He sat in his usual dark corner of the guild, watching her talk animatedly at the bar. She was surrounded by several women as they flipped through the images of the photo lacrima she had brought with her today. Apparently it was something she had bought while out on their latest girl's weekend, with the jewels he had given her with the strict order to buy herself something nice. These trips were something Erza insisted they do at least once a month and she seemed to enjoy getting away. It seemed that between four of them, and the cat who wouldn't leave Wendy's side, they had taken photographs of everything and everyone from Akane Resort to Magnolia.

"Any idea what they're talking about over there?"

He reluctantly pulled his gaze away from the group of women to look at the thin man that had sat beside him with a scowl before he turned his face away once again, frowning when he realized she was no longer at the bar. "What do ya want, Speedy?"

Jet just shrugged off Gajeel's normal grouchy attitude as he gazed longingly at the bar where the little blue haired angel was last seen laughing with Mira and Wendy. "I haven't gotten a chance to speak with Levy since they arrived back from Akane. I didn't know if you had heard anything."

The iron dragon slayer just shook his head at the man beside him before he picked up one of the screws from his plate. "I do my best not to listen in on women's conversations, always hearing things you don't wanna hear. It's disturbing."

The speed wizard nodded his head in understanding as he looked around the guild hall trying to find where he had lost sight of the woman he loved. He could only imagine the things the slayer had unintentionally overheard from random conversations around the guild. Not only were their guild members rambunctious, but most were perverts…even the women, Cana in particular. "So you haven't spoken with her either?"

Gajeel just chuckled at the man's insecurities. He didn't know what he and Levy had done to make the man so insecure about their relationship, if they were even in a relationship-for all he knew it was just casual sex. But the man was always up their ass trying to find some way to separate them on the rare occasions they were alone together. "I didn't say that." He threw another bolt into his mouth and bit down on it harshly as he glanced at the man from the corner of his eye. "I saw her last night. She came by my house and then went to stay the night with Lucy, like the rest of the girls."

He grinned when the man tensed at the insinuation. What he didn't say was that she had shown up with the other women. It seemed that Erza deemed it inappropriate for any of them to be alone with him or any other man at that time of night. The damn queen of the fairies wasn't getting any ass from her fugitive boyfriend, so she saw it appropriate that the rest of them go without as well; but if she only knew all the things he did to one of the women the scarlet haired knight held so dear.

"Gajeel…"

He just rolled his eyes at the man before he pushed his empty plate away from himself, Mira was damn lucky that she served him his scrap metal on ceramic and plastic plates. With the way the twerp beside him was going on he'd eat the entire guild if the noise from crunch the metal with his teeth would drown out the incessant noise coming from the man. The man was becoming annoying. He wasn't as stupid as most people thought, he knew the Shrimp and Speedy had something going on and he wanted no part of being in the middle of all that, drama wasn't his thing. Besides, he was more of a bunny kind of guy, they were fun…and liked to fuck. Shrimp didn't really do anything for him…kind of boring. "Go away Speedy, you're pissing me off."

"Jet!" Both men turned to see Levy running around the corner and wrap her arms around the man's shoulders from behind. "Are you bothering Gajeel? You know how he gets when he's eating."

The man's shoulder's fell as his girlfriend scolded him before he remembered that Gajeel had gotten to see her before she had come to him. "Why did you go see him last night?"

Levy creased her brow before she sat down between the two. She didn't know what the two of them had been talking about before she showed up, but she had a feeling that Gajeel was leaving out important information on what he was telling Jet, just to get the man riled up. Her eyes narrowed as she looked to see the man smirking as his eyes would discreetly search the room every now and again for a certain woman. She sighed and looked back at her secret boyfriend with a soft smile. "Jet, I wouldn't say I went to see Gajeel last night. It was more like I went with Lucy, Erza, and Wendy."

Jet's eyes widened at Levy's admission before he shot them in Gajeel's direction, narrowing them at the man's insinuation. "But you said…"

"Geehee…I said that I saw her last night, that she came by my house." He just shrugged as his eyes followed the blonde around the guild hall, watching as she continually bounced around and snapped candid photos of their guild mates. "I never said she came alone. Besides, I don't think the shrimp came willingly." He turned back to the speed mage, lifting his studded brow in question. "Would you go against the Titania's orders?"

