Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is not mine and if it was the story would be revolving around my fav. Couples!

Author's note: Well this is my first Gajeel/Levy story, I only mentioned them in my other fic. But this time I try my best to write about them, since I'm convinced that those two were made for each other. XD

~o~o~o~

Chapter 1
by Misty Mina

Rain fell down upon him just like when he'd left Magnolia. Only this time, he didn't return as Gajeel Redfox. The Dragon Slayer had been on a rather difficult mission, one which was borderline S-class. A town had requested a strong mage or a team because they had a 'witch' problem. Or in other words, there was a woman who claimed to be a witch and terrorized the whole town.

When Gajeel had said woman cornered in a fight, he'd noticed quickly that all her magical power came from a strange amulet. So she was just a wannabe-mage without any magical potential.

He had used his magic to tie her up with a few metal bands. But she whispered a spell before he could take the amulet away. At that time he thought she couldn't finish it. Now, Gajeel knew better.

After he had caught the witch, he took his reward and left without looking back. It was a long trip back to Magnolia since that freaky woman had damaged the railroads between the two towns.

Spending the night in the forest was the only option he had. There were no villages or inns nearby. Not that he minded, there were worse things than that. Like the shock he had with the first rays of sunlight.

The forest sounded louder than the last time, when he was on his way to the strange town. Also the smells were different. Not stronger but different. When he tried to get up something else caught his attention. The ground was much closer than yesterday.

And he knew for certain that his legs weren't so hairy before. The mage, ...or maybe former mage took a few unsteady steps. He looked down and behind himself only to notice more freaky facts.

No clothes? Check! Black fur? Check! Tail? Check! ...Wait tail? Gajeel tried to use this foreign appendage and with a bit of willpower it started moving from side to side. Disturbed to no end, he made his way to a nearby pond. But what he saw in the water was not the rough face of a fighter. Something black with red eyes, a shaggy mane and a long, sharp snout was looking right back at him.

'Oh, great. ...I'm a mongrel!'

Through his life as a Dragon Slayer, Gajeel had been cut, stabbed, strangled, shot and almost killed. He could deal with that. But being in the body of an animal was new and he didn't know what to do.

With some difficulty he managed to hide his belongings in the forest. Since he couldn't find his clothes he assumed they were transformed into this new form as well. Hopefully they were... He didn't even want to imagine what would happen if the spell wore off while he was in the middle of town in broad daylight.

Maybe the Master could help him. Gajeel had no intention of being the laughing stock for the guild, thank you very much. He could already imagine what that idiot Slayer Natsu would say. Gajeel the Iron Pooch. The Dragon slaying Mutt! Just what he needed.

He should see things positive, maybe the guild members who still feared him wouldn't fear him anymore after that.

'Yeah, like laughing in my face would be any better...'

Shaking his black mane, he turned and continued his way back home. He could still worry about those things later. And if he was lucky enough, maybe nobody would recognize him at all.

It was late in the evening when the former mage arrived at Magnolia's gates and the rain came down harder than before.

It was no problem to enter the city, the guards never closed the gates anyway. Why should they? Nothing could happen with the strongest (strangest) guild in Fiore, could it?

Gajeel had a different problem. It was late and the guild was probably closed already. He would have to wait for morning to come. So where was he going to sleep? He couldn't return home since he had no keys with him. Pantherlily wasn't home either. The cat usually preferred to spend the night outside, even through rain, snow and hail. Gajeel was sure his partner had some kind of hideout like most other cats did.

A hideout sounded like a good idea right now. Just where should he go? The scrap yard? Perhaps the harbor? Maybe the train station? There was so much iron he could nibble on. Gajeel had discovered that even in this state, he still had a bit of his magic left. He could still eat iron and was quite strong for a mongrel. (No, he refused to use the term 'Dog'.)

Suddenly he heard something through the rain. It was faint like a whisper. But it sounded like a sob. As a human, perhaps he wouldn't have heard it.

What should he do now? Follow the sound or look for shelter? The now pouring rain almost made the decision for him if it wasn't for the whimper that followed the sob. There was someone! Someone who needed help!

