate she would be his number one concern always. As such he'd grabbed Happy and was out of the door flying max speed toward Lucy before anyone knew what happened. It had taken considerable effort on the guild's part to prevent him from going to her sooner and interrupting the mating. Only the threat of Scary Lucy Gray had mentioned kept him and Happy from flying to her immediately.

Cobra smirked thinking of the welcome Natsu was likely to get when he finally caught up to Lucy. Getting up he made his way over to Laxus for their own welcoming committee.

-DTRE-

Lucy had just gotten off the train when she felt her world go upside as she was bodily thrown over someone's shoulder before being completely airborne. She was about to scream and do some serious damage to whoever was trying to kidnap her when she heard an all too familiar comment about her weight and saw the white dragon scale scarf fluttering near her face. Huffing Lucy crossed her arms and waited for them to land. She was upset at her best friend for kidnapping her but she couldn't blame him too much. This was the longest they'd been separated since Natsu spent a year away training and she knew he'd probably taken her news hard. Now that she was mated she figured they'd spend even less time together than before and this was likely Natsu's way of claiming her attention.

"Where are we going?" Lucy said calmly knowing Natsu would hear her just fine over the wind.

"Somewhere he can't find us quickly," Natsu hollered back for her benefit.

"He's my mate Natsu, you know what that means. What is this about?"

"Lushie, quit moving!" Happy yelled. "It's hard enough carrying you both!"

"I didn't ask you to carry me you stupid cat!" she said while thinking how normal this all felt. During the last month and a half so much in her world had changed it was nice to feel normal again, even if her normal included being kidnapped and carried over a shoulder while being insulted.

"He didn't ask me for permission so he has to prove he's worthy of you," Natsu said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Lucy screamed. Ask Natsu's permission? The thought really pissed her off. She was her own woman and didn't need anyone's permission to mate whoever the hell she wanted.

"Hold on we're almost there," Natsu said with a smile plastered on his face. He'd spent the better part of this month setting up this place for the three of them to hide out until Cristoff tracked them down and did things the right way. There was no way Natsu was going to let some unknown dragon slayer mate his kin just like that. It didn't matter Cristoff was Bickslow and Vander's brother, that almost made it worse. His nakama didn't protect his kin and now Natsu had to do things the hard way. What was worse was that Cristoff had been raised by a dragon longer than any of the other slayers so he should have known better. Shrugging internally his grin got wider as he thought about the fight he was going to have. 'I'm all fired up!' he thought shortly before they landed and he set Lucy down.

"Now you have 1 minute to tell me what the hell is going on before I leave," Lucy demanded.

"Common Luce, just come inside and I'll explain everything," Natsu said holding both her hands in his, eyes pleading and innocent. She always had had a weakness for Natsu's antics and caved.

"Ok but Cristoff is not going to be happy about this and he's strong Natsu, like Laxus strong," she warned and followed her friend into the cave.

-DTRE-

"I have to hand it to you bro, one second in Magnolia and Lucy's already been kidnapped right in front of your eyes. That has to be some kind of record!" Bicks laughed as he walked up to his shell shocked brother who was still looking at the sky where he last saw Lucy. Bickslow'd been waiting at the train station for their arrival so he could surprise them all but Natsu's flaming ass had to beat him to it.

"What just happened?" Cristoff said even more confused at his brother's light-hearted mood. He checked his connection to Lucy and while she was mildly irritated she wasn't afraid or freaking out. When she was initially grabbed she was outraged but it settled into annoyance quicker than he could blink. It was the absence of those heightened emotions that had him frozen in shock. She wasn't in danger, that he knew, but this all was just weird.

"That, brother dearest, was her best friend Natsu and his partner Happy," Vander drawled laughing internally at the whole situation. It was as good an introduction for his brother to the person and cat that would follow Lucy around to the ends of the earth if they could. He hugged Bickslow and said, "We've got some good news for you but I think that better wait until we get Lucy back."

