I may repost the entire story when I find a beta reader. I will continue updating though. Seems people are reading according to the stats. There will be a chapter later on to catch up with other Fairy Tail pairings during the Season of the Mage. I'll stick to RoLu plot as much as possible from here on out. Thanks for the suggestions! I love your feedback and ideas! I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Brownie points to the reviewers: liah, preettryjessica, Serpent Tailed Angel, Patrick Sparks, MisakiDreyarTheSilentDemon, TripleBaconBurger, 'o', Divine Valor (yes – I found that pic on a random website), KyoukixXxTsukuyomi, nindjo, Serpent, Cheshire Cat, bananapower, xgensean, Hinagiku Zeelmart and ichigo. Thank you to everyone who has followed/favd/reviewed!
Disclaimer: I don't own this.
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Chapter 5: Controlling one's instincts; a hard learned lesson
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Rogue woke up nuzzled between his life mate's glorious soft mounds. He eyed the bite marks and hickies around her pert nipples with pride and let a small smirk grace his lips. She was his perfect mate; Feisty, loyal and very reponsive. The fact that she had the curvy, thick body of a Goddess didn't escape his attention.
His hand trailed down her pretty face to rest possessively on her round hip. A glint of rust running along his arm had him narrowing his eyes. His woman had clawed her way up and down his body last night with trails of dried blood to prove it. The door burst open before he could think more on the matter.
"Rogue! Frosch is here!" His odd Exceed closed the door with much effort and flew onto the bed. The cat eyed the two suspiciously, never before seeing his partner in the buff, let alone a nude female.
"Er-" Rogue whipped a cover over his woman and reluctantly extracted himself from their warm embrace. He pulled a pillow over his family jewels but wanted nothing more than to crawl right back to her side. Her soft body looked inviting, even covered up by a wrinkled sheet.
"Frosch heard Lucy singing and shouting last night" The cat titled his head to the side and pouted. "Did Rogue and Lucy play without Frosch?"
"Hn" Rogue confirmed, picking up the Exceed and gently placing him in the sink of his bathing room. Pulling out a towel and stepping into the closed shower, he pitched the pillow to his cat. "Lucy and I are playing alone at night from now on. Do you understand Frosch?"
The cat grumbled in assent and took his own bath in the sink.
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Lucy woke up in a haze to a nudge on her shoulder.
"Oi, wake up Blondie." Not recognizing the terse voice, her eyes snapped open. A masked man met her sight and she let out a deafening shriek. Lucy whipped her head around the strange room to see even stranger men smirking at her. To her utter terror, the bed she found herself on had no covers to shield her nude body. Why am I naked?! She was covered in hickies and love bites from head to toe. Her whole body flushed and she began to tear up in panic. What the hell happened? I have to get outta here. Familiar clinks of metal graced her ears at the shift of her weight. She instinctively reached under her pillow and clutched the cool keys behind her- pleading out for any spirit to help. The strange men openly examined her body, some shifting to get a better look. Please, anyone!
Aquarius responded to her desperate plea, appearing angry as ever. Though, with one glance around the room, Aquarius seemingly called a truce with the naked and crying celestial spirit mage. A tidal wave was summoned out of the mage's tears, washing the stupefied males out the door. "Thanks" Lucy breathed, hugging herself closer.
The mermaid merely 'hm'ed and withdrew to the spirit world, an odd glimmer in her eye at the state of her master. Lucy tried to think back to what happened last night but couldn't remember past some crazy Sabertooth guy biting her. It was a complete blur. She wanted to bawl her eyes out but knew she had to get to safety first. Summoning Virgo, Lucy made her escape back to her barely touched room 6 turrets over.
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Rogue wore his shirt rolled up at the sleeves and unbuttoned three hooks down at lunch, flaunting his bite and scratch marks with pride in front of an annoyed Sting. The angry red welts throbbed like a bitch but it was worth every moment of pain.
"Found yourself a mate yet?" The dark mage inquired to the white mage.
"Shut up."
"I have."
"Shut up."
"She's really pretty."
"Seriously? Shut Up," was followed closely by a fork bending.
"Lucy's ... spirited" Rogue took secret glee at his partner's sputtering face.
"Yah, and she's got great knockers," came someone beside him looking oddly like a wet bear.
"What happened to you?" Sting snorted, glad at the change of spotlight.
