Why did Sally fall off the swing?

She didn't have any arms.

Knock Knock.

Who's There?

Not Sally.

Thank you, thank you very much. And with that warm up, on to the show!

Chapter 10 – "Gray (or, That's What I Call a HOT Spring)"

It was supposed to be an average mission, something to not only help her with her rent but also to ease her back into the swing of things after the events of the Zodiac Rebellion. It was simple – track down a local group of bandits that were terrorizing a village, and then take them out for the rune knights. We had finished it swiftly – and I was exceedingly impressed with her power. She worked with her spirits even more artfully than before – and the spirits themselves seemed to have gotten a power boost. As much as that fucking playboy Loke irks me, I had to admit, he and Lucy worked well together. Even the bitchy mermaid made an appearance, and the resulting incident was surprisingly only aimed at the enemies – a rare occurrence according to Blondie, which was met with a blood-chilling glare when mentioned. After the rune knights arrived and began to cart off the unconscious mages (tied up excessively, courtesy of the pink haired maid), we decided to take a leisurely walk back to town rather than use my lightning.

After everything, I realized I had barely used my powers at all. I was so impressed it almost distracted me form the agitation I still felt at being unable to help during her battle with the celestial spirits. But she had insisted I stay on the mission I was working – The lightning storms were getting even more vicious by the day, and redirecting them was a full-time job only I could take. It was the most anxious few days of my life, waiting for her to come back. All I could do was consume as much lightning as I could, sending whatever spare power through the mate link I was able to, and trust that a group consisting of two S-Class mages, three dragonslayers, and a handful of S-Class potentials would be able to keep her safe.

It was quiet, and it was peaceful. We stumbled across a natural spring and she looked at me with wide chocolate pools, her lower lip sticking out. I feel a blush dust my cheeks – after all, I'm still getting used to the "love" thing – and I nodded.

We stripped down to our bare undergarments and hid our clothes in a safe place off to the side. Being the "big jerk" that I am, I was completely unable to stop myself from shoving Lucy into the water while she was dipping her toe daintily.

"KYAAA!" she shrieked, cutting off as hit the surface and sunk. She immediately surfaced, coughing and spitting. "You ass!" she spluttered. Her eyes glinted dangerously and she smirked at me. She drew her whip from seemingly nowhere, and before I could react, wrapped it around my ankle and pulled. I yelled in surprise before I, too, was claimed by the surprisingly warm water. I splashed around in an attempt to right myself. Lucy cackled maniacally at my efforts until I straightened up and narrowed my eyes at her. I flashed a cheeky grin before pulling a convincing look of surprise, focusing at something behind her.

"Woah! That's a crazy fish!"

Lucy spun around to try and see. "What? Where?"

I splashed a large amount of water at her while yelling, trying to withhold the smirk at her indignant shrieks. "Oh man! It just swam up to the surface and splashed you!"

She whipped back around and glared at me. I put my hands up innocently. "Oh man there it is again!" She snapped her head to the side and I threw more water at her.

"Laxus you butt!" She spluttered, wiping the water from her eyes. I wade closer to her and wrap my arms around her before crushing her to my chest and tucking her head under my chin.

"Don't worry, Lucy! I'll protect you from the fish!" I say dramatically. She mumbles a muffled protest against my skin and I reach around to splash her from behind. She squirms out of my arms and grins creepily at me for a second before diving into the water and disappearing. I'm not sure how exactly she managed to get behind me without me seeing her pale skin through the water, but she did it. Next thing I know I've got Lucy bursting from the water behind me and latching onto my back with a battle cry.

From then on it devolved into a splash match until one too many accidental gropes start to distract us. I corner her against a smooth rock and place my hands on either side of her body. The heat in her eyes darkened and her lips parted breathily. I took the chance to lean my mass against her, letting her body feel every inch of me. I reach beneath the water to cup her ass, lifting her enough to fit myself snugly between her thighs. She gasps as I slowly grind my hard member against her core. I stared into her eyes, smoldering, before leaning forward to capture her bottom lip between my teeth. She whimpered, clasping her hands behind my neck. I suck her lip into my mouth for a moment before releasing it with a pop. My lips skimmed down her jawline to nibble on her neck lightly, my tongue flicking out to collect the drops of spring water that slid down her alabaster skin. She gave a throaty moan and I ground our pelvises together harder. My fingertips caressed their way down her body, leaving a trail of goose bumps, until they teasingly circled her hip. Her panting spurred me on and I teased my way to the inside of her thigh, moving upwards and playing with the edge of her boyshorts.

