Dragon Instinct

Chapter Eleven

Author's Note: Oh my god! I am so sorry for the long absence. It was not intentional, I assure you. Between my intense fall load I had for college, second degree steam burns on my face back in October, holidays, and the startup of Spring Classes, I just lost track of time. However, I have this story written out up to chapter seventeen, and plan on uploading a chapter every other day until I get caught up. I have also gone through and severely edited most of the story. I have removed misspellings, confusing texts, and added in some context. If you do not wish to reread the story to get see these edits, it's not necessary, as the base remains the same. I have just clarified the motivations of Laxus at the beginning of the story, and hope to make it easier to understand.

Freed woke slowly to the sun shining in his eyes through the open window. He groaned opening his eyes slowly running a hand over his face. He never slept with his window open. He rolled over looking away from the window, or at least he tried to. He was held down by a thick arm wrapped around his waist. He looked down slowly before following the arm with his eyes, up to Laxus' large form in a deep sleep beside him. He smiled slowly reaching out to touch Laxus' face, hesitating as memories of the night before washed over him. He felt his face flushing as he remembered the way Laxus kissed and held him. He closed his eyes slowly remembering the feel of Laxus' lips on his skin, the way his hands had caressed him.

"You look happy this mornin'," he heard Laxus' voice say, sounding even more rough than normal due to just waking up.

"L...Laxus," he gasped eyes flying open.

"Well...it is my bed. I would hope you'd expect me," Laxus replied with a lazy grin on his face.

"M...morning Laxus."

"Freed, relax," Laxus said with a laugh, reaching up to play with Freed's hair. "Why are you so jumpy this morning?"

"I..."

Freed broke off looking away, unsure how to form his next sentence. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say, but he knew he owed Laxus an apology for leading him on the night before. He had been so sure he was ready to become Laxus' mate, and yet...he hadn't been able to follow through.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about last night."

"What are you sorry for?"

"Backing out on you..."

"You got nervous...it's okay."

Freed smiled slightly feeling himself flushing again as Laxus ran his fingers through his hair. He buried his face in Laxus' chest. He felt awful for changing his mind about last night. He had been so sure when he told him he wanted to have sex with him that he would go through with it. However, when the time had come, he'd choked. He'd made Laxus stop without explanation. He'd panicked and pulled away.

"It's not okay..."

"Freed, come on. Everyone gets nervous," Laxus said caressing his cheek.

Freed leaned into the touch with a small smile. It never ceased to amaze him that someone as strong and rough as Laxus could have a gentle side to him.

"You weren't."

"Yeah, well..." Laxus said with a small laugh. "Look at my history."

"I...I just don't want to disappoint you."

"Disappoint me? Why would you think that?"

"Well...you...you have experience, and I don't."

"So?"

"So...what if it's really bad..."

"Freed, all of my experience is with women. I'm just as new to this as you are."

"That's another thing, how can you be so comfortable having sex with a man after only being attracted to women?"

Laxus sighed sitting up in bed. He knew Freed was insecure, he always had been. The man was an amazing mage and he had a brilliant mind, but he definitely could use some help in the confidence department. Though, Laxus supposed he really hadn't been much help there. He'd kept his thoughts and emotions pretty bottled up around Freed.

"To be fair, I've never been attracted to anyone."

Freed spun around to face him so quickly Laxus was sure he heard something snap. He could barely suppress the laugh that threatened to swell up. Now was not the time for laughing, and he would not risk angering Freed during such a delicate moment. He'd seen too many people suffer from Freed's runes, he wasn't looking to experience that himself.

"You haven't?" Freed asked quickly, though he thought he remembered Laxus saying something similar the night before, but he'd been too swept away by Laxus telling him he was his mate to comprehend it all.

"No."

"But those women?"

"An attempt to feel something I thought I was missing out on. Dragon slayers never feel attraction for anyone other than their mate."

"So...you are attracted to me?"

"Was there any doubt?"

"I...well, I wasn't sure."

"Freed..."

Laxus broke off with a sigh pulling the smaller man into his arms. He hadn't expected Freed to be so insecure in their relationship. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle this side of Freed.

