The first time she saw him, Levy could honestly say she'd never been so afraid in her life.
She didn't even know where he came from, not at first, only that one moment she and the other two members of team Shadow Gear were making their way back to the guild, and that the next she was bolted to a tree. Every part of her body ached, her throat sore from screaming in pain, from screaming for this man – this monster – to stop hurting her, to stop hurting her friends.
He'd simply laughed at her protests, continued to hit her harder, and it was all she could do through the pain clouding her mind to beg him to stop. To let them go. To leave Jet and Droy alone.
He didn't stop his torment, though. He simply laughed more as her vision went black around the edges, until eventually, she succumbed to the welcoming embrace of darkness.
The first time she was aware that the blows had stopped was when she awoke in the guild's infirmary, stiff and bruised but undoubtedly alive. It hurt to move, hurt to breathe, but at the sight of her two teammates in the beds next to her own, awake and breathing and alive, she couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips.
She was breathless in a way that wasn't from the pain, a weird sort of happiness bubbling in her chest at the sight of her boys – her two boys – covered in bandages but bickering as they usually would, and even though her chest ached from the action she found herself laughing softly as she watched them, content enough in the knowledge that they were okay.
With that thought in her mind, Levy found herself drifting back to sleep.
It took her two weeks to recover.
The battle – no, battle wasn't the right word, it was more of an all-out war – between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord she'd later learned, hadn't been a pleasant one for their side. They'd lost their guild hall and almost lost their entire guild at many points during the fighting. She was only thankful that they hadn't truly lost anyone, not matter how close they had come.
The one thing they had gained from the fight however; Levy wasn't entirely sure she wanted.
She learnt that her attacker's name was Gajeel.
It was such a small piece of information to have really, especially considering now he was part of their guild – Levy couldn't quite believe it when she had first seen him, sitting at one of the tables, drinking a tankard like he had been there all his life. She was all for second chances, all for trying to see the best in people, but this was the man who'd initiated the fighting, who'd done nothing but laugh as he'd beaten her, as she begged him to stop. She couldn't stop the shiver run down her spine as his eyes met hers from across the guild hall, before she quickly looked away, unable to hold his gaze. She spent the next two days in the library, hoping to avoid seeing him again – but to be able to put a name to the face, hell, to be able to see a different side to that face, a different set of emotions than the ones he'd shown before, it put him – Gajeel – in a different light.
Made him human.
Lucy asks her if she's afraid of him, and although she can't quite stop her hands from shaking, and she can't stop herself from flinching at his name, she also can't stop herself from thinking of that she shouldn't be. The look on his face now as she glances over to him is one of contentment, and something else she can't quite place. Levy balls her hands into fists and wills them to stop shaking.
She says no, and her resolve hardens.
It wasn't to say that she had forgiven him for what he'd done – she didn't think she ever would, not completely, for hurting her team like he had – but the next time he looked over to her, she held his gaze, and for one small, fleeting moment, Levy thought she saw something soften in his eyes.
She doesn't know why her heart skips a beat at the sight of it, but she finds herself not minding at all.
She's not surprised that Jet and Droy want some form of revenge, and although she doesn't want it herself she knows that nothing she says will get them to stop once they had the idea in their heads.
It doesn't stop her from trying, though.
She's not surprised that they'd take their revenge in the form of openly attacking Gajeel, putting all their strength behind their blows, trying to make him feel the way they did, all those months ago.
What she is surprised by, is the fact that Gajeel doesn't seem to be fighting back.
She's not really sure why he isn't fighting back either. While it pains her to admit it, she has no doubt that the older man could take them on – all three of them on – and not break a sweat.
Jet and Droy attack him until the pair can barely stand, both of them gasping for air, and she wants to go over to Gajeel, wants to make sure he's okay despite the look he shoots her way, despite the way it makes her hesitate for the barest of seconds. Jet and Droy might not be as strong as the older man, but anyone would be hurting after that many continuous attacks.
Then Laxus shows up, and Levy's heart almost stops.
She's not really shocked that Laxus would attack her for trying to stand up against him. It's unfortunately the way he is now, harsh and uncaring, but she is shocked when Gajeel takes the blow.