"Natsu…he's the fire dragon slayer that Lucy says is her best friend?" Cristoff asked. When his brothers nodded he said, "Fuck! Best friend my ass!" He turned to his brothers. "Someone could have told me she had dragon kin!" he seethed. It was something Nurem told him as a side note but given the rarity of his kind, the chance that his future mate had kin was unlikely at best so he'd filed it away and never gave it a single thought. Lucy'd not said anything when they met and he hadn't bothered to ask. He really should have since most of the currently living dragon slayers were part of her guild. Lucy probably didn't even know she was claimed as family by Natsu. His angry thoughts were cut short by an electric jolt through his body right before there was a loud crack of thunder.

"You have more to worry about than just Natsu, idiot," Laxus said smacking Cristoff on the back of the head to follow up the shock he'd dealt out when he first got there. "You fucking ran off and mated my kin."

"I'm still surprised Natsu was able to hide his plan from me until after he took off with Lucy," Cobra said nodding to his two friends before eyeing Cristoff.

The Lunar slayer looked at the group before him and knew in an instant they were all dragon slayers by the glares aimed at him. He knew Laxus from years ago when Laxus had stayed with them when he'd been expelled from Fairy Tail. Cobra was another familiar face and looked the least ready to kill him in that instance. There was another man about Laxus and his size only a little shorter with long wild black hair and glaring eyes holding a baby that had to be his son. Last there was a young woman with long dark blue hair. If he were honest to himself it was the child and woman that actually concerned him the most. They were wild cards in this entire situation.

The baby growled as him eyes narrowed when the wind shifted. "Tysun wants to know why you smell like his Lucy," Cobra managed to share without cracking up. The growl was downright possessive coming from the kid without an ounce of fear and he was pissed that this strange man had been keeping her from him. Gajeel on the other hand smiled with his trade mark gihi laugh as he rumbled to encourage his boy.

Cristoff blinked. He'd never been threatened by a child before but now placed the faces with names from stories he'd been told. 'If the child is Tysun then that man is his dad Gajeel. The young woman must be Wendy and they must all be her kin.' "Well shit," he swore and dropped his head. To the surprise of his brothers he dropped to one knee in front of the infant, his head still bowed then spoke. "I apologize for claiming what was yours without acceptance." It was followed by a series of growls between the child and man and the reaction was almost instantaneous when Cristoff looked up.

Tysun's little hands lifted toward the lunar slayer and with a nod from Gajeel Cristoff took him in his arms. The child instantly relaxed and took in the newest smell of his kin and almost purred smelling Lucy so strongly again. "Well, if my kid says you're all right how can I disagree?" Gajeel said smiling for the first time in a while. He couldn't help it, Tysun had finally accepted that Lucy was still alive so his nightmares should stop and life could go back to normal…and he could finally fuck his little mate again!

"I've never had any issue with Cristoff's claim. He just better be faithful, and I mean in your thoughts too moon boy. I know you can't physically get it up for anyone else but there's a lot shit you can do and if you do do I'll know and it will be the last thing you'll ever do." Cobra said his piece and turned to the other Pradesh brothers. "Can I pick you brains later after Cristoff gets Lucy back from ash-hat? Also, a day? You couldn't have waited a fucking day? I saw the request and I was listed." He didn't wait for a verbal response as he turned snorting at them and walked back to the guild. Sure they got the job done just fine but he just knew he missed out on something amazing and a hell of a good time.

Laxus eyed Cristoff silently watching how easily Tysun was taking to him. The sight had him thinking about Lucy and her having a little one with this man, someone who he knew would make a terrific father, and the last of his reservations silenced. There was no way Lucy could have ended up with a better man.

He pulled the lunar slayer into a hug briefly then turned to walk away saying as he left, "Have fun recovering your mate."

Cristoff smiled knowing this whole thing could have gone a lot worse than debasing himself to a small child. The only kin left to appease was Natsu and Wendy. He turned his gaze to the 15 year old girl and swallowed. She was still looking at him fiercely.

Slowly Wendy walked up to the man who towered over her without any sign of fear. She wanted to go dragon force and give him a good beating but Tysun was effectively shielding him from that. Using some of her wind magic she floated eye level to the much larger slayer and spoke calmly. "If you can't even stop Natsu from snatching Lucy from your side how can I trust you to protect my kin?"

