Chapter 130:

Laxus awoke… warm? Warm. It surprised him. He always woke up cold and with a gaping absence at his side. Or at the very least, he woke up to Gajeel stroking his face, his hair, humming a soft song, watching over him as he slept. But not this morning. There was a comforting weight still laying limply in his arms. Gajeel was curled against him, an arm stretched over his chest, his head tucked underneath Laxus's chin. He could tell by how slowly he was breathing that he was in a deep sleep, and it was a marvel to him as much as it made him anxious.

Gajeel always woke up first. He was always on guard, and an incredibly light sleeper. As much as he wanted to think it was Laxus that had finally made him feel safe enough that he didn't have to be so obstinately vigilant, he knew that probably wasn't the only reason. There had been dark circles under Gajeel's eyes for a while now. Maybe the lack of sleep and everything Laxus had put him through had finally caught up to him. Not to mention the powder he'd told him about, which apparently was outlawed because of the physical toll it took on the body to heal so rapidly. Gajeel said it was a crash, but Laxus knew that probably meant it was more dangerous than he let on.

Lovingly, Laxus ran his thumb across his love's cheek. Gajeel didn't stir, just slept peacefully in his arms. He cradled him softly for a while, tracing feathery designs across the shape of him with the back of his talons, running his fingers through his long hair, before he began to feel the warmth of his Heat ebbing up into the forefront of his mind. He was immediately annoyed. It had been slow to recover this time – strange since Gajeel had told him today he'd have it the worst – but it was there, creeping ever steadily into his blood, turning it hot. Though, oddly, the edge to it was gone. He didn't feel quite so frantic, desperate. It wasn't surging to the surface and turning his thoughts hazy. Maybe Gajeel was… wrong? Maybe he was just different? Wouldn't that be a blessing if it didn't last as long for him as it did for Gajeel?

Or, maybe, he just hadn't fully recovered from last night yet.

He gritted his teeth, kicking himself for not being able to simply enjoy holding Gajeel in his arms. But he needed rest, so he decided the best course of action would be to leave him to sleep. Gajeel had set snares in the woods that he tried to check as regularly as possible. Laxus could do something so simple himself, even if he still needed some direction in butchering the animal caught. And he could put water in the kettle and hang it above their dying fire for Gajeel when he did finally wake. Simple gestures, the bare minimum. He would take care of his love the same way he had done him the past few days.

He carefully uncoiled himself from Gajeel, noting how he instinctively reached for his warmth no longer there. A red eye rolled lazily open but didn't focus on him, instead rolling closed again as he pulled himself into a tight, protective ball on the ground. Laxus's heart broke and he stood over him unaware of how to proceed. He was searching for him, and didn't he only sleep so well because of Laxus's promise to keep him safe?

It didn't take a second thought. It would be better, anyway, to maintain his presence over such a large distance. Burning magic helped to keep his heat muted. He snapped the weight of his magic wide and heavy, blanketing the mountain in his overwhelming intensity. The trees around him groaned and a warm wind carded through the high branches. Glittering slivers of iron were magnetized by his static and sent dancing towards the heavens in his updraft. When the sunlight hit them, it speckled the ground in millions of tiny rainbows.

Gajeel didn't stir. Laxus watched the swell of his chest as it deepened once again as he fell back to sleep. It was insane, wasn't it, that Gajeel found his crushing weight a comfort?

He brushed the thought aside and attended to his work. He dressed, running his thumbs over fabric just a little longer than was necessary. Pulled on boots, his jacket, stoked the fire and started water to boil. He set off down an animal path into the tall trees of the Casraines, eyes sweeping for familiar sights to tell him where to go.

Animals don't typically like magic. Some could harness it themselves. Trickster foxes that held blue fire in the marshes and deer that twisted themselves in ways unfamiliar and disconcerting were just a few examples of things that weren't uncommon, though they didn't happen often either. Most beasts were just that, beasts, and feared magic in the same innate way they feared any natural predator. Catching things in a snare with Laxus's power so prominently displayed was difficult because most things would flee down the mountain to get away from him… or so he had thought. These were the Casraines, after all, and they harbored all sorts of ancient things only incredibly old places do, including natural magics.

