A/N: Ahaaaaa, super sorry these take so long! I'd like to get it done but writing inspiration is very hard to find ; v; Here's the next chapter. Thanks for putting up with me! :'D

Chapter 12

It was raining heavily outside. The sound of thunder could be heard throughout the halls. Bixlow stirred and awoke to the sound of knocking at the door. Grumbling, he sat up, scratching his stomach and mindlessly staggering towards the door. He opened it, "Yeah…?" His eyes widened as Gajeel was seen, red in the face and eyes. He looked like a mess.

"I need a place to crash." He said. He stared at Bixlow with tired eyes, scratching his head and soon looking away, "I don't know if Laxus wants me to come back or...not."

"Okay."

Gajeel looked back up at him, a bit shocked that he'd welcomed him. He was sat down on a seat beside the occupied couch-Elfman slept soundly through the noises-and watched as Bixlow grabbed two bottles of water. He handed one to Gajeel and opened the other to drink himself. Hesitant, Gajeel removed the cap from the bottle and took small sips. He kept his head low, as did Bixlow, as silence filled the room.

"It's not your fault."

Gajeel looked up at Bixlow. What did he mean, it wasn't his own fault?

"It was me," Bixlow admitted, "I almost said something, I...I shouldn't have said anything."

Gajeel looked back down, biting his lip. "Does... he always get like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"...Mirajane? She stopped by...it just, y'know, it seemed like she'd dealt with this shit before."

"...She has," Bixlow confirmed, taking a gulp of his water, "He has a short fuse, a really, really short fuse."

"Mmm…"

"You- d-don't take it personally, just…" He stopped, turning to the other's face. Gajeel's lips were quivered and his eyes were shut. This was new. They never spoke like this, but he'd never seen him so miserable. He didn't do anything wrong, why was he crying? Bixlow stood and moved closer to him, brushing hair from the other's face. "C'mon, don't do that," he whispered, wiping Gajeel's tears with his own hands, "Get some sleep, okay?"

Gajeel looked back up, soon standing as he was led to the bedroom. Before Bixlow opened the door, he uttered, "It's not my fault?"

He turned to Gajeel, a bit surprised that he'd even assume it were his fault. "No," he replied, "It's not."

Gajeel quietly climbed into the bed with Bixlow, making sure not to wake anyone else. "Is... this gonna be okay with him…?" He asked. Bixlow shrugged.

"Really, it's all we have, they took the cots," Bixlow said, pointing to Mirajane and Lisanna resting together on the cot. Evergreen slept in the other bed, and she demanded that she'd sleep in it alone. Gajeel pulled the blanket over him, "Okay…"

Between the two of them, this was awkward. Very awkward. They faced away from each other, Gajeel hiding his face under the blanket. The only sounds heard in the room were Gajeel's rustling and the ceiling fan above them. Bixlow was left blanketless, curled up to prevent himself from rolling onto Gajeel. He sat up and turned to the other man resting beside him. Gajeel had fallen asleep.

He rested back on the bed, sighing. The rain began to fall harder, and from the window Bixlow could see palm trees harshly swaying and even leaves and litter being picked up by the wind. He was surprised that no one else was woken by the loud thunder. Though, the rain was quite relaxing. Bixlow closed his eyes and let the rain take him to sleep.

It was an uneasy rest, but he slept.

Morning arose yet the rain hadn't stopped, nor did the thunder. Gajeel stepped out of the bed slowly, hoping not to wake anyone in the room. He left the hotel room and headed for his own, knocking before walking in. It was clean, as if everything had been untouched since they'd arrived to the beach. The room was frighteningly quiet.

Gajeel opened the door to the bedroom, slowly. Laxus rested in the bed under the blanket facing away from him. "What do you want?" He asked, assuming Gajeel was there.

"...What's...are you...okay?" Probably not the appropriate question for right now, but Gajeel had to ask; he really didn't want to face Laxus' rage. Laxus, calmly turned around and made eye contact with Gajeel, who still hid behind the door.

"Are you?"

Was he supposed to answer that? Gajeel looked at him, confused, "What do you mean?" he asked.

Laxus sat up in the bed, stripping the blanket from him, revealing that he hadn't changed from yesterday's clothes. He rubbed his eyes and watched as Gajeel hesitantly stepped in the room. He motioned for Gajeel to come over. His orders were followed and Gajeel sat next to him.

"Did...you know why I told you to leave?" Laxus asked. He looked concerned. Gajeel kept his face away, but responded, "No."

Laxus sighed, "C'mere," He said, pulling Gajeel up to rest with him in the bed, "It's okay, alright? I'm fine."