She still doesn't know why.
It's not until later, much later, when everyone else had left, one by one, all of them leaving her alone in the park – she considered following Gajeel to make sure he was alright, but she found herself pausing after taking the first step. They weren't friends after all, not really – that she figures it out.
Levy doesn't smile, but it's a near thing.
She heads back to the guild hall hoping – praying – that that's where he's decided to go. Even if he hasn't, Levy's prepared to wait, all night if she has to.
She won't let Gajeel's apology go unheard.
Freed's runes are, in one word, spectacular. Spectacular and amazing and so damn complex. Levy's pretty sure she wants to hit the guy when she next sees him because Gajeel's looking at her like she's some beacon of hope. Like she's something special. Like she's the strongest wizard they have and she's the only one who can save them.
With the way he keeps encouraging her, she almost believes it, too.
She refocuses on the books in front of her. Scribbles down another possible key to the puzzle she's trying to solve.
She has no doubt that together, the two dragon slayers will overcome Laxus. Natsu is fiercely protective of those he calls family, and Gajeel…
Well.
She's witnessed Gajeel's strength for herself.
More than that though, she's seen what he's like. Yes, he may act tough and uncaring when there's people around to witness it, but in the moments when he thinks no one's looking at him as he leans against the guild hall's wall, Levy can see the way the look in his eyes softens by the smallest degree. The way the shadow of a smile will creep onto his face.
It's enough to let her know that he cares about this guild.
It doesn't happen very often, but it's happened enough for her to take note of it, and she can feel herself smile at the memory of his expression as she flips the page, feels it grow wider as she finds the last piece to the puzzle – the last piece of information she needs to crack Freed's runes.
She tells him that she's figured it out, and his sudden outburst of excitement has her freezing up for a second before she's swept up in his excitement as well, smiling as she uses the key to break down to runes and set the two dragon slayers free. Natsu runs ahead which doesn't surprise her, but before Gajeel follows him he looks back she swears her heart stops.
It's the first time she's seen him smile – a real, genuine, full-on smile – and once he's left and her heart seems to start beating again, Levy finds herself chasing after him even though she doesn't really know how she could help him.
All she knows is that smile put a warmth in her chest that she didn't know she was missing, and she'd chase its source to the ends of Earthland if she had to.
Levy isn't exactly surprised when Gajeel announced that he was going to be her partner for the S-Class trails, she is, however, more than slightly annoyed at the implication that she couldn't complete the trail without a powerhouse like him by her side.
Her brain might be her greatest asset, but that didn't mean her magic was weak.
Still, it's not exactly like she can deny him when he's declaring it loudly to the guild, not exactly like she wants to either. Logically, she knows he'd be fantastic for when she'd have to fight the others – because, there isn't a doubt in her mind that she would lose against someone like Natsu or Erza – but that isn't the reason she doesn't protest that he's staying by her side until the trails are over.
She just…wanted him there.
It isn't as though she'd prefer to have him as a teammate in the long term, no matter what Jet and Droy may think, it was simply that she wanted him by her side, she wanted to stay by his. She couldn't explain it, really. It wasn't an urge, nor was it an incessant need of any kind, it was only a feeling, one that she wasn't quite ready to put a name to just yet.
He slaps a hand on her back and she doesn't flinch away. Tells her that they're going to train hard over the next week. She doesn't protest, despite how much part of her wants to.
She wants to prove to him that she's not the same timid girl she was when they first met, and if rigorous training with Gajeel was how to achieve that, then she'd train for a year if she had to.
The path they've chosen is obviously empty. Gajeel can't smell anything but the dwindling touch of salt from ocean breeze they're leaving behind them. He complains about it, but Levy can't bring herself to mind.
Still, he grips her hand.
Still, she grips his.
Neither of them let go.
The end comes, and Acnologia descends from the skies, she cannot bring herself to be afraid, even as the knowledge that she won't survive this encounter fills her mind. She cannot find it in herself to be scared, not when Gajeel's hand feels so right in her own.
This may be the end of everything she knows, and she may have realized it too late, but dying next to the man she's grown to love sounds like a good way to go.
Acnologia attacks.
Everything goes black.