Alright! Next chapter is finally up! I know the story may be a little boring and drawn out but I don't want my characters to "fall in love at first sight." I want Laxus and Saphira to build a relationship.

So comment and let me know how I'm doing! I want to know what you guys think, please!

As always thank you for the support and I hope I am able to keep writing a story you all love!

I also want to thank moosetrax4 and a.z. kurohaku for their reviews! Thank you so much it means a lot!

Chapter 4

Saphira hung around the guild for a couple hours after her fight with Natsu. Of course she would've liked nothing better than to go home but her instinct to stick around and make sure one of her slayers was okay won out. After he came too, he started spouting nonsense about a rematch and had to be flown home by his exceed Happy. After that she started on her own way home, and she walked through the familiar streets of Magnolia a sense of peace washed over her. Saphira took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. 'I really need to come home more often. I've missed this…'

About 30 years ago Saphira had a bought a house on the outskirts of the city and away from the loud noises in the city. It was about ten miles away from the guild hall. And with the rewards from her S-class jobs it really wasn't a huge deal. Luckily she had plenty of money left over to have a maid. Staying away from home for years can cause major dust build up!

'Feels strange to be walking back to my place, I haven't really called anywhere home for a long time now. Thankfully I have the new magic locking system installed in my house. There is no way I would still have the key after all that I've been through.'

She walked up to her front door and put her hand on the pad to the right of the door. The magic system scanned her magic signature and verified her identity and unlocked her door. You see with this system you input your magic wavelength into the memory bank and your personal magic becomes your key. It's a great system and of course you can add and take people off as well.

Saphira's house was really big for just one person but she bought it thinking she would have a family of her own to fill up the empty rooms and halls. She never imagined that she would actually run away from her intended mate. In total she had five bedrooms and four bathrooms. There were two bedrooms and two bathrooms downstairs, and three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. Upon arriving home she headed straight for the master shower to relax and decompress. And her thoughts drifted towards Laxus… 'The look in his eyes was so different from what I remember. His eyes were calm and not full of hatred or distain… he said nothing that was condescending or rude… could it be possible?'

She shook off her current thought and got out of the shower, dressed in shorts and a tank top, put up her long hair and crawled into bed.

"Ahhhh…. Feels great to be back in my own bed." Saphira turned on her side, hugged the nearest pillow and passed out.

(Line Break)

"Damn this is tedious…" Laxus muttered.

After getting home from Freed's house he had wondered if any of the books he had could shed any light on the fourth origin. But having no such luck he collapsed at his desk. All he managed to find was that the first and second origins were apparently common. Though nothing was mentioned about the third and fourth. 'What a pain in the ass… wait…'

He picked up a lacrima phone he had sitting nearby on his desk and channeled his magic into it. A couple seconds later Rouge's face appeared.

"Evening Laxus. Why are you calling so late? Everything okay?"

"Hey Rouge, yea everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know Saphira came back to the guild today. You and Sting should come by to meet her."

"We have already met her actually."

"Nani? When?"

"On her way to Fairy Tail she stopped by Sabertooth to meet us and give us the information regarding Acnologia. But irregardless Sting and I will be by tomorrow. Sting wanted to see Natsu and I have a couple of questions for her."

"Yea you and me both…" Laxus muttered

"Sorry I didn't catch that."

"Oh nothing… I'll see you and Sting tomorrow. Ja ne."

"Ja ne."

Laxus hung up the lacrima and put his head in his hands.

"All I get is more questions, never an answer…"

(Line Break)

The next day Saphira was heading to the guild dressed in a tight purple crop top that showed off her scars, (after all every great warrior has to have some great stories to tell) her favorite pair of low rider black jeans, and her usual black combat boots. Her black guild mark was proudly displayed on her left hip. Once at the guild she sat down at the bar and caught up with Mira.

"Good morning Saphira-chan! You look well rested."

"Good morning Mira-chan. I feel well rested! Nothing like sleeping in your own bed."

"I'm glad; you should come home more often then. It feels nice to have you home."

"Yea yea… Soooo what's new?" Saphira asked with a wide grin.

(Line Break)

30 Minutes Later

"No way! Freed?!"

"Shhhhhh! Not so loud!" Mira panicked as she tried to quiet down the laughing dragon slayer.

"Oooooo… you've got it baaaaddd." She teased.

Mira's cheeks puffed out it aggravation and slight embarrassment, but quickly shook it off in favor of trying to equally embarrass Saphira.

"Well what about you? Have you found your mate yet?"

Saphira's smirk fell off her face as she turned away from Mira's searching eyes.

"Oh my Mavis! You have! Who is he?!"

Before Mira could dig any deeper, Sting and Rouge burst into the guild hall. Well to be more accurate, Sting busted in and Rouge casually walked in. And Saphira all but flew over to greet the two slayers. 'Whew, saved! By Sting and Rouge of all people… the more distance I put between Mira and I the better.' she thought.

"Hey guys!" she greeted.

"Yo Saphira!" replied Sting.

"Hello Saphira-sama," said Rouge.

"I told you, you don't have to use that honorific," chided Saphira.

"I want to," Rouge simply replied.

"…fine… what can I do for you guys? I didn't think we were meeting again until I put the training session into effect."

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about, and Sting just wanted to come along and see Natsu."

"Oh okay. Well we can talk over here." She said as she led Rouge to a secluded table in the corner of the guild. And Sting went over to challenge Natsu to a brawl.

"So when you came to Sabertooth and explained everything, I became really interested about what you said about the third and fourth origin but I'm having trouble with reaching the third," Rouge explained.

"Hm I see. Well for starters you should take a "job" by yourself. Get away from the guild and the craziness that can go on there. You need to be at peace and calm. Meditation is what I found to be most beneficial in training your body to hold more magic than it would normally be capable off."

