Chapter 15

Levy was nervous as she practically dragged Gajeel down the street away from the guild. She had the ability to move quickly when the need arose. Gajeel soon realized that the only reason he could keep up was because of his longer legs, and steady workout regiment.

The morning had been wonderful, Levy mused as she speed walked. Waking up on the floor in a pile of blankets with Gajeel wrapped around her quickly became her idea of perfection. With Erza out of town they decided to take their time getting ready. This lead to another impromptu romp between the sheets before finally getting cleaned and leaving the building.

Seeing the black scorch mark in the middle of the guild brought Ivy to the front and center of Levy's mind. Not seeing Mira behind the bar had the bluenette turning to Cana for help; who had already started on a bottle of stronger alcohol in Mira's absence.

Cana didn't know if Ivy was still around or not, but she did slip Levy a lotion bottle with a knowing look and whispered comment. "Helps cover bruises."

Levy tried to keep her face from going pink thinking about Cana's gift. Fortunately her mind was easily brought back to her current worry as she spotted Laxus' house at the end of the street.

Grabbing on to Gajeels' hand as she slowed to catch her breath from her near run, she voiced her concern. "What if she's gone?"

"Then we call Laxus, find out what happened, and go to the train station." As they walked up the porch steps he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before turning to knock on the door. "Technically we still have a job to do and right now she's our only lead."

It didn't take long for Laxus to swing open the door. He didn't even get a chance to ask why they were here before Levy spoke.

"What happened? Is Ivy still here? What did you do?" The dark look she used to stare him down with the last question caught Laxus off guard.

"Living room." The blonde quickly moved out of the way as Levy rushed past him. Gajeel only gave him a shrug at the look Laxus sent the iron dragon slayers way before following the bluenette.

Levy hadn't known what she expected when she saw Ivy again, but the view she got when she entered the living room was not it. The small woman could only stop and stare as her mind tried to catch up with her eyes.

Ivy was sprawled on the couch with her legs thrown over an arm rest. She was wearing what looked like Laxus' shirt and a pair of boxers. Levy was a little taken back by the knowledge that she had never seen Ivy truly look relaxed and comfortable until this moment.

Levy's attention was pulled to the lacrima screen as Ivy hit the pause button. Seeing an image of a man's body mutating as he was burned alive pushed a different question then the one she planned to ask out of her mouth.

"What are you watching?"

"A classic, the original The Thing." Noticing Levy's' look of horror still focused on the image Ivy clicked the screen off before swinging herself around into a seated position as the men joined them. "So what brings you here?"

With a quick shake of her head Levy tried to refocus herself as she moved to join her friend on the couch. "What happened last night?"

Ivy glanced over at Laxus and Gajeel as she shifted in her seat before looking back at Levy. "A miscommunication that I completely overreacted to."

Noticing the woman's discomfort Laxus nudged Gajeel. "I have to check in with Gramps. Come on I'll fill you in on the way to the guild."

Catching on to the blondes intention Gajeel met Levy's questioning gaze with a reassuring smile before following Laxus back out the front door.

Levy waited a moment after hearing them leave before turning back to Ivy with a look of determination. "Okay, what happened?"

Over the next hour Ivy told Levy all the events that happened the night before. She even found herself opening up about her past; discovering that it was easier to talk about the more she shared it with people who seemed to care.

After she had answered Levy's questions the two women sat in silence both trapped in their thoughts. Levy eventually took a deep breath before turning back to Ivy.

"I can't say I can completely relate to what you've been through, but I do know how terrible being alone is. It's one of the reasons I love the guild; everyone will stand by your side if you need it."

"I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

Levy scooted across the couch to wrap her arms around the larger woman. She felt Ivy stiffen for a moment before the tall woman let heself sink into the hug.

In a soft voice Levy continued, "That's not really your choice to make any more."

As Ivy tried to pull away Levy gripped her shoulders forcing them to remain connected.

"Ivy, you are worth getting hurt for if it means I get to keep you around as a friend."

As Ivy was allowed to ease back she met Levy's gaze with tear filled eyes. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yup" Letting the word end with a pop Levy decided to lighten the mood as she glanced down at Ivy's shirt. "And I know Laxus would agree with me."