Thank god. Gajeel sighed, relieved. "Laxus…" He began before he was held tighter. Anticipating the question, Laxus interrupted, "Don't worry about it."

He probably shouldn't ask. He turned his head to look at the window to see that it was still raining. The rain had fallen incredibly hard overnight, and it was still falling very hard. silently, the two decided to stay indoors the whole time. Laxus assumed it would be a great time to stay with Gajeel more. He pulled Gajeel up and kissed his cheeks, causing Gajeel to blush, and rested his head on Laxus' chest, "Lets try this again," he muttered.

Bixlow kissed Lisanna on her forehead, wrapping her in a blanket, "You look adorable," He said. She grinned, "Of course I do."

He laughed as he hugged her, pulling her towards the pillows to lay down. He assumed they'd spend the rest of the day indoors. For him, the rain was always fun to be in, but he'd rather much be with Lisanna. She didn't like the rain as much as Bixlow did.

Still, he thought about Laxus and Gajeel. There wasn't much of a racket coming from across the hall so they must be okay. Hopefully Laxus had calmed down. It was still surprising, them being together, even though he'd already known Laxus' feelings for Gajeel. Gajeel clearly had some feelings for Laxus as well. Bixlow thought things would work out between the two.

Of course, now all the craziness died down. Gajeel was back with Laxus and Bixlow was with Lisanna. Everyone else chose to sleep in. Thankfully Gajeel hadn't woken them up earlier; to Bixlow, that would have been awkward. They might have taken it the wrong way, especially Laxus. He sighed quietly, holding Lisanna tighter while spooning her from behind, "You smell pretty good baby," He flirted with her.

"I used a new conditioner," She said quietly, half asleep. He indulged in her scent before he drifted off himself. This would be a slow day, he guessed.

Until, of course, someone knocked on the door. "Room service!" They called, quite loudly. Bixlow growled before rolling out of bed, "What the fuck," He grumbled, scratching the back of his head before opening the door. Not surprisingly, it wasn't room service.

"Who the fuck are you?" He asked the two at the door.

"Oh shit wrong door."

"How the hell do you yell so loudly yet at the wrong door, dumbass?"

"Wait…" Bixlow stopped them, taking a moment to comprehend what exactly was happening, "Natsu, Gray...what the hell are you two doing here?"

"Well," Natsu put a thumb to his chin, his other hand resting on his hip, "We wanted to go to the beach? Is there that much to it?"

Bixlow looked at him wide-eyed, "Then how did...how did you know we were here?" He questioned Natsu, who shrugged in response, scratching his head.

"Well, we didn't know you guys were here, we knew Laxus was here."

"That doesn't exactly tell me how you guys knew he was-" Bixlow stopped, remembering who Laxus was with. Now fully awake, Bixlow stepped out of the room, in front of the two. "Actually," he started, his arms raised and a silly looking grin on his face, "You probably shouldn't bother him-I mean, it's early he's probably still sleeping, yeah!"

"...Okay?" Gray said, "And if we wake him up?"

"What- d-don't you work with him!? Have you not seen him up early?"

"...I guess?"

Bixlow sighed, "Let's just not bother him right now-"

"Not bother who?"

Bixlow jumped and slowly turned around to see Laxus' hotel room door opened. Laxus stood behind him, arms crossed, looking at the two visitors. "What the hell're you two doing here?"

"We're dropping by," Gray responded, "What are you doing here?"

"What's it look like, dumbass?" Laxus said, motioning to his hotel room, "On vacation, and I'll be here 'til Saturday night."

"Lucky…" Natsu muttered, "Rumor says the owner of the bar is his own grandfather," he whispered in Gray's ear. Gray nodded in response and whispered back, "No wonder..."

Hearing what they said, Laxus didn't bother telling them off about it. He turned around to his hotel room, but before closing the door, he told them, "And keep it down, people are trying to rest."

He closed the door. he three were alone in the hallway. Bixlow turned to them.

"So...where are you staying?"

"We aren't staying," Gray answered, "We're here for like, a day."

"I'm sick of sitting through that ride, I'm not doing that again today…" Natsu stated, "Can't we just spend one night in a hotel? A MOTEL would do, just somethin'."

"Dude, we can't even afford a motel."

"Well, can we stay here with you guys?"

"No way," Evergreen said from inside the other room. She'd overheard their conversation. She was dressed in a full skirt pink dress with a floral pattern. Her high heels clacked along the hardwood flooring as she walked towards the group, "It's honestly bad enough that I was FORCED to share a room with...Elfman."