The challenge was clear and Cristoff's dragon raged at his failing. It was true that an unknown slayer had just walked up and taken his mate while he stood there staring stupidly and it was unacceptable. He had nothing he could say.

"Exactly, don't let it happen again," Wendy said. There wasn't much she could do that Natsu wasn't going to so she turned her eyes to Tysun. She hadn't spent much time with the child but Gajeel and Lucy were both shared kin and her distance from Tysun needed to change. Growling softly to him she nuzzled his neck and smiled at the little growl she got in return. She took him Cristoff's arms when he reached for her then turned back to Gajeel. "I'll take him back to Levy."

"Thanks squirt. I'll meet you all there after I tell Cristoff what's going on," Gajeel said mussing Wendy's hair as she walked by. 'It's about time she claimed him,' he thought. Levy would be thrilled that she had another two sitters and possibly more now that the other slayers each knew that Lucy was claimed by them all as kin. Unknowingly they had already formed their own Tatsu around Lucy and now that she was mated they really needed to act like it and strengthen their bonds with each other.

It was a bit frustrating for him being the only one who actually knew these things. Natsu and Wendy knew them instinctually but were worthless when it came to helping Laxus and Cobra to understand. He'd have to tell them soon that their collection of kin made up a tatsu, a kind of extended family, who protected each other for survival. He did not look forward to that conversation. "Come on then, Natsu has a bit of a challenge for you to test your worth. Should be a lot of fun."

"Let me guess… From what Lucy's told me of him he wants a good old fashioned fight?" Cristoff said starting to follow the older slayer. The others had all taken off by now, probably headed to Bicks' house, waiting for him to return with Lucy. Knowing Safra was with them he knew she would help explain what was going on. He couldn't believe that this was even happening. It was the kin of a female dragon's right to deny any prospective male from attempting to mate her. It usually cut down on the needless killing of males just wanting to mate powerful females for their strong offspring if they had to get approval from the tatsu first. Otherwise the tatsu had the right to all fight him to the death if they found him unacceptable, destined mate or not.

Tatsu's, first and foremost, were built on trust and if they all could not trust the new comer, the new comer would be rejected or killed. Outside of death that left two options for the couple, either she left the tatsu with him or stayed while he provided what he could for them from the sidelines as an outcast. Natsu was Cristoff's last hurdle through all of this and had likely planned someone straightforward given what he'd already heard from Lucy about him. He'd already messed up not getting their permission first, then a second time when he let Lucy be taken from him so easily. He couldn't afford any other mistakes.

-DTRE-

Lucy sat back nibbling on some of the fish Natsu had grilled up for her as she watched Natsu and Cristoff fight rolling her eyes. Natsu was obviously having a blast and she could see a gleam in Cristoff's eyes that he was enjoying himself too. It was also obvious that he wasn't trying to end the fight quickly but treating this as more of a sparring session. It had taken Cristoff the better part of the day to track her down since she hadn't been helping. Her mate had pulled on their link to try and get her to help but she let it fall on deaf ears as it were. If this had been a real kidnapping he'd done nothing to stop it and she might have been rendered unconscious before she could react so it was his fault she was here in the first place. Natsu had been right about that, she got kidnapped way too often for her mate not to be prepared so she wasn't helping him out. It's not like he'd needed it anyway.

Learning about kin was fun and enlightening. It also kind of made sense with her relationships she had with all the slayers, especially her baby dragon. She missed little Tysun so much. He was such a cuddler and so freaking adorable. Even with the older slayers she ended up getting away with so much stuff that wouldn't be tolerated from anyone else like when she smacked Laxus' ass and came up with ridiculous nick names for him or when she cuddled with Erik during movie nights or getting a piggy back ride from Gajeel when they went on missions together. She even managed to pick on Natsu and Wendy in ways that didn't end in a flaming fist or a blushing girl running off to go hide. She just thought it was her personality and in a way it was since they had all made her kin because of who she was. They were her family in a way she'd never experienced so she didn't recognize the sibling like behavior for what it was until Natsu pointed it out today. It was probably the only time Nastu would ever have to point something like that out to her ever.

