* It's not easy writing Fairy Tail and Hiro Mashima is better at it than me, that's why I'm glad he owns it.

It had been five days since the eclipse and the guild had finally returned to as close to normal as Fairy Tail could. Laki had returned from her mission and fixed the holes in the floor and replaced the decimated furniture. Wendy had returned all the jewelry and other shiny items she had snatched from her fellow guild members, apologizing and bowing like crazy every time. Of course, no one had been upset with the girl.

Makarov had returned from his meeting with the Magic Council on the second day, surprised by the destruction that had taken place at the guild during his short absence. Sure, there were always fights that left the building in need of repairs, but this had been beyond the norm. Knowing that there had been an eclipse had him worried as well, especially when he noticed that three of the four dragon slayers were missing.

Then Mira told him how Natsu, Gajeel and Laxus had gone chasing after their mates and the old man had cheered up right away. When he heard that Laxus had apparently mated with Lucy, he'd been over the moon with happiness and bought drinks for the entire guild. By the end of the night, the small man was lying on the floor, his eyes spinning from drinking so much alcohol and a huge smile on his face. Mira could hear him muttering about the beautiful great-grand babies he would be getting soon.

After a few days, a lot of the guild was starting to get worried. None of the dragon slayers or their mates had been seen since the night of the eclipse. Happy and Lily had gone looking for their dragon slayers to check on them but returned shortly after and reported basically the same thing. The houses were locked up tight so they were unable to get in and the sounds coming from inside would haunt their dreams for the foreseeable future. It wasn't a stretch to figure out what they must have been doing.

Fried had gone to check on Laxus and Lucy and had nearly been killed by one of Lucy's spirits and the defensive spells Laxus had set up. Though he hadn't gotten close to the house, the rune mage decided that since both their magic were working to keep people away, that they were fine and simply wanted their privacy.

After that, Makarov decided that the guild would grant the dragon slayers and their mates their space for the time being and no one was to disturb them. This was met with some grumbles and worried protests for the well-being of the women who were taken. Makarov was firm, saying that anyone who went against his wishes would be handed over to Mira and Erza who would dole out whatever punishment they deemed appropriate. That shut most of them up pretty quickly. Only Jet and Droy were stupid enough to try to sneak over to Gajeel's cabin, and they were intercepted quickly by the she-devil. The pained screams of Team Shadow Gear, minus Levy, proved to be an effective way to keep others from attempting the same thing.

It wasn't until the mid-morning on the fifth day that the guild received their first surprise. The doors opened to reveal Levy skipping inside with a couple books in her hands and Gajeel following close behind her with an even larger stack of books in his hands. The guild immediately erupted in gasps and cheers, relieved that their script mage was in good health. Better than that, the girl seemed to be glowing with happiness as she and her mate set her books down on a table before being mobbed by their friends.

Jet and Droy were both diving for the small blue haired woman with relieved tears streaming down their faces, only to be intercepted by Gajeel. The dragon slayer had grabbed both mages by the collars of their shirts to hold them back as he glared at them.

"Let's get something clear," Gajeel growled at them. "Shrimp is my mate, so I will not accept either of you talking down on our relationship. You are her team mates, so I won't keep you from being around her either. But if you flirt with her or put her in danger while on a job, nothing will keep me from taking my anger out on your asses. Understood?"

The three mages continued to stare at each other for a moment before Jet nodded. "That's reasonable, so long as you know that if you hurt her, we'll make you pay for it. And I owe you a fist to the jaw for what you did during the eclipse." Gajeel scoffed at the two mages but let them go so they could talk to his mate.

Levy just smiled at the three men before her partners crowded around her to make sure that she was okay while Gajeel carried all of her books to a table near the back corner of the room. It took a long while for Levy to assure everyone that she was alright and that Gajeel hadn't forced her into mating with him. By the time she got her drink and Cana was finished teasing her for all the marks showing on her skin, she needed a rest. She sat down at the table with her books and started reading.

A moment later, she was being lifted from her seat and placed on her mates lap. He didn't look at her as he munched on his plate of scrap iron, but she easily recognized that satisfied glint in his eyes. Levy couldn't help but smile at him before kissing his cheek and going back to reading her book. This was exactly what she had always wanted in a relationship with her dragon slayer. Not for everything to change, just to be closer to him and have their connection grow into something more.