"She tried to drown the lot of us when she woke up." The man licked his lips at the memory. Rogue's face drained of colour and Sting backed away from the bar table quickly, not wishing to get caught in the crossfire. He'd seen that look once before and it did not end well for their enemy. "She had this sexy tattoo-" The man's thick neck was constricted in a shadow before he could disclose the naughty location. Rogue scanned the room looking for the next soggy victim. Sting sighed deeply. His friend had completely lost it over a girl. Granted, it was the influence of the dragon mating season but Rogue clearly had no control over his true dark-dragon nature. He was acting exactly like his dragon father had before his demise; possessive, aggressive, arrogant, unforgiving and sex-crazed. This could mean only a handful of things; either Rogue had a bad case of shingles or that he and his mate hadn't established a proper bond physically or emotionally. Judging by the dark mage's exhibitionist behaviour at lunch, Sting guessed the latter. The blonde went after his long-time friend, making sure he didn't injure their guildmates too badly.
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Levy and Gajeel opened their door to find a disheveled and grinning Cana.
"Heeeeeey I know what you two have been up to!" The brunette teased, giggling and waggling a finger not quite between the two –more like between Levy and the wall. Had Cana finally hit her alcohol limit?
"Annnnywaaaaays, I've been sent up here to inform you Lucy's been marked and mated by some nutter named Rogue. We can't beat 'im up or nuttin," she continued in her flippant tone, as if it was an insignificant matter. "I was just down there and that guy was wasting his own nakama for just lookin at her. Just givin ya a heads up." She pushed herself off the door frame, away from the concerned bluenette and angry metal monster, shuffling her way down the hall.
Levy looked at her Iron dragon in alarm; he was positively livid.
"He shouldn't have done that Levy, he should know better. He's putting her life a risk. Lucy won't ever be able to live normally again." He pulled his worried girlfriend into a close hug. "He's a troublesome dragon."
"Well, if there's ever a girl up for a challenge like that, it's Lucy-" Levy spoke less than confidently. She could only hope for the best. Lucy must be so scared and angry right now. The blonde girl was a true romanticist at heart.
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Lucy wisely gave up on this vacation to find love. On her first day, she'd been attacked by an alpha male and crazy witch, picked up a cat belonging to a death god and was then promptly chased down and manhandled by said death god. THEN she was bitten. THEN she woke up naked after a blackout in a room full of leering perverts. This would be a perfect moment to wake up from your nightmare Lucy. Just wake up! Anytime now… She didn't wake up –it seems this wasn't a nightmare but a hellish reality. The blonde finished packing before scrubbing herself clean in her bathroom. She made Virgo guard her door in case another deranged person decided to have a go at her. Finally covered in a conservative dress and scarf, she attached her whip and keys to her belt. She was a tad peeved to find her keys out of order but luckily, they were all there. Virgo bowed her exit, taking care to assess that Lucy was not badly damaged.
The celestial spirit mage set out to leave a note for Master, luggage in hand. She didn't care whether she was allowed to leave or not –she was escaping no matter the consequences and only planned on telling whoever she passed in the halls.
Which happened to be a listing Cana; beggars can't be choosers.
"Cana! Wait up!" She steadied the titling girl who was mumbling something about a psycho slayer and mates. "Er- right… Can you give this to Master as soon as you can find him? I'm leaving Elfwoods. I'll be waiting at the Guild, ok? Good luck with your season and take care." Cana looked wide-eyed at the blonde but remained silent, remembering what Master had said about lending Lucy an extra hand. She figured bringing up the topic of Rogue and his latest antics would not help the girl. "Thanks again Cana. I'm off." The brunette squeezed the blonde's hand in farewell and immediately used her tracking cards to find their master. She had an important message to deliver.
Jogging a few doors down, Lucy reached Gajeel's room and banged on the creaking wood as loudly as possible. A surprised bluenette answered the door and gathered the blonde in a hug.
"Lucy I heard what happened. It sounds terrible!" Levy shouted, genuinely concerned for her friend.
"Naw. I don't think it was too bad. I'm alive and in one piece, aren't I?" She joked earning a smile from the blue haired mage. "However, I did wake up naked this morning to a room of creeps but I can't remember what happened last night. It's a complete blackout after that crazy Sabertooth guy bit me…" I have a few embarrassing hickies that need explained but she wasn't about to reveal that information to Levy. She'd never get out of here at that point.
"Oh -er, you need to know something, and try not to freak out.." Levy began. The door pulled open further to reveal the hulking Gajeel.
"SO Bunny Girl lives." He interrupted.
"Of course! I'm tough." The blonde teased. "I actually came by to ask Levy of a favour. I need her to make a land vehicle powered by magic.
