Disclaimer: Sadly Fairy Tail is not mine :(

Pairing: Lucy Heartfilia / Gajeel Redfox / Laxus Dreyar

CHAPTER 5: Daring to Love

RECAP

Laxus gripped her chin gently and tilted it upwards. "Don't cry, Blondie. We didn't mean to hurt you. Look, I don't know exactly what I'm doing either but trust me when I say this isn't a game to us."

"Thunder thighs is telling ya the truth, Bunny. We'd never play ya like that." Gajeel seconded, giving her waist a small squeeze.

Sniffling, Lucy asked, "Then what exactly is this? I-I don't understand…" Both slayers looked at each other before nodding in agreement.

"You're our mate." they simultaneously said.

Lucy could only gape in stunned disbelief at their declaration.

END RECAP

Tears now gone, Fairy Tail's Celestial mage continued to gape and impersonate a helpless fish out of water. She wasn't quite sure that she had heard them right and could only utter a few garbled words. "Huh..? Mates… Wha..?" Before swallowing down further words of bewilderment.

Furrowing her brows, she looked from one man to the other, intently assessing if what they had said was true. And by the serious expressions, they both had on their faces, she could safely assume that what they had stated was in fact not false. Both slayers continued to stay silent, simply waiting for the blonde to say anything else.

Another few minutes of silence passed before Lucy finally gathered enough mental capacity to ask, "But… That's impossible, isn't it? I thought dragons and dragon slayers only had one mate. How can I be both yours?"

Though they had only just agreed to share Lucy, if she so chooses, Laxus and Gajeel were still pleased that she had inadvertently called herself theirs. Biting back a smile, Gajeel cleared his throat and explained, "Actually, Bunny, I was raised knowing that some dragons can have more than one mate. The same goes for slayers as well. It wasn't practiced as much but they did happen. I know Natsu explained some things to you, but he may not have told ya everything or Igneel may have omitted that part. Cause I'm older, my dragon, Metalicana, made sure I knew everything about mates." Inclining his head towards the still crouching lightning dragon slayer, he continued, "As for Static Shock over there, he had no dragon to tell him anything. I quickly figured out a few months ago when he went all apeshit at the Grand Magic Games."

"At the Games? What do you mean? What happened?" Looking further confused at this statement.

Laxus answered her this time. "I was pissed when my deadbeat dad's guild played that dirty trick on you but it wasn't compared to how I felt when I watched Minerva hurt you like that. It took everything that I had to stop myself from interfering. I kept on hearing a voice in my head telling me to protect you and it confused the fuck out of me as I had never felt so strongly for anyone before. It wasn't until Gajeel found me later on that he explained what was happening to me and that his inner dragon wanted you for his mate as well." Moving a little closer to the petite blonde, the older slayer continued, "And we were hoping that you'd give us a chance. We may not deserve it, with how we've treated you in the past, but Lug Nuts and I do care about you."

Gently cupping Laxus' face with one hand and Gajeel's face in the other, Lucy softly said, "You know I forgave you both a long time ago. We all make mistakes. Some more so than others. You've both become great men and have proven yourselves to be good, time and time again, to me and our nakama." Pausing to close her eyes, she took a deep breath and carefully asked, "But are you sure I'm your mate? You're both incredible and I honestly don't see why your dragons would choose me. I'm nothing special."

Gajeel let out an annoyed growl. "Don't ever let me hear ya say that again, Bunny Girl. You're amazing in your own right and everything I've always wanted in a mate. Besides being beautiful, you're loyal, forgiving and strong. And I don't mean strong like Lightning Rod over here or Gildarts or Titania. I mean strong right here." He declared, while pointing to her heart. "Because of ya, you've shown me what it truly means to forgive and trust. If I never met ya, I'd still be the same sorry excuse of an asshole."

Covering Lucy's hand that still cradled his face, Laxus agreed with his fellow slayer. "You're the incredible one, Blondie. You have a heart of gold and one of the toughest mages I know. No matter how many punches life threw at you, you simply dusted yourself off and kept on walking. It was wrong of me to say that you were weak back then. You're probably the strongest out of all of us. Natsu may be an idiot most of the time, but the day he brought you to Fairy Tail was one of the smartest things he's ever done. Just don't tell him I said that." he cringed, thinking how smug the salmon haired menace would be if he heard him say that.