Lucy sat there as the fight continued hopping up and down as it dragged on. She was just so excited to give them the lacrima jewelry she designed for each of them enchanted to prevent motion sickness. Arman had thankfully gotten them commissioned for her while she had her hands full of Cristoff. 'With,' she blushed a little at her internal Freudian slip grateful Erik was nowhere nearby. Arman had them fashioned by the same person Xally had used to her specifications even though her drawings were a bit crude. The associated descriptions where much better at depicting what she wanted them to look like. She was a writer not an illustrator. Even managed to Xally to place the spells like she'd done for Cristoff and Emzadi.

Lucy noticed a particular gleam in Natsu's eyes and quickly requipped into her most fire resistant clothing Dom had made her especially for when she worked with Natsu. It was just in time because Natsu dropped a fire lotus flame blade that engulfed the entire rocky outcropping her best friend had picked for this exact purpose. The fact that he picked somewhere safe he wouldn't accidentally start a forest fire or damage someone's property was a huge sign he was growing up, slowly, and Lucy couldn't be prouder. He may still have a hard time with overdoing it with his spells but at least he was much more aware of his surroundings. It was a great start.

When the flames cleared Cristoff was standing in the center of a huge black flattened circle with only his hair a bit mussed with a huge grin on his face. He spread his hands and a giant white magic circle appeared above Natsu right before focused moonlight slammed her friend down to the ground before Natsu could dodge the attack. When the blinding light cleared Lucy saw Natsu's prone smoking form before she was wrapped up in her mate's arms. The entire purpose of the fight was to "rescue Lucy from the evil mage" and now that she was rescued they could head back to the guild.

"Not so fast!" Natsu yelled as he stood back up shaking the dirt and rubble from his body.

"Moon shift," Cristoff said quietly with a smirk and a wave before Lucy found herself standing outside Bickslow's house.

"I think I should learn how to do that," she said in awe. Flying was fun but could get uncomfortable and cold, lighting teleportation made her hair stand on end and shadows made her want to vomit and pass out. Moon teleportation was like a cool breeze on a summer afternoon. "Best way to travel ever!"

They could tap into each other's power to a limited extent so there was hope if it wasn't a huge power drain she could pull that off. 'It would definitely help during a kidnapping scenario," her unguarded thought heard by her mate earning a small glare.

"I think we should prevent you from being kidnapped in the first place before teaching you how to escape." He pulled her closer to his side as he led Lucy into the house.

"Good luck with that moon boy," Cobra said from his spot on the couch beer in hand. It was a special brew Mira had somehow convinced a brewer to make considering it was poisonous. That woman went to extremes to please her family. "I've kidnapped Lucy before too and it was ridiculously easy. Even turned her into a time altering giant flying metal fish before Fairy Tail could stop us," he added with a dark smile just for Lucy. "Best you teach her how to escape when first grabbed and make the taking a little harder."

"Wait that was you?" Cristoff asked the poison slayer. "There was chaos all over Bosco that day especially when the King was turned into an infant clinging onto Kurino's ostrich neck while she ran around squawking. It was over before we could figure out what was going on." Cristoff sat right next to one of his newest kin members with Lucy perched on his lap.

"The new Oración Seis, that takes me back," Bickslow said plopping into an armchair tossing a bottle of beer to his brother but a water to Lucy. "Couldn't look at a steak for a week."

"Yes well I had it on good authority I did not make an appetizing fish and at least I was never defeated by a yell," Lucy returned.

Cobra sneered in disgust. "That was a long time ago Tink and if anything can be said for Natsu is that he is one loud son of a bitch and lucky as hell."

"Truer words have never been spoken," Bicks held his beer up to Cobra in agreement before taking a swing.

"Oh Erik, while we're hear I have something for you," Lucy said before she held out her hand and a small dark purple crystal looking loop appeared.

"You got me an earring?" he said curiously taking it from her when his eye went wide. "It really works?" he asked after hearing her thoughts on its function.