Natsu and Gray looked inside the room to see a now fully healthy Elfman sitting on the couch with Mirajane and Lisanna. They waved, happily.

"A bit much, don't ya' think, Ever?" Bixlow commented on her choice of clothing, "It's not like we're going out today. It's rainin'."

"What does that have to do with?" She responded, "A woman with style would rather show it off than sit in their pajamas all day, whether they be inside or out."

Bixlow said something quite rude under his breath as Evergreen walked away, the sound of her heels hitting the floor fading.

Laxus sat back on the bed and pulled the sheets up. Gajeel was still asleep and hadn't known about Natsu and Gray's presence. Sighing quietly in relief, he spooned the other, pulling the sheets over himself. A quiet day would do them both fine, especially after the events of yesterday. He wished he could be alone with him much more now that they've come this far.

Though, he still thought they should get to know each other more.

The rain kept pouring and the winds blew harder; Laxus listened to the thunder. It was honestly his favorite type of weather. He didn't run around in the rain letting himself get soaked. He preferred to sit in silence and just listen to the thunder. He'd usually have a beer, and sometimes watch a movie.

A soft roar of thunder was heard. Gajeel awoke to the sound and sat up, looking beside him. Laxus looked up at him. Saying nothing, Gajeel turned towards him and sleepily nuzzled his chest. Laxus unconsciously wrapped his arms around him, placing his lips on Gajeel's forehead. "You alright?" He whispered.

Gajeel nodded.

That Friday morning, the group had headed out to the beach again to enjoy one last day at the shore. They played volleyball; Gajeel, Laxus, Bixlow and Elfman on one side and Mirajane, Lisanna, Freed and Evergreen on the other. Gray and Natsu were denied to play with them, as Laxus thought the two would start another fight and ruin the end of their trip. Gray and Natsu already spent the last of their spending money on food and a motel.

"Okay!" Mirajane cheered, "Serve!" She tossed the ball into the air and hit it over the net. Bixlow smacked it back to them and Lisanna missed it-being just too short to reach it-and the ball hit the sand. Natsu solemnly drew a line in the sand, representing their score.

"No fair!" she called Bixlow out, "You hit the ball to high!"

"How can you hit the ball to high, baby?" He grinned as she pouted, "Alright, I'll go easy on you girls...and Freed."

"Thank you," Freed said.

"Okay, I'll serve," Bixlow said before hitting the ball over the ner, this time low enough for Lisanna. she hit it, only to have it be slammed by Elfman immediately over the net. Freed just stopped it from falling, and hit it over towards Laxus. Laxus hit the ball, the ball flew over the net and towards Evergreen. She missed the ball. Natsu drew a line.

"What the hell!" She yelled.

"It's called paying attention," Bixlow teased, only to get a sandal to the face.

Laxus served. Mirajane hit the ball back, and the ball flew right over Bixlow's head. It landed on the ground and Gray drew a line for the other team. Lisanna cheered.

"Why'd you miss that, huh, Bixlow?" Evergreen eased back. He stuck his tongue out at her.

Mirajane served. Laxus hit the ball back towards freed, and Freed hit it out of bounds. Laxus served and Lisanna smacked the ball back. Elfman hit it and hit it too far. The ball fell out of bounds. Lisanna served and Gajeel hit the ball back over the net. The ball hit the sand. Gajeel served and Freed returned the ball. Bixlow saved the ball from hitting the ground and tossed it towards Laxus, who hit it over the net. It hit Evergreen square in the face and no one earned points. They took a whole thirty minute break for a small cut.

Gajeel served again, and Lisanna hit the ball towards Mira, who lost it. Gajeel served for a third time and Mira hit the ball back. Bixlow missed it. Mira served and hit the ball towards Elfman who...hit the ball too far again. Mira served again and Bixlow hit the ball back. Lisanna caught the ball; foul. Mira served again. Out.

Elfman served and the ball flew towards Evergreen, who softly hit the ball-not necessarily towards anyone, she just hit the ball-to Lisanna and the ball hit the ground on the other side. Lisanna served and Laxus slammed the ball back over the net, receiving applause for such an awesome move, much to his annoyance. They teams were tied, five to five.

"You can serve," Laxus said, handing the ball to Gajeel. he nodded and tossed the ball up in the air.

There was a sudden loud argument, which threw Gajeel off. The ball landed on his face. Laxus rushed to him as the others moved on to yell at Natsu and Gray, who started fighting over the score.

"You erased one of the lines, asshole!" Naus yelled, about to punch Gray before the two were separated from each other by the group. By then, the score was completely erased as No one playing had kept track, and Natsu and Gray stopped caring. the game ended with a tie, as Evergreen and Lisanna were too tired to play more.

