If headlights were invented, Gajeel would feel like a deer caught in a pair of them. Sitting in the middle of the guild he tried and successfully destroyed just the other day wasn't exactly how he thought his life would play out. Unless of course he was sitting on their ruins laughing. He certainly never thought he would be joining the damn thing. But he had a role to play and that's what he planned on doing.
Part of him hoped that Master Marakov had informed the guild previously on their agreement however his question was too quickly answered by a flaming fist flying towards his face.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" The pink haired dragon slayer demanded.
"Natsu, he is out newest member, along with Juvia. Remember, yesterdays enemies are tomorrows friends." Marakov lectured.
"I'm just here for work! I don't care about anybody here!" He side-glanced the master, receiving a slight nod. Obviously he didn't want anybody to know about his double agent bit, as small of a part that it was he did plan on taking it seriously. It was the least he could do.
A part of him was something close to offended.'Didn't they just welcome Juvia with open arms? She tried taking them down too! So what, since I actually succeeded with my message instead of finding a boyfriend I'M the bad guy' From the corner of his eye he saw a little fluff of blue trying to calm the group of angry wizards. Offended that this person thought he needed help, Gajeel left the guild hall. He had more important things to do than be scrutinized by a group of wizards clearly lesser than he.
Walking through the streets of magnolia Gajeel continually reminded himself that he was an Iron dragon slayer looking for work, nothing more nothing less. The double agent bit was only a side thing, a sort of condition of entry. Suddenly he remembered. If he was going to work here, he'd need a place to live. He pondered heading back to the guild and asking the master or someone to help him out but he didn't want to seem weak or needy. So he kept walking, he was bound to find something if he kept looking. Not looking particularly carefully where he was going he was so in thought that he didn't notice he was walking straight into a very short blue haired...child? She had her face in a book and didn't notice herself until it was too late. With a loud bang he watched as the girl bounced off his chest like rubber.
"Would you look where you're going, metal freak? You knocked poor Levy down!"
A thin man in a top hat yelled, picking up the girl in question. Levy. Gajeel marveled at her size, she was only just his elbow height, if lucky, and he frame looked like she'd break if a gust of wind hit her. All in all she wasn't some model or anything, Scrawny body, flat chest, she had a semi decent ass but overall, not anything special. He noticed the pure fear in her eyes as she looked at his march larger body. Part of him recognized her but he couldn't put his finger on it. He was trying to remember who she was when suddenly one of her followers yelled at him again.
"Do you seriously not remember us!? So first you kidnap us, torture us, put us on display for our comrades to see, destroy the guild and then join it! Now you've forgotten us too! How utterly pathetic!" this time a guy with dark short hair was the culprit.
"Ahh yeah I remember you guys now, thought you were a team? Better look out for her next time if she plans on walking around with her head in a book all day!" Gajeel jeered as he pushed past them.
He wouldn't deny the small pang of guilt he felt about doing what he did. But the past is the past and they need to move on. Little did he know that even though the actions are in the past the memories and emotions live on.
Later that evening Lucy was sitting by the bar with her dear plus snuggled under her bosom. She was rambling on to Levy about her new novel in progress, so caught up in thought that she didn't even notice Levy's mixed look in her eyes or her abnormal mood.
"Mira can I have a ruby rabbit? Thanks." Levy asked the barmaid, who only nodded and got to work.
"What's up Levy? You never drink." Lucy asked, feeling horrible for not noticing earlier.
"Oh it's nothing, I've just wanted to try this for a while. Really!" Levy insisted, raising her hands in front of her face in a defensive stance.
"Bull. I've only seen you drink when you're stressed out or really depressed. Now tell me what is wrong." The feisty mage demanded.
"It's that Gajeel guy. It just creeps me out that he's here, suddenly part of our family. You know?"
"But I thought you said it was okay? You're the one who calmed us down when we got mad."
"I know! Why the hell did I even do that? Now I have to go along with it! I know he deserves a second chance like everyone else but... he hurt so many of us and destroyed the hall!"
Levy had a mixture of sadness and fear in her eyes and Lucy understood with one glance into her hazel orbs that she was dead serious, they both took sips of her drinks before Lucy spoke.
" Levy, you know that once you come to Fairy Tail you get a clean slate. Do you see he as Miss Lucy Heartfelia, heiress to the Heartfelia fortune and all that crap? No, you see my as Lucy, the celestial mage of the Fairy Tail Guild! That's because when I came here, to escape my past. Gajeel is now Fairy Tail's Iron Dragon Slayer whether we like it or not. As uncomfortable as we are now I'm sure that with time he'll prove to be a decent guy. The Master wouldn't let him in after everything if he wasn't one hundred and ten percent sure that he wouldn't harm any of us." Levy was amazed by how wise her best friend was. But she wouldn't help feeling down still.
"I understand what happened to you was painful and hard to move past, but think of how he feels!"
Levy thought back to when he pushed her over earlier that day. He sure as hell didn't seem like he was sorry.
"Well I hope you're a good actor Levy, cause you yourself said he could join and if you had said no the Master would have turned him away!" Mirajane chirped in happily, cleaning a glass.
'Just...the way he tied me up like that...something about it is off. It wasn't torture, not fully.'