The guild was empty.
Not because something terrible happened, but because it was almost two in the morning, and everyone had gone home to sleep in their own beds. Everyone except for Levy.
She liked the quiet that was only provided by all-nighters at the guild. That, and she had been having a hard time sleeping for the past week.
All of the lights were off.
She preferred reading in darkness with only a tiny book light to illuminate the words on the page. It allowed her to become one with the story at her fingertips.
She was sitting at one of the tables near the wall when she heard a groan behind her. She slowly turned to look at the couch sitting against the wall (which should have been empty), but was currently filled with a rather large black blob of iron dragon slayer.
She knew it was him as soon as she looked in his direction.
He was laying on his back, one arm and one leg hanging off the couch with the other arm covering his eyes. The couch was too small to fit him comfortably so he had his other leg bent and resting against the back of it. His metal piercings reflected the light that was emitting from her book light.
Another grunt came, this time a little louder. Levy moved closer to see why he was distressed. She slowly glided across the floor coming to sit on her feet beside his knees.
Being this close to him, she noticed that he was wincing, moving slightly as little whimpers escaped his lips. She could see beads of sweat that were forming around his crown.
He was having a bad dream.
She was about to wake him when the little whimpers turned into audible words.
"Levy!"
His arms were thrown to his sides; bent like he was trying to push the fabric of the couch away from him. He whipped his head back and forth.
His legs started to move alternately bending and straightening like he wanted to get away from whatever was haunting his mind.
"No! Levy! Watched out!"
With that he shot up. His eyes were wide, mouth slightly open, staring straight into Levy's wide eyes. For a few moments, nothing was said. His shoulders were tense and his breathing was rapid. Levy had never seen him in this state before. He was scared and vulnerable.
Gajeel regained his senses and relaxed his shoulders. She could see the invisible wall that he held onto so tightly slowly start to raise again. He fell back into his comfortable smirk, trying to avoid the conversation of what just happened.
"Whatta'ya doing here, Shrimp?" He said with a half-smile as if this was a normal occurrence.
Her face went from shocked to puffing out her cheeks, knowing that his invisible shield had fully reformed. "I'm reading. I got permission from Mira. What are you doing here?" She crossed her arms. "There isn't supposed to be anyone in the guild this late."
He rubbed the back of his neck avoiding her gaze. She knew that he was hiding something.
"I just kind of fell asleep here." He paused for a moment, still rubbing the back of his neck. He looked like he was deep in thought, then moved his arms to sit in his lap, looking at them.
"Are you OK Gajeel?" Levy went from sitting on her feet to leaning forward on both knees. She slowly put her hand out, trying to place it on Gajeel's forearm.
He winced, as if her touch was going to burn him.
She felt like she needed to press further. Something was obviously bothering him.
"Gajeel, please." He seemed to be convinced by her simple plea. He sighed looking at her.
"It was about you. I dreamt of losing you." He stated in defeat. "You were killed, right in front of me. I couldn't save you" His words trailed off as he looked to the side again.
His words startled her.
Not because he was having a dream about her, that much she knew, but he had never opened up like this before. He was becoming vulnerable again, admitting to feelings that insinuated more than a friendship. She wasn't sure what to do.
"Gajeel…I…" She lifted her hand off of his arm.
"I know. It's stupid." He crossed his arms over his chest, becoming defensive.
"No, I have dreams like that too." She said barely above a whisper. "I'm terrified of losing you."
Levy started to tear up putting her hands in her lap and sitting back on her heels.
She was retreating into comfort. This was uncharted territory.
Staring at her hands she spoke again. "Ever since I saw you die…" She trailed off. "The pain is there when I close my eyes. It's the reason I stay at the guild so late."
Gajeel was startled.
He thought he was just being a baby, but this effected Levy.
He put his hand out to gently cup her jaw. He put pressure on her, causing her to look at him while gently guiding her body so she was sitting in front of him on the couch. He lightly brushed his thumb over her cheek to wipe away the tear that started to fall.
His hands were rough and calloused on her soft skin. His soft touch betrayed his aggressive demeanor. Levy thought that she would see stone in his eyes, but she didn't. She saw passion and understanding. He almost looked like he was pouting.
They sat like this for a while, taking each other in before Levy broke their gaze. The deafening silence tearing her from her thoughts and bringing her back to reality. She looked down and away from Gajeel forcing his hand to drop.
"I'm never going to leave you again." His voice was low and ruff from the lack of speaking moments ago.
Levy giggled. Something about the statement made her smile. She looked at him again. He was serious.
His face turned into something that looked almost like anger.
Anger at the nightmares that had haunted her.
Gajeel was different. He could blow off steam or just forget, but Levy was small, defenseless against the emotions that surrounded her dark thoughts.
Ever since that day, he had made it his mission to protect her. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he knew that he loved the little blue haired girl before him.
His serious, stoic face turned quickly into a smile, something almost scary.
This surprised Levy. She didn't know what he was planning and was hesitant to find out.
"Let's make a deal Small Fry."
She furrowed her brow at the comment. She disliked the little nicknames that he so creatively thought of.
It was a week later.
Levy was laying down when she felt Gajeel slip into the bed next to her. A big arm wrapped around her waist and she was pulled into him.
It has been a week of the greatest sleep of her life.
That night when she found Gajeel at the guild they decided that they would sleep together to protect each other from the nightmares that they faced.
She felt safe. If she woke up crying from watching him die, he would be right there to assure her that he was safe.
It was the same for Gajeel.
Sometimes she would get a bruise from a wayward kick aimed at the monsters from his dreams. But he would wake up. He would apologize almost in tears. He would pull her into him, holding onto her as though if he let go, she would disappear.
The next morning was always the same. They wouldn't talk about the nightmares or the vulnerabilities that they caused. They didn't need to. They knew that all that they needed was each other.