Hello there!

I'm back for another chapter!

It was the first day back to work, and I am ready to go full-on Queen of Hearts on some of my colleagues. Takes a special kind of retarded to dig a hole this deep, and now I gotta clean the mess. Also, don't come at me saying "you can't say that, it's offensive!" Cancel me. I've been kicked out of a handful of dark humor Discord servers for being *that* dark. Come at me.

Dommie, fiiiiiine

Giggly, You can have a sprinkle today.

I hope you like it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fairy Tail. I do, however, own the rights to this story and OC characters that might appear in the future.

Chapter XIV: The Nightmare Remedy

X—X

Ivy shot up in the bed, panting. She took a moment to catch her breath, covering her mouth to keep the vomit from coming out. Her breathing was too rapid, her heart was palpitating, and it took everything in her power to not scream out. She gathered her shaking legs against her chest and pushed her hair away from her face.

Her heart told her to jump out of bed and go check on him, but she needed to stop shaking first. This one had been particularly gruesome, and she still remembered the red, red blood dripping down those rocks. She held in her vomit again and threw the covers back, running out of her room.

She sprinted down the hall and pushed the door to his office open. It was dark, as she had expected. She took a deep breath and sat on his chair, curling against the comfortable cushion. She tried closing her eyes again, but no matter the place, the image kept coming back to her.

She swallowed hard and let her tears flow. The broken body, the trail of red, red blood running down the dusty ground, the silence that followed it. She remembered trying to scream his name, trying to shout for help, but nothing came out. Everything was silent. Even her own voice.

This time, it was not enough.

Slowly, she stepped out of the chair and his office and closed her eyes. She followed the little fragile red string, the one that kept her tied to him. She turned the corner and placed a hand on the wooden door. She took a deep breath and grabbed the handle. She turned it and opened the door.

The room was dark, only illuminated by the pale light of the moon, casting ethereal shadows on the room and across his face. He slept quietly, breathing slowly, and Ivy closed the door behind herself. She just wanted to feel his warmth, to make sure he was okay, that he was alive, that he was still hers.

The floor creaked, and she flinched. The dragon slayer groaned and turned to face the door. Ivy walked to the bed, sitting on the edge. She saw Sting take a deep breath, and something flickered in his expression – recognition, maybe? He peered one eye open and groaned again.

"Ivy?"

"Hey..." her voice was small, fragile even.

"What's going on?"

"Had a nightmare. Came to check on you." she gulped.

"Ugh..." he sighed. "Come on, I'm too tired for this."

"Sting?" she frowned as she watched him pull the covers back.

"Get in, we'll talk in the morning." the dragon slayer frowned. "Lector, scoot over."

Ivy heard a grumble from the foot of the bed but was quick to accept Sting's offer and get inside the covers. The bed was so warm, and it smelled so good. She let herself rest at the edge of the bed, but Sting would not have that. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him.

"Sleep," he whispered, tucking her head against his neck. "We'll talk later."

Ivy woke up what felt like a few hours later, but she felt well-rested. She opened her eyes to see darkness, but the moon seemed to be lower in the sky. She sighed and snuggled closer to Sting, who had switched positions during the night. Ivy was now lying on her side, and the blonde was hugging her from behind. She smiled to herself.

She did not know how long she had slept, but she knew for a fact that she had not had any nightmares. Which was usually a constant, that were completely wiped away when she saw him breathing and laughing the following day. She gently grabbed the hand that rested in front of her stomach and started playing with his fingers.

It was not the first time Ivy had found herself waking up in Sting's arms. But this time, in the cover of the night, she felt a bit freer. She felt as if the night could hide her secrets, the night could keep her indiscretions away. The night could keep her desire to be closer to him between whispers.

"I thought I was living it all over again," she whispered. "But this time, it was ten times worse. Because this time I saw you, broken and lifeless, while your blood dripped down the street."

"I'm right here, Ivy." his deep, baritone voice rang in her ear, and his breath tickled her neck.

"I know that." she gulped. "But for a moment, I believed you weren't."

"I'm sorry." his arm tightened around her and pulled her flush against his chest "I can't imagine what that must have felt like. When you... back in that cave, when that lizard attacked you, and you disappeared for a moment..."