A couple hours later, Natsu and Juvia came strolling into the guild. The rain woman and fire dragon slayer were holding hands and looking at each other in a lovey-dovey way that Natsu used to make fun of. Another cheer came from the guild, but as they rushed toward the couple, Natsu pushed Juvia behind him, took a defensive stance in front of her and growled. He was glaring specifically at a certain ice mage, who had his eyes trained on the couple.

"Will you chill out, fire breath? I'm not trying to take Juvia from you. I just want to make sure you didn't hurt her." Gray took a step forward and was immediately pulled back by Erza to avoid a fire coated fist from the snarling dragon slayer. He heaved an exasperated sigh before looking at the bluenette. "Juvia, calm your mate down already, would you?"

The woman chuckled as she lifted her hand to start playing with her mate's pink hair. Almost instantly, the tension left his body. Then she wrapped an arm around his chest and kissed his neck, which seemed to bring him completely back to normal. A toothy grin stretched across his face as he turned in her arms and pressed his nose in her hair before kissing the mating mark on her neck. Then he turned to glare at his rival again.

"Keep clear of my mate, ice prick," he growled. "I trust Juvia, but I don't trust you, not after you agreed to kiss her."

A collective whistle went around the guild, Gray had failed to mention that bit of information to anyone else. Many were amazed that the ice mage still breathing after kissing Juvia.

"I don't see her that way, ash for brains," Gray said, clearly frustrated. "She's my friend and guild mate, nothing more or less. You love her and she loves you, I see that. I'm not stupid enough to even want to get between you two. Besides, you will never do better than her and I would hate to see you become a worthless mess without her."

"That's good to hear, Gary-san," Juvia smiled almost too sweetly at him. "Besides, after Juvia's uninspiring kiss with you, she could never see herself with you again. Natsu-sama is amazing in every way and makes Juvia feel loved and needed rather than annoying. Juvia does hope that we can continue to be friends, but she does suggest that you keep a safe distance until Natsu-sama has gotten past his anger towards you."

Gray didn't miss the laughs and whispers about Gray's suggested lack of talent in the kissing department. He also didn't miss the grin that Natsu gave him as he continued to nuzzle his face into his mate's neck. He had to admit, he deserved what Juvia had said to him. He had been an ass to both of them and the comment he had made was just rude. Before he could walk away though, he felt a heavy hand grip his shoulder. He didn't even need to look to know that it was Erza who had grabbed him and she was pissed about what he had said.

Natsu and Juvia watched in amusement as Erza dragged away the ice mage as he kicked and screamed for her to let him go. The dragon slayer went back to his usual goofy self once his rival was out of sight and everyone began congratulating them on becoming mates.

When the couple made their way over to Gajeel and Levy, they paused for a moment. Both women kept a close eye on their dragon slayers, watching for any indication that they might turn violent. Male dragon slayers were very territorial and protective when it comes to their mates. And even though both males were now mated, they weren't sure what to expect from the two. Much to their relief and delight, the men simply grinned at each other before Natsu and Juvia sat down to join them. Despite how violent dragon slayers tend to be, they are surprisingly easy going around each other when both are mated.

"Looks like we both snagged our mates, gihee," Gajeel grinned.

Natsu couldn't help but grin back as he held Juvia close. "Best eclipse ever! Have you heard anything about Luce and Laxus yet? I didn't see them when we came in."

Levy gasped as she looked up from her book. "Lucy and Laxus are mates?" When both dragon slayers nodded, the woman glared at her own mate. "You knew and you didn't tell me?"

Gajeel tried acting like he wasn't affected by the look his mate was giving him as he shrugged, but it was hard to do. His little shrimp could be a scary woman when she was really angry. "I knew that he had caught his mate's scent, but I didn't know who it was."

"Juvia and Natsu-sama found out when we ran into her during the eclipse, Laxus-san was chasing her. We figured out that they must be mates." The rain woman said as she leaned against Natsu. "Juvia really hopes that Laxus-san found her and they became mates, she would hate for Lucy to become love-rival for Natsu-sama. Juvia accepts that Lucy is Natsu-sama's best friend and partner, but she will be drowned if she tried to take away Juvia's beloved." She said, her blue eyes flashing dangerously for a moment.

