Nightmares
Summary: Levy's nightmares are of a different sort now and although he would never want her to feel fear, he is happy his touch comforts rather than maims. GaLe Gajevy
He wakes up moments before she does. The wind outside is howling causing the shadows to dance over his tired eyes and the windows to shudder. The glass is cold, he knows, as the snow piles up slowly on the ledge outside. Their blanket is still wrapped around them, stars twinkling in the darkness.
He is warm and he gathers her deep into his embrace, bringing her as close as he can before she wakes. Her breathing is erratic and her heart drums within her chest. Her breaths come out in short puffs as shivers run down her spine. He takes her hands and holds them, curling up around her small form. The pads of his fingers run over her small knuckles before she suddenly clenches his hand.
Like a bubble bursting, she wakes with a start and immediately searches for him. And he is there.
He will be there for as long as she wants him, if he can help it, probably even if he couldn't help it, because if she wants him, he would more than go to the ends of the earth to be by her side. She knows this and her breathing slows as she turns and tangles herself in him, trying, he knows, to be one, to never be apart again, to never have to fear losing him again.
His hands move to rest on the back of her head and to rest on the small of her back as he gives her his warmth, freely and unapologetically. "Shh," he mumbles soothingly and he feels her body shake against his. Her face is wet with tears that slide against his chest and he debates the benefits of pulling away just slightly so that he can wipe them off of her cheeks, out of her eyes, and away from her happy, beautiful soul. But he doesn't because he knows that what she needs most right now is to touch him.
His name is a whisper on her lips as her small hands slide across his chest, and finding no purchase in which to grasp, they slide further up and around his shoulders until she is wrapped around him as much as he is wrapped around her.
"I'm here," he murmurs as his fingers curl into her blue locks. They are already tangled, and there are knots, but it only helps him hold her closer.
He feels her nod against his chest as her heart slows to join her breathing. He holds her, still, as she holds him and he finds that he doesn't mind the comfortable silence that stretches out before them as the seconds and minutes tick by. He absorbs all of her into him, like he does every chance that he gets.
The window shudders again and the wind howls outside. "Sorry," she finally murmurs, her voice muffled against his skin. He shifts ever so slightly so that he can move his head and curl around her so that his nose is in her hair.
She smells like parchment and ink. A scent that he has now so deeply associated with love and happiness that he can't help but smile serenely. She moves against him so that she pulls away, but he knows that she won't be gone for long. Her hair moves around his face and his hands shift to accommodate her as she lifts her head to face him. In the darkness, her brown eyes, marred by tears, glow.
They stare at each other for a moment before she wiggles and their lips touch. Her arms, stronger than they look, pull at him as her lips move to kiss his chin while he kisses her nose. A giggle erupts from her and he smirks, pleased that he has found something so little to make her so happy. So many little things have piled up in the time that he has known her, has really known her, and he keeps them with him, stored safely in the recesses of his mind, like a treasure.
"Are you okay?" he asks her as she snuggles back into him.
She nods her head and like a whisper, he hears her murmur, "I am now."
"I'm here," he reassures her.
"I know," she states.
"Good," he mumbles and strokes her hair.
She doesn't ask him not to leave her, because she knows that he never purposefully would. She doesn't say anymore about it, because she knows he understands her pain.
He will never tell her not to worry, because he can't trivialize her hurt.
And again he is confronted with how strong of a woman is within his arms. Because, although, she cannot shake mountains and will never be able to slay a dragon, she had survived losing him, for however, short of a time it was, and he knew, with every fiber of his being, that he would never be able to survive losing her.
So he holds her at night, and speaks soft words when she is scared. When the darkness clears, he will call her names again, he will tease her, and man handle her. She will blush and pout and shout. If he has gone a little too far, she will hit him with her book bag and he will reconsider her ability to slay a dragon. But until then, he will comfort her and chase away her demons. He will hold her and love her unconditionally, not holding back for the sake of anything again. Screw his dragon pride. He would trade it for her again and again and again.
"Thank you," she murmurs into the night. And with that she drops off into what he hopes is a blissful sleep filled with his sweet caresses and his annoying voice. Because yes, he wants to be her happiness, for now, for always.
Their demons, their past, lay behind them in ruins. She used to wake up to different nightmares, ones where his touch could not help her, would only elaborate the pain. He would be sitting across the room on those nights, watching her, awake from his own nightmares of hurting her, but back then he had not been able to do anything except witness the consequences of his past actions. He used to let those memories hold him back, not knowing if the love he felt, if the love she felt, could overcome such deep written scars. They had danced around each other for so long, so obviously in love, but never quite breeching that barrier.
But they had learnt there were worse things. Whereas before they could never breach the subject, now it was an acknowledged chapter of their past and with it came the acknowledgement that they had moved on, had changed, had healed, and had woven their threads so that should be together.
He breathes in her scent and sighs. Although he would prefer that she never feel fear or worry or sadness, he knows that is impossible. So he counts his blessings that at least, now, they can freely share those burdens. He holds her so close that they may as well become one. Her lips move against his chest in what he feels is a peaceful smile.
And with the dying wind, he falls back asleep, knowing that he will chase away her nightmares for as long as she needs him to.
He is warm.
And she is too.
She wakes up to the light of the sun peaking over the horizon. It is late in the winter morning but she knows there is no place that she would rather be. The wind has died down and the snow sparkles outside of their window.
She is warm.
She slowly wiggles in his grasp, their starry blanket falling from her shoulders. A wave of pleasure washes over her as she once again sees that he is still asleep. It was one of many indications of how he felt about her, that he would let down his guard so easily to her presence. She pushes herself up on one arm so that she can gaze over his sleeping face. Without even thinking, her hand comes up to brush against his cheek and he sighs into her touch, acknowledging her even in his sleep.
She giggles and lowers herself back down and snuggles against him.
The nightmares scare her and she knows that she will never be able to live without that fear again. But he is with her now and she will take him in with everything she is worth.
She lies there in contentment, just feeling his chest rise and fall with every breath. He wakes not too soon after. His garnet eyes open slowly and as they meet her brown ones, a brilliant smile pulls across his face. "Good morning Gajeel," she murmurs softly running her hand through his long ebony tresses.
"Good morning… Shrimp." He kisses her before she can protest and the nightmares melt away, like the snow in the rising sun.
Like the snow, the nightmares will return, but like the sun, he will unfailingly be there to keep the cold away.
I love how this couple has developed and how we get to see what is going on inside of Gajeel's head. I hope we get more insight into their relationship in the future. Maybe more of what happened when they were in the council and tons and tons after the war, haha. Please Review!