"P-please baby…" she moaned and my pointer finger slipped beneath the cloth for a quick second before she pulled back. I look at her stupidly. "Not in the water, you idiot!" she groans, wiggling her way backwards in an attempt to get on top of the rock she was pinned to. I give her a little space until she finished crawling her way backwards, her back flat against the rock and her shins the only part of her in the water. I licked my lips at the sight – she had unintentionally presented me with perfect access to her core. She was at the perfect height and everything! My chest rumbled.

"Put your hands behind your head," I command. She props herself up to look at me in question. I smirk. "Just do it. Because you're about to throw your head back and you'll crack your head open otherwise."

Lucy cocks an eyebrow but obeys, looking at me curiously. Her curiosity turns to heat in the split second of realization she had before I slid her panties to the side and swirled my tongue around her sensitive nub. As I predicted, her head smacked backwards as she let out a long moan. I threw myself into my task with gusto, letting my tongue and fingers find all of her sweet spots that I've learned so very well. One of her hands left their place behind her head to tangle in my hair as I worked, pushing me closer. When her back arches and her hips seem to stutter against my face, I puff up in pride while she releases against my tongue. I licked my lips and hoisted myself up to kneel on the rock with her, ignoring the pain on my knees for a few seconds before grunting in annoyance. I picked her still panting form up in my arms and pressed her back against the face of the rock wall. I ground against he again, savoring the keening sound before reaching around beneath her hip to tug her panties to the side. One of her hands reached down between us to free my member from my wet cloth boxers, positioning it and rubbing it against her slick opening.

I had enough teasing. I slid past her hand all the way to the hilt. We smashed our mouths together and devoured each other while I started up a hard rhythm with my hips. I swallowed her sounds of pleasure greedily, reaching up with one hand to pull down her bra cups so her glorious nipples could get stimulation from the friction between our chests. I growled at the feeling of the hard little nubs rubbing and pressing against my chest. Her walls quivered and she wrapped her arms around my head to pull my face against her neck. I nipped at her skin, letting one hand slide up her body to cradle the back of her head to protect it from the rock. She belts out a wail and her body convulses against mine, her release dripping down my shaft with each stroke. I slow my hips down just enough for her to catch her breath, before leaning back at the waist for a better angle. She was no effectively sitting in my lap while standing, being supported by both my hands on the luscious globes of her ass, with her hands straight out and gripping my shoulders. The slightly altered position offered a glorious view of her bouncing breasts and pleasured face as I kept pounding into her tight, magnificent body. The fire grew quickly, burning hotter and hotter with each desperate thrust and with each sweet sound falling from her lips until –

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO LUCY?!"

The painfully familiar voice halted me, but through the fog of lust and pleasure it took me a moment to register what was happening – allowing Lucy's immediate startled flailing to throw us off balance enough to tip over into the water. I heard another splash and Lucy was pulled from my arms amidst a drastic temperature shift, which was followed by a VERY different pair of arms grabbing my shoulders and throwing me out of the now freezing water. There was too much going on for me to properly get a handle on the situation so I was only able to go on the defensive and dodge multiple ice spikes being sent my way as soon as I landed on the gorund.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I hollered, still unable to gain my footing. The familiar ice mage was throwing everything he had at me and I'm pretty sure that's Lucy yelling at him angrily. "LET ME PUT MY DICK AWAY AT LEAST!" I shout. Luckily, he either obeyed the request or was stunned enough to halt his onslaught long enough for me to 1: do as I said and tuck myself back into my boxers, 2: gain enough footing to ground myself, and 3: start to use my magic. As much as I wanted to fry the stripping popsicle, I knew he was Lucy's friend, and was most likely just trying to protect her, so instead of immediately taking him out I just evaded, deflected, and cut through his attacks until Lucy managed to get on land and tackle him from the side. I grit my teeth at the sudden, incredibly strong urge to rip his limbs from his body as soon as my mate's bare skin collided with his shirtless self. He must be pretty pissed though, because he immediately slipped out of her grasp and fired another attack at me, which I slapped out of the way, a low threatening growl rumbling from my chest. Lucy threw herself between us.

"FUCKING STOP, YOU IDIOTS!" she screamed. I took a step back. Oh shit, she's pissed. She glances at me, seems to think, then turns to Gray, and I sigh. Oh thank god she's not mad at me. Gray was still tensed, and I could still see the unbridled fury in his eyes, but he relented in his attacks. "What the hell are you doing, Gray?!" she demands angrily. Gray's nostrils flare.