The speed mage visibly paled as he looked at his small girlfriend before looking out to see Erza at the bar, eating her prized strawberry cake. "I promise to make it up to you later, Jet."

Gajeel creased his brow in distaste, the last thing he wanted to hear, see, or smell was the two of them getting all lovey around him. "Oi, take that shit to your own table…better yet, get a damn room."

Levy smiled before she shewed Jet off to go wait for her at their usual table with Droy. She needed to have a few words with the iron dragon slayer before she would be content in leaving him for the day and he needed a serious warning when it came to her best friend. She may not be able to do too much to him if he hurt the blonde, but she knew a few people that could.

"What do you want, Shrimp?"

She just smiled kindly before moving to the seat across from him, blocking his view of the woman his eyes were following around the guild. She rested her elbows on the table and propped her chin in the palms of her hands as she made eye contact. "I know about you two, Gajeel."

His eyes narrowed at the little woman. He was sure he knew what she meant, but he also knew that it wasn't Lucy that had told her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Gajeel. I'm talking about you and Lucy."

The raven haired man just snorted at the audacity of the little pipsqueak of a woman sitting before him. "So what…is this where you're going to threaten me to behave or you'll do something painful to me?"

The little woman winced at his sarcastic words before she shook her head. She knew that she wasn't weak, but she also knew there wasn't a whole lot she could do to bring this dragon slayer down either. "No. I know better than to think I could do anything to you. But…if you do hurt her in any way, emotionally or physically, I may not be able to do anything about it, but I do know a few people who can."

Gajeel opened his mouth to respond before he looked up and closed it again. He knew who the little woman was speaking of and he could only hope that she didn't know about the two of them. Which brought the next question into play. "How do you know, Shrimp?"

Levy just smiled at him, knowing where his thoughts were going. "No. Erza doesn't know, nor does the rest of her team…I don't think. I really don't know how Natsu hasn't put it together with the whole dragon scent thing."

The man just smiled and shook his head. He wasn't going to be the one to break it to the small blue haired woman that she wasn't the first one to have this talk with him about Lucy; Natsu had beat her to the punch months ago, after the first night he had stayed at the blonde's apartment. Though Lucy didn't know about that. It was a dragon slayer thing, both Wendy and Laxus knew about them too, yet all he received from the two of them were harsh warning glares. As a rule, slayers didn't go around voicing other people business, it was rude. No one wanted someone walking up to them screaming to the entire world that they knew you had sex recently and with whom. "We're talking about how you know, not Natsu."

She gave a brief shrug and a small smile as she looked up to the second floor where the blonde was hovering over the Thunder God Tribe's table, snapping pictures of herself with each of them before she returned her gaze to the iron slayer. "I guess I'm just that observant."

"You aren't that observant Shrimp. Bunny and me have been together just as long if not longer than you and Speedy over there."

"What?!"

Gajeel jump up and covered the girl's mouth with his large hand. His eyes narrowed at her dangerously as he slowly removed his hand from her face. She was lucky that Natsu had arrived and started a brawl with Gray, dragging Elfman and a few others into the mix. The guild was loud enough that no many would have heard her surprised cry. "Careful there Shrimp. If you don't keep your damn mouth shut the whole guild's gonna know about us." An evil smirk spread across his face as he threatened her. "…and if they know about me and Bunny, they'll know about you and Speedy…especially a certain demon."

