AN: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail! ^_^

Here's the next chapter for anyone brave enough to read on! ^_^

Chapter Two – Making Soup

Levy looked at the tall blonde woman holding onto Takara as she introduced herself as Khanyisa Dreyar. She could tell this woman was kind immediately, although it was clear from her formal manner that she was both related to Laxus and that she was clearly slightly suspicious of Levy. Her hair colour and manner weren't the only things she shared with Laxus; she had the same storm grey eyes and pale skin. However, she had the same elegant and slender build as Ithunzi. They were like the two swans, black and white, similar in shape and style of movement.

A shadow appeared over the slender woman, the owner demonstrating where Laxus got his monstrous height from. The man stood above them all, his tanned hand resting tightly on Khanyisa's exposed pale shoulder. He had a creepy, sadistic glint in his almost black eyes. His black hair was slicked back smoothly, contrasting with Laxus' spiky blonde, only a foot away from him by the cooker, hand clenched tight on the wooden spoon he was using.

Levy could feel the tension in the air. She felt Gajeel's arm wrap protectively around her waist, holding her close to him. She realised within seconds of everyone's change that this must be Ivan Dreyar, the 'sick bastard' that Gajeel cursed whenever she asked about his family. According to Gajeel, he didn't have a reason to treat his wife the way he did. Apparently he even made the abuse Gajeel's father had given to Ithunzi seem friendly.

"Why is Laxus cooking?" Levy could hear the disgust dripping heavily in his voice.

"Takara had been crying; he took over so that I could get her to stop." Levy knew Takara hadn't been crying, but did Ivan? Khanyisa's voice sounded steady and emotionless as she slowly turned and handed Takara back to Laxus only to have her granddaughter snatched from her and practically thrown to her sister. Levy looked on in horror as Ithunzi only just caught little Takara.

"Cooking is a woman's job – do it! And Laxus shouldn't be forced to take care of his bastard – there are plenty of useless women in this house to do that for him! He doesn't need the one that actually has a job to do it! How dare you use that as an excuse to force my son into doing women's work!?" The anger was clear in his voice as the back of his large hand made contact with the side of her head, sending her down onto the cold grey slate floor tiles with horrifying force, her smooth long blond hair coming loose from its red Christmas ribbon, fanning around her as she lay there, unmoving.

Levy turned into Gajeel's chest, shocked at what she'd just seen. How could someone do that? She turned back around again, hoping it had just been her imagination – she did read a lot of books. She saw Khanyisa slowly getting up from the floor with the help of Mr Cheney and Rogue as Ithunzi tried to soothe Takara. She looked over at Laxus and realised the wooden spoon was no more. Ivan was gone, but he'd certainly made his presence known. The light-hearted atmosphere was replaced with a heavy air filled with anger, disgust and hatred.

Gajeel turned Shrimp to lead her out of the kitchen, muttering an apology to her for bringing her. He led her in her daze through the hallway and up the stairs towards the upper floor. He had to get her away from that scene. He had to explain, he'd told her most things and he didn't even know what more he could tell her but he wished he could have protected her from that. She didn't need to see that. He'd only brought her because his mother had threatened to send Laxus to pick her up if he didn't bring her. Laxus would have agreed simply based on the fact that her presence was what was allowing him to have his daughter for that one day.

Laxus had had to pick Takara up from Natsu and Lucy's flat after they'd opened their presents for her. Lucy was relying on him and Shrimp to deliver her in one piece the next day. She didn't want to have to come to this horrible place, and why on earth would she trust him or his mother and her husband and stepson to bring her baby back to her? Shrimp had agreed, against Gajeel's wishes, to bring Takara in the car with them on their way to his Uncle Igneel's. It wasn't a short journey before – now it was going to seem like forever.

He looked down at her stunned form, unsure of what to say. He rummaged through their bags at the foot of his bed. Laxus must have brought them up after dealing with Takara just after they'd disappeared into the kitchen. He started to get changed into his clothes for dinner – the quicker they got dinner over with the quicker he could get his Shrimp away from that monster.

He couldn't wait for sleep. After dinner came sleep, after sleep they could jump into his car and not have to come back until next Christmas. Yip, he'd have to come back next Christmas. He couldn't leave his mother to watch this on her own, even with Skiadrum, and she wouldn't leave her sister to suffer alone. Maybe if he talked to Laxus? Why hadn't he done something?