He'd found a large hare in one of their snares. Farther down the mountain, he found a stoat, the poor thing twisted from how desperately it had fought to be free. A few were empty, which was to be expected. The surprise, however, was when he found one of the snares dragged off into the bushes, disappearing into deep green dotted with late season berries. He pulled at the end of the line, winding it up to reset it, and startled at the weight of something at the end. A fox's foot, gnawed off. That shocked him still, and numbly he unwound it and dropped it to the ground, unsure of what to do. Wouldn't the humane thing be to track it down?

He hesitated and searched for a blood trail, tasting the air for it and searching into the brush until he found it. Gajeel had taught him how to track, and maybe he wasn't very good at it, but he could try. He followed the trail through the woods, into darker places shaded by the mountain as he descended deeper into a valley. Vaguely, he thought about how he wasn't supposed to leave the mountain, but it didn't seem very important right now. If he were more self aware, he would have recognized that as a bad sign, but he was already too enthralled by the stale scent of blood that he followed doggedly through the forest. It had gotten far, and he marveled at its tenacity. Even more-so because he realized there were no buzzards circling overhead, and what could that mean?

He followed the trail to a massive fallen tree. The roots of the casraine trees weren't nearly as deep as one might think, spread wide over the ground and interweaving with each other to stay aloft. Because of this, when one tree fell they were often accompanied by others. This network of sentinels locked together depended on each other to weather harsh storms. But that didn't mean the place he found himself in was barren and dead. The casraine trees, the lifeblood giants they were even in death, became nursery logs where new life grew verdant and abundant. There were more birds here, and many places for a wounded animal to hide.

It was here that Laxus caught movement in his periphery. He watched as a red fox cub ran out and past him, chased by another. Gajeel had warned him that animals were bold here, most having never seen humans before, so he did his best to remain placid as he watched them tumble and chase each other and disappear in the same direction of the blood trail, into a hole dug beneath the massive tree. A family of foxes, which usually meant a mother and father.

A strange relief washed over him. The wounded fox had others that would care for it, hunt for it, which meant it could survive. It got away… and that made Laxus strangely happy.

Gajeel felt himself being lifted from the ground. It startled him but the lethargy in his limbs was too great for him to do much more than blink groggily up at the blonde who held him. He was bare in the chilly air, and it raised goosebumps along his flesh to be without the warmth of the blanket. Golden eyes lit by the mild afternoon stared steadily ahead as Laxus carried him to the water's edge and walked carefully into the pond. Gajeel curled into him as they sank into the water, floating languidly farther towards the center where it was warm and covered in rolling mist. He sighed at hot water surging up over his shoulders, his neck, and Laxus held him tenderly. His deep voice hummed a tune Gajeel remembered from the depths of his gramophone, a silver-toned melody that made him feel impossibly light.

Laxus leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss against his temple.

"What are you singing?" Gajeel asked, his voice still rough with sleep.

"I Can't Help Falling In Love With You," he smiled down at him, releasing him to stand in the water with him, "I was going to wash your hair."

Gajeel blinked, his mind not processing what he'd said, "You don't sing often, but you have a nice voice."

Laxus wrinkled his nose, but his eyes glittered softly, amused, "I don't think it's that great."

"I like it." Gajeel said, "It means you're happy."

Laxus chuckled quietly, a warm and consuming sound as he tipped Gajeel's head back, submerging his hair into the water. He ran his fingers through his long black hair.

"Sing me something," Gajeel sighed, leaning into his touch.

Laxus smiled down at him, "What do you want me to sing?"

"Oh... a love song," Gajeel grinned, shivering at gentle tugs disentangling his unruly hair in the water. He shifted closer to Laxus, interlacing their legs under the water. "Just don't tell anyone I asked."