The script mage narrowed her eyes at the larger man before she crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't understand. There were plenty of men that would love a chance with the blonde bombshell and this man had her. Yet he refused to flaunt that he had been the one to snag her? "Why are you keeping it a secret anyway? Lu's beautiful, smart, fun, and strong. I don't understand why you want to keep it hidden. Is she not good enough…"

"Watch what you're implying there Shrimp." His tone was hard, cold, and definitely a warning that she felt she needed to heed. But his words and actions confused her. He wanted their relationship to be kept a secret, yet at the same time the relationship obviously meant more to him than just a few romps in the hay. He leaned closer in toward her, his hard eyes belaying the dangers that awaited her if she dared to repeat anything he was about to voice to her. "I would like nothing more than to lay a claim on her and tell everyone she's mine, and only mine." He looked away, his face falling in disappointment. "But, I'm waiting for her to wake up and realized that she can do better. That she can find someone that didn't beat her all to hell when they first met."

"Are you still caught up on that?" Levy stood and moved to his side before she sat down and found the blonde still sitting next to Laxus, smiling as she leaned in close and snapped a picture of the two of them. Levy couldn't help but smile at the ever stoic and uncaring face of their lightning dragon slayer while Lucy held the brightest smile in the guild. "Look Gajeel, Lucy's never been happier; and you know she doesn't hold grudges. She and Laxus are like siblings they're so close, and he not only had her turned to stone, but he tried to take over the guild that she saw as her home and refuge, made her friends fight against each other, and threatened the city's residents. You weren't even part of Fairy Tail at the time and you're a completely different person now."

The man just shrugged as he watched his blonde pout before she stood up and looked around the guild. Her eyes landed on him and she smiled brightly before waving. He just rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat, further in the shadows as a small smile lifted at the corner of his mouth. Now that she had seen him watching her, he would be her next stop in the photo frenzy. Not that he cared about the photos, he just wanted his blonde with him.

A low growl built up in his throat just before the guild doors slammed open and three individuals stepped through the doors. "Honestly, do you always have to make a scene, Sting?"

The man narrowed his eyes and pouted, mumbling, "Damn Yukino, always ruining my fun…now how is the Great Sting Eucliffe going to make his grand entrance?"

"He's the Great White Dragon Slayer, the mighty Sting Eucliffe, of course he will make a scene wherever he goes. These fairies should be honored with his presence in their lowly guild hall."

The white haired woman just rolled her eyes at the words of the red cat. Leave it to Lector to defend Sting, regardless of the situation. Sometimes she wondered why she even put up with these two. It was no wonder that Rufus immediately volunteered to watch the guild while Sting was away and Orga had been the first to offer his help…like Rufus would need help keeping the guild in order. Unlike Fairy Tail, most of their members were fairly laid back and quiet, something that had carried over from the last master. Though she had a feeling that in a few years, Sabertooth would be just as bad as Fairy Tail with Sting in charge.

"Yukino!"

Gajeel grumbled to himself as his blonde Bunny altered her course from bouncing over to him to prancing her way over to the white haired celestial wizard. The two women hugged for a moment before Lucy pulled back and threw her arm around the younger girl's shoulder and held the lacrima in front of them and snapping yet another picture.

"Hey, Blondie!" The blonde male pulled her away from her fellow celestial wizard, a large smile on his face as he pulled her close to his side. "You're going to be my escort while we're here, you know…show me around."

Lucy narrowed her eyes at the Sabertooth guild master before she crossed her arms over her chest. "You're blonde too, moron."

Sting leaned down closer to the woman his arm was wrapped around before he looked up at Rogue with wide eyes. The dark slayer only glanced in Gajeel's direction, who was watching the blonde very closely, before he turned back to his guild master. "Blondie…," the man whispered.

Creasing her brow, Lucy looked up at him. His head was still leaning in close to her and she leaned back to even out the distance between their faces before whispering back at him. "What?"

He sniffed the air around her again before he met her gaze with a smirk and whispered quietly in her ear. "You smell like the iron slayer."

"Shh…" She pushed herself away from the man, only to stumble back into the hard chest of Rogue who held his hands out to steady her. The shadow dragon slayer had no intention of pushing the elder dragon slayer's buttons by messing with his intended mate, even if it was just jokingly. He'd already been toe to toe with the man and as much as he wanted to prove himself by doing it again and winning, he didn't want it to be over a woman that his rival had already set his eyes on. That wouldn't be a friendly competition, it would be a death sentence.