Gajeel and Levy both sweat-dropped while Natsu was practically purring with delight. He loved how possessive his mate was. It made him feel better when he became possessive of her too.

After the first two couples had returned, everyone at the guild was expecting Laxus and Lucy too make an appearance before the day was over. When a thunder crash sounded in front of the guild, the Thunder God Tribe were jumping to the feet to rush the doors along with Erza and Gray. When the two blondes came walking into the guild Laxus had Lucy pressed to his side with his arm wrapped around her shoulders, both of them were smiling.

"Laxus-sama, congratulations on finding your mate," Fried gushed as he reached them.

"Never would have thought that you and cosplayer would end up together, but so long as she loves you, I'm cool with it," Bickslow grinned at them.

"Loves you, loves you," his babies chanted as they circled the couple, causing Lucy to giggle.

"He didn't force you, did he, Lucy?" Erza asked as she glared at the couple, a sword appearing in her hand. "Say the word and I…"

The re-quip mage was knocked back after being punched in the face by the furious lightning dragon slayer. Lighting sparked all around his body as his magic continued to build, forcing the other mages to cautiously step away from him. At least until the celestial mage at his side smacked him hard over the back of his skull, causing his head to snap forward.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Lucy yelled at him, her own magic rising around her. "Erza was not threatening me; she would never hurt me on purpose. She was offering to teach you a lesson in case you forced me into your bed," he blonde switched her glare to Erza, "which he would never do!" She looked back to her mate, her expression still set in a glare. "Apologize to her, right now. And you better look her in the eye and mean it when you do it!"

To the surprise of everyone in the guild, Laxus appeared utterly mortified by what he had done. He walked over to the red head and looked her directly in the eye. "Titania…" He was cut off when Lucy cleared her throat behind him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Erza, I'm sorry for attacking you like that. I know that you would never intentionally harm Blondie, but please don't point your swords in a threatening manner in her direction. It's still difficult to not see everyone around here as a threat to my mate."

"He's right, you know," Gajeel called from his table. "If you had brought out that sword near Shrimp, I probably would have seen it as a threat tried to kill you too."

The woman nodded as she stood in front of Laxus. "I understand and I apologize for bringing out my sword as well as what I insinuated, I had no right to say such a thing. But please try to remember that not a single person here wants to see Lucy harmed and they will do everything within their power to keep her safe and alive." She looked over her shoulder at Gajeel and Natsu. "That goes for Levy and Juvia as well."

The tension quickly dissipated as the blondes properly greeted their friends. After a while, they also found themselves sitting at the dragon slayer table beside Gajeel and Levy with Natsu and Juvia across from them. The men all shared a cocky smirk while the women smiled knowingly at each other.

"So we're all dragon slayer mates, who would have guessed?" Lucy giggled as Laxus hugged her to his side.

"Juvia admits that she never would have expected this, but she is glad that it happened." The rain woman said as she cuddled closer to Natsu.

"We should all do some research," Levy said as she closed her book. "A lot of things are about to change for us and I'd like to have some idea of what's coming."

"Maybe the three of us should write a book together about our experiences as mates," Lucy said with excitement.

This caused Levy to perk up. "Yeah, we should! There are a lot of books that mention mates but none have been written from our point of view. And even if it's never published, it would be great research for future generations and it could be helpful if Sting and Rouge ever find their mates, that way they will know what to expect."

Of course, the next few days were a continuous celebration of the newly formed couples. Mira was on cloud nine with hearts in her eyes and dreaming about all the babies that would be coming to the guild soon.

Laxus and Lucy not only had to deal with Mira, but with the Master as well. The old man had tackled both of them to the ground in a giant hug as he cried about how proud he was of Laxus and he couldn't wait to see the beautiful great-grand babies he would receive soon. This had left Laxus with a slightly sick feeling in his stomach while Lucy blushed like crazy; it was still too early to think about having kids. When they tried to tell him as much, it seemed to go in one ear and right out the other.

