Hello everyone! I want to apologize profusely formaking you wait all these years. I'll just leave it at that! I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter, I'll do my best to update again! So now I present to you...

Chapter 12: steamy forests

Lucy's POV:

Soft but warm rays of sunshine start shining through my window, waking me up from my sleep. I just had the most wonderful dream ever. Erik was home with me and he had just claimed me as his mate, ready to spend the rest of his life by my side. Too bad it was nothing more than a good dream.
"It wasn't a dream, Bright Eyes. I'm right here."
I immediately recognize the sleepy, low voice next to me. All of my senses return to me within a second and I turn around to face him. I don't understand how I managed to miss the feeling of his arm wrapped around my abdomen, or his chest pressed against my body. As I look at him, I can feel my lips being pulled into a bright smile.

"Good morning, my dear mate."
"Good morning, my bodyguard." I lean into him and press my lips against his, kissing him softly. "Thank you for last night, it was absolutely wonderful."
Erik rests his forehead against mine and sighs contently. "It definitely was. You have no idea how long I've wanted this, Lucy."
"I'm guessing it's just as long as I have wanted it." We stay cuddled up for a few more minutes before the both of us got out of bed and dressed for the day. We decided we'd get breakfast at the guild, together with Gajeel and Laxus.

Walking through town I was greeted by many of the townspeople. This was something that happened every day, so I was used to it. Erik, however, felt slightly uncomfortable. People were confused to see him walking beside me, holding my hand in his. He sighed in relief when we reached the guild. We pushed the door open and stepped inside. Right in front of us I could already see Laxus and Gajeel sitting at the bar. Laxus' mating mark was still very much visible on Gajeels skin. 'I'm so proud of them!' We walk towards them and greet other guildmembers on our way over.

"Good morning, gentlemen."
Both of them turn their heads towards me and smile. "Good morning, Bunny and Erik." "Good morning, Blondie and Snake Eyes."
I sweatdrop at the nickname given to Erik by Laxus and raise my eyebrow in question. "Really, Sparky?" Laxus just shrugs.

I see Natsu walking past us and notice him glaring at Erik. 'What's his problem? Does he want me to kick his ass?' Erik rests his hands on my shoulders and pushes me to sit down at the bar. "Ignore him, he'll get over it eventually." Mira comes over to take our order and we all order breakfast, mine being French toast cinnamon rolls and a vanilla milkshake. While we're waiting for our order, I can see Gajeel leaning into me with a mischievous grin.
"So Bunny, is there any kind of news you'd like to share with the rest of us? Gee-hee."
I can feel my face heating up at his insinuation. "U-Um well, yeah. W-We do need to tell you s-something actually."
"Oh my, I wonder what." Laxus is facepalming at his mates' antics. They all knew exactly what the new was, but Gajeel just had to rub it in some more.

Erik grabs my hand in his and kisses my knuckles gently. "Yes, Rust Bucket, it happened. I finally claimed Lucy as my mate."
I see Laxus nodding his head in approval while Gajeel is just grinning at me. "We should go on a job, to celebrate. You want to come, Sparky?" Laxus growls lowly at Gajeel calling him Sparky.
"Sure, I'll tag along. Make sure you three don't get yourselves in any trouble."

Just then Mira puts our drinks right in front of us and I take a sip immediately. That is until I hear Gajeel sarcastically mumble "Yes, daddy.". My milkshake immediately shoots into my windpipe, and I start coughing heavily. Erik starts patting my back as I try to regain my composure. Gajeel is doubled over, laughing almost maniacally while Laxus just stares at him dumbfounded. 'Did he really just say that?' "My, my, this seems like an interesting conversation." Mira giggles as she gives Gajeel a thumbs-up. I send her a small glare as I finally catch my breath.

Time skip

It's been a few hours since we left the guild for our mission. Considering the amount of motion sick dragon slayers I had with me, taking public transportation was not an option. So, hiking it was. We decided to set up camp in the woods just outside of Magnolia. It was a two-day hike to clover town and after that it was another two days walking to Waas Forest, where we're supposed to find a very rare gem for the client. This specific gem was needed for making healing potions.

As usual, Virgo appeared on her own to help us set up our camp and she even brought us some ingredients for dinner. Erik and I begin on dinner while Gajeel and Laxus are checking the perimeter and cleaning themselves up in a nearby pond.

General POV

Gajeel is walking through the forest with Laxus, making sure the campsite is actually safe to rest for the night. "Are you sensing anything?"
Laxus shakes his head. "No, it all seems safe. For them at least." Laxus sends him a predatory grin and Gajeel swallows hard.
"What's that supposed to mean, Laxus?"
Laxus walks over to his mate, trapping him between his body and a large tree trunk. Then he rests one hand above Gajeel's head against the tree so he can lean closer, while his other hand holds onto his hip. This gives Laxus the opportunity to keep him right where he wants. "So now it's Laxus again, huh? What happened to the big mouth of yours from before?"

Gajeel chuckles lightly. "Oh, come on. It was just a joke, Sparky."
Before Gajeel can even blink, Laxus nipped at his bottom lip and growls lowly. "Call me Sparky again, Gajeel. I'll make you regret it." A dangerous gleam enters his eyes as he challenges the iron dragon slayer. 'So, he thinks he can intimidate me easily, huh?'
Instead, Gajeel straightens his back, slides his arm around Laxus' waist to pull his hips flush against his own and leans in to whisper in his ear "Bring it on… Sparky.". Gajeel makes sure to purr out his nickname.