"Calm down Lucy, no one else will be able to smell it except the other slayers. But why are you keeping it a secret?" The dark haired man crossed his arms and took a respectable step back from the woman, his eyes occasionally drifting over to Gajeel, who was watching him like a hawk.

"Fro wants to know too."

Lucy smiled at the little green cosplaying exceed before she bent down to pick her up and cuddling her close. The little exceed clad in a pink frog suit had to be the cutest thing she had ever seen, next to Lily and his tiny sword, but she would never tell him that. She looked up and met Rogue's gaze before taking a cautious look around, making sure no demons were listening in. "Because…"

"Aren't you two cute! Lucy, why didn't you tell me you liked Rogue?"

"WHAT?!" The blonde stood stiff as she turned to see the demon standing behind her with a tray of drinks in her hand. "I don't…we aren't…it isn't like that Mira!"

The white haired woman just smiled at her knowingly before she turned and walked away from the two of them, calling out from behind her. "I could have helped with that ages ago, Lucy…oh the babies!"

"…Watch it Ryos…"

Rogue took another cautious step back as a very familiar growl caught his attention. Though it seemed that Lucy was still oblivious to the growls of the man that still had his eyes on her. She pointed behind her and grimaced as she turned to look back at the shadow dragon slayer. "That's why. I don't need to hear talk about babies every time I walk in the guild."

"Mm…I see." Rogue made sure to keep the distance between him and the blonde, sighing in relief as Yukino grabbed Lucy by the arm and pulled her away toward the bar. Insisting on hearing her tales from their girl's weekend.

The blonde shivered as she thought about the two days she had spent with Wendy, Levy, and Erza. Though it was fun, her friend and sister figure always had to throw some training in there; and seriously, who would tell that woman no? She glanced around before leaning in to the woman and whispering quietly. "In all honesty, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Erza's a slave driver. Even though she claims it's a vacation, she forces us to get up early and run five miles along the beach before sunrise. Then demands a one on one sparing session with each of us a day."

The saber looked at her blonde friend and smiled kindly. "Oh come on Luce, it can't be all that bad."

The blonde gave a half smile as she shrugged her shoulder, glancing over at the red head who was idly brushing the sky dragon's long blue hair. "No, it's really not. She's amazing and despite the horrendous torture she calls training, I've actually noticed improvement when I go on jobs."

"It really sounds like fun. I wish Sabertooth had more women for me to hang out with like that." The younger wizard rested her elbow on the bar as she placed the side of her face in her palm, staring off into space. She was trying to imagine what it would be like to have friends like in her own guild, friends she could hang out with like the women in Fairy Tail did. Don't get her wrong, she would never leave her guild, she loved Sabertooth. All she had ever wanted to be was a Sabertooth wizard. But being one of the only girls in the guild got a bit lonely at times.

"You should come with us next month."

Yukino's eyes widened as she sat up straight and shook her head. "No, I couldn't possibly intrude like that. It's your special time…"

"Yeah, with friends silly." Lucy looked past Yukino to the other end of the bar where Erza was just finishing with Wendy's hair. "Erza, Yukino wants to join us next month on our weekend outing."

The red headed woman just smile and nodded at the two of them. "Sure. The more the merrier; we always have fun…" She stood and made her way over to the two women and crossed her arms as she stood before the two. "…but I must warn you. We train as well. It makes the fun we have that much more enjoyable."

If it were possible for someone's face to be full of excitement while paling with dread then that would be how Lucy would have described her fellow celestial wizard's face. The woman was sitting at the bar staring at Erza. Not only was the woman being given the opportunity to be trained by the Fairy Queen, something no one outside of Fairy Tail had ever had the privilege of, but it would be a weekend away from the destructive men of her guild. In her mind, that alone was worth the pain of Erza's training. "Count me in!"

Lucy noticed as the girl's face immediately fell as an afterthought hit her, her gaze dropping to the bar. "What's wrong Yukino?"