~oOo~

As it turned out, there was a lot to do with becoming a dragon slayers mate. Besides gaining a possessive, over-protective mate, they also became immune to any damage from their mate's element, whether the attacks were natural or magical. This was discovered when Natsu and Juvia had gone on a mission and there was an explosion. Natsu, naturally, was fine but had nearly had a psychotic break when he had lost sight of his mate in the fire. When the flames had disappeared, he saw Juvia with her arms raised defensively in front of her face, her clothes were ruined but her body and hair weren't even singed. Natsu didn't leave her side for the rest of the mission, terrified about what could have happened to her.

They also discovered that mates were just as possessive of their dragon slayers. On one job, a dark mage started flirting with Gajeel in front of Levy and the script mage snapped. Levy attacked the woman with such anger and determination that all the iron dragon slayer could do was stand there and watch with a dumbstruck look on his face. By the time Levy was through with the other woman, she was tied up and barely alive. Levy then proceeded to drag her mate a short distance away where she vigorously claimed her mate. Although Gajeel had been a little worried about her reaction, he couldn't complain about the results; he liked it when she got bossy with him.

Another discovery was that the mating mark acted like an alert system to their dragon slayers. Lucy got separated from Laxus while she was on a job with him and the Thunder God Tribe and was ganged up on by four mages. The moment she was attacked, Laxus knew where she was and that she was in danger. Lucy remembered wondering once what would happen to someone who threatened or hurt a dragon slayer's mate, she didn't have to wonder any more after that. Even though she was the mate who got attacked, she sort of pitied the mages after seeing what Laxus did to them, he had been seriously pissed.

The last discovery wasn't realized until after Wendy returned from a mission with Carla and Erza, about three months after the eclipse. Lucy had fallen sick with chills, an upset stomach and sudden bouts of pain that caused her whole body seize up, and the usual medicine wasn't helping her. No sooner had the sky dragon slayer returned, than Laxus was dragging the girl to his and Lucy's house.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, her body went stiff and she was sniffing the air. She turned to look at Laxus, a surprised look on her face. "Don't you smell that?"

He shook his head. "All I can smell is how sick she is. Just help her!"

Realizing that the lightning was too distracted with worry for his mate, Wendy made her way upstairs to the bedroom to check on her friend. The celestial mage was curled up under multiple thick blankets with a bucket next to the bed. She was shivering and hungry, but couldn't seem to keep anything down. Wendy sat on the bed next to Lucy, waking her from her fitful sleep.

"Hi, Wendy," she said, her voice showing just how weak she was at the moment.

"Hi, Lucy. I'm going to see what's wrong with you, then I'll see what I can do to help you feel better," Wendy told her.

Laxus watched as the blue haired girl worked her magic. A moment later, she stopped and smiled. "I thought that smell was familiar." She looked at Laxus. "I know what's wrong with her, but it's not something that I can heal or cure."

"What? But she's sick and she's getting weaker every day!" He didn't mean to yell at the girl, but he was panicking. They'd only been mated for a few months and she had come to mean more to him than anything in all of Earthland, he no longer cared about being the strongest or becoming the master of Fairy Tail. So long as Lucy was by his side, he was happy. If he lost her know, he wouldn't be able to survive without her. Dragons and slayers were nothing without their mates.

"She's weak because she isn't eating..."

"She is eating, but she can't keep anything down," he argued.

"But she's not eating what she needs to be eating and what she needs to eat is your lightning," Wendy told him in a serious tone.

He was confused, why would Lucy need to eat his lightning? Sure, she couldn't be harmed by lightning anymore, but that didn't mean that she had acquired a taste for the stuff. The sky dragon slayer noticed his confusion, Lucy also looked confused by the exchange.

"It's simple really," Wendy smiled as she blushed. "Lucy needs to eat your lightning because that's what the baby is hungry for."

Lucy watched as her mate blinked a couple of times before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor. She was shocked too, not only by what Wendy had told them, but she never would have guessed that Laxus would faint upon hearing that he was going to be a daddy. Though, she shouldn't have been shocked to hear the news about being pregnant, considering how active their sex life had become, it was to be expected.

"Are you sure that I'm pregnant?" She asked.

Wendy nodded, still blushing. "I smelled it when I came in and I could sense the other life inside of you when I used my magic. I can't tell whether it's a boy or a girl yet, but it's definitely in there and it's hungry. The notes that Porlyusica gave me mentioned that mothers of dragon slayer children need to consume the element of their mate to feed the baby. So if you eat lightning every day, you should be able to keep other food down as well."