The smaller blonde let out a small giggle at Laxus' pinched face. "Your secret's safe with me." she mock whispered. "And, thank you. Hearing you both say that makes me so happy."

"So what do you say, Lucy? Give us a shot?" Gajeel entreated softly, next to her ear.

After hearing their declarations and comforting words, Lucy felt more at ease. The celestial mage knew she could trust them in a fight, but it was another story when it came to matters of the heart. She may not be a blushing virgin but it didn't mean she had a lot of experience with relationships either. Being part of Team Natsu didn't exactly leave a lot of time for dating.

Sure she had feelings for both men but had honestly never entertained a real thought about being with either of them, let alone both! Gajeel and Laxus prominently starred in her fantasies but had always seemed unattainable in real life. But at this moment, she felt as if everything she had ever wanted was within reach. She knew they were both serious about her. Dragon slayers and their mates were bound by the hands of fate. They are meant to fit each other like perfect puzzle pieces.

"Yes… I'd love to be both yours." Lucy answered shyly. Laxus and Gajeel exchanged triumphant grins at her response.

With a small grin still on his face, Gajeel slowly pulled Lucy's face towards his own and promised, "We'll make sure that ya won't regret accepting us, Bunny." He leaned down and hovered his lips teasingly above hers until she let out a small whimper. The iron slayer's eyes darkened with lust before he claimed her lips in a fierce kiss.

Shutting her eyes, Lucy let out a hum of pleasure at the feel of his lips moving against hers. Under his coaxing, she opened her lips and his tongue delved deeply into her mouth. Gajeel swirled his tongue around hers and she let out a throaty moan at his actions. Her arms circled his neck and pressed herself closer to his chest to deepen the kiss. Lucy had never felt such desire for another until Gajeel kissed her.

Laxus unabashedly watched them from where he was, and strangely enough, didn't feel jealous nor threatened that another man was currently kissing his mate. He and his inner dragon felt content, knowing that their mate had agreed to be theirs. Gajeel was someone he knew he could trust with his life. He also knew that he would take care of Lucy as much as he himself would. If he was being honest, the sight and smell of Lucy getting turned on from Gajeel's kiss, stirred his own arousal.

When the need for air finally became too much, Gajeel and Lucy separated. Breathing ragged, Gajeel rested his forehead against hers and looked deeply into her chocolate coloured eyes. "Damn…" he muttered. The dark haired mage had imagined dozens of times what kissing Lucy would be like, but it was nothing compared to the real thing. Just a small taste of her lips and he was hooked. Seeing her react so strongly to his kiss alone, caused him to harden. He tried to discreetly adjust the straining erection that was rubbing uncomfortably against his pants, but with the gasp he heard fall from Lucy's lips, he knew he was unsuccessful in hiding how much she had affected him.

"Alright, Metal Head, it's my turn." They both hear the lightning slayer grumble.

With ease that could only come from a dragon slayer's strength, Laxus plucked Lucy from Gajeel's lap, spun her around and swallowed the startled gasp that the celestial mage emitted. Where Gajeel's kiss was fierce but teasing, Laxus' was intense and unforgiving. Lucy nearly felt overwhelmed with how Laxus plundered her mouth without mercy.

Initially unresponsive from the sudden attack, Lucy quickly started to kiss Laxus back. She eagerly returned his kiss while wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders for leverage. Annoyed that she couldn't hold him properly, Lucy let out a frustrated whine. Laxus instinctively seemed to know what she wanted and lifted her up by her thighs. Lucy automatically wrapped her legs around his waist and shifted her hands to wrap behind his neck and head. Their tongues entwined and dueled, vying for dominance. A sharp nip to Lucy's bottom lip had Laxus winning their small battle but not before Lucy retaliated with a suck on his upper lip.

Once the pair parted for air, Laxus could smell the rich scent of her arousal. He could feel her panting as she clung on to him. Her generous breasts enticingly heaved against his chest from the force of her trying to catch her breath. "Fuck, Lucy. Do you know what you do to us?" growled the highly aroused blonde.

"I have a bit of an idea…" she breathlessly laughed. Lucy felt both weak and empowered from the kisses the two had given her. She had never felt so wanted and desired in her whole life. Liquid heat pooled low in her belly and she was sure her panties were soaked through.