Levy started giggling as Ivy's face took on a pink shade and she refused to make eye contact. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh no, you do not get to sit here in his clothes and tell me that there isn't anything going on!" Levy started punctuating every word with a poke into Ivy's side sending the taller woman into her own laughing fit.

"Stop… stop I surrender!" Rolling on to the floor away from small hands Ivy met Levy's amused eyes. "I'll tell you all about my less drama filled more romantic time with Laxus; if you tell me about your date with Gajeel."

Ivy didn't even try to hide the smug grin that came to her face as Levy joined her in pink complexion.

Levy let out an exasperated sigh before turning to grab a lotion bottle out of her purse. "Fine, but you have to help me cover these marks that idiot left."


Laxus and Gajeel almost made it back to the guild in silence. Laxus was absorbed in his thoughts, and Gajeel knew it was pointless to be caught up on specifics when he would be joining the conversation with Makarov. A few blocks away Laxus decided to ask Gajeel a question he had been stewing over since Wendy had left his house that morning.

"Is it a dragon slayer thing to want to bite someone?"

Gajeel slowly turned to look at Laxus with a scowl. He didn't really want to talk to Laxus about this kind of thing, but who else was the blond suppose ask; Natsu? The thought of how that conversation would go almost caused Gajeel to smile.

Scrutinizing the taller man one more time Gajeel decided not to be a dick. "Yes, we're territorial. Biting is a very specific sign that lets other dragons know "fuck off this is mine". It happens when we get pulled toward someone who's a possible mate. It's not a binding thing like it would be for dragons, but we still get that urge. You've known hammer girl less than a week, don't bite her. Shit I haven't even bit Levy yet."

At the word mate Laxus felt his palms tingle with an odd anticipation, and the thought of sinking his teeth into Ivy's freckled skin came once more to mind.

Shaking his head trying to distract himself he thought of the last comment Gajeel made and turned to the other man with a smirk. "Are you making up for it in hickies?"

Gajeel sputtered and refused to meet Laxus' irritating look of victory; because mostly subconsciously that was exactly what he had been doing. He only found his voice again after they swung open the doors to the guild. "I liked you better when you talked less."

A chuckle was the only response he received as they headed to the bar where Makarov jumped down from the second floor with an expectant look. They joined the small man with a greeting before Laxus remembered that there was a certain barmaid he should be avoiding. Jerking his head around he let out a sigh of relief when he spotted Kinana walk out of the doors to the kitchen to start cleaning tables for the possible evening rush.

"I sent Mira home. She was a little irritable from staying up all night helping repair the guild." Makarov was always a little too perceptive for Laxus' liking. "So is there a certain woman you want to tell me about?"

The glare Laxus threw at his grandfather couldn't be helped, he knew the look the old man was giving him and the word "grandbabies" usually followed it. Deciding that was not a conversation he wanted to start in front of Gajeel, Laxus caught the two men up on the parts of Ivy's backstory that were important to the job.

His words were followed by silence as the men pondered the information. Their thoughts were broken when Erza walked into the guild followed by Jet and Droy.

Gajeel had forgotten that the two men had been dragged into Erza's impromptu job after the festival was canceled. She had started taking them on short missions somewhat regularly after the guild had come back together; stating that they needed to get in shape.

The red headed warrior dropped onto a stool at the bar with a look of irritation and ordered a piece of strawberry cake as Kinana walked by. Jet and Droy walked up to Gajeel sending apprehensive glances in Erza's direction as if she was going to explode at any moment.

"I'm guessing that job didn't go well?" At Gajeels' question both men slumped in defeat.

"In went well in the fact that those robbers turned rapist can't harass anyone again, but not because of us. It took time getting the last victim to identify the bodies, and the man who posted the job refused to compensate for the train ride even though he forgot to retract the request." Erza's clipped response near the end of her explanation revealed why she was upset; the man had been rude.

"What happened to the robbers?" Makarov looked between the three. "I doubt they're doing an extensive investigation."

"Yeah, but not because they aren't interested; more scared shitless." Jet's face turned a slight green color and he shivered before continuing. "Bodies looked like they were crushed with a sledge hammer, extensive internal bleeding from shattered bones puncturing organs."