"You alright?" Laxus asked, helping Gajeel up off the sand.

"I'm fine," Gajeel answered, brushing sand from his legs.

"Your nose."

"My what-?" Gajeel stopped as le looked down at his chest, which had drops of blood that fell from his nose. He started noticing the pain and held on to it as Laxus grabbed his beach towel to clean him off.

They blamed their spoiled day on Natsu and Gray.

Gajeel removed the warm wet cloth from his face, given to him by room service, and handed it to Laxus. His nose had finally stopped bleeding and there wasn't much pain. It was the evening and he'd skipped lunch to rest. His stomach felt empty. He'd rather stay here but he had to go out to eat. Gajeel stood out of bed feeling for any pain from his nose. He actually couldn't feel much anything on his nose, let alone pain. It wasn't broken, just numb, probably.

"Oi, Gajeel?"

"Hmm?" He looked up at Laxus.

"Your nose okay?"

"Ah- yeah."

The two set out for the car to go to a fancy[ier] restaurant-close to the beach but further from their hotel-for seafood. Gray and Natsu were formerly uninvited.

Evergreen mentally claimed she'd dressed the best; a long, green sheath dress with pearl earrings. Her hair was in a neat bun. Lisanna was in a simple skirt and white top, with sandals. She made Bixlow wear something that at least looked clean; a white t-shirt with jeans and a black belt. Freed wore a button up shirt with gray khakis. Elfman, Laxus and Gajeel just wore t-shirts and jeans, obviously not caring considering their location.

"Everything is amazing here!" Evergreen said, eyeing the restaurant's theme. The carpet was a dark red color and the lights from the chandeliers gave off a soft yellow lighting. The group was seated and given their menus.

"Look at all the food!" Bixlow said, almost drooling, "Aw hell I don't know what I want!"

"Choose wisely," Laxus muttered, "You're paying for it yourself."

Moping, Bixlow put his head on the table and handed the menu to Lisanna, figuring she'd make better choices both tastily and financially. Laxus leaned over to Gajeel, enough so that Bixlow couldn't hear too much, and whispered, "I'll pay for yours."

A bit flustered, Gajeel perked up, "Are you sure?" He whispered back.

The waitress walked over to the group with a notepad and pen. "Good evening," She greeted them, "Are you ready for your drinks?"

Evergreen and Mira ordered red wine while Lisanna and Freed requested white. The rest ordered a beer, only to get a scornful "Hmph" in response from the waitress. As she left, Laxus shot a slight glare to her back in return. Gajeel, sitting closest to the wall, leaned against it and looked over his menu. He knew Laxus was still spending money on him, and he knew his job paid really, really well, but he still didn't want him to pay too much. Then again the smaller foods seemed pretty expensive too.

The food arrived. The Strauss siblings each ordered salmon while Evergreen and Freed ordered a seafood salad. Elfman and received crab legs. After a minute of pleading by Gajeel not to buy himself a separate dinner, Laxus ordered a large platter of shrimp to share. Gajeel blushed as he'd received looks from people at other tables, but he still ate.

And he still felt bad.

The waitress returned with their bill, at a total of 50,000 jewel. Gajeel peeked at the bill and almost gagged, imagining if he had to pay for even part of that. Then he say Laxus take out his jewel. It looked like no big deal to him. He wasn't paying for the whole thing, but Gajeel still felt a little bit guilty. The girls got up and went to the bathroom and soon after, so did Freed, Bixlow and Elfman, leaving Gajeel and Laxus alone.

"What's wrong?"

Gajeel jumped, pulled from his thoughts. "It's nothing, really, sorry."

"Are you sure?" He turned his body towards the other, resting his arm on Gajeel's shoulders, "You've been pretty tense all night."

"I just...do...do you…" He glanced at the people at the table, next to him. He could hear their murmurs. The people behind their seats whispered about them. They both turned away from each other, faces a tad pink.

"I told you!" The woman behind them whispered to her, likely, husband, "he just wrapped his hand around him. HIM! There's gotta be something between the two."

"Ugh," Someone from another table grunted. She got up to use the bathroom. Laxus turned back towards him.

"Hey."

No response. Gajeel didn't want to speak right now. As the rest of the group returned so did the waitress, with Evergreen's credit card and a note, which she'd slipped into Laxus' hands. It was very sloppily written, probably rushed.

'Take it somewhere else.'

He crumpled it up.

"What's it say?" Bixlow asked, peering over Laxus' shoulder. Laxus shoved it in his pocket.

"Nothing."