Gajeel could understand how terrifying it was to watch that sort of violence as a child, he'd had to do it every week for three years...Laxus had had to put up with it every day of his entire life, but he was bigger and stronger than his father now – why hadn't he done anything?! Although Gajeel already knew the answer; he supposed he'd probably be the same if his father had still been around. A child can't stand up to a violent adult like Ivan, a teenager can. The problem was that when Laxus had finally said something when they were fifteen, and Gajeel had backed him up knowing how his cousin felt, they had been badly beaten and Ivan had started treating his wife with pure spite for teaching 'his son' to stand against him.

Gajeel knew Macarov had reported his own son several times, but his daughter-in-law refused to press charges because she'd just 'slipped on the stairs'. Gajeel had lost count of the number of times his aunt had 'slipped on the stairs'. The nurses never believed her. Gajeel knew Laxus had never lost that fear of making things worse again by standing up to Ivan. Gajeel had to do something about that, he couldn't just keep watching that – three years had been bad enough for him, never mind twenty-nine for his cousin. He'd thought his father had been a selfish bastard...

Small, pale blue eyes flashed before his own, the glimpse of dark silver hair running from him, laughter ringing through his head. He felt a small hand on his arm, bringing him back to the present. He looked down at Shrimp in her yellow dinner dress. He smiled dismissively at her, glad of her colour choice – bright, happy colours were certainly needed in this house. He sighed and offered her his arm to lead her back down to the dining room.

Levy sat directly on Laxus' left – Gajeel clearly hadn't been joking six months ago when he'd said she'd be sitting next to him at Christmas! Laxus sat alone on the end of the table with Gajeel to his right, directly opposite Levy. The men, excluding Ivan and Laxus, sat on one side of the table while the women sat on the other. Ivan sat at the head of the table with Khanyisa to his right and Mr Cheney on his left. Levy found herself sitting next to Ithunzi who tried to make quiet conversation between passing Takara back her small stuffed yellow dragon every time the three week old lost her tiny grip on it.

Levy was surprised by her niece's presence at the table, being so young and small, but she didn't dare question it. Levy smiled sweetly over to Rogue who sat silently between Gajeel and Mr Cheney, watching her with his one visible crimson eye. He looked away and continued to attempt to dig the wooden splinters out of his soup silently.

Levy looked over at Gajeel who was clearly deep in thought, staring directly at her with an almost suspicious expression on his face. If it hadn't been for his vacant appearance then she would have thought he was accusing her of something. She looked at Laxus and decided that maybe she should try to ease his strained appearance. She didn't know if it was hers or his father's presence causing it.

"So, Laxus, I heard you were moving?" She smiled innocently at him.

Lucy had told her that he was moving to a bigger place so that Takara could have a room of her own when she was older. At the moment there was a cot filled with cuddly toys – the yellow stuffed dragon was her favourite it seemed, it could stop her crying as instantly as her father – in the corner of his room next to his side of the king-sized bed. He really was a totally adorable guy when it came to his daughter.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I just figured a little future planning might be a good idea." He responded, completely indifferent, much to Levy's annoyance.

"Forward planning?" She caught him look down the table and regretted pushing for conversation.

"What's this about moving?! What's wrong with that flat you're in now! You only just finished redecorating it eighteen months ago! And what's this about 'forward planning'? You should be finding a wife, not making room for your damn bastard!" Levy seen Laxus' entire body tense at his father's words. "This is your fault! What have you said to him, Khanyisa?! Have you been telling him to 'take responsibility' again?! It's that damn whore's own fault he got her pregnant! And I'm sure he would have married the damn whore if she'd stayed like a good woman and not ran off like the pathetic, weak, waste of good air that she is!"

Khanyisa's body was on the wooden floor before Levy had even realised Ivan had stood up. She watched in horror as he pulled her up by the roots of her long blonde hair, dangling her in the air again to continue shouting at her before throwing her to the ground and kicking her hard as she tried to muffle her own screams of pain, holding back the tears threatening to escape her storm grey eyes. Levy couldn't tear her eyes away from the horrifying sight before her. She didn't feel the chairs beside her move.

I am so sorry! I hope you are 'enjoying' this – I still feel terrible about what I've made our lovely two dragon Slayers go through...I'm apparently really mean to my three OCs...and now I'm making poor Levy watch it...anyway! Thanks to anyone who is actually reading this! The last chapter is up next Thursday, and that will be my last post of 2014! It's been a great year, so thank you! ^_^

Ice and Thunder, thank you! ^_^ There's one chapter left after this one! ^_^