"I know it's dumb. It's just sometimes, I wonder if I'm going to wake up and this is a dream. It's too good to be true you know." Freed said softly laying his head against his chest, running his fingers over Laxus' tattoos.

"Mm, it's not a dream Freed. You need to learn to relax." He said running his fingers through Freed's hair. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be, despite the bond. It wouldn't be fair to either of us."

Freed smiled a bit looking up at him, his sea green eyes shining a bit. Laxus smirked slowly reaching down to touch his cheek before closing the distance with a kiss. Freed sighed happily kissing him back wrapping his arms around Laxus' neck. As Freed felt himself being laid back on the bed, with Laxus leaning over him he became aware of two very important facts: they were still very much naked from the night before, and having Laxus' naked body so close to him was incredibly distracting. Laxus pulled back with a groan moving to kiss along Freed's neck more gently than he had the night before. Freed was convinced he'd been wearing turtlenecks for weeks with the marks Laxus had left on his skin. It was certainly going to be difficult to keep their relationship secret if Laxus kept biting his skin.

"L...Laxus," he managed to breath out sliding his fingers through the blonde's short hair.

"Hmm?"

"Do...do you think we could try again," he asked, his cheeks reddening a bit.

Laxus pulled away slowly to look at him.

"You mean it?"

"This time, I really think I do," Freed said, a slow smirk moving across his face before pulling Laxus back down towards him.

"Where's papa and Freed?"

Evergreen and Bickslow looked at each other slowly wondering how to answer the girl's question. They had put two and two together when they woke up and Freed wasn't making them breakfast like he normally did and Laxus' door was still shut. Freed had not only spent the night in Laxus' room, but they were still in bed.

They'd decided to take the young girl to the guild for breakfast to give the two their privacy. Whatever Freed and Laxus had been arguing about the night before had definitely been settled between the two other them.

"I think they're still in bed kiddo."

Eliana sighed looking up at Bickslow as they walked towards the guild.

"So, why are we going to the guild?"

"Because if I tried to cook you breakfast I'd burn the house down and Laxus would kick my ass."

Eliana giggled a bit before a frown crossed her face and she looked back down at the ground.

"You okay kiddo?"

"You don't think they're still fighting do you?"

"Fighting?"

"Well, Freed was angry with Papa last night wasn't he? That's why they sent me with you, isn't it?"

"No. I don't think he was angry. I think they just had to sort through some things without being surrounded by people. Sometimes they just need some time alone." Evergreen said gently.

"Besides, if they're fighting, they're doing it wrong," Bickslow muttered under his breath. "Owe! Ever! What the hell was that for?"

"Keep your disgusting comments to yourself. She's a little girl, she doesn't need to hear stuff like that."

"She's a member of Fairy Tail. She's gonna hear a lot worse in her lifetime."

"That doesn't mean you get to scar her for life," Evergreen muttered before opening the doors to the guild hall.

Eliana looked at Bickslow confused before following Evergreen inside. The guild was nearly empty because of the early morning hours. Bixlow could see Erza sitting at a table talking with Lucy quietly, and Macao was sitting in a corner with Romeo eating breakfast. The usual trouble makers were nowhere to be found, but Bickslow was certain they'd be there before the trio had finished their breakfast. He walked up to the bar joining Evergreen and Eliana, taking his helmet off as he sat down.

"Morning," Mirajane said with a wide smile on her face. Bickslow was sure that smile was painted on. "No Laxus or Freed this morning?"

"They're still in bed," Eliana told her quietly.

"Really? Freed must be getting your daddy's bad habits," Mirajane said with a laugh. "What can I get you guys?"

"Just three orders of your best breakfast pancakes Mirajane," Bixlow told her with a smile.

"They're not Mirajane's pancakes anymore," a voice called from the doorway of the kitchen.

Bickslow jumped in surprise when he saw Lisanna standing in the doorway smiling at them.

"Lisanna? When did you get back?"

"Yesterday. Job took longer than I expected."

"Well, welcome back. Have you met Laxus' daughter Eliana?"

"Laxus' daughter?" Lisanna asked, jaw dropping.

"Yup."

"If he's her father, where is he?"

"He and Freed are sleeping in."