He laughed, cupping the back of his head and holding him aloft, "I'm sure it would ruin your reputation if anyone found out the dreadful Kurogane melted in the arms of his lover, hm?"

Gajeel was so love-struck looking up at his dancing eyes it made him dizzy. He ran his hand up the blonde's jawline, enthralled by how he responded by turning to leave a tender kiss on his wrist.

"Fucking ruin me, Laxus." he whispered.

Laxus's eyes widened a bit and he gave him a curious look.

"Did I ever tell you that I hated the name Kurogane until you said it?" he asked, feeling like his heart was suddenly swelling to the point it would burst out of his chest. "I thought people made that shit up, you know, just some airhead dames writing down some pretty fantasy in a shitty romance novel. Now look at me."

"Are you my bad boy only soft for me?" Laxus teased, carding fingers through his ebony hair just for the joy of it now.

"I'll be whatever you want me to be, mîn luz. Just ask." Gajeel breathed, his heart skipping a beat when Laxus smiled.

"You're a hopeless romantic deep down, aren't you?" Laxus hummed.

Gajeel raised a mischievous brow at him, "You're not?"

"Oh, no. I'm way more the man Gramps raised me to be than I care to admit. You know, old fashioned. Hold open doors, pay for the check, stoic and strong, the breadwinner... that type."

"So old fashioned. I sorta thought chivalry died on its sword but maybe ya kept it alive somehow."

"You want me to hold open doors for you?" Laxus asked.

"I am sorta growin' ta like being carried places," Gajeel grinned.

Laxus hummed his reply, eyes wandering across his face, searching for fatigue and relieved he could no longer see it.

"You worried me this morning. You didn't wake up." he said.

"I was just real tired, fairy, I'm fine now. I promise," he assuaged him, "What about you? Sorta thought you'd be a little... demanding... today."

Laxus shrugged, "Something is different. It's there, I can feel it, still, but... the mad rush is gone. I don't know how to describe it but I can push it away now."

Gajeel's heart started beating harder, faster, "Because we're... a pair?"

"We weren't before?" Laxus asked, a little bemused.

Gajeel reached his hand forward, running it up the sides of Laxus's throat, searching for something. The blonde furrowed his brow, confused as Gajeel stood from his grasp and began tracing his body with his hands. Finally, he brushed blonde strands back from his ears, hanging loose and sticking to his skin from the water and lack of his usual styling, and his breath stopped. Laxus felt him run his thumbs against the shell of his ear, dragging it down until he felt it catch on something. A wide and excited grin pulled across his face. His scarlet eyes glittered with his mirth.

"You... there's..." he laughed a little, disbelieving as much as he was incredibly happy. Laxus touched where his hand was, surprised by raised metal in his ears. Studs, like Gajeel's piercings, "You're like me."

Laxus's eyes immediately took to roving across Gajeel. He thrust his hands forward, eliciting a delighted little yelp from the raven as he searched across his body for a similar marking. Gajeel's was different. Laxus felt the smallest jolt of energy when his fingers ran down his left thigh. Gajeel was laughing as he pulled his knee up out of the water to gaze down at the mark he had made on him. It was a fern-like mark that bloomed across his outer thigh, the exact sort of scar that came from being struck by lightning. But these weren't burst blood vessels that would heal in a short few hours. It was invisible unless hit by the light, a magical scar that blinked yellow when he moved his leg a certain way.

"Oh..." Laxus breathed, his eyes widening.

"You've left a mark on me, too," Gajeel smiled.

Laxus ran his fingers across it, tracing its design as he felt something like his heart breaking but in the best way, "It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No," Gajeel said warmly.

"I left a mark on you..." Laxus breathed, looking up at his eyes, "Gajeel... what did we do?"

"Just made a promise, fairy. That's all," he replied quietly, and then with clear hesitance he said, "We can reverse it, if you want."

"No!" Laxus said in a rush.

Laxus kissed him.

"No! I...!"

Laxus kissed him again, frantic, pulling him as close as possible.

"Goddammit, I love you so much!"