The woman looked up from a blemish on the wooden bar to meet Lucy's concerned honey brown eyes. "Well, I just don't think I'll be able to keep up with either your or Erza." Yukino knew she wasn't weak, if she were Master Jiemma would have never allowed her into Sabertooth in the first place. But Lucy and Erza had both proven their strength and endurance during the games and several times after as well.

A small caring smile spread across Erza's face as she heard the woman's admission. "Don't worry about a thing Yukino, everyone has to start somewhere. I can assure you, there is no way you can be worse than Lucy was when we first started training together."

"Hey! …I wasn't that bad." Lucy's eyes widened as Erza's words as the red head took her leave of the two celestial wizards. Even if there was some truth to the statement, it was extremely rude of her to just put it all out there like that, couldn't she have said it a little nicer? But then again, that wasn't Erza's way. The woman was blunt and straight to the point. Lucy was a horrible pupil when she had first started running with Erza, and she knew it.

"Hey Blondie." Sting slung his arms around both Lucy and Yukino and smiled at them both with a glint in his eye. They knew he was up to something, they just didn't know what. "You're supposed to be showing me around tonight."

She shrugged the well-defined arm off of her before she turned to face him, a look of annoyance marring her heart shaped face. "You know your way around, Sting. This isn't your first time to our guild hall."

The man ignored her annoyance and looked her over before he gave a shrug and sat down between the two women. "Such a horrible host. Well, let me buy you a drink anyway."

Rogue sat at a table alone with Frosch as he watched his best friend, partner, and guild master tread on real thin ice. He'd kept an eye on the iron dragon slayer ever since they arrived and not once did the man's eyes leave the celestial fairy; and that did not bode well for any male that hung around her for too long, especially a male dragon slayer, such as Sting was trying to do. He looked up as the chair next to him was pulled out and a large body sat heavily in it, red eyes meeting red eyes. "Ryos…" Rogue just watched Gajeel, knowing exactly what and whom this conversation was going to be about. "…unless you want to be your guild's next master, I suggest you pry him away from my bunny."

The shadow slayer hung his head as the man stood without another word and walk away, presumably back to his corner table with his battle hardened black exceed. The small cat was sitting on top of the table, his eyes were hard and unhappy while his arms were crossed over his chest, keeping an eye on his partner's woman while he was away trying to get the situation taken care of peacefully. Rogue had no doubt that Gajeel would push things further if Sting did not heed to the warning the man was offering, which was very generous of the man. The Gajeel he had known years ago, before Fairy Tail and Lucy had softened him, wouldn't have even bothered with giving a warning. He would have gone in and ripped his partner's arms off for even thinking of touching what he saw as his. Like their dragon parents, dragon slayers were extremely protective, possessive, and slightly impulsive…most of the time; perhaps it was a side effect of taking in some of their dragon's magic.

Rogue knew that even if Gajeel had seemed to mellow out over the years, he had no doubt in his mind that the same merciless Gajeel that he had known back in Phantom Lord would come out if pushed; and messing with the man's intended mate was pushing a little too close to that line. Letting out breath, Rogue stood and looked at his green exceed who was watching him curiously. "Fro, why don't you go ask Mira for a fish? You can tell her I'll be over there to pay for it in a moment." The cat's eyes widened as she smiled and ran over and off of the side of the table before her wings were completely out, though that wasn't really an uncommon thing with her when fish was involved.

Lucy laughed as Sting held up the photo lacrima and pulled her closer to him, their faces almost touching. At the last minute Lucy reached out to the other side and pulled Yukino in, forcing all their faces tightly together so they could all three fit in the photo. "Awe, come on Blondie, I wanted a picture of just the two of us. I see her every day at the guild."

Lucy raised her brow as she looked at the pouting dragon slayer as she plucked her lacrima out of his hands. "Well, too bad for you that this is mine as are the photos on it."

"Yeah, so?"

Sometimes she really didn't understand how this man managed to get the position of guild master without anyone objecting to it. She knew he wasn't stupid, but the majority of his intelligence stemmed on the battle field. He was smart when it came to fighting, staying alive, and taking out an enemy. But common sense…he really needed some help with that one. "You don't get to have the photo, Sting."