"That was... a long time ago."

"Even just for a moment, the time it took for you to show up again..." his hand squeezed her own. "Oh, I wanted to tear the world apart, Ivy."

"I'm here." she pulled his hand up and kissed his knuckles. "This is actually the first time I ever entered your room."

"You've had nightmares before?" he frowned.

"They're constant... but I usually fight them off by going to your office. Or, if they're bad enough, sitting outside your room," she confessed.

"Ivy..." Sting cupped her face and turned her to look at him. "No. Next time it happens, don't be afraid to walk in and get in bed with me. Okay?"

"Mkay." she nodded shakily.

She did not force a smile because she knew she would not be able to fake it. And he did not smile because he knew his presence was more than enough for her. His thumb caressed her cheek but moved down to swipe at her bottom lip. Ivy let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes, and Sting leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips.

Ivy entwined her fingers in his hair and tugged him closer. Sting pushed her on the bed and raised to his elbows so that he could kiss her deeper. She sighed against his lips and wrapped her arms around him. Sting lowered one hand to her hip and pushed her against the bed, pulling away an inch.

"Sting?"

He swallowed hard and whispered. "Not yet. She's not ready yet..."

"Sting?" Ivy brushed his hair away from his face. "Who are you talking to?"

"Myself..." he gulped. "I... maybe we shouldn't just yet."

"That's okay." she nodded.

Sting fell back on the bed, breathing deeply, and Ivy turned to face away from him. The dragon slayer did not let her steam for that long, pulling her to his arms and tucking her against his side. Ivy placed a hand over his heart, feeling its rapid pace, and gulped. A slow smile found its way to her lips, and she hid her reddening face against his neck.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, fingers combing through her hair. "I just... want everything to be clear between us before moving in that direction."

"I understand that." she nodded.

"Do you... do you really think I'm not clear about my intentions with you?" he whispered.

"What?" Ivy frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"The other night... when Levy and Lucy came over." Sting worried his bottom lip. "You said I wasn't clear about my intentions with you. You really think so?"

"I think you're confusing. Not that I think you're... playing me or doing this with someone else. No." she sighed. "I trust you. But... it feels like you're not telling me the whole truth. Or at least trying to keep something from me."

"I'm not, Ivy. The truth is... I don't really know how to approach this subject with you." Sting admitted. "It's... not something that you can weasel into the conversation. It's a complicated matter, and it takes time, let alone trust."

"How complicated can it be?"

"It's... hard to explain. It's about us, and the connection we have. You didn't find us by random, Ivy." he gulped. "The dream wasn't random. There was a reason behind it. And... it's about a really, really old magic that only dragons have, and that passed on to dragon slayers."

"Okay... so you're saying that the dream happened because some old draconian magic was at work?"

"Pretty much." Sting ran a hand through his hair. "I know I'm being very cryptic, and basically not saying anything at all, but... I need to figure out how to tell you this without scaring you off."

"Okay." she nodded. "Is that why you avoided me?"

"No, I..." he cleared his throat. "That was... something else."

"Wait, how much of the conversation did you hear?" Ivy frowned, pulling away to look at Sting.

She noticed his reddening cheeks, which caused her to realize just what he was referring to, and turned red herself. She groaned and hid her face in his chest, cursing their guildmates, the alcohol, Sting's sharp hearing, and her own mouth. The dragon slayer chuckled and took a deep breath as Ivy saw her life flash before her eyes.

"I'm such an idiot!" she complained.

"Hey, none of that!" he let out, chuckling. "I just... didn't know how to deal with it at the time. I mean, it's not every day you have a girl saying she wants to lick-!"

"Sting!" Ivy shrieked, pushing a hand over his mouth.

"Mhut?" his eyes were filled with mirth.

"Do... not," she warned, rising to a half-sitting position.

He pried her hand away from his mouth. "Or what?"

"Or I'll shut you up." she glared.

"Go on... shut me up." he dared, a mischievous smirk spreading over his lips. "Or else I'm gonna keep talking. About all those things you said you wanted me to-mmpf!"

A/N: Drama with a pinch of cute?

:D

Let me know your thoughts on this new story!

Lots of love from this weirdo,

LoneeWolf :)