Laxus smirked in response at her answer and Gajeel let out his signature laugh behind them. The hulking blonde lowered the star summoner back on her feet, making sure her clothed core felt every inch of the bulge within his pants. Lucy let out a needy whimper at feeling Laxus' length, then bit her lip at the thought of it inside her. 'Oh, stars. Is it even going to fit?' she thought worriedly.

Needing to regain some semblance of control back, Lucy stepped away from Laxus only to bump against Gajeel's chest. The iron slayer nuzzled his nose against her neck as he caressed her back gently. He nibbled against the exposed flesh and said, "You smell so good, Bunny. Good enough to eat."

"Eep!" the petite blonde squeaked. Hurriedly moving away from both males, Lucy stammered, "Umm… Wh-Why don't we have some di-dinner then? Sounds like you're hungry!" She gave them both a nervous smile. Lucy needed a bit of a breather. Each man was intimidating enough on their own but with both crowding her, she felt like hunted prey that was about to be devoured.

Exchanging smug smirks at their little mate's nervousness, both slayers decided to ease up a bit on the teasing. They knew it was a lot to take in and that she needed some time to get used to the idea of being mated to the two of them.

"That's a good idea, baby. I'll finish making it. Why don't you take a seat and just relax?" Laxus gave her a quick peck on the forehead and a gentle caress on her cheek, before heading towards the stove to finish preparing the food.

"I'll grab us some drinks, Bunny." Gajeel bopped her nose and sent her a wink as he sauntered to the fridge. Taking his time, he grabbed a beer and popped open the wine bottle and waited for a bit. This gave both Lucy and the wine time to breathe. (A/N: I had the image of the wine bottle giving a sigh of relief haha)

Lucy plopped herself onto one of the seats closest to the window and heaved a great sigh of relief. Now that she can think more clearly she thought about how this relationship was going to work. She assumed that all three of them would eventually need to live together, as mates should never be apart for too long, especially after the actual mating itself. Natsu, for example, was already making plans to extend and renovate his house to accommodate Lisanna moving in once their mating was finalised.

'And what about sleeping arrangements? Do we each get our own room? And kids. Did they even want children? What would the children call the other father? Do Laxus or Gajeel even want to raise each other's kids?' Lucy internally worried. Lucy was slowly getting distressed from all the different thoughts that were running through her head. She started to realise the gravity of the situation that she was in. Mating was equivalent to marriage and with most marriages, came children and starting a family. 'How would we even make things work?!'

Gajeel, who was closer, was the first to notice that Lucy was taking shallower breaths and that her heart rate was steadily spiking. He hurriedly came over to her side, with Laxus hot on his heels, to see what was wrong. "Bunny, you okay? You don't look too good." He held her hands that were fisted on her lap and gave them a tight squeeze.

"Take deep slow breaths, Lucy," Laxus instructed from her other side, rubbing her back. "What the fuck happened?" he demanded from Gajeel, worried for Lucy.

"I don't fucking know! She just sat down and looked like she was thinking about something then this!" the equally worried dragon slayer snarled back.

Suddenly a bright flash surprised the men before Loke appeared in front of them. "My darling, Lucy! What have these fiendish neanderthals done to you?!" He shouted. Loke had felt her distress from the Spirit World and decided to open his gate to help his mistress.

Not realising his mistake for interrupting and calling Lucy his darling in front of her already concerned mates, he was met with twin growls of anger.

"Oh, crap!" the lion spirit gulped at the ferocious glares he received from the male mages.

A/N: There! I've given you guys some lemon! You peeps can be so impatient lol. Let's see if Loke can get away without getting electrocuted or pummelled.

I wanted this to be a little bit of a slow burn when it came to the actual cookies, nookies and blah blah blah. I mean, c'mon, who wants to jump into a threesome straight away with Laxus and Gajeel… Nope…Not me… That's for sure! (My husband is currently rolling his eyes at me as he knows I'm a bit of a fiend haha!)

I'm happy to say that gyms have reopened again in Australia and I feel more energised! My little gremlin has also calmed down in the teething department. Thanks to those that sent their well wishes and understood the pain that is molars and incisors.

Take care everyone and kindly leave me your reviews/feedback :)