AN: Hello lovely readers! So this is my first attempt at a Fairy Tail pairing other than RoWen…which was a bit of a challenge for me, considering I know how seriously people take their ships. With that in mind, I apologize if either Gajeel or Levy are out of character, this idea came to me when I was listening to the alternative/metal/R&B band Issues and I just had to write it down regardless of characterization, haha! Anyway, happy reading, hope you guys like this one.
Disclaimer: I have yet to acquire the rights to Fairy Tail, but when I do, I'll be unstoppable—oh, and all flames will still be fed to Natsu.
"Remember when, I didn't need you, well I need you now."
Disappear (Remember When)-Issues
The sound of rain against the window threw him off, as did the cold spot on the bed next to him. Shit, I hope she's not praying to the porcelain gods again. With that thought in mind he darted out from under the sheets and over to the bathroom, not seeing a sign of his blue-haired girlfriend anywhere. Son of a—
"Oh, you're awake!" Levy's cheerful voice brought him back to reality, and a quick glance at the clock revealed that it was only six in the morning. Gajeel looked back to his girlfriend, assessing her for any damage before landing back on their bed with a 'thud'. She didn't look like she was hurt and he was fucking tired from working twelve hour shifts at the new construction site he'd been assigned to five days this week, he deserved to go back to sleep.
"What the fuck are you talking about, woman? You weren't in bed and I thought you were puking your guts out again." He grumbled, feeling Levy's weight join him. Instantly he threw an arm across her swelling stomach, pulling her over to him. When they'd first found out that they were going to have a kid, it came as a complete shock. Granted, they'd been together since their senior year of high school and both had stable jobs, but the idea of being parents scared them. Actually, it scared Gajeel a hell of a lot more than it scared Levy, mostly because the older man hadn't had the best upbringing. Eventually they both warmed up to the idea and became excited for their first child—though he wished he could convince his girlfriend not to name the kid after one of her books. God only knew what would happen if his child ended up with some stupid name like Dorian or Ronald…
"I keep telling you that I'm over the morning sickness thing, when will you decide to believe me?" Levy chuckled, wrapping an arm around his broad shoulders. The fact that he was extremely blunt had always been one of her favorite things about him, especially because she'd been known to sugar coat things just to prevent people from being sad. There was definitely something to the old adage 'opposites attract'.
"I'll believe it when you stop complaining about bein' nauseous every five minutes." Gajeel glanced up at her before placing a line of kisses from her neck to her collarbone. "So, why the hell are you awake at this unholy hour on a Sunday?" He knew she didn't have work, his girlfriend was a librarian at Magnolia High School and only had to be there Monday through Friday. On weekends she liked to sleep in because she was always the first one awake during the work week—and even his sleep-deprived brain could comprehend that something was on her mind. "Spill, shorty." After several years of being with her, he was proud to say that he'd gotten better at the whole 'talking' thing. It wasn't something he liked to do often, but he was more willing to listen and be open than he had been in the past. Levy began running her hand through his hair, debating whether or not she wanted to tell him about the nightmare she'd had the previous night. Her boyfriend was completely oblivious to the internal war she was waging with herself because he was well on his way to falling back asleep.
"…do you remember what day it is?" She murmured after several beats of silence, her hand stilling in his hair. Gajeel cracked one eye open, gazing up at her. It wasn't their anniversary—he was actually incredibly good at remembering when they'd gotten together—and it wasn't her birthday, so he didn't think the date was significant. Until he saw the pained look on her face and realization hit him like a brick wall.
"Uh…yeah, I do." He paused, one of his hands shifting to lay across her stomach. It had become a reflex at this point, something he did out of habit to soothe her. "Has it really been…"
"Almost six years, yeah." Wincing at the memory, Levy leaned her forehead against his. "I'm really sorry for even mentioning it, Gajeel, but I had a terrible dream about it and couldn't go back to sleep." He wanted to say it was fine and just go back to sleep, forget about it, but sadly over the years he'd developed a conscience. A conscience that wouldn't let him rest until he talked with her about what they'd dubbed as 'the incident'.
"That long, huh?" He questioned, shifting to sit against the headboard. "Shit, it's hard to forget that night."
"Believe me, I know." There was a definite bitterness to the tone she used, that much he could hear. What threw him off was the amount of hurt and pain mixed in as well. He thought she was over it, he'd tried to help her forget what happened, but she hid her emotions better than he realized, apparently. So much for being able to read her like a book.
"Levy…" He spoke with uncharacteristic softness, seeing the tears starting to form in her eyes. Without thinking he pulled her in to his lap, feeling her nuzzle in to his neck. Even with the baby growing inside her, his girlfriend was a featherweight—but what she lacked in size, she made up for in heart and mind. It was a wonder she had ever grown to love a man like him but it was something he was thankful for every day.