"Yep, I know it turned out a bit more sparkly than I intended but I think your badass self can pull it off.

Cobra extended a claw and pierced another hole on his ear above the first and slipped the earring in letting some of his poison cauterize the small wound. He had no doubts the new bauble would garner him more attention from the ladies. Women tended to like shiny things. "It's perfect Tink, thanks," he finally smiled warmly, if briefly, just for her before changing the conversation. "So what did you get for the others?"

"I got Natsu a choker since it was probably the only place he'd keep the thing on and not lose it. Wendy I got an anklet, Laxus a bracelet similar to Cristoff's and Gajeel…" she blushed at the thought but Cobra heard everything unspoken and smiled lecherously.

"The man's covered in piercings, you don't think Levy might take exception to your getting him one to be used so intimately?" he teased.

Lucy just cleared her throat and waved away his comment. "That's not important…"

"What did she get Gajeel?" Bicks asked completely curious now.

"Don't you dare…" she warned but Cobra answered anyway.

"She got him a bar to go through his dick," but he didn't stop there. "Apparently Levy described all of his piercings in detail to her so she knew exactly what to get him."

"Damn Cristoff, one month with you and Lucy's a perve now!" Bicks laughed out.

Lucy didn't know what to say she was so horrified. The intent was to give each slayer something that they could always keep on, that wouldn't get in the way, easily protected, didn't look inconspicuous and that wouldn't be easy for anyone to take from them. If she were honest she would have gotten all the men something similar to Gajeel's but she only knew for sure he had the piercing already. There was no way she would ask the others about it or suggest they get one.

"Oh I have one but I don't think your mate there would want me to show you." Cobra couldn't help himself. Being in a house where all the occupants could keep him from overhearing their thoughts Lucy's were all too loud and clear sounding even more beautiful worked up now.

"TMI Erik, TMI!" Lucy said covering her ears and closing her eyes humming so she couldn't hear anymore.

Cristoff sat smiling contentedly listening to his family tease and joke around. The idea of moving to Magnolia a lot more appealing now that he had a whole new slew of family here. Chances were Bickslow was staying put and he couldn't just break up their growing tatsu. In fact, Gaza actually liked doing the paperwork involved in being White Seas' lieutenant while he' never cared for it so that could be an easy transition.

Maybe he could convince Fairy Tail and White Sea to be sister guilds and he could act as a liaison for Boscan mages that wanted to live here for a year. Given the closeness Queen Hisui was working with King Altiene in transforming the Fioren military and Magic Counsel given their prior issues, the request should be relatively easy to pass. Mages just made too much money working for a guild to trade that in for the structure and less pay as a solider. It left Fiore's army weak and if Fairy Tail hadn't united all the guilds to fight off Alvarez and Arconologia they wouldn't even be a country anymore.

"Where's Vander?" Cristoff asked everyone in the room seemingly out of the blue. Dysfunctional councils had brought his younger brother to the front of his mind. "I thought he said there was some good news he had from Dad?"

"Yeah, apparently Dad was bummed he couldn't tell us all in person but there was some kind of crisis he needed to handle in Iceberg so he told Vander to tell us all together. He took Emzadi to stay warm," Bicks joked then gave his brother a shrewd look. "You know Vander, where do you think he is? Let's see, he's just come off of a spy mission and there are 2 delectable looking people with him that."

"Wait two people? But I thought Safra's his mate? Isn't that like cheating?" Lucy's thoughts raced over the very few facts she knew about fairies and that was a very short list before her eyes widened as she looked at the surprised look on Cobra's face. "You can't say anything! Swear to me you won't say anything Erik," she said in a panic and it didn't take long for the Pradesh brothers to realize Cobra had heard her thoughts and what was most likely shared unintentionally.

Cobra just sat there sifting through Lucy's chaotic thoughts too surprised at everything to answer quite yet. He'd met Safra and Gin earlier that day briefly and both also had trained to keep their thoughts to themselves. Said there was a guy in their hometown that could read minds so everyone that could, learned how to close their thoughts so he didn't have the same issues Cobra had everyday of his life. It had sounded ideal to him but now it made even more sense. If Safra was an honest to God fairy and had grown up with Gin that means he was likely one too. Add to that the real danger Lucy was telling him about from where the fairies lived he couldn't help but understand even more their need to keep others out of their thoughts. Protecting themselves being the real reason behind their skill. It also made the task of him convincing them to show him around their home town a lot more daunting.

