"GAJEEL!" The scream ripped itself from my throat as I watched the scene before me in horror. Gajeel had been fighting a dark guild by himself, going off without informing any of us from the council. After discovering what he had done, I had raced after him, finally tracking him down. Just in time to see him take a sword to the shoulder.
"Levy?" He gasped, his eyes meeting mine before widening in shock and fear. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Are you stupid?!" I exclaimed, running to him. "I couldn't let you fight an entire guild by yourself! What were you thinking, going off alone?! This guild is powerful; the council has been hunting them for months!"
He ripped the sword from his shoulder and threw it to the ground as I approached. "That's exactly why I came alone!" He snapped. "I knew if I told you I had found them, you'd want to come along to help. I couldn't risk you getting hurt."
"I'm a member of the council, Gajeel," I snapped back. "It's my responsibility to fight dark guilds, too!"
"I know that! I just—" He paused to punch an attacking wizard, knocking him out with one strike. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."
My cheeks turned red of their own accord at his comment, and my heart fluttered in excitement. Now isn't the place for that, Levy! "W-Well I'm a wizard," I told him, taking a fighting stance as several members of the dark guild surrounded us, and it's my job to stop these guys, right alongside you."
"Gihi," he chuckled, putting his back to mine. "Alright, Shrimp. You win. Now, let's take these bastards down!"
"Right!" I nodded. The fight went smoothly with two of us working together. The wizards were powerful, but so were we—and we had been fighting together for long over a year, so they didn't stand a chance against us.
"We did it!" I shouted in relief, trying to catch my breath as Gajeel took down the last wizard.
"Good job, Shrimp," he grinned.
"I can't believe we—" I cut off with a gasp as I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I looked down, shocked to see the tip of a sword sticking out of my middle.
"Levy!" Gajeel shouted, running forward. His Iron Dragon's Sword sliced into something behind me, but I was too distracted to turn around. The sword was ripped from my stomach as the wizard was struck down by Gajeel, and I couldn't stop the pained cry as I fell.
"Levy!" Gajeel caught me before I could fully hit the ground, and he cradled me close to his chest as he stood up straight. "Levy, hang on. We'll get you back to headquarters, and then—"
"Gajeel," I stopped him, placing a weak hand on his face. My entire uniform was soaked, no longer the white it had once been, but a brilliant crimson. Just like Gajeel's eyes, I thought, looking into the beautiful crimson irises of the man I loved. "I love you," I said, my voice softer than usual.
"No," he said, shaking his head as he continued running, holding me as gently as he could, "don't say that. I don't want to hear that now. Tell me when you're better."
"I'm…I'm sorry," I whispered, tears filling my eyes as I rested y head against his chest. It felt so heavy, and I couldn't hold it up by myself. My entire body felt heavy now, and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to force my chest up and down as I took shallow breaths. "I…should have…stayed away."
"You're going to be alright," he told me.
"Gajeel," I pleaded, pain throbbing throughout my entire body with every step he took, "please, stop. It…It hurts."
He came to a stop, staring down at me with bright eyes—ones that, if I didn't know better, I would have thought were filled with tears. "Levy, I have to get you back to headquarters."
"We both know…I'm not going to make it," I said, cursing my voice for not being any louder.
"Levy—"
"I love you, Gajeel," I told him again, meeting his eyes.
"I love you, too, Levy," he said, sinking to the ground and pulling me into his lap, holding me firmly against his chest as he buried his face in my hair. "I love you, too. So that means you can't leave me, alright? I never even got to take you to dinner, or kiss those perfect lips of yours."
"Well then," I said, attempting to chuckle but wincing instead, "you'd better hurry up."
When he lifted his head to meet my eyes, I pressed my lips against his softly. Both of our faces were streaked with tears when I pulled away, and I wasn't sure anymore whose they were.
"I love you," I mouthed, my voice too weak to work anymore. I was so tired, and it was so difficult to stay awake, no matter how badly I wanted to. I wanted to stare into those crimson eyes forever, and I hated seeing them so filled with grief and bright with tears.
As my eyes drifted closed, and my body began to feel so extraordinarily light, I heard Gajeel tell me once more that he loved me.