'Ah, maybe some brat who got lost. ...Can't hurt to look'

Gajeel kicked himself, Fairy Tail had made him soft. No wonder enemies didn't take him seriously anymore. Following the sound, he ran through the streets. It became louder and clearer with each step. A woman and she sounded like she was in trouble. The kind of trouble a woman always feared to get in when walking home at night.

He'd expected many things, just not what he found when he rounded the corner. There really was a damsel in distress. But he knew this damsel too well.

It was Fairy Tail's bookworm.

Levy was being attacked by a masked man. The poor girl was gagged and her wrists bound over her head and secured to a rainpipe. Eyes wide in fear she tried to squirm away from her attacker. But the stranger would have none of it, he spread her legs and pulled at her skirt.

This made Gajeel's blood boil with anger. Granted, he wasn't a gentlemen and yes, he had punched female mages before. He had no problem with fighting women. But he had never sexually abused a woman, nor would he start with it. This was something reserved for cowards and scum.

Without warning he stormed forward when the masked stranger ripped her skirt off. Gajeel tackled him to the side with all his strength. The man flew a few yards away and slithered to a stop on the wet street. The former mage stalked towards his prey with flattened ears and raised hackles. He made his intention quite clear by growling and baring his sharp fangs.

'Come closer and you'll die!' It was not a threat, it was a promise.

The man got up and cursed when he saw Gajeel. He hadn't expected that someone would be out in this rain in the middle of the night. Least of all a huge stray like that big, black dog. He chose to retreat while he could and fled down the street. Gajeel had to suppress the foreign urge to hunt down his prey. It was bad enough that he'd reduced himself to growl at the attacker. He was no dog! Period!

He waited until the man was gone before he turned around to the still bound bookworm. Levy was a pitiful sight. She was dirty, gagged, her wet, blue hair was plastered to her head and her eyes were red and puffy. Her ripped skirt did nothing to cover her now visible panties. The Ex-Dragon Slayer was thankful for the fur or else the script mage would've seen him blushing. What really concerned him were her wounds. Scratches, grazes, bruises and rope burns were all over her petite body.

He tried to approach her, but the poor traumatized girl whimpered and cried even harder. Obviously he was still a frightening sight and somewhere deep inside, it hurt Gajeel to see her like that. Still frightened of him, even though she couldn't know who he really was.

Levy made an attempt to scramble away and didn't come very far, because her hands were still bound over her head. When he was close enough, Gajeel stopped and sat down like an obedient dog. It was certainly a blow to his pride, but he would take it.

'C'mon bookworm, I'm not that bad.' At least he kept telling himself that.

A part of him could understand her. She had been through hell and now there was a dog besides her which might have rabies on top of that. Levy's sobbing ceased when he didn't do anything but stare at her. She looked up into his ruby eyes, still wary but less afraid now.

Gajeel stood up under her wary gaze and bit carefully through the ropes on her wrists. Judging from her wide eyes she couldn't believe what was happening. Gajeel sat back down, fully expecting the bookworm to scramble away again. Maybe to run away or to scream in fear. But this time, it was Levy's turn to surprise him. She removed the gag with trembling hands, still holding eye contact with him. Which would have been stupid if he was a real dog. But Levy was not thinking, she could barely comprehend the situation.

She reached out towards him in a traumatized daze and carefully patted his head. Gajeel felt humiliated. He'd growled, bared his fangs and performed 'sit' like a trained poodle. Now he was being patted like a 'good boy'... Oh well, what could he do? Bite her? ...That sounded wrong on many levels. Sitting still and hoping Levy saw that he was tame was the only thing he could do.

The Ex-Iron mage could only watch how Levy's tears began to fall again when she finally understood what had almost transpired. Her emotions were all a jumbled mess along with her thoughts. She hugged him while shaking like a leaf and cried into his black fur. And he let her. The day had been strange enough, one crazy situation more or less didn't matter anymore.

Here he was, disguised as a mutt by accident and here was Fairy Tail's famous bookworm, traumatized and almost raped. Both on the street. Both in the rain. Both comforting the other, even if the other didn't realize it. Now the only thing left to do, was for both to find a way to cope with the situation and the events to come.

~o~o~o~

tbc.?

Ok, the idea had been there for a long time and I've written down the plot along with many ideas. I just never had the time to write/type it down. So what do you think? Should I continue this or do I suck at writing those two? Be honest, ...or don't? ;-)