Laxus uses his hand on my Gajeel's to push him back up against the tree. He nuzzles into the dark-haired mans neck, breathing in his scent, before growling possessively. His lips claim Gajeels in a split second, his aggressive kiss heating up both of their bodies immediately. He doesn't waste any time and nips at Gajeels bottom lip, causing the man to gasp slightly. Laxus grabs the opportunity to slide his tongue against Gajeels, dominating the kiss completely.

Laxus quickly grabs both of Gajeels wrists and pins them against the tree above my head, his body still flush against his mates. Gajeel tries to free his hands, but Laxus' grip is too tight. The blonde's other hand slips beneath Gajeels shirt and glides up his abdomen, towards his chest where Laxus stills for a moment before stroking his right nipple. Gajeel groans against him and they break their kiss to catch their breath. Laxus releases Gajeels hands and uses his own free hand to lift up Gajeels shirt, pulling it over his mates' head with his help. Laxus' lips find their way to Gajeels neck, which he covers in soft kisses and nibbles before making his way down to his chest. Gajeel grits his teeth in order to keep quiet, but this just earns him a glare. "Let me hear you."

Just as he says that he closes his mouth over Gajeels left nipple and swirls his tongue around it, causing the other to groan out. 'This man will drive me absolutely crazy.' As Gajeel feels Laxus' teeth graze his skin, a shiver runs up his spine. He starts clawing at Laxus' shirt, urging him to take it off. Laxus growled annoyed but took it off anyway before resuming his assault on his mate's chest. One of Gajeels hands tangled through his hair, while the other slid across his back. As Gajeel leans his hips towards Laxus', he hears him chuckle. "Are you getting impatient, Black Steel?" He looks straight into Gajeels eyes while smirking. Laxus knows that he has him right where and how he wants him.

While maintaining eye contact, both of Laxus' hands slowly glide downwards and expertly unbuckle Gajeels pants. He pushes them down slightly, along with his boxers, revealing Gajeels erect member. Not even a second later, Laxus takes Gajeels member in his hand, earning him a muffled groan. Laxus leaned in towards Gajeel's ear and whispers. "I said: 'Let me hear you.' I want to hear you moan out my name, Gajeel." He starts stroking Gajeels member slowly while his head descended and his teeth bit into Gajeels mating mark. This caused the dark haired mans legs to buckle.
"L-Laxus… F-Fuck!" A throaty moan escaped his lips before he could stop it. Laxus looked him in the eye, satisfaction clear in his eyes. Gajeel could feel heat rushing up to his face at his own action.

Laxus licked his own lips, clearly affected by his mate. He grinned before pulling Gajeel in for another heated kiss. The trembling dark-haired man holding onto his mate hopelessly. Laxus' hands flew down to unbuckle his own pants, pushing it down along with his boxers. "Turn around, Gajeel. Let me have you, all of you."
Gajeel did as he was told, placing his hands against the tree trunk, as he could feel his mate position himself behind his back. One of Laxus' hands slid around Gajeel's body and stilled just beneath his collar bone. He used his other hand to position himself at Gajeel's entrance. He distracted his mate by licking the mating mark before slowly entering him. By that time Gajeel was already sweating and panting, one of his arms reaching upwards and backwards to embrace his lover. The other hand was kept firmly against the tree, desperately holding onto the tiniest bit of balance he had left.

As Laxus' hips slowly started thrusting, another moan escaped Gajeels lips. At this moment he couldn't even hold it in if he wanted to. Laxus continues showering his mate in kisses across his neck and shoulder, his one hand slid from Gajeels collar bone up to the base of his neck, while his other hand once again took hold of Gajeels member.
"L-Laxus, no... Don't." Gajeel turned his head slightly, looking at his mate through the corner of his eye.
"I want you to enjoy this as much as I do. Let go, Gajeel." Laxus' husky voice sent another shiver down Gajeel's back. His thrusts became faster, harder, and so did Gajeels moans. Both of them could feel their release building quickly. Gajeel especially was close to his climax, as Laxus was stroking him in the best ways possible. But it was Laxus' groan right beside his ear that made him tumble over the edge. Laxus felt his mate tightening around his cock when he released, caused the blonde man to grit his teeth and thrust in one final time, before releasing his own seed inside his mate.

Both dragon slayers remained standing there, trying to catch their breath. Laxus slowly pulled away from his mate, helping him pull up his underwear and pants before lowering him to the ground. Gajeel's entire body was trembling and he looked up to where Laxus was standing. The blonde man looked at him with a soft smile as he fixed his own clothes before sitting down on the ground.
"Did I hurt you, Gajeel? You're trembling all over." Laxus looked him over with a worried look in his eyes.
Gajeel slid over to his mate and kissed him gently on the lips. "I'm perfectly fine, never felt better… Sparky." He winked at Laxus.
Laxus could only growl out a response while rolling his eyes, before both men burst out laughing.

Lucy POV

Erik and I remained at camp while my brother and partner went further into the woods to check if everything's safe. We started making dinner in comfortable silence. That is until we heard echoed moans coming from inside the forest. I could feel my cheeks heating up, while Erik just started laughing. I decided to check some more things for our journey ahead the next few days until it was time for dinner.
"Well, they're definitely taking their sweet time."
"Erik!" I look at him with wide eyes, my mouth agape.
"I'm sorry, but I'm hungry!" He throws his hands into the air, silently cursing the other two dragon slayers.

"Geez, chill out. We're here already." Laxus nonchalantly walks out of the bushes, with a furiously blushing Gajeel trailing behind him. They know we heard them, or rather, heard Gajeel. I send my best friend a comforting smile. We all take a seat around the fire and start eating in silence.