Lisanna looked at him confused.

"That's not like Freed."

"He and papa were arguing last night," Eliana said quietly.

"There were not Eliana. Don't be so worried. They just had some things to talk about."

"Well then, I guess everyone deserves their rest, including giant oafs like Laxus. I'll be right back out with your pancakes." Lisanna said looking at the three of them confused before walking back into the kitchen.

Bickslow grinned watching her as she walked away.

"You're staring."

"So?"

"It's creepy."

"No more creepy than you and Elfman."

"I am not dating Elfman."

"Liar."

"When are you going to make your move on Lisanna?"

"Soon. Just give her time to settle in."

"She's waiting for you to make the first move."

"Something tells me that's not the kind of girl Lisanna is. If she gets tired of waiting, she'll let me know," Bixlow said grinning slowly looking back at the kitchen door. He and Lisanna had done this dance since they got back from Tenrou. \ Bickslow wasn't going to make a move until he knew Lisanna was all in, if something was holding her back then it was best to wait and find out what that was.

"Laxus, calm down, you're being unreasonable."

"Unreasonable? They took my daughter!"

"For breakfast Laxus," Freed said closing his eyes letting out a pained sigh. "They took her to breakfast."

"That could have been hours ago!"

Freed sighed rubbing his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. He could see there was going to be no more late mornings if this is what Laxus was like every time Evergreen and Bickslow took Eliana for breakfast.

"Laxus, they are at the guildhall, just calm down. It's Bickslow and Evergreen. We couldn't expect Eliana to sit around all day." Freed said calmly. "We're lucky Bickslow and Evergreen were there when she woke up. Lord knows what would have happened if she'd gone looking for you for breakfast."

Laxus sighed turning to Freed slowly taking a few deep breaths to calm down. Freed put his hands on his shoulders looking into his eyes with a small smile. The morning had been perfect, until they'd finally managed to get out of bed and clean themselves up. Laxus had panicked when he'd realized the house was empty and the note from Evergreen on the fridge had done nothing to calm the dragon slayer down.

"Come on, she's probably having a great time." He said walking up the dirt road to the guildhall, pulling his long waist coat closer to him.

Laxus followed behind him quietly trying to calm his emotions. He knew he was being irrational. He trusted Bickslow and Evergreen with his own life, he knew he could trust them with Eliana. He'd just sent her with them the night before. However, when he'd walked out of his room to find her gone, something in him had snapped. He could barely control his magic at the realization that Evergreen and Bickslow had taken her with them without alerting him. He was certain a lot of it had to do with the dragon slayer instincts running through him. He took a deep breath fighting down his surge of magic as Freed opened the guildhall doors and walked in with him. The guildhall was never busy anymore, not like it used to be. Walking into Fairy Tail used to be like walking into a pub, but now, it's more like walking into a graveyard. The whole atmosphere had changed while they were gone. It no longer felt like home.

This morning though, seemed busier than most. Laxus couldn't help but notice the crowd as three members of the guild immediately took notice of their presence. Laxus' eyes sought them out instinctively as he stepped through the door. Gajeel, the one closest to the door stood up slowly as he turned to Laxus and Freed. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a surprised shout from the back.

"No freakin' way!" Laxus groaned closing his eyes at Natsu's familiar voice. There's no way the Fire Dragonslayer would keep things quiet.

Freed turned to Laxus with a questioning look to his eyes and Laxus silently. Laxus groaned shaking his head, he only hoped Natsu could keep things quiet long enough for them to tell the rest of the guild the news. He didn't want to announce his new relationship to the guild right that moment. As much as he loved being with Freed, there were better ways to go around telling people they were dating.

"They know."

"How?"

"Our scents. Remember."

"Right," Freed said softly, cheeks turning a bit rosy.

Laxus turned to the bar silently, seeing Evergreen, Bickslow, and Eliana. He made his way towards them trying to ignore the way people were staring at them confused after Natsu's shout.

"Papa!" Eliana cried out meeting him halfway.

"Morning Eliana," he said smiling as he picked her up.

"You're late."

"Yes, I'm afraid I am."

"Miss Lisanna made pancakes. She seems nice. Evergreen says Bickslow really likes her. He doesn't seem to like it when she says that."