"But…"

"Sting." All three sets of eyes turned to see Rogue standing behind the man with a stoic frown on his face. Lucy briefly wondered how often the man actually smiled. With a small unperceivable nod of the man's head, Yukino quietly excused herself to the ladies room.

"Another! With Rogue!" Lucy yelled out before she reached across Sting and pulled the dark haired man down with wide eyes. As he leaned in, Lucy grinned at him. "Smile a little Rogue."

The man just grunted before he straightened himself. That was not an expected turn of events. The last thing he wanted was for Gajeel to think that instead of warning his partner, he was joining in on the fun and while he may not always act like it, he really did enjoy living. "Sting we need to talk."

The man pulled the photo lacrima from the blonde woman's hands and held it above him out of her reach before he glanced back at Rogue. "So talk."

He sparred a glance at Lucy before he met Sting's blue eyes. "You're pushing him too far, back off."

Like expected, the man just laughed at the threat, not taking it seriously. He didn't know why the man was so bent on focusing on Lucy tonight. He knew for a fact that the man had no romantic interest in her, his eyes were on another celestial wizard – the only other celestial wizard. "Sting I'm serious."

The man looked over his shoulder to the red eyes that seemed to be glowing from the dark corner and his laughter stopped, yet he forced his smirk to remain on his face. He knew he would be pushing it with the iron slayer, but he didn't realize how much of a deadly aura the man would be giving off over some harmless flirting. But what seemed to make the entire situation better was the barmaid gushing over the two of them and how beautiful the little blonde babies would be. He could hear the growls coming from behind him. But if the man wanted her, he needed to make it known how much he wanted her and what she was worth to him.

Even though the white dragon slayer harbored no romantic feelings for the blonde, she was still a friend and he enjoyed her company. She didn't deserve a man that wasn't going to fight for her and while he knew that he couldn't win against a slayer fighting for his mate, he was willing to endure it for the little blonde woman beside him. He smiled over at Rogue before he lowered the photo lacrima just within her reach before pulling it back up again and switching it to his other hand as the blonde started climbing the bar stool and reaching over him to get it, pressing her large chest into him. "If he wants her then he'll have to fight for her. He should have claimed her, maybe now I'll take the honor of doing that."

Rogue's eyes widened at Sting's bold claim before he took a cautious stepped back, getting away from the suicidal man. He noticed Lucy had stopped struggling to get her lacrima and now sat with her knees on her bar stool as she leaned against Sting, her hands holding onto his shoulders for support as she eyed the two of them cautiously. "What…?"

The sound of a chair scrapping across the floor drew their attention to the man who stomped his way across the guild, his metal lined and studded boot making enough noise as they landed heavily on the wooden floor to draw the attention of the entire guild as he made his way toward the blonde male. "You got something you wanna say, Bee boy?"

Sting crossed his arms over his chest as he looked up at the man in anger. "Bee boy? What the fuck is that about?"

Lucy pulled herself away from Sting and crawled off of the bar stool to press herself between the two of them. "Gajeel, calm down…please."

The man looked down into the sweet honey eyes and felt his temper deflate just a bit before he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her behind him as he threw his fist into the man's face. "Stay away from what's mine."

Sting just rubbed his face and winced at the soreness in his nose as he sat on the floor, he was pretty sure the bastard had broken it. After a moment's pause, he noticed the silent stares of everyone around him as they gawked at the couple before him. "Hey, you think this is over pin cushion?" He pulled himself off the floor and reached for Lucy's hand. "You had your chance and you didn't man up."

Gajeel pulled Lucy further behind him before he turned his body into his metal scales and growled. "You really wanna fucking go there, bumble bee? I ain't giving her up, she's mine."

"Gajeel!" All eyes turned to the woman dressed in silver and white armor with wings spread out behind her, a sword held in each hand as she stared hard at the iron dragon slayer. "Explain yourself."

