Davel732 is helping me with this fic, which we're working on for a really good friend of ours. We love her death and back, and we're hoping for this to be as painful and loving for her as we realistically can.
All feedback is appreciated :)
- T.K.
Come the morrow thou shalt be my savior.
Hither come I and thy sweet call will be my end,
But the birds will hence be my strange reality.
His watch said 9 a.m.. His body said 5. It shouldn't have taken that much effort to get out of bed that morning, but he had been in such a haze - Gajeel could barely remember his lazy sauntering out of his room. He couldn't even remember how he had managed to get outside, with the concrete ground beating beneath his shoes, or when the ever-bright summer sun had woken up from its sweet nightly slumber.
Uhg . . .
All in all, Gajeel just wanted to go back to sleep.
He was exhausted, and his mind wasted. Having to be up early wasn't worth it, especially when getting a straight eight hours of sleep was as hard as it was . . . The one time he was able to sleep for more than two hours at a time, his fucking alarm went off.
Beep beep
Beep beep
Beep beep
He had nearly torn his wrist off trying to shut the damn thing up!
But he didn't. Just almost.
Disregarding his irritated thinking, the bitter man stopped in front of a building. It was big for what it was, with its three floors. Shaking his head, Gajeel placed his hand on the knob and turned the door, immediately being met with sounds he learned to despise:
The chiming of amused laughter.
The mutters of concerned parents.
The battering of skin hitting rubber mats.
The clunking of hands sifting through toy bins.
The day care. Uhg.
Fairy Tail Dare Care, cleverly represented by some feather dragon emblem with the tail sticking out. Yeah, Gajeel found it rather stupid.
Just as stupid as the looks some of the parents were giving him. He was only fifteen minutes late, and he was probably just another new face that took the easy job for the duration of summer. They didn't need to stare at him as if he had grown a third head.
He let out a grunt and rolled his eyes, gaining the dirty look of yet another parent who seemed to look him up and down. Cocking a brow, he stared the mother down. Was she really disliking him for his piercings? Did she want him to wear a long sleeve in such heat to cover his scars and metal implants, and not wear his iron bracelets?
She was horribly mistaken if she thought Gajeel would bother with any of that.
"Ah, Mr. Redfox," a warm voice spoke out from the small crowd, and forward came a short girl with her hair in a hue even stranger than his many body modifications. She had this dumb smirk on her face and her cheeks were flushed ever so slightly, and with an awkward little shuffling of her feet, the girl addressed the parents again. "He's new. This is his first summer here, but I've seen him with the kids before. He'll be great with them."
The way she spoke, it was as if she knew him better than anyone, when in reality, Gajeel couldn't even remember ever having seen her before that moment.
Regardless, she was clearly lying to all of these parents . . . Who seemed to trust her? He opened his mouth, ready to call her out on her lie just to embarrass Little Miss Shorty, but she placed her hand on his arm and pressed slightly in warning. Wow . . . Okay, then.
Gajeel bit his lip, and blinked down at the small collection of parents standing there with his eyes narrowed. He honestly didn't want, or care for, the acceptance of any of these losers, but if this is what would make them leave faster.
"Fair enough," the same mother that had glared at him spoke up. "I'm trusting you, Levy. I'll see you at six. Just call me if my little Eli causes too much trouble, okay?"
"Yes, of course. Have a good day." As the young woman dismissed them, Gajeel pushed her hand off his arm and turned to face her.
"So who the hell are you, and where's Scarlett?"
Levy stared up at him with tightly pursed lips and judgement in her eyes, yet she replied levely and sweetly, "I run the day care in the summer. Erza check in once in a while, but otherwise it's usually me and another girl who won't be able to make it this week."
Wait, this girl, who - by height and appearance - couldn't be older than fifteen, ran the day care? All summer? Essentially on her own? Was Scarlett insane?
"Mmm, I don't believe you. You're practically one of them yourself," Gajeel retorted, motioning to the mass of kids bustling about. "And if it weren't for your rather obnoxiously dyed hair, I'd say you were maybe . . . seven." Without giving her another second's glance, Gajeel pivoted and started making his way past her.
"Do your teaching thing, kiddo," he waved his hand in his air, motioning for Levy to get a move on. If it was one thing he remembered Erza telling him, it was not to let the kids play too long on their own when they first got there, especially on the first day.
Structure was needed.
Rules were to be followed.
Yada yada yada.
Amazingly, Gajeel didn't give two shits about any of that, though.
However, Levy seemed to know that already - both her responsibilities and Gajeel's indifference. Without a huff toward him, she clapped her hands three times and whistled to catch the kids' attention. All of the noises of the kids stopped at once, and in one collective squeal, they gathered in a little mob before Levy.
"You too, Mister," she said sharply, and when Gajeel glanced over his shoulder and saw she was pointing at him, he stopped in his tracks. What?
He watched her heave a sigh and roll her eyes, but Levy crouched down and leaned in close to the kids. "Do you all want to meet Mr. Redfox?" Eagerly, the youngest children beamed and nodded their heads, whereas one of the older wiseasses scoffed.
"He isn't red. And he's not a fox. But I guessssss."
Levy giggled at the child, and left Gajeel to watch as she stood back up and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, maybe he can transform," she said, her tone hushing by the end of her claim. "But if he never comes to introduce himself, we'll never know, right?"