"Sure Luce!" The genius mage perked up, seemingly forgetting the important info she had the share with the blonde. "But it will show up at the edge of the forest. The auto-transport runes here are messing with my script magic…" She grumbled, disappearing from the door to find her elusive sketchpad.
Gajeel sized up the blonde, noting how calm she was. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something wasn't quite right. "You sure you're ok Bunny Girl?" The gruff man asked.
She nodded, for the most part believing it true. "Yah, as long as I stay clear of the Sabertooth Guild, I'll be just fine."
Gajeel nodded, thinking she was taking the life-mates news very well. He couldn't blame her for wanting to run and hide. Rogue was an oddity that even Gajeel himself admits he couldn't understand at times. He supposed it had a lot to do with the dragon that raised the dark mage. The usually stoic Sabertooth was running around like a denizen from hell; likely traits of the shadow dragon he was raised by. Though, as long as Lucy and that boy get along, his erratic behaviour should stop. Dragon magic usually calmed when the link between the souls stabilized. If Bunny Girl ran off, the dark dragon would be sure to follow. She'd have to prove how tough she really was by making peace with the guy. Otherwise, she'd never live sanely again.
Levy appeared in front of Lucy once more with a smile on her face and a cowboy hat and boots in hand. "Done and done! It's waiting at the train platform. I'll see you in two weeks but make sure you keep checking your mail! I'll be writing with all the latest scoops and updates on what happens here." Shoving the large hat over the blonde's head, she forced her friend to switch shoes. "Your disguise is now complete! Tuck your hair inside the hat to be safe."
Lucy complied with a small smile and gave her friend one last hug. "Ok Levy, I'll be safe and keep in touch. Take care you two." With one last wave, she snuck her way to the main floor and slipped out a small window, careful to avoid every living soul possible. Safely hidden by a fold in the outer brick wall, she summoned her grandfather clock spirit. She hopped inside and successfully made her escape down the hill to her chariot –er car. She radiated pure joy as she sped off into the desert with her belongings in the back and her snacks in the front seat. Lucy tried not to think of it as running away and giving up but instead insteadtaking a short Holiday.
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Rogue was anxious when he discovered his female no longer in the castle. He had sniffed around her guild turret to find only a trace of her tantalizing scent. Perhaps she thought this was a good way to get back at him for tossing her to wolves this morning. It's not like he intended for it to happen… Hadn't he made up for it? He took care of the morons. What with the way the Fairies gossiped, surely she'd heard about it by now. He growled and slammed his fist on the door that held a more recent dose of her scent.
A blue haired girl answered, jumping back with a start. His mentor Gajeel was already in front of her before he could even ask where Lucy was.
"Rogue, you've really done it this time." The metal man rumbled, clearly displeased with the visitor.
"She's my mate, I need her. Where is she?" The dark mage balked, sensing an over joyous feeling from his woman. "She's elated right now." No doubt about getting away from me. "Where is she?" He repeated once more, anxiety creeping into his voice.
"If you took the time to know her, you'd start looking in flower gardens. It's where she's at her happiest," spoke a small (lying) voice from under Gajeel's arm. Rogue stalked away from the couple on a mission to search through every garden on this blasted mountain. Almost as an afterthought, the small voice spoke again. "Oh fuck my life. I forgot to tell Lucy she's been mated."
It was about 3 hours into her drive through the desert that Lucy's neck began to prickle. She felt inexplicable remorse, rage and longing. Her thoughts were drawn to the bite mark she received from that scary Sabertooth guy. She recalled that he was a dragon slayer and nearly lost control of her car. The hazy puzzle finally reassembled its pieces. Her memories flooded back, causing her to blush. Putting the vehicle to a stop, she covered her face with her hands I'm bloody well mated. We actually mated last night. He's going to hunt me down. Oh GLOB oh glob oh glob. The celestial spirit mage revved up the engine with a flare of her magical power and shot off like a bullet. Lucy liked to think she was leaving her memories of last night in the dust but no such luck. She remembered every single naughty position and feral touch they did together and burned a brighter red. She'd have to contact Master to see if there was a way to dissolve her bond. Sure Rogue may be a Sex God but there was no romance there. Lucy wasn't even sure she liked the guy! Hopefully she could outrun the dark mage until she fixed her problem. He was utterly terrifying with his unpredictable behaviour.