She couldn't help but touch her stomach. There was something alive inside of her that was half of her and half of Laxus. She was having a baby!

"Could you wake up my mate, Wendy? I'm really hungry," she old the girl as a smile spread across her face.

It took a couple of tries, but the young dragon slayer was able to wake Laxus before slipping out of the house to give the couple their privacy. He sat there for a while, just staring at his mate, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and wonder. "You're pregnant?" He asked quietly, she nodded. A wide smile spread across his face as he started cheering. "We're pregnant! We're having a baby! Wait, you need to eat my lightning!" He held up his hand as lightning surged around it. "Just suck it in like you're drinking it," he instructed her.

Even though the lightning couldn't hurt her anymore, she was still nervous about eating it. But she had to, their baby was hungry. Lucy did as Laxus instructed and sucked down the lightning he produced. Almost instantly, the cramping and pain in her stomach went away. She continued to consume his lightning until the chills were gone and her stomach felt full.

He watched as his mate greedily consumed his lightning and got stronger with every mouthful. When she said she was done, he threw back the sheets that were covering her and pressed his nose to her stomach to breathe in her scent. And there it was, a slight twinge to her scent that was mixed with his own, subtle but definitely there.

Unable to help himself, Laxus roared in triumph as he scooped Lucy into his arms and spun around. "Wendy's right, I can smell it now! We're going to have a baby!"

Lucy giggled as she locked her arms around her mate's neck and kissed him. "Let's go to the guild. I'm starving and Wendy said that I can eat normal food now."

"And I want to tell Gramps that he's going to be a great-grandpa soon."

She giggled. "And you want to brag to all the other guys, specifically Natsu and Gajeel, how you got me pregnant first."

Laxus didn't bother to deny it as he set her on her feet, she knew him too well to even bother trying. He dropped to his knees in front of her, hugging her waist as he pressed his cheek to her stomach. Lucy was so touched by the gesture, she felt tears form in her eyes. She ran her fingers through his spiky blonde hair and smiled.

"I hope the baby looks like you," she told him.

"I hope the baby has your eyes," he kissed her stomach. "I love you so much, Lucy."

"I love you, too," she said as she wiped away tears that leaked from her eyes.

5 Months Later

"Do we have enough food in the cell?" Mira asked as she stuck her head out of the guild kitchen.

"Plenty," Erza told her before turning to Fried. "Did you make sure to put a barrier on the floor this time?"

The green haired mage nodded. "Triple layers on the floor, ceiling and walls. I even set up traps inside and outside of the guild that will activate at sundown and only trap dragon slayers."

The guild was preparing for the coming eclipse that night. It had been eight months since the last lunar eclipse and they would not let themselves be taken by surprise again, even if it was just Wendy that they had to keep track of. Levy's research had shown that mated dragon slayers became very focused on their mates during a lunar eclipse and it was safer to just to let them be. Gajeel and Levy had already disappeared to their cabin, and Natsu and Juvia had been locked up in their cottage since the night before. No one expected to see either couple again for a few days.

Laxus would have liked to already have Lucy locked up in their house away from everyone, but she had insisted on spending time at the guild every day. The blonde's belly was noticeably large now and everyone in the guild was excited about the baby. Because of the pregnancy, she wasn't permitted to go on jobs, which left Laxus to do them without her. He refused to take extended jobs because Lucy couldn't go more than three days without eating her mate's lightning.

That day, the baby was moving around more than usual and everyone was taking the opportunity to feel the baby move. Laxus hadn't liked the idea of so many people touching his mate's belly, but she insisted that it was okay. The only people that hadn't been allowed within five meters of her Natsu and Gajeel; and though she didn't like it, Lucy understood it was because they were male dragon slayers.

Mira had been so excited when she felt the baby move inside of Lucy, her eyes had gone all dreamy before rushing off to look through some magazines to start planning Lucy's baby shower. Master Makarov and Erza's expressions had been the best though. Erza's face had gone blank for a moment before she started cooing cutely at the moving belly, embarrassing Lucy in the process. Makarov had started crying tears of joy as he rested his head and both hands to Lucy's belly. Laxus had to physically pull his grandpa from his mate after the old mage had refused to move away for almost a half an hour, and he hadn't gone willingly.