Laxus, Gajeel, and Makarov froze and quickly locked gazes with each other in a silent agreement not to voice their concerns just yet.

The master cleared his throat before continuing his questioning. "Are there any witnesses to help learn who did this?"

Having not noticed the reactions of the men while trying to erase the bodies he saw from his memory Jet continued. "The man who found them was taking an emergency trip to Kunugi from Oshibana with his wagon. He said the only other person he saw on the road that day was a tall woman. He offered her a ride because of the storm, but she refused saying that she was going the other way and she liked the rain. He couldn't give a description because she was covered in a lot of mud, but he was convinced it wasn't her because and I quote "she is the nicest person I have even met". Turns out his wagon had gotten stuck and she pushed him out."

"They decided to postpone any further investigation unless there are anymore similar attacks." Erza wiped her face before stepping away from the bar and turning to lock eyes with Gajeel. "I'm heading home; I hope there hasn't been any rule breaking while I've been gone."

Leaving the iron dragon slayer with a hollow feeling in his gut Erza left the guild. As the doors closed behind her Gajeel left out a sigh of relief, at least she hadn't killed him just yet.

Cana who unbeknownst to any of the men had been sitting behind the bar making her way through her second bottle of expensive vodka popped her head into view, causing Makarov to jump almost into the air.

She turned to Gajeel with a smirk and a drunk singsong voice. "If you don't have little blue put up silencing runes before you have fun, big red's going to hear as much as I did."

With a burp the woman slid out of view back behind the bar. Leaving them wondering how she still had a functioning liver.

Droy turned to Gajeel with a wide eyed look. "Are you and Levy together now?"

The iron dragon slayer shifted under the man's gaze. He was on decent terms with Levy's friends despite their past, but he also knew that the two had more than just platonic feelings toward the bluenette. "Yes"

Instead of the anger that Gajeel was expecting Droy smiled at him and Jet tossed his head back with a loud groan. "Uug finally! It took you guys way too long to figure this out."

Droy continued to give Gajeel a kind smile as he patted the dragon slayer on the shoulder. "We're just glad you're both happy. It's been a long weekend, tell Levy we'll see her later."

Leaving Gajeel sitting there still slightly stunned, the two left with a wave. A few moments after the doors thudded close behind them Laxus decided to speak up.

"Are we going to talk about the fact the Ivy killed several people?" Laxus' looked nervous as he studied his grandfather, the old man believed in giving second chances but he chose who deserved them.

Makarov chuckled at his agitated grandson, he planned to give Laxus so much crap over the younger man's obvious feelings. "She killed robbers who had started to rape women; they would have become murderers sooner or later. Ivy doesn't strike me as the type to attack without reason, and she was probably not the one to engage those men in violence. She simply finished it."

The three men sat in compatible silence until Cana's head once more appeared to rest on the bar, and turned to Laxus. "Have you hooked up with that tall chick yet? Ever said she's got crazy curves under those baggy clothes. Is it true?"

"Shut up, Cana." Laxus hid his smirk in his drink while his grandfather and Gajeel laughed as Cana jerked from a shock that knocked her back down with a curse.


A couple hours later Gajeel received a call from Levy saying that they could come back to the house and to grab Ivy's bag from her room. As Gajeel, Laxus, and Makarov walked out of the guild they spotted Wendy. After a quick greeting and explanation of where they were going the young mage decided to join them.

Walking into the house the group was not prepared for the heated conversation coming from the living room.

"What do you mean they made a TV show and it doesn't follow the books!?" Ivy threw herself back into the couch with a loud groan as the men and Wendy walked into the room. "I've only had the chance to read the first four and that was years ago, but really if you're going to take the title, characters, and base plot why would you bother changing a good thing?"

"I'll let you borrow the whole series. Just do what I do, keep reading and pretend the show doesn't exist." Levy leaned forward and began patting Ivy's calf in a reassuring manner with an expression that resembled a friend comforting a grieving family member at a funeral.

Gajeel would never understand how such an emotional discussion could happen over books of all things. He had learned over the years that if he didn't want to sit through a long lecture from Levy on the subject he should keep his opinions to himself.