Gajeel laughed between sweet kisses, "I love you too, swête weder. More than anything."

"Forever?" Laxus asked.

"Forever." Gajeel promised.

They were laying in a clearing, looking up at the blanket of night. Between clouded breaths, Gajeel was telling him the stories of the stars. Hero twins who travelled to hell and strung up in the heavens to watch the mortals below. A wheel that determined the fate of the world that Laxus had always known to be a bear and her cub. Fire sticks lit and carried to the hearth that kept life in the world that Laxus knew as a hunter killed by a scorpion, and that same scorpion known with a different story tied to it.

"I'll be honest, I kinda like you bein' all over me," Gajeel confessed.

"You need a good night's sleep." Laxus replied, "I know you're exhausted… and probably hurting, by this point."

Gajeel gave him a funny look, "Hurting?"

"I haven't exactly been gentle with you, Gajeel." Laxus said frankly.

His reply was quiet, like he hadn't decided if he really wanted to say it out loud or not.

"Maybe I liked feeling like you couldn't get enough of me."

"You think that's changed?" Laxus asked.

His silence spoke for itself. Laxus immediately pulled himself over him, trapping him beneath his form. Gajeel wouldn't meet his eyes, but instead took to staring around him towards the sky above. The darkness couldn't hide his disappointment, and Laxus rose to the challenge immediately.

"Gajeel…" his voice swung low and wanting, eliciting a shiver from the man below him, "Don't think for a second I crave you any less… I can just hold it back better now. The anger is gone, the edge that made it so I couldn't think straight… I can be sweet to you now, like I want to."

He lifted his wrist to his lips and opened his mouth, pressing a dangerous canine to skin. Venom welled up like it had been waiting just for this moment.

"Let me taste desire on you, baby… it'll drive me insane again."

Gajeel looked up at him through his lashes, curled his fingers into Laxus's belt loops and pulled his hips down to his own. Laxus's pulse jumped to feel his length pressed against him.

"You do something wicked to me, you know that?" Laxus muttered into his wrist.

Gajeel flashed a grin, "Call it my devilish charm."

"Devil… that's one I haven't used in a while," he hummed, remembering a conversation they'd had when their roles had been reversed, "Should I teach you about exorcism, baby?"

Gajeel's grin widened, "You think you can fuck the hell outta me?"

Laxus laughed and sank his teeth into his wrist.

I want to spend forever with you.

"It feels like we're on our honeymoon," Laxus sighed.

His head was resting on Gajeel's lap, snuggled under their blanket while the raven cooked what Laxus had brought back from their snares. He'd made him tea, sweetened with honey and huckleberries he'd foraged with Laxus marveling at his side. Gajeel paused at hearing his words but didn't look at him, pretending to be engrossed in what he was doing.

"Is this where you'd want to spend a honeymoon?" he asked, his voice telling of good humor hiding something deeper beneath, "I would have thought you'd like something nicer than a bare-bones camping trip."

"Eh? Surprised I can rough it when I need to?" Laxus asked teasingly.

"Roughing it on your honeymoon, Laxus?" Gajeel chuckled, "You're so high maintenance, I would have thought you'd rather be at the Capital. Those pretty mansions they have? Figured you'd want to spend a week there, not laying on a cold bedroll on dirt and sticks."

Laxus turned the idea over in his head.

The Capital. Now wouldn't that be an extravagant holiday? He'd only been to the Capital a few times, always on invite, usually because Gramps had to answer to the Magic Council for something Fairy Tail had done. Even the Grand Magic Games had been accommodated because they were there as entertainment. The place was beautiful for couples, though, with a myriad of things to do. Theaters, musical performances in the city center, storytellers, and carnivals with acrobats and dancers. Masquerades, plays, along with incredible displays of art and architecture that bordered on heavenly. There were even animal-based games of baiting and hunting for sport. The gentry loved flaunting their wealth and would entertain the canaille of Fiore for just the chance to show it off. It was the kind of thing you dreamed of as a child to see, to experience, the sort of grandeur that stole your breath. It was opulent, it was fantastical, it was so veryunexpected coming from Gajeel.