"And what do you think?"

"I think he needs to quit swinging at her with towels, it's not nice," Eliana replied with a frown.

"Oh, I think Lisanna likes the attention," Freed said with a laugh walking up to them and taking a seat at the bar.

"Now Freed Justine, that's a terrible assumption to make."

"Oh, admit it Lisanna," he told her with a grin.

Lisanna just shook her head with a smile before walking back into the kitchen.

"Lisanna made me butterfly pancakes Freed, they were gorgeous." Eliana told him excitedly.

"Too good to eat?"

"Not a chance."

Freed started to laugh, but froze when he noticed all three of Fairy Tail's Dragonslayers walking up to them.

"Laxus," Natsu started.

Laxus looked up at them slowly from where he had sat down before sighing putting Eliana down, stepping away from the others.

"Over here," he said leading the other dragon slayers away.

Freed watched before getting up following them. He wasn't going to let Laxus be alone in a situation he was uncomfortable in.

"Can we talk?" Wendy asked quietly.

"About what?"

Natsu nodded his head to Freed causing the rune mage to swallow. There was no way this discussion was going to end well. Laxus was too private a person to let others pry into his home life. Besides, they hadn't even discussed when they were going to tell the rest of the guild about their relationship.

"'Fraid not. That subject is off limits."

"Don't get yer hackles up," Gajeel said. "These two just wanna know how you knew is all. People never talk about dragon mates anymore. It's almost like a myth nowadays. I told them it wasn't a good idea. But she's young, and he's well...Natsu."

"You guys know more about this whole business than I do. I'm just makin' it up as I go along."

"But it's real right?" Natsu asked, eyeing him earnestly. Freed had to blink to make sure he was seeing things right. He'd never seen such a serious expression on Natsu Dragneel's face before. "A true...mating?"

Natsu's last sentence was barely a whisper, and anyone without Dragon slayer hearing would have had trouble hearing him. For that, Freed was incredibly grateful. He wasn't ashamed of his relationship with Laxus and he certainly didn't want to hide it, but he knew this wasn't the way to announce it to the guild.

"Yes."

"That's so cool!" Wendy cried out causing a few people to look at them.

Laxus cleared his throat glancing at Freed before turning to the others.

"Look, I get this is important to Dragon slayers, but I don't think this is the right time."

"Yeah, yeah, we get ya, congrats man," Natsu said beginning to walk away before turning back to him asking in the same quiet voice as before. "Is it weird, having a mate that's a man? Igneel always made it seem like it could only be a woman."

"Not really," Laxus said. "But then, I wasn't raised by a Dragon. I didn't know anything of mates until I was about sixteen years old."

"Right."

Natsu looked like he was about to say something else but before he could get the words out, Gajeel was pulling him and Wendy away. Out of the three of them, the Iron Dragonslayer seemed to be the only one who understood the entourage was unwelcome.

"Sorry bout that Laxus. I tried to stop'em. Congrats." Gajeel said with a smirk.

Laxus shook his head confused before leading Freed back to the counter where the others sat.

"That was weird," Bickslow muttered looking at Freed and Laxus. "Did I hear the word "mate" thrown around?"

"It's a Dragonslayer term."

"Doesn't it mean this thing with you two is permanent?" Bickslow asked confused.

Laxus smirked turning to Freed who smiled at him slowly.

"Yes, yes it does."

"That's badass." Bickslow said with a grin, causing Laxus to laugh loudly, reaching out putting his hand on Freed's who laced their fingers together.

I guess we're really doing this, Freed thought happily, listening to Eliana chatter on beside him, oblivious.

Review Replies:

kurahieiritr JIO: I hope you're still reading this! I do not mind the length of your reviews. They let me know I am doing something right! I hope you enjoy all the new updates, and I am truly sorry about the length of the wait. I can promise there won't be such a long wait again. A friend of mine finally got my butt kicked into gear on writing.

KingdomHeartsFairy: I am so sorry about the long wait, hopefully you enjoy the new chapters as much as you enjoyed the last ones.

Ytygr: Yes, Papa Laxus is really adorable, and quite a bit clueless.