Eventually, the baby started kicking hard and it started to hurt. Laxus noticed and placed his hand on her belly. He let this lightning magic dance across her skin and started talking, and the baby calmed down right away. Lucy couldn't help but smile at him. They had noticed a couple weeks ago that his voice and the feel of his magic had a way of soothing the baby. When they had first discovered it, it had thrilled Laxus beyond belief.

When Laxus walked off to talk to Fried about something, the baby started moving like crazy again. This was definitely something she was going to have to include in the book that she, Levy, and Juvia were writing. As it turned out, Sorcerer Weekly Magazine found out about the book they were writing when they had come to do an article on the Fairy Tail dragon slayers and their mates. The editors had gotten them in touch with a publisher who was excited about the idea of publishing the book as soon as it was ready, and the Magic Council also wanted a copy due to dragon slayer magic being so rare.

But she would think on all of that later. For now, it was time to get her mate home before it got dark out. She knew how protective Laxus could be without a lunar eclipse and she didn't want to see what would happen during one while surrounded by a bunch of people while she was pregnant. She had a feeling that if someone even looked in her direction, he would destroy everything around them. Besides, I have a feeling that tonight will be interesting and I might want to take notes for the book. A moment later, she caught her mate's eye and saw the heat growing in them. Second thought, probably won't have time to take notes. I'll worry about all that in a few days.

Three Months Later

Lucy and Laxus were screaming in pain in the guild's infirmary. Lucy was screaming because she was in labor and Laxus was screaming because his mate had broken his hand from squeezing the bones until they snapped. Porlyusica and Wendy were with them to help deliver the baby while telling the lightning dragon slayer to suck it up.

Down in the guild hall, everyone was waiting anxiously for the baby to be born. Makarov was wearing a path in the floor as he paced back and forth. The Thunder God Tribe cringed every time they heard their leader scream out in pain, they hated knowing that he was in pain but there was nothing they could to help him. Natsu was holding onto Juvia's hand in a death grip, he hated knowing that his best friend was hurting. Gajeel wanted to tease the fellow dragon slayer, but didn't have the heart since he knew he would regret it later. He had gotten Levy pregnant during the last lunar eclipse and just knew that she was going to do the same thing to him.

The blonde screamed again which was followed by Laxus' scream, and then the cries of a newborn baby. Lucy collapsed back on the bed as her mate stared at their newborn baby girl. Wendy cleaned her off while Porlyusica made sure that Lucy was okay. Both mother and daughter were said to be healthy just as the baby was placed in Lucy's arms before Wendy moved to heal the lightning dragon slayer's broken hand.

Laxus hardly noticed anything outside of Lucy holding the small bundle in her arms. His mate was sweaty and her hair was plastered against her skin. But as he watched her smile down at the brown eyed baby with his nose. The baby stopped crying as soon as Lucy held her. He still couldn't move, the realization still hadn't come to him that his mate had give him a daughter; they were a family.

"Do you want to hold her?" Lucy asked him, her soft voice breaking through his stupor.

He made an awkward cradle as she placed the baby in his arms. Her bright brown eyes locked on his for a moment before they closed as her mouth formed an O as she yawned.

"We have a daughter," he said, unable to hide the wonder in his voice.

"What should we name her?" Lucy asked in a tired voice.

He looked up at his mate and smiled. "How about Luna?"

She chuckled as she reached her hand out to rest on his arm. "Luna Celeste Dreyer, I like it."

Leaning close, Laxus gave her a gentle kiss as they stared at the beautiful baby they created. A cheer erupted from the guild, only then did they realize that Porlyusica and Wendy were no longer in the room. It wouldn't be long before their guild mates would start filtering in to see the new baby, but for the moment, they were going to enjoy their time together, just the three of them.

A/N: Well, this is the final chapter for this story, it was originally going to be two, but I combined them into one. I am so grateful for all the support you gave me while I was working on this story. It took a lot longer to write and post than I normally would which really bothered me, but my school work comes first and I had to concentrate on exams before I could worry about fan fiction. Warm-Fuzzies and review please! Let me know what you thought of the ending!

A/N 2: I kicked ass on my exams! Even got the highest grade in one of my classes so I am very happy with how I did, made taking the time away from this story worth it!