To the man's credit, he just sneered at the battle ready Titania before he pulled a wide eyed Lucy further behind him. She was still trying to grasp the concept of him verbally claiming her as his in front of everyone in the guild; and while it should piss her off having a man claim her as a possession, she felt slightly elated. Who would have known that after running away from a life where she would have been sold into a loveless marriage and treated like a possession she would love the idea of a single man claiming her as theirs and theirs alone. But she also knew the implications of such a claim and what it meant to a dragon slayer. As her best friend, Natsu had taken it upon himself to tell her everything he could about himself, and therefore about every other slayer as well. She knew what it all meant, and if she agreed to his claim, she would be bound to him for the rest of their lives. That's what it meant to be a dragon's mate. Ten years ago, or two for her, she ran away from the thought of being bound to someone and here she was desperately wanting this with Gajeel, and only Gajeel, and they hadn't even been officially together for more than two minutes. "I ain't got nothing to say to you, Titania."

The woman's eyes widened in surprise as he stood there with his arms crossed over his broad chest and refused to answer her, too used to having everyone cave in to her every threatening demand. But she refused to back down, this was her best friend he was claiming, the first person to break through her walls after the tower of heaven and make her feel like a woman, the woman she considered a younger sister. "You will…"

"Gajeel…" Erza and Sting both watched along with the rest of the guild as the iron dragon slayer turned his back to Erza and her swords, something no one dared to do, focusing his crimson eyes on the angel before him. "…did you mean it?"

The man just grunted as he gave a brief nod of his head, barely able to move his arms away from his chest and drop his iron scales fast enough as she launched herself at him, burying her face into his chest to hide the tears of joy she couldn't control. She looked up, smiling at his obvious discomfort of having so much attention on him with her in his arms. Reaching up, she pulled his face down, attaching her lips to his before she wrapped her arms around his neck, glad that they no longer had to hide their relationship from the guild. She had understood why he had wanted to keep it a secret, so did she at first. But then she realized that she didn't care what others thought about their relationship and looking back now she realized that even thinking that any of their guild mates would be anything less than happy for them was a ridiculous notion.

Pulling away, Gajeel looked down at Lucy's bright smile before he grabbed her hand and began pulling her out of the guild, only to have her stop him so she could turn back and run up to Sting and grabbing her photo lacrima. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his check. "Thank you."

"Oi! Hands off, Bee-sting." The larger man wrapped an arm around her waist again and pulled her away from the white dragon slayer with a scowl on his face. "MINE!"

Lucy laughed as she let her dragon guide her out of the guild. Oddly enough, she found his possessiveness of her endearing. She could only assume it was because it was a natural instinct for him and it was something that he would only feel for her. It was guided out of love as opposed to greed, jealously, and social standings. "Wait!" She pulled him to a stop outside the guild hall and jutted out her bottom lip in a mock pout. "I didn't get a picture with you today."

The man stared down at her and blinked before turning and walking two steps before he heard her stomp her feet behind him. He couldn't help but smile at her childish behavior. You'd think she was a spoiled brat with the way she acted, but he knew better. Sure she was spoiled, he made sure of that – something he was loath to let anyone else know. But the woman was anything but a spoiled brat. She'd willingly give her enemy the shirt off of her back if she felt that it was well deserved or needed. "Fine. Get your damn picture Bunny Girl."

Bouncing in place at her victory, Gajeel couldn't help but picture her with white bunny ears and a round little cotton tail attached to her perfectly rounded ass, something that he was going to have to find a way to get her in again and get her to willingly take a picture in it. She launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, waiting for him to get a good enough hold on her so she could free one of her arms to take the photo she wanted. She held the lacrima out, guessing about the right position before she turned her head and pressed her lips to his cheek as she snapped the photo.

The picture of her kissing him with his wide and surprised eyes was perfect. Out of all of the photos she had taken with her new possession, that he had bought her, this was by far her favorite. It was the one she was going to stick next to the box of letters she wrote her parents, that way they could see how happy she was with this man. "So where are we going, pin-cushion?"

"Oi! Don't call me that!" Gajeel looked down at Lucy before a wicked smile lit his face. Fast as lightning, he scooped the blonde off her feet and took off toward the south side of Magnolia. "This dragon has a bunny to claim."