All of the children seemed at ease talking to her, which was . . . unusual. Gajeel always expected kids to cry and whine when away from their parents and home. Even the youngest that seemed about four was donning a bright grin.
"Pst." Levy's quiet beckoning caught his attention again, and with a slight groan, Gajeel went forward. "Oh, he came, everyone!" Some of the children burst out in a fit of ridiculous laughter and others just stood there, staring at him with wide eyes. "Alright, everyone. Why don't we all sit in a circle? That way we'll all get a turn to say hi to Mr. Redfox, who may or may not turn into a fox, right, Elijah?"
"Right!" the boy nodded triumphantly before moving with the other kids to sit around on the dark blue carpet with colorful dots embedded in it to indicate where each 'seat' was.
"Here, sweetie," Levy murmured as she corrected the placement of one girl, then sat beside her, motioning with her hand the spot just next to her. "You can sit down, too."
Gajeel stared at her with annoyance in his deeply colored eyes. Really? He barely withheld a sigh of his as he made his way to settle down - on a pink spot at that. Absolutely stupid . . . Why did she pick this place of all the other locations for him?
The pay was good; it's easy, and they actually accepted you. Stop complaining, you asshole, the little voice in his head rang the reminder, and forced Gajeel to relax into his spot. "Okay . . . What the he - "
Levy placed a not to gentle hand on his leg and pressed down on his knee almost unnoticeably again, but it was enough of a jolt to make him cut his words short. "Say your name, your age, and something interesting about yourself. It's easy."
He blinked down at her small figure, and rolled his eyes. Alright, then. "I'm Gajeel Redfox, I'm twenty-five, and . . . "
What could he say?
He was broke? Used to be in a gang? He was convinced he hated children?
"I can't transform into a fox."
Did the kids actually care about that? . .
Considering all the whines of disappointment, Gajeel assumed they did.
"You're lyyyying!" the same boy from before whined in his spot, and many calls of agreement exploded from around the circle. Gajeel shook his head, looking at Levy with this look of cluelessness, which she only responded with a smile.
She clapped for order again, then nodded at the little girl on her lap. "Why don't you go now, sweetie?" The child giggled and shook her head, burying her face in her hands.
"I'm not here!"
"Oh no! Seems like we lost Wendy. What a shame . . . Hmm, think she'd come back if I go next?" Levy questioned, looking out to the crowd of kids for an answer.
And there they went with their whines of 'yes!', which urged the woman to speak.
"Alrighty, then! Well, I'm Levy McGarden, I'm twenty-four, and I've been working here for ten years now, deal with all you little brats."
There were a few giggles here and there are her exaggerated claim that mimicked dislike, but the kids seem to know better. "I've been here longest with you, haven't I?" Elijah boasted whilst puffing his chest out proudly, grinning brightly at Levy who just giggled and nodded her head.
After his outburst, Wendy poked her face out from behind her hands and turned to hug Levy and hide her face in her shoulder. "I'm Wendy Marvell! I'm five . . . Uhm . . . . I dunno, Levy." The woman pried the girl off her shoulder and whispered something in her ear, which made Wendy bounce excitedly and turn back around to face the circle. "I like dragons!"
There was a scattering of approving laughter, which Gajeel just watched mindlessly. They were so excitable, and so easy going. It just seemed so ridiculous to him.
But Wendy's sharing started the chain reaction.
There was Jake, Caleb, Sarah, Uri, Sheryl and Sun who were all into dragons, too. Then there was Elijah, Clarissa, Mathi, and Akio who loved cars and anything that could maim someone with one easy swipe.
Gajeel had started to zone out, barely catching much of the kids' explanations. Some rambled on forever, others took three hours to coax into talking, and others just sat, bouncing in place, waiting for it to be over.
Half way through the circle, though, Wendy crawled into Gajeel's lap, and by the time they were over, two of the younger kids was perched on his leg, and sitting in front of him. He hadn't really noticed, not until they finished, that he had three kids with him.
"Excuse - don't - " He shifted in place, glaring at the children. "Can you little rats get off?" Gajeel's throat was tight and this wave of panic hit him hard in the chest. "Get off!"
Only Wendy moved, but not off of him. She moved to face him, kneeling in his lap, staring up at him with those ridiculous wide brown eyes of hers. She smiled at him, but she wasn't smiling to him. Gajeel couldn't really read her face, couldn't really see beyond the splattered red that seemed to cover her expression.
The deadweight on his right leg felt heavier than it had a moment before, and the child right in front of him hadn't moved. Wasn't breathing. Was he even sitting anymore, or was he slumped over, lost to the world?
Gajeel moved enough to have Wendy fall back onto the floor, but she caught herself with a giggle which sounded like a pained squeal to him, and he had to distance himself. Get maybe a country away.
He stood up abruptly and left the square in the wall where the carpet was with the crowd of children and Levy. The loud, gushing roar of running water, or maybe sputtering blood, blasted in his ears and he couldn't focus on anything else. The guttural sounds of torture, and the hyperventilating gasping of children . . .
It drove him mad.
Gajeel couldn't leave the building, couldn't locate the door, and he couldn't hide anywhere else. He had no idea where anything was, he didn't want to ask Levy's corpse, but he couldn't go back and face them - how would he apologize?
How would he explain to any of them what had happened to their friends and their teacher? What he had done to them, how was -
"Relax." A hand rested over his shoulder again, and the warmth of it ran him into a barricade of impulsive terror.