"Chill Tink, secret's safe with me and strictly speaking you kept your promise. You didn't tell me anything."

"Well that made this all easier," Vander said walking into the room with Safra at his side and a new man Lucy'd never seen before. "I'd just convinced them both that Cobra could be trusted but it seems he read Lucy like an open book."

"It is a very powerful magic," Safra added sitting on the floor with the stranger by her side.

"Say 'it's', Saf, not 'it is'," Vander suggested laying down with his head in her lap.

Rolling her eyes she looked at Lucy. "Lucy may I introduce my best friend Gin. Gin, this is Lucy."

"It's a pleasure to meet such a beautiful woman," Gin said standing up and kissing her on the cheek but stopped at the warning growl then took a step back. "Sorry, I've never been around a newly mated dragon." Gin dipped his head then moved back to the floor by Safra.

"I've never been newly mated before," Cristoff said truly perplexed at his own behavior. Jealously was not in his nature but he'd growled and tensed before he could have even consciously stopped it. His dragon had recognized an unmated non-kin male as a threat even though he practically reeked of Vander and Safra. He didn't look physically threatening either. He was maybe taller than Natsu, a giant for a fairy is what Safra had said before about her people was correct, but similarly leanly built. He had very dark skin almost the color of dark chocolate with shockingly bright turquoise hair. His knowingly kind smile was large and matched his metallic brown expressive eyes. He'd never seen anyone so darkly colored before but he was beautiful. Definitely someone he would have actually approached for an hour or so of fun before he'd met Lucy because of his rare beauty.

"Then we'll learn together." Gin's smile widened further.

Vander smirked from his spot on the floor. He hadn't missed the calculating look that passed over his brother's face, either of his brothers, when they saw Gin. He was unique and there wasn't anything Boscan's appreciated more than unique beauty but he doubted that either would make a more on him now that they were both with fairies of their own. Gin had not changed much from his true appearance other than changing his skin, rounding his ears and giving himself hair. When he'd first met Gin in person he had very pale skin similar to the people in Magnolia or Iceberg. It was closer to his natural coloring of snow white without being seen as odd by humans but now he wanted to be noticed. The fairy had chosen the dark skin tone deliberately when they were travelling together to draw attention away from Safra so her slight oddities wouldn't be even noticed compared to Gin's obvious differences. It was a different experience using something like that so everyone else went unnoticed but he appreciated the freedom it gave them. They only had to worry about slavers while in Seven because of it - which were a non-threat. Incidentally the contrast between their entwined limbs as they fucked their brains out was also more erotic then any of them had anticipated. They were like honey, caramel and chocolate – a surprisingly great mix - hence why Gin was still dark even though there was really no longer a rational reason for it.

"So, Dad told me that I'm officially retired and that Bickslow will be fully pardoned." Vander announced suddenly. He always enjoyed getting reactions out of people.

"You're serious?" Bicks said completely astonished.

"About my being retired? Of course. Pops told me before I left for Seven. I was just joking about you though."

"The hell man? You can't joke about that!" Bickslow was furious. He hadn't been able to spend much time in Bosco since he was 15 when his father smuggled him out so he wouldn't be put to death for misusing his magic.

Seith magic wasn't illegal in Bosco but it was highly regulated since an entire clan of seiths started exploring the darker capabilities of their magic. Nobody knew what was going on until people started dying by the hundreds all over less populated areas moving toward the capital. Before the military found the mage responsible they had killed more than 20,000 people. It was learned then that when a seith mage starts using their magic like that they can be influenced by the tormented immortal souls still hanging around in the living world to the point of insanity. Nothing could be done to save the man and even though he was the only one who'd gone crazy out of the entire clan, most of the persons in power thought yet and wouldn't take the risk with the rest of them. So, his mother's entire clan was "cleased", they called it, only his immediate family was saved because they'd left before all of that happened.