"More like, what was he doing to you?!" he barks back, testing my restraint again. Keep Calm, Laxus. Your mate can handle herself, and this is her friend. Lucy turned red but stood her ground firmly.

"Obviously we were having sex, you idiot! I mean, what do you even want me to say? That we were wrestling or something?" she asks rhetorically. This apparently was not the right answer, because Gray immediately took his ice-make stance. "STOP IT!" she screamed at him again, a dark aura of fury beginning to radiate around her. He glances at her, before focusing on me.

"Laxus, you bastard! That's my sister you fucking pig!" he yells at me angrily. My eyebrow ticks, but I restrain myself by crossing my arms tightly.

"Shut up, Gray! Calm the hell down or I'll call Aquarius on all of us!" she warns. My eyes shoot open in worry, but I'm relieved when Gray's do the same. Although I'd never admit it out loud, the water bearer actually scared me a little bit. He stands down, but clenches his fists at his sides angrily.

"I don't know what he did to you to get you to do…that with him, but I'm going to beat his ass for doing it!" he growls. Lucy steams even more. She opens her mouth to retort but I decide to step in.

"Okay, can we just take a pause?" I suggest calmly. Both other mages look at me in surprise. I gesture at me and Lucy. "Like, can we put clothes on at least? Then we can talk this out like civilized adults," I continue diplomatically. Lucy's face goes white, then bright scarlet when she looks down and realizes she's in very wet, practically see through undergarments. She squeaks and frantically tries to cover herself. Gray raises an eyebrow at her, and I feel the same burst of rage at seeing another man lay eyes on my nearly naked mate, but I manage to stamp it down by noting the complete lack of lust in his gaze. He huffs and turns his head away dramatically.

"Fine. Get dressed," he grunts while he starts taking off his pants. Lucy sweatdrops.

"Gray you're stripping," she deadpans. He looks down, startled, and hastily re-buttons his pants while blushing. I stifle a laugh at the ice mage's unfortunate compulsion before striding to the spot our clothes were stashed and retrieving them. We dress quickly and in silence, with Gray still looking off to the side but muttering under his breath. When we finish, he looks back.

"Alright. Talk, Laxus. What were you doing to Lucy?" he demands. I raise my eyebrow. I know I shouldn't push him, but he's really just setting himself up here.

"I thought we already went over this part?" I monotone, earning a slap on the arm from Lucy.

"You're not helping!" she hisses. I pull an innocent face. Gray pinches the bridge of his nose, obviously trying to contain his anger.

"Let's try this again. Why were you… all over Lucy?" he grinds out, jaw clenching. I look at Lucy.

"Well, you see Fullbuster, sometimes a man and a woman have these feelings called urges, and they –"

"Laxus!" Lucy cuts me off again angrily, and I try not to smirk too much at Gray's bristling. "What Laxus should be saying is… well… it's a little complicated actually," she hedges nervously, wringing her hands. "We're… well… basically we're in a relationship," she says vaguely. I snort. It's quite a bit more than the normal relationship after all. Unfortunately, Gray seems to have taken my snort to mean something else because his nostrils flare again.

"Well then. What is she to you, Laxus? Because I swear to Mavis if you're using her I will-"

"I'm not using her," I say simply. He breaks off.

"Then why are you two sneaking around?" he tries a different approach. I bristle – I know he's just looking out for her, and I get where he's coming from given my reputation, but still. He's getting on my nerves.

Just deal with it, Laxus. For Lucy.

"We're sneaking around because we don't want to deal with reactions like, oh, I don't know, MY FRIEND TRYING TO KILL MY-" she cuts herself off. "Um… my… uh…" she struggles. I sigh in exasperation.

"Mate," I offer. Lucy looks at me with wide eyes and Gray's eyebrows disappear into his fringe.

"I'm sorry, what?" he gapes at me. I remain neutral in my expression.

"The word she's looking for is mate," I repeat. Gray blinks a few times. While he uses that information to recalculate the situation, I turn to Lucy. "What? I can tell where this conversation is going. We would have had to tell him by the end of it regardless, so why not get it out of the way? Besides. I'm more than a little pissed off right now and I honestly just want this social interaction to be over with," I explain gruffly. Lucy drops her shoulders in acceptance.

"Wait.. so… Laxus…" Gray struggles to find the right questions to ask. "So second generation slayers have mate stuff too?" he wonders aloud.

"Apparently, yes. Surprised the hell out of me as well," I shrug.