"I blame the hormones for making me like this." She sputtered as the dam broke and tears flowed down her cheeks. "Because I know what happened wasn't your fault, logically and emotionally, I know that, have known it for years, but I guess a part of me blames you for what happened because the guys were your friends...you had no part in their plan, but they were your friends."
Gajeel was instantly taken back to the night in question. Growing up, he'd never trusted anything or anybody because his mom died before he was born and his dad left him by the time he was ten. After a few years of bouncing in and out of foster homes, his life experiences had hardened him—he didn't do attachments and often used people to his advantage. Unfortunately for him, this made him a target for a lot of unsavory characters in high school and he'd fallen in with the wrong crowd beginning his freshman year. Most of his friends were gang members, drug dealers, self-proclaimed 'hustlers', but the one thing all of them had in common was that they were all bullies. They loved picking on people who they deemed to be weaker than they were—which was where Levy came in to the picture. Gajeel had known Levy from his classes, but didn't talk to her because she was too much of a goody-two-shoes. However when senior year rolled around, the blue-haired girl made it a point to try and get inside his head: asking him how he was doing every day she saw him, seeking him out in the hallway just to say hello, and slowly but surely wearing down the walls he'd built up over the years. Soon she'd become everything to Gajeel, she was the only real friend he'd ever had, and when things seemed like they were taking a romantic direction, his 'friends' had other ideas.
The incident occurred on a completely normal night, Levy was walking home from the after-school club she belonged to when two of the guys he hung out with—Jose and Aria—came out of no where, taking the petite woman by surprise. Later he'd learn that she'd held her own for a while, not going down without a fight. But they had threatened her and overpowered her, beating her within an inch of her life. They said she was the reason Gajeel had gone soft and that as long as she was around he'd always be distracted from his real friends. The only silver lining was that when they left her for dead, they hadn't realized that the taller man had been walking home from his shift as a stocker in the local grocery store just as they'd run away. He'd never forget the sight of her covered in blood, bruised and broken—when he took her to the hospital, they said she was lucky he'd gotten her there quickly, the pair had caused a lot of internal bleeding and had broken one of her ribs.
When he sat beside her hospital bed, filling in for the parents she didn't have, he thought about his choices. The urge to go and murder the people who hurt her was strong at the time, but abandoning her seemed like the wrong thing to do. In the end, he stayed, if only because he had some insane need to make sure she was okay. The blue-haired girl had woken up with a start and was a little surprised to see him there, but she was happy to learn he'd carried her to the hospital. She'd felt extremely conflicted at first—she was wary because of the two boy's association with Gajeel—until she realized he was just as clueless as she was when it came to what happened. Throw in the fact that he'd spent all night beside her hospital bed and she couldn't blame him for anything. Sad as it was, that was how their relationship began, and they hadn't looked back. Over the years his girlfriend was prone to panic attacks and nightmares because of the incident, but this was the first time she hadn't been able to fall back asleep after having it.
"Was it the same dream?" He asked, running a hand down her arm. Her skin was always really soft and smelled like some kind of flower, which should have made him gag, but it didn't.
"Worse this time." She spoke against his neck. "Worse than I remember it ever being, and instead of saving me, you were…were a part of it. In my nightmare you said that you wished you'd never become friends with me, and that me dying would be for the best." Releasing a sigh against his neck, she shifted so that her brown eyes met his. "I swear the hormones are making me crazy, because you were the one who saved me. The one who helped me and ended up loving me. My brain shouldn't have made you the villain, but this time it did and it scared me. Because I know you'll never hurt me, you haven't ever hurt me, and I don't know what's going on in my head." His skin felt wet and he realized she was crying—under ordinary circumstances, he thought tears were hilarious. But Levy's tears always managed to make him feel like he'd been sucker punched. He was at a loss for words, more so than normal, and didn't want to say the wrong thing. So he settled for rubbing her back and resting his chin on the top of his head. After several minutes of silence, he felt brave enough to speak.
"Hey…the doc said this was bound to happen, and I'm not mad about what you told me, if that's what you're wonderin'." He smirked when her eyes widened, realizing that he'd basically read her mind. "I'm not gonna to tell you to forget what happened because I know it'll be impossible for you—but know this, shorty, growin' up I was alone and didn't think I needed anyone, but then you came along and wormed your way in to my life, and I…I don't think I could survive without you, which is why I had to save you that night. You were the only real friend I had and you're the only woman I'll ever love, I can tell you that." He should be blushing, this was the mushiest statement he'd ever made. It was a good thing he'd never developed that as a nervous habit. "Savor this moment, short stack, because you know I don't do this 'heart to heart' crap often." Unable to help it, Levy chuckled, pressing a kiss to her boyfriend's cheek. In his own way, he'd managed to make her feel better, he always did.
"Thanks, Gajeel." She whispered, kissing him squarely on the mouth. In the back of her mind she knew that as long as he was in her life, there was no use in worrying about dreams—there was also no use in worrying about the future, because she knew they could handle whatever came their way.