Wendy caught the two women's attention as she moved to the couch, clearly the young mage was on a mission. She grabbed Ivy's feet and began casting while the tall woman turned her head to the men.

"Please tell me you brought my bag."

Laxus held up the canvas sack, which was pulled from his hand as soon as Wendy finished and then taken with Ivy to the back bathroom. He still had a hard time grasping how she moved that fast.

"Levy" Makarov moved to join the small woman on the couch as Wendy went to the kitchen to get some food. "What do you think of her? My grandson might have a slightly skewed opinion."

Levy sat for a moment, trying to think of the best way to describe her new friend with an unbiased opinion.

"Having her in the guild could cause trouble, but no more than Lucy did when she joined. She's strong…" Levy paused as Makarov held up his hand.

"I meant her personality, everyone likes her and I want to know why; I have yet to have an actual conversation with Ivy."

"Well she's fun, smart, and so far incredibly nice. It's obvious that if anything happens to put the people she cares about in danger she'll leave. Not because she doesn't think we can handle ourselves, but because it's the only thing she knows how to do."

"Alright then." Makarov looked as if he had made up his mind, and he stopped the two men from commenting with a look.

Ivy soon walked back into the room followed closely by Wendy who had made a plate of sandwiches. Laxus couldn't help but stare at the way Ivy's new jean shorts that stopped just above her knee, clung to her muscular legs. The hammer was once more attached to her thigh.

"Miss. Ivy, I hoped that I could have a word with you. I'm Makarov Fairy Tail's guild master." The short man had hopped on to the coffee table to shake Ivy's hand.

"Nice to meet you." Ivy's smile fell when he didn't release her as she tried to step back and instead started to pull her along behind him down the side hall to the guest room. She hadn't expected the small man to have such a strong grip.

Laxus gave her a reassuring smile and shrug when she looked at him over her shoulder in panic. It didn't seem to calm her as she disappeared from his view. Easing himself into a large recliner Laxus knew the only thing he could do was wait, and be ready to catch Ivy again if she bolted.

Wendy plopped onto the floor next to the table and began to chow down on her sandwiches while Gajeel moved to the couch next to Levy giving the woman a smug grin.

"So what did you say about me?" Levy's face turned bright red as she tried to scoot away from Gajeel's question.

"Who.. who said we talked about you?"

Gajeel gave the woman a look that screamed bull shit. "Girl talk generally means talking about guys. I have the hearing to know that from the guild."

"He's not wrong, men are the number one topic" Wendy tried to give Levy an innocent shrug, but the spark in her eye ruined the effect.

The three older mages stared at the girl they had all come to view as a younger sister, and felt the sudden horror that Wendy was not as innocent and shy as she once was. Levy was the first one to recover; she didn't carry the big protective brother complex, and threw a small pillow at the girl.

"That doesn't mean you tell them that. Their egos are already too big." The female's laughter was broken by Laxus and Gajeel's sounds of indignation.

The conversation was kept light until they heard the guest room door open. They remained silent as Makarov walked into the room with a large smile on his face causing the small audience to relax. Ivy came into view a few steps behind him and Wendy let out a squeal and clapped her hands.

Wearing a scooped neck t-shirt allowed the dark gray guild mark that rested along Ivy's right collar bone to be easily seen. Laxus didn't even try to suppress the smile that matched his grandfather's as he met Ivy's eyes. She had a slight skip in her step as she made her way to his chair and hopped into Laxus' lap; not showing any signs of caring about the other people in the room.

"Alright you brats!" Makarov slapped his hand together to grab their attention and silence the growing happy conversation. "Ivy has agreed to help Gajeel with his job request, but that can be worried about tomorrow. Tonight I believe there is some whiskey at the guild used for celebrating!"


Ivy refused to open her eyes knowing the moment she did she would die from the pain in her head. She didn't care where she was, how she got there, or the obvious feeling that she was topless and pressed against someone else's flesh. Wait what!

Her eyes snapped open only to slam shut again as the hangover headache took over. Rolling away from whoever she was touching, she could only hope that it was Laxus, Ivy buried herself into the blankets; planning to never see light again.