"A mansion?" he asked quietly, "Is that what you think I want?"

"It's what I would give you… what I think you deserve." Gajeel's gaze was directed into the fire. He motioned around him as he continued, "Not… this. This was hasty, necessary. I can give you so much more than just this."

Laxus should have felt a sting at those words. This place was a piece of Gajeel, and now it was a piece of him as well. He would cherish these memories forever, this experience. It didn't matter to him that they were bathing in a pond or cooking over a tiny fire or huddled together on a tiny bedroll with just one heavy blanket for warmth. With Gajeel, even these things could be a palace. He didn't dwell on those thoughts, though, and instead focused on a silent confession his love had just let slip that meant much more to him.

"So you have thought about it? A honeymoon? With me?" Laxus asked, his chest swelling as he watched softness alight on Gajeel's features.

"Did you forget that I wrote you a love song, Laxus?" he asked, "One that you didn't enjoy?"

Laxus's heart skipped a beat, "That could have just meant you changed your mind on love songs."

Gajeel chuckled a little at that, his smile a gorgeous thing.

"What's our wedding like in your head?" Laxus asked him, dying to know, "I bet its gaudy."

Gajeel grinned, "I am a little sentimental, Laxus. I figured you'd want it at the guild. Gramps doin' the honors."

"Oh, he's a man of traditional values, Gajeel. You have to ask him for my hand." Laxus smiled up at him, but it wasn't exactly a joke. Gramps would probably expect something like that, "He'll be insulted if you don't."

"But you're a man?" Gajeel asked.

"And you're not a woman." Laxus pointed out.

"Ah, damn," he grimaced, "The things I do for you, mîn luz."

The things I do for you. It wasn't a hypothetical; it wasn't said in jest. He was serious about asking for his hand, about marrying him. Even if it was far away, it was a day Gajeel saw on their horizon.

"Who do I ask for your hand?" Laxus hummed, playing with one of Gajeel's long strands of hair, twirling it around his finger.

"Nobody!" Gajeel snorted, "I ain't some dame to be given away."

"Aw, damn, and here I'd always looked forward to it," Laxus sighed, mocking disappointment, "How am I supposed to run away with you if there's no one to run away from? Who am I supposed to fight when they tell me I can't marry you?"

Gajeel rolled his eyes, but he was finally looking at him. He shook his head a little in disbelief, "Hajime."

Laxus blinked, surprised as much as he was excited.

"If you really wanna ask, ask Hajime. He'd be over the moon thinkin' I told ya he was like a dad ta me…" his smile eased a bit, "Maybe he is. He stuck around the longest, anyway. Looked out for me when I needed it."

"At the guildhall, hm?" Laxus asked, lifting himself up on his elbow so Gajeel couldn't glance away from him again, "Is that where you'd want to get married?"

Gajeel gave him a deploring look, but huffed a bit and didn't change the subject, "Or out back. I dunno, make an archway out of tree limbs and fresh flowers. Set up those white chairs they always have? Or... not. Whatever you want really. I could marry you in Gramps' office with just Lily as our witness and be fine."

"But that's not what you had in your head, is it?" Laxus asked, "Tell me. I want to know."

Gajeel rolled his eyes to the side, blush rising to his cheeks, "It ain't that deep Sparky."

Laxus leaned up and kissed him on his cheek, gentle to his pride. He laid back down, rested his head on his lap again and gazed up at him dreamily.

"I like the idea of doing it behind the guild. Something casual, not crazy. Gramps always wanted to do something big, back when he was serious about getting me connections. He wanted to rent out a banquet hall, or maybe hoped the guild would be big enough by that point. I always assumed I'd be marrying someone like Mira, who'd want those huge crystal bouquets of roses at every table? Champagne fountains and a massive wedding cake. But you know me... I don't really like flashy stuff like that."

