The air was dangerous. It was filled with smoke, ash, debris, blood. This was a battle no one would forget; a battle of humans, and dragons. How could all this have happened? There was a plan to stop the dragons from creating chaos into the world, but the plan ended up bringing the dragons into the world. Buildings didn't even look like buildings anymore, they were simply heaps of rubble. People didn't even seem human anymore, as if they had seen hell. This moment opened up their eyes to what could've been, what hadn't been. If something had gone wrong, if something hadn't happened, no one would be standing where they were today. Among the fires and the holes of the Earth, fairies stood, and they stood tall. Not tall because the horror was over, but tall because they survived. The Dragon Slayers took it hard, even if they were alive, their power didn't match up to what it was supposed to be. Not one of them, was able to defeat a dragon… and that gave them the realization: they weren't strong enough.

"Damn it!" A Dragon Slayer with long black hair growled. This was the time, the time to show what he was made of. Like all time, it was gone before he knew it, and he didn't show up to anything. All that training he did, trying to make himself stronger, and what for? To have it thrown back in his face telling him it still wasn't enough. This made his blood boil, it made him want to hit something, but right now, violence needed to take a rest. There was too much bloodshed already, anymore would probably make someone go insane. The fact that he was mad, tricked him into forgetting his own injuries, the blood that trickled from his head made him come back to reality; this terrible reality. Something was missing now, something he felt was important. He looked around frantically for the one who was supposed to be protected, someone who should never have to see this hell.

"Gajeel?!" A small voice called out. Emerged from the rubble limped a small girl with blue hair. Her once pretty dress was now tattered rags, her soft blue hair now mangled into a mess. There was pain, and fear in her eyes, a feeling she would remember for the rest of her life. Her eyes soon met his, and she smiled. The girls ankle was in bad shape, but that didn't stop her from making her way to him. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah." Gajeel was unsure what to say. "I'm glad to see you're okay too. Do you know how everyone else is doing?"

"I heard many cheers and yelling, so I'm sure they must be fine." Her eyes began to tear up a little, "I'm so glad." She sniffled, getting the Dragon Slayer to be uneasy again.

"Don't go crying on me now, we're alive." He smirked.

She smiled again, "That's why I'm crying."

More debris fell from the sky, it covered most of their vision, but fluttered everywhere. Something else made it's way down, it wasn't debris, or anything old. It actually seemed sort of new. The sheet of paper was tossed and turned with the waves of the wind, before finally settling between the two's feet. Levy picked it up; this hardly seemed relatable at the moment. All she did was glance her the sheet of paper, the fire had burned off some parts. Levy looked at the wording that was readable and her eyes started tearing up again. Before she could say anything, Gajeel took the paper from her.

"The last day was a violent battle. Do you remember, Lu-chan? Then, on July 7th….. We lost to destiny. ...Died… Also died. And… And… My dear… Also… I can't even put it into words, Lu-chan. I can't take this anymore. Someone help us."

He read those lines over and over again, repeating them in his head. The names on the paper were worn out, and unable to read. Even so, he knew who the names meant, who they could've been. Wendy had explained that he, along with other members of Fairy Tail, unfortunately, did not make it in the distant future. The future that should've been, that could've been. Gajeel didn't quite understand why Levy was taking such a big reaction to the strange letter. A certain word was read out loud in Levy's voice, "Lu-chan!" Something triggered in his mind, and everything made sense now.

His eyes widened at the realization of who wrote the letter, and he couldn't believe it. How could someone as small, and fragile as her, be left alone in that terrible future? Why was it that the strongest were gone, they were supposed the strongest… And the strongest don't die. Deep down, he knew why. It was because the strongest protected the ones that couldn't protect themselves. She was supposed to stay by his side, so why was she alone? He already knew the answer to that too. He was no longer there for her to be beside. Not only the realization of the future gave him a weird feeling, but that the girl in front of him was crying.

"Stop crying." He learned that was not the appropriate way to handle the situation, because Levy didn't stop.

"I-I-I can't h-help it." Her clear tears streamed down her face, she knew it all before he did. Levy never wanted to admit that the future would have meant losing her friends, but now, she had to realize it could've happened. They all nearly dodged a bullet on this. Levy couldn't imagine a world without those who meant the most to her, it was all too painful to imagine.

Gajeel was left with no other choice; to go out of his comfort zone. Slowly, and cautiously, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in. Levy could feel the tight embrace, and it made her stop crying for a bit. She felt safe, in the arms of someone she trusted. Her arms wrapped around him as well, startling the Dragon Slayer. Gajeel felt his face getting warm from the way she was hugging him, but, strangely, he didn't mind.

Levy sniffled a bit, before looking up at him, "It's okay now, right?" She had high hopes that the terrible nightmare was over.

Gajeel smirked in response. "We're all here, and I'm not going anywhere." It was a strange promise, but he meant it. He had no means of leaving this world any time soon, especially since he had some things worth fighting for. "Dry your tears, there's nothing to be crying about."

Levy did as he said, wiping the tears that stained her face. The one thing that had pained her the most was reading the part, "My dear…" It meant that someone very important to her no longer walked the Earth, and she witnessed it. "My dear…" could be anyone, but she only had eyes for one, and right now, he was right beside her. He was here now, and he wasn't going anywhere. Her eyes stared at Gajeel, the one who was by her side. She never wanted to look away, fearing he would disappear. Her arms wrapped around him tighter, he was here, and she knows it now. She could feel his heart beat pick up pace, and soon, hers did the same. Levy realized that she was hugging the feared Dragon Slayer, but he didn't seem to mind, and neither did she.

"Thank you." She whispered, her voice a little tired.

"I didn't do anything worth a 'thanks'." His eyes met hers, and frowned. "I wasn't strong enough to take down a dragon-"

"You're alive." She interrupted. "Be proud of that." She took him by the arm and smiled, "Let's go find everyone else!"

Little did she know, he was proud of that. He was proud of the fact that he was here now, talking to her. He was proud that they had stopped what could've been, and that he has the chance to get stronger. Nothing mattered at the moment, everyone was safe, she was safe; that was all he could've asked for.

The piece of paper that was in Levy's hand soon disappeared away into nothing. That's all it was in the first place, nothing. After all, it was something that never existed.

As he was being led by the small mage, something just wouldn't leave Gajeel's head. The only thing he couldn't figure out was, who was this "My Dear…" Levy spoke of? One thing's for sure, he wasn't going to let anyone fill that position, except him.

That's it! I had this idea during the middle of the night, "What if Future Levy's note did reach Lucy?" Since Lucy wasn't around, that would've meant that the letter was floating around somewhere… so what if it made it back to its sender? It was just a thought. Thank you for reading! Please, FAVORITE, and REVIEW what you thought for more like this. Also, if you want, you can check out and read my other one shot, "The Outfit," (also a Gajeel x Levy), and for a continuing story, please consider reading, "The Right Partner" (another Gajeel x Levy). Thanks again!

-Ninja