A low chuckle could be heard through the covering, and Ivy relaxed slightly recognizing the sound.

"I'll be right back." The way he spoke hadn't changed in a way most people would notice, but Ivy did. It sounded like how she remembered her parents talking, with gentle care and something else Ivy didn't want to think about.

Ivy felt the mattress shift when he left the bed as she starting to panic. What happened? She remembered partying with people in the guild and drinking and then nothing. It was a black hole in her mind. Her head started to pound harder as she started to hyperventilate. What if they had sex?

Ivy could tell she was still wearing her underwear. Did that matter, had she just put them on after? Was she supposed to feel different? She didn't feel like anything was new besides the pain in her head that refused to be ignored.

Hearing Laxus re-enter the room Ivy pushed down the blanket to look at him with tears in her eyes. Wearing only a pair of boxers, he froze next to the bed holding what Ivy recognized as a half full hangover cure and a glass of water. Taking them from his hands she refused to meet his concerned look as she drank the liquids.

Laxus wasn't sure what was wrong and decided to wait for her to voice what she was thinking. He sat on the edge of the bed as she placed the containers on the nightstand. Still refusing to meet his eyes Ivy took a deep breath before speaking.

"Laxus did we… did we?"

Catching on to her meaning Laxus cut her off. "No, we didn't. You went to bed with a shirt on; that one." As he pointed to the floor Ivy saw her t-shirt that she must have thrown off during the night.

Falling back into the bed with a relieved sigh Ivy pulled the blanket tighter around her before another thought had her freezing in place. "What happened last night?"

At Laxus' laugh Ivy looked at the man in horror waiting for the proverbial ax to drop. As he composed himself Laxus leaned over bringing his mouth close to her ear before he spoke in what would be considered a suggestive manner.

"You informed me you've never given a blowjob, and would love to learn with me."

Laxus almost fell from the bed laughing as Ivy jerked away from him and shoved her face into a pillow screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOO! I didn't say that!"

Calming down enough to speak as he wiped tears from his eyes Laxus rolled to snuggle against Ivy's back. "But you did say that and it's when I decided you had enough and brought you back to my place." Pressing closer against the woman Laxus rested his chin on her shoulder as Ivy refused to lift her head from the pillow.

"We are incredibly lucky that I know how to hold my alcohol, because someone is a crazy drunk who fell asleep trying to get into my pants."

Laxus was not prepared for the pillow to be pushed over his face or Ivy to suddenly be straddling him with an odd war cry. "No one will know if you can't tell them!"

Ivy had forgotten she was topless in her embarrassment until one of Laxus' hands that had reached up to wrestle her off grasped a hold of her breast.

Laxus threw the pillow off his face when her grip loosened and she gasped. His smile fell when he saw where he had grabbed. Releasing her and trying to pull back into the bed Laxus hoped he wasn't about to get smacked; women tended to act differently when they were sober.

Instead Ivy grabbed his retreating hand and placed it back against her chest. Her face was red but she gave Laxus a look that said she wanted more, but was unsure how to proceed. Taking that as his cue Laxus flipped them over.

To his irritation before he could do more than kiss the beautiful woman underneath him Laxus' phone went off. With a growl he let his forehead rest against Ivys'.

"As much as I don't want to answer that, it could be important." Rolling back away from her he moved to find the phone that was still in his pants from the night before.

Ivy once more pulled the blanket around her wishing whoever had called could have waited. Her body felt unusually cold without Laxus against her. Watching his back muscles tighten as he listened with the phone to his ear, Ivy got a feeling they wouldn't be continuing.

Laxus hung up without a goodbye and turned to the woman in his bed.

"We need to get to the guild." His voice had become tight with anxiety.

Sometimes Ivy hated being right.


I love the idea of Dragon mating, be with each other forever thing, but I've always felt that dragon slayers aren't full dragons. They only have small pieces of a dragon so instead of the full thing they get drawn to partners who would compliment them the most. They still get the biting urge but it doesn't force them to become inseparable. Although they are still extremely possessive and loyal.

Anyway this is just a fun take on the idea.

This story is about to move toward a more darker plot, I can't wait these ideas have been in my head awhile we just needed to get there.

-P.P.V