"I like roses..." Gajeel said, eyes distant and serene, "...and champagne."

"Yeah?" Laxus asked, and didn't mention anything when Gajeel's hand slipped over his chest to interlace his fingers in his, "Red? Or Black Baccaras?"

"Red," Gajeel replied.

"They'll bring out your eyes," Laxus said, reaching up to tuck unruly hair behind a studded ear, "I love your eyes."

"I love yours," he said without hesitation. His blush deepened, "So, u-um... colors would be red and... what?"

"Red and black... and gold," Laxus replied, "I've always liked those colors together. They're elegant."

"Not yellow?" Gajeel asked.

"If there's anything I remember from dating Mira, it's blondes look bad in yellow," Laxus laughed, "Unless you'd like to be the one in yellow?"

Gajeel wrinkled his nose, "Yeah, your colors are better."

"You'll wear white?" Laxus asked, and Gajeel blush deepened, "I know, I know, the girl always wears white but... you like white suits."

"You'd look good in a white suit," Gajeel replied.

Laxus grinned, "I look good in everything."

"Except yellow?" Gajeel laughed.

"A bit cliché, ain't it? It leans into the lighting wizard thing a little hard."

"And purple doesn't?" Gajeel asked, tugging at his shirt for good measure, "Though, I guess you do dress more like a yakuza than a wizard, hm?"

"It's the coat, isn't it?" Laxus feigned ignorance, "It's the faux fur."

"Will I even recognize you down the aisle if it's not on?' Gajeel chuckled.

"Oh, that's a good one. Which one of us is walking?" Laxus grinned, "It has to be you."

"Me?" Gajeel said, incredulous.

"Absolutely. You need your chance to shine while everyone stands there and watches you walk to me" Laxus said, breathless in his adoration, "I can picture it. A white suit, black shirt, red vest, black tie, and a rose. Striding down the aisle the way you do when you know you're the shit and everyone has to deal with it."

"I don't...!" Gajeel devolved into laughter, "When have I ever...?"

"You're joking." Laxus insisted, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You have this half-smirk, and your eyes fucking glitter like you trapped fireflies in there or something."

"I do not!" Gajeel laughed harder, "You're making this shit up in your head."

"Walk down the aisle to me, Gajeel," Laxus said earnestly as he kissed the back of his hand, "If nothing else, so I can watch you come to me. I can take in every inch of you before I tell the world you're mine forever."

"Laxus..." Gajeel sighed, turning red again, "I ain't that great, yanno."

"You are to me."

Gajeel rolled his eyes, finally pulling their food from the fire and summoning iron scales to strip meat from bones. Laxus wasn't done, though. He didn't want this to end. He wanted to think about the future with Gajeel. He wanted to talk about getting married, about saying vows, about loving each other forever. He sat up and faced him, unrelenting in a way that startled the raven.

"Gajeel, please, you never talk about the future with me..." he insisted, taking hold of his hands so Gajeel had to look at him. His eyes widened, and he started to refute what he'd said but Laxus was already moving forward, "Talk about the future with me. Please?"

"What else do you want me to say, mîn yst?" Gajeel whispered, confused but acquiescent, "What else do you need? I love you and I'll marry you. I don't want to walk down the aisle and I ain't big on wearin' white but... if that's what you want, fairy, you know I don't care if people stare."

"What about vows?" Laxus asked him, "Have you thought that far?"

"Have you?" Gajeel asked, smiling because it was already so apparent Laxus had.

"I wanted to... to write my own. Til death do us part always seemed so morbid to me and I don't really like for as long as we both shall live, either."

"You don't?" Gajeel said with loving glance, "You don't want me standing beside you and saying with my full chest that I'll love you until we're food for the worms to eat? Keep my hand in yours until our fingers decompose and we're dust in the ground?"

"So morbid…" Laxus's heart skipped a beat, "How do you make shit like that sound romantic?"

Gajeel laughed and rolled his eyes.

