Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

- Cloud Gazing -

Damn Fairies. Glaring, every single one of them. Not that he could blame them. They were trying to hide their angry eyes because their Master was trotting jovially in front of him, but he could feel the heavy, lingering looks, hear the muttered curses of disbelief, smell the fear and disgust in the air. At one point, he might have reveled in it, but as of right now, he felt a bit sick to his stomach. Ducking his head and hunching his shoulders slightly, scowl deepening, Gajeel Redfox grumpily followed Master Makarov to the bar that the white-haired girl with the transformation magic tended. The place was a hell of a lot bigger than what he remembered; he knew it had to be to make the guild name even more known.

"Afternoon, Mira! Got a new recruit for you to induct." Makarov grinned, hopping up onto the bar to sit and swing his legs. Gajeel didn't meet Mirajane's questioning and cautious gaze, instead finding the bar quite interesting. Whoever had chosen the wood had chosen nicely – it had yet to get any scars from the frequent patrons and over zealous idiots.

"Master…"

"Pretty sure this one wouldn't like a pink mark like Lucy, Mira." Makarov deftly shook off Mirajane's hesitant question, pulling his pipe from his jacket pocket. Gajeel grudgingly pulled his gaze from the bar top to Mirajane's face, if only to settle his own curiosity of how she was taking Makarov's orders. At this moment, he wasn't sure if he liked the unfiltered hate he was receiving from every face in the room. He couldn't read her blue eyes, but he knew from the firm set of her lips that she'd follow whatever Makarov said. It was a strange thought, that. Weren't these stupid fairies just "puppets," as Makarov had tried to insult him?

"We can do any color you'd like, only one size though. I assume you want it on your right shoulder?" Mirajane's voice was soft, but it seemed almost threatening. Gajeel hadn't seen her magic with his own eyes, but he could feel the power simmering beneath her cool exterior. She was threatening him, he realized, making him want to laugh.

"Not big on colors. And do I look like the damn Salamander?" Gajeel ground out, putting up a tough front where he didn't even deserve to. He needed to save face, though. The low hum of voices, all talking about him and cursing his name, and the strong woman in front of him all made him defensive when he had no right to be. He should just take all of the bad feelings they were directing at him, but it wasn't in Gajeel's nature to take a beating without fighting back.

"All you Dragon Slayers are the same. Loud, obnoxious, and overly confident in your abilities. In that way, you do resemble Natsu." Makarov injected, easing the tension out of Gajeel's shoulders. He couldn't pick a fight. Not with these people. Not now. Not ever again.

"Tch. Just put it on my left shoulder, then." Gajeel more or less gave up, trying to ignore the hostility bearing down on him from every angle. The voices became a low buzzing as the guild all watched as Mirajane ducked beneath the counter and grabbed the magic stamp that would brand him as a stupid Fairy.

"How about black for the color? Black Steel Gajeel." Mirajane's voice was fake again. It made Gajeel want to bear his teeth and snarl at her, but he didn't, just turned to his side to give Mirajane access to his left shoulder over the bar. The hall became ominously silent as he was stamped, then angrily hummed again when she was done. Gajeel was, and at the same time, wasn't surprised Makarov didn't silence them. As long as no one picked a physical fight with him, Gajeel would bear it. If only for Makarov.

"Now, off to that job, right Gajeel?" Makarov gave him a sidelong look. Gajeel grunted in affirmation, taking the order for what it was: salvation. He'd suffocate soon from all the pressure and not being able to retaliate. Shoving his hands in his pockets with a soft thanks to Mirajane, he exited the guildhall, chin sticking out in defiance. If he was going to be a stupid Fairy now, he might as well act like one of them. Slowly but surely he avoided the stares of people (because all of Magnolia knew what he did and was uncertain of why he was back), making his way back to the scrap metal heap he called home. He easily scaled the little mountain in the middle that gave Makarov trouble, sitting down heavily on the large pipe at the very top.

"Darkness, huh… wonder why ya trust me so much, old man." Gajeel muttered to himself, rubbing at his right shoulder where the Phantom Lord guild mark used to be. His kneejerk reaction was to not cover up what he once was, but he couldn't very well say that in front of all the stupid Fairies. The guild mark was no longer there, but maybe…

Gajeel growled, kicking at a half eaten piece of metal at his feet, watching it clatter all the way down to the floor. There was no "maybe." Phantom Lord was gone for good, and that gloom-mongering woman decided to pity him, of all people. It wasn't like he had any ties to anyone in Phantom Lord except for Juvia, and even then that bond was incredibly weak. He had no one but himself and this pit of loneliness made of scrap metal.

What was a guild, anyways? Wasn't it just an easy way to make money? To survive? Why'd the stupid Fairies have to make it so touchy-feely, anyways?

"God damn stupid fucking half-wit feeling Fairies!" The snarl easily ripped from his lips, and his leg just as easily swung up then back to slam his heel into the pipe he was sitting on. It didn't hurt. Nothing ever did. Sighing, anger abating as quickly as it came, Gajeel leaned back until he felt himself sliding off the back of the pipe, his torso landing heavily onto the rubble and scraps piled high as a pseudo-throne of iron and metals. His legs and feet were in the air, supported by the pipe, and he was left facing the open blue sky above him. It had been a long time since he'd actually looked up.

A/N: Yo Fairy Tail fandom. :) I like doing character studies in the beginning, so this is gonna be connected one-shots/drabbles exploring Gajeel, Levy, and Pantherlily. Maybe. Depends on how uni life goes lol. I'll keep this marked as incomplete for now, though, because I do plan on writing more. I apologize if this seems OOC. I read FT in a hurry like four, five weeks ago (because it's SO GOOD), and I have to keep rechecking all my facts with the girl who convinced me to give FT a try. xD

~ Tobi