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"Master! Lucy wanted me to give you this." Cana called out, holding a folded paper tightly between two fingers. The auto-transport runes on the mountain had completely thrown off her tracking cards. She ended up at three dead ends before finally exiting the castle. The old man looked up from his peaceful spot in the garden and accepted the note from the winded girl. He scanned over it quickly and couldn't help but agree with Lucy's decision. The male who bonded with her was worrying the mage population on the hill with his fits of jealousy. It would indeed be best to lure him away from the festival if that's what she meant by 'I'm going back to the guild, it's for the best'.
"Thank you Cana, I'll take care of this." Master sighed and went to seek out a certain Sabertooth man. He didn't have to look far to spot a large foreboding shadow growing over the adjoining garden.
"Rogue, son." The elderly man called calmly, catching the tall man's attention. "This is from Lucy," was all that was said before the note was plucked from the elderly man's hold. Rogue's stomach plummeted as he read Lucy's reasons for leaving. Had he really treated her so roughly? She blacked out…Master took this time to examine the dark mage. The dragon man seemed concerned for Lucy's wellbeing, which was a good start. Although the two mates had gotten off on the wrong foot, Master saw there was still something to salvage between the estranged pair. He suspected it was mostly one sided on Rogue's part but it was worth a try. Weathered fingers plucked a small stem of purple hydrangea and forced the blooming flowers on the downtrodden mage.
"If you want to fix something, flowers are a good start." Rogue looked back at the short man blankly. "She likes these," the old man added with a secretive whisper. The red eyed slayer showed little recognition of the statement but carefully tied the flower stem to his katana belt. Master pointed in the direction of the desert as one last clue and Rogue bowed his head before departing.
Rogue was lost in thought as he followed her car tracks through the dry landscape. The shadow mage was still peeved that she left, but the note did explain some things. She blacked out. He remembered his dragon parent mention in passing that this happens with bonded couples when one partner forces their will or emotion onto the other. It can spur the other to do things they would usually never do. He though back to his mate and recalled how she behaved last night… in bed. Was that his doing? Did he push her over the edge to do those things? An odd uncertain feeling gathered in the pit of his stomach. Never before had he experienced so many different emotions in a 24 h period –it was taxing to him to analyse every single detail. He'd clearly never done this mating business before and had already mucked things up within minutes of meeting his mate.
What he did know, however, was that he had to find her and somehow fix it. It was his duty to satisfy her and make sure she was comfortable with her new life. He wouldn't stand for anything less. His parent wasn't too clear on how this worked but he assumed it would come to him naturally. Then again, he was beginning to doubt his father's instruction on courting a mate entirely: Find your mate, bite her, shag her plenty and give her food. Rogue had a sneaking suspicion there was more to bonding and courting than that… His father did however go into great detail about the magnificence of the bond. Rogue gleaned that it was a worthwhile endeavour, perhaps the most important one in his life. The Shadow Dragon Mage picked up her tantalizing scent through the desert air and knew he was on her tail.
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Lucy knew he was catching up when she sensed a surge of triumph. There was no way she could outdo his speed if he had found her this fast. Turning to the right, she headed towards a lush valley that ran parallel to the desert. If she was going to duke it out with the Sabertooth, she'd rather do it somewhere beautiful and green than this dry wasteland. Maybe he's come to apologize? That overly positive voice was the one that got her into this mess on the first place. The blonde reluctantly got out of the car and settled herself under a large willow tree by the blue river… Lucy felt defeated. The stress of the past two days caught up with her and she cried -not the terrified sniffling she had done this morning, but a full out anguished, ugly cry.
The dark dragon watched from a distance, numbly knowing he was the cause of her distress. His dragon instincts were itching to take control again at the sight of her but he put a firm leash on them. He realized now he had someone to protect from them, inspiring a stronger resistance to its magic. The approach was slow and careful despite her awareness of his presence. Placing himself beside her, he hesitantly reached for the flower tied to his blade.
"I'm sorry." His somber voice sent chills down her spine as she stared into his frighteningly handsome face. A purple hydrangea bloom was placed gently into her hands and a silence was shared between them. The only noise to be heard was the rush of the river and the occasional sniff from the celestial spirit mage. I'm sorry. Yes, she could feel he was.
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Holy smokes, batman! Lovin the reviews! Awesome : ) Thanks! Review if it tickles your fancy, I love feedback. Anonymous reviews are welcome, of course. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Cool beans? Cool beans.
Hopefully the idea of this story has inspired more RoLu shippers. I'm not a writer by trade and have A.D.D on paper when it comes to plot/pairings so I'd love to read your version of a RoLu romance! (M rated fic though, no chickening out :P)