"You really think that will work?"

"I know it will. Once you awaken the third origin, filling it up with the necessary amount of ethernano should be an easy but long process. And soon you'll be able to do it unconsciously, like you do now with your current containers."

"Thank you for the advice Saphira-sama."

"You're welcome, now if you will excuse me I'm going to go speak with the guild master." She said as she rose out of her seat. Rouge nodded his head at her and also got out of his seat and headed over to where Gajeel was seated. And Saphira crossed the hall over towards the bar where Makarov was currently seated.

"It really is nice to be home…though I forgot how loud it can be," she laughed as she took the seat next to the guild master.

"This is nothing! The guild hall has quieted considerably since you came back. Not even Laxus's presence caused it to be this calm."

A chair was sent flying through the air right in front of the pair. And Saphira's eyes followed it until in crashed into the wall and shattered.

"…you're kidding… where is Laxus anyway?"

"Hmmmm… usually he arrives at about 12 o'clock. He is rather late today huh?" He replied while staring at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Ugh! Don't get the wrong idea master… I don't care, and I haven't even talked to him since the meeting."

"You should."

Just then Laxus walked through the guild doors and walked over to his team. He had definitely stayed up way too late trying to figure out the riddle that is Saphira. He didn't even realize how late it actually was until the sky started showing signs of daybreak. At the end of the day, he had found nothing and it pissed him off to no end.

Saphira couldn't help herself as she watched Laxus walk across the guild and over to the table his team occupied. And she found that she couldn't look away, everything about him drew her in. But it was his aura that made it the hardest…dominant and crackling with controlled chaos. Stormy blue-grey eyes met cold icy blues ones as their gazes crossed from their opposite corners. Saphira was the first to look away and as she did her attention was caught by Gajeel. Who slightly ticked his head left, towards the back door. She responded by faintly moving her head up, acknowledging what he was telling her. So Gajeel left first and shortly after so did Saphira. 'I wonder what he wants,' she thought.

Laxus watched her walk out of the guild after her silent conversation with Gajeel. But as she did he noticed that she was wearing purple and black, his colors. 'She should wear those colors more often… it looks gorgeous on her.'

"Want me to send one of my babies to check it out?" Bickslow asked, he had also seen the silent conversation between the elemental and iron dragon slayers.

"No, I'm not interested in Gajeel's business… besides I already know his secret."

Bickslow on the other hand, couldn't help the confused look that passed over his face. 'What secret could possibly include the woman Laxus was so interested in?!'

(Line Break)

Saphira followed Gajeel's scent and found him in a park not too far away from the guild.

"Took you long enough," he huffed.

She rolled her eyes and responded, "Well sorry! It would've looked weird if we were seen leaving together. Unless… you want that kind of attention." She said as she gave him a shit eating grin.

"No! Fuck that! I don't need all of the fairies in my business," he quickly defended.

"Alright, alright. So what is this secret meeting about anyway?"

"…it's about the conversation about mates…"

"Well I hate to break it to you but I'm not yours…"

Gajeel quickly cut her off saying, "I know that! I saw the way you clenched your right hand when the topic was brought up."

She sighed, "… damn…you are a lot more observant than I originally thought."

"…I'll show you mine, if you show me yours…"

Saphira looked at him blankly and slowly blinked. "If this wasn't so serious, I would've said something about that comment of yours… Ugh! Fine! But you are the only one I am going to show this too. If you talk no one will be able to save you." She warned as she glared at him.

'Geez… if looks could kill… she's scarier than Titania and the She-Devil,' he thought. "Deal."

They both took off their gloves and held their hands out in front of them, palms up but fists clenched.

"On three, we will open them, okay," she stated. There was no real question there at all. I was either do it or get lost. At least… that's the way it came across to Gajeel.

"Sure."

Saphira started, "One."

Gajeel next, "Two."

Then together, "Three!"

When their palms opened Saphira took note of the ancient script written on Gajeel's palm, and he looked at the prominent lightning bolt on hers that seemed to glow with power.

"Ancient Sanskrit huh? Translates to Levy."

"You can read this?!" Gajeel asked astonished.

"Yea well when you are as old as I am you tend to pick up a few things," she muttered.

"And a lightning bolt for you. So Laxus?"

"Yea…"

They both put their gloves back on so as to not risk anyone else seeing their marks as they continued their conversation.

"Why do you sound so sad about it? You could stop this whole problem with Acnologia seeking you out if you just mated Laxus."

Saphira growled loudly, "It's not that simple! When I left the guild ten years ago I had just found out who my mate was meant to be. I was so mad that he turned out to be an immature egocentric asshole… you are so lucky to have Levy."

"Yea well, I don't even know if she'll accept me. When we met it wasn't under good terms… I hurt her and her team badly…"

"But look at you now! You fight for her. I've seen the looks she gives you. None of what you have done matters to her. Everyone deserves a second chance."

"Hmp… maybe you should take your own advice."

With that Gajeel walked back towards the guild, leaving Saphira to stare incredulously at his back.

'Did I just get duped…? I bet that asshole knew all along that Laxus was my mate, or at least suspected it. With how observant he is I wouldn't put it past him that he noticed I have avoided any contact with the lightning dragon slayer… very sly Redfox… can't believe I was played like that.'

With that thought, she jumped up into the nearest tree, found a bent branch to recline on and returned to her thoughts. 'Everyone deserves a second chance huh?'

Saphira stayed in her tree, as it was now dubbed, for nearly an hour. Turning endless thoughts in her head and when she finally came down she wasn't completely convinced. She had some questions she needed answered, so she finally decided to make her way back to the guild hall.