"And… Lucy is your mate," he continues slowly. I nod. "huh," he mutters. I gently reach over to Lucy and turn her around, lifting up the back of her shirt to show of the mark between her shoulderblades. We stand in silence for a moment before Gray sighs and approaches us. "Alright. Fine. I can respect that. I still don't really like it, and it'll take some getting used to, but I respect it. And even though I know that with the whole mate thing I probably don't have to worry about it, I still have to say it," he starts. His eyes harden. "If you hurt her, I will destroy you." He finishes with conviction.

"Understandable. But yes, I really don't think you have to worry about that," I allow. My natural response is to be cocky and arrogant, but I push the instincts down to use the civilized approach. Gray holds his hand out to me.

"You have my blessing, then," he says meaningfully. I hesitate but shake his hand nonetheless. Taking the civilized approach just feels really weird. Really, this is going really well. I'll have to remember to thank Gajeel and his Shorty for making sure the guild was informed on the details of Dragonslayers and their mates. He makes a face. "And I really, really, don't want to see you two going at it, so I'm going to pretend that part didn't happen."

Lucy groans from my side and buries her face in her hands while turning back around. "Oh god! That's right! I forgot about that part… Great. Now even more people know more about my sex-life than anyone needs to know," she moans pitifully. I smrik. "Are we just bad at sneaking around? Or are our friends just really nosey and have really bad timing? Like, how does this keep happening?" she whines into her hands.

"Probably the latter. IT also seems to just be bad luck," I answer. I look at Gray suspiciously. "Speaking of which, why the hell are you here? Like, how the hell did you manage to walk in on us when were in the middle of nowhere hundreds of miles away from the guild hall?" Gray shrugs.

"I took a job to deal with a dark guild. When I got there, the rune knights were already cleaning up, so I guess the job was double-posted. Other than that, pretty sure it was just mutual bad luck. Because I really didn't need to see what I saw," he shudders a bit. I smirk evilly.

"Well, we all have to see you naked. Consider it payback," I say in a much too serious tone of voice. Gray shudders again and shakes his head.

"Whatever. I'm going back to town to tell the client they posted a job that was already posted." He starts walking towards town. "See ya," he calls over his shoulder, offering a two fingered wave. To my side, Lucy releases a gigantic breath that practically deflates her. I open my mouth to tease her but she slaps a hand over my lips without looking.

"Don't," She grumbles. I flick my tongue out to lick her palm once. She looks at me with a cocked eyebrow. "What are you, nine?"

"Inches maybe."

I watched as she fought valiantly against her own amusement, the corners of her mouth twitching. An amused snort slips out before she clenches her jaw with determination, and walks in the direction of town, still suppressing her laughter. I fall into step with her and just grin. "You're ridiculous," she chuckles, covering her mouth with her hand. I aim my toothy smile at her.

"Only thing ridiculous about me is-" Her hand slaps over my mouth again.

"You better not be about to start talking about your dick," she deadpans. I shrug, and she takes her hand back. We walk in silence a ways, but I can tell she knows I'm planning something. She sneaks a look at me and I just smile innocently. The trek isn't too long, and we reach the outskirts of town within the hour. I lean over to whisper in her ear.

"You know you love my lightning-rod, babe," I purr jokingly, and she chokes before her laughter flows out in a sweet melody. I think to myself – how the fuck is she so pretty when she's laughing at a dick joke? The warm sound has me joining in and a thread my fingers through hers.

"That was so terrible!" she gasps out. "That's what you've been waiting to say for an hour?" she giggles.

"I find that sometimes the joke is best when it disappoints after a build up. An anti-joke, if you will," I smirk. "After all, it would be unfair for me to deliver everything spectacularly after a build-up." Her eyes twinkle with mischief.

"Well I do appreciate your build-ups in other areas, so I can let this one slide," she purrs. She pulls me down an alleyway a little ways and spins around, her hand tugging my shirt to pull me down enough to whisper in my ear. "Speaking of which… I think I owe you an orgasm. Why don't you get us to the inn quick so I can pay up?" her sultry voice sends arousal shooting to my groin. "I always pay my debts, after all…"

I gulp loudly. She pulls back and licks her lips enticingly. My arms wrap around her and we disappear in a flash of lightning.

Remember, kids, having sex in pond water (or pool water, or the ocean, or a lake, or any non-purified form of water) is NOT a good idea. Seriously. No matter how romanticized it is in like every other form of media, DON'T YOU DO IT, MAN. Do you want STI'S? 'Cause that's how you get STI's. *The more you knowwwwww~~~*

And that concludes our public service announcement for the day.