It was when he was out on his first solo job that his incident happened. He recognized a man at the inn he was staying at but wasn't sure from where or when. The guy saw him then quickly left the inn and Bickslow followed. When he caught up to him he recognized him as the magical artifact dealer his father had been working for that the police could never find for questioning after their murders.

He was using the regular interrogation tactics he'd learned as part of his military training and had enough information to imply this man was the actual murderer but it wasn't enough for a conviction so he decided to see the memory of that day for himself. He was still young then and took his interrogation too far, Bickslow was the first to admit that, but the bastard ended up being the man that had actually killed his family and that just triggered something inside of him and he lost control.

Strictly speaking this wasn't illegal but since it opened a seith mage's soul up to possible dark influences it had to be sanctioned to be done legally and another seith had to be present to monitor and fortify the first's soul just in case they were vulnerable. He couldn't wait for that and just did it by himself. He was young and stupid. Seeing his parents get killed for some ancient trinket they'd found just set him off. He used his magic to twist the guy's very soul and only realized what he'd done after the guy was passed out from pain. That was very much something illegal and carried an instant death sentence if his solo soul reading hadn't guaranteed that already.

"Joke about what? That you're pardoned or aren't?"

"The fuck Vander? Am I allowed to go home or not?" The genuine hope in Bickslow's expression stopped Vander's teasing dead. He'd only been exiled for a few months and he was already chopping at the bit to get home. It hadn't even been a real exile, more like a safe house, Bicks hadn't spent more than a few days at home in over the course of years.

"It's not a done deal yet but if you can withstand 2 days immersed in immaculate light the council will approve the King's petition to have you fully pardoned given your track record and the years passed and you still being sane and all. I'm supposed to drag you back to Pelerno by Sept 4th so you can go through the ceremony. Dad's also planning a bit of a celebration for the family given Cris' mating, my retirement and your freedom the week after the fact so I'm supposed to bring any guests you want there with us. There's an airship landing at the first completed port in Crocus in three days and I've already got us tickets." Vander pulled his hand out of Safra's bag with a handful of tickets and tossed most on the coffee table. "I figured Laxus and your old team plus Lucy's old team would want to come so that should cover them too. Anyone else let me know," he finished before turning his face into Safra's abdomen to kiss it briefly. He could practically feel the emotions in the air and was laughing hysterically inside at the various expressions. "Oh, I got a ticket for you too, Cobra, as well as the rest of Lucy's kin. We should be a merry party don't you think?"

"Ass," Bickslow said glaring at the table only to lunge suddenly at his little brother. This was the greatest news of his life and Vander had been fucking with him about it. He'd finally be able to go home and visit for holidays and vacations and his ass of a brother had joked around as if they were just going out to eat and dance for the night. He landed hard on the floor instead of on either person that had been where he was now only a moment ago. He figured Vander might have stayed put to at least prevent him from crushing Safra but he hadn't counted on actually going through her instead, well partially through her since his chest was still technically in her torso. Vander had dropped into the shadows completely knowing what would happen and escaped like usual.

"You know, I do not think Erza will appreciate your being in another woman," Safra said casually turning to look down at him.

"Erza's going to be so pissed when I tell her about this," Lucy giggled holding her stomach at the unexpected jab Safra had made.

Bickslow glared at both women trying his hardest to stay pissed at his brother.

"Hmmm, does it count if I don't feel anything?" Safra asked falsely innocent.

"I know a spell that could help with that if you're interested Bickslow," Gin added in helpfully.

And that was all it took. Everyone roared in laughter even Bickslow couldn't stop from laughing. "Alright, alright. I give. I try being serious for five minutes and they're cracking penis jokes," Bickslow said as he pushed up off of the floor. "Get your shady ass out here so I can congratulate you on your retirement."

Vander popped up right beside him and pulled him into a hug.

"Not to ruin your moment but I do find it a little weird having brothers in me at the same time." All Vander did was look at her with a glint in his eye before he pulled her up and the brothers sandwiched her in a hug.