"It don't really matter to me, Laxus. I've made my vow already. Maybe you didn't understand because... well... I shouldn't have said it in draconic." Gajeel said softly, freeing his hand to brush the side of Laxus's face, run his thumb against his scar, "My heart and soul belong to you. You are my everything, my sunlight, you have my heart. Take it. I'm yours... It belongs only to you..."

At the utterance of those words, Laxus felt power in him surge. He gasped from it suddenly surfacing, clinging to Gajeel's hands. The raven looked deeply into his eyes, calm, and overflowing with devotion and passion. His red eyes danced in the firelight. Laxus felt the pulse between them, a red string that sprung to life when Gajeel's voice called to it.

"Gajeel..." he said, pulling him closer.

"I've made my promise already, mîn luz. Everything else, to me, is just a formality," Gajeel said, leaning in until Laxus felt his breath falling against his skin. Red eyes flickered down to his lips and then back up again, "But I'll scream it from the top of every mountain if that's what you want. I'll sing it like a bird, for you, on every rooftop. And I'll whisper it in dark shadows in the next life after. You have me, body and soul, Laxus."

Laxus entwined his fingers in Gajeel's.

"Then it'll be proof I kept my promise, too," Laxus said, "You're going to be in the future with me. I'm going to watch you walk down the aisle to me. You're going to be happy with me."

"I already am," Gajeel said, understanding deep in his voice, "and I will be then, too."

"I'm going to build you a house," Laxus said, "The one you said you wanted when you asked me to run away with you. I'll build it anywhere you want, even if it's halfway across Fiore."

"I wouldn't ask ya to leave Fairy Tail, Laxus," Gajeel said, his brow furrowing a bit, "It's your home."

"You're my home, Gajeel," Laxus said, "As long as we're together, I don't give a damn where we are."

"Am I turnin' you into a mercenary?" Gajeel teased, though it lacked fire.

"Just need a good pair of boots," Laxus replied, matching his frail sarcasm. Neither of them were in the mood for jokes anymore, so Laxus crossed the short distance left between them and kissed him. Again and again, each one a little deeper than the one before, until their breaths were in tatters and Laxus had to come up for air.

"Marry me when the roses are in season so I can give you a bouquet of them, Gajeel." Laxus said in between sweet kisses, "I'll make a trail to the bedroom again. I'll make love to you all night again. I'll tie you up in black ribbon."

"When the roses are in season..." Gajeel sighed against him, fisting his hands into his shirt and pulling the blonde on top of him as he fell backwards. Laxus captured him with his form, trailing kisses down his neck, "What season do roses bloom?"

"The summertime, in June," Laxus said, "Roses, Lily of the Valley, Hydrangeas, Calla Lillies, Poppies, Zinnias and-" Laxus gasped as realization hit him. A grin lit up his face as Gajeel caught his breath, "Dahlias, Gajeel. Roses and dahlias bloom in the summer. I'll make you a bouquet of red roses and black dahlias."

"Black dahlias," Gajeel said with a depth of tenderness he could only guess at, "Laxus... one more thing."

"Anything," he said.

"Teach me to dance," Gajeel said, and Laxus froze.

"To dance?" he asked, breathless, "You want me to teach you... to waltz?"

"If that's alright," Gajeel said, brushing blonde hair back from his face, knowing full well he was making Laxus's heart melt out of his chest.

"Of course..." Laxus replied, his voice hushed where his hands pulled the raven impossibly closer, "...I want to dance with you again."

Gajeel smiled, a soft thing that made all the strength in Laxus vanish. He would be brought to his knees by a smile like that. He kissed him all over again, desperate for more of him. Every touch spilled over with love he couldn't keep trapped inside, touches that Gajeel returned in kind. Iron yielded like exquisite satin clutched in the hands of a lover; lightning kissed like a rose petal's delicate descent from mussed bedsheets.

"Damn," Gajeel sighed, "It's a good thing June is mild in Magnolia. Summer weddings are always too hot."

Author's Notes:

This is the last sickeningly saccharine chapter, I promise. We'll move on with the insidious plot now.