Soft Spot
Summary: Who knew that the iron dragonslayer had such a soft spot for… bluenettes? Drabbles about Gajeel's brotherhood towards Wendy, friendship with Juvia, and romance with Levy.
Section 1: Tears
Chapter 1: Bloodstained
Gajeel walked up to his house, he had just got back from a mission and went straight home from reporting back to the guild. Lily decided to stay back so Gajeel and Levy could have some privacy. Levy was often at Gajeel's house, even if he was gone. No, they did not have sex, and no, they weren't even dating… not officially anyway. They were just, together. They'd been close since Tenrou island for Mavis's sake! So, when she'd have nightmares, which wasn't uncommon for mages, she'd go to Gajeel's house. It had gotten to the point where neither of them could really sleep well without the other. They weren't dating, but like hell he was going to let anyone else have her!
He opened the door to his house and breathed deep, he could smell she was there. He went to his bedroom and put his bags down and heard… the shower? The hell? He walked up to the bathroom door and knocked.
"Oi! Lev, you in there?" Gajeel shouted over the noise of running water.
"Gajeel?" he heard her muffled voice coming from the other side of the door. And he blushed slightly, because Levy was in his shower for Mavis's sake! But then he heard something else. Sobbing. Shit. Whoever made the Shrimp cry was going to pay…
"Y'okay in there Bookworm?" Gajeel asked to the bathroom door. Yes, Gajeel felt like he was talking to the stupid door.
He could barely hear the response coming from the other side, her voice muffled by tears and running water. "Gajeel… help me."
So, Gajeel opened the door. Levy was sitting in his shower with the curtain open, fully clothed, save for her sandals which lay at the side of the tub. Gajeel relaxed a little, until he saw her sobbing. She had her knees hugged close to her chest and was rubbing violently at her hands.
Gajeel sighed, knowing exactly how she was feeling. He climbed into the shower, boots and all, and sat down behind her. He placed his legs on either side of her tiny body, so that she was leaning against his chest. He took her hands in his so that she'd just stop for a second. She sobbed harder.
"I c-can't get the blood… off." She cried and tried to scrub at her hands again. But, he was stronger. He held her hands in his firmly, just to stop her from franticly scraping her skin.
"Let me." He rumbled. "Y'll scrape y're damn hands off." And so, she sat there sniffling while he held her hand gently in his and rubbed small circles with his thumbs. Her hands were clean and pure white, there was no blood. But he gently wiped the imaginary blood away like she had done for him so many times.
Gajeel sat upright in his bed, his heart beating out of his chest and his body wracked with a cold sweat. He threw the covers off and stormed to the bathroom. He turned the faucet of the sink so hard that he was surprised he didn't break it off. He shoved his hands under the ice cold water and scrubbed. He scraped at his hands with the strength of iron, so that his knuckles started to bleed. The irony was pretty disgusting. "Shit, shit, shit!" Gajeel cursed. Why wouldn't it come off!
"Gajeel." He froze at the sound of her voice. He had forgotten she was there. He stopped but he didn't turn to look at her, because he wasn't sure he could face her like this. Weak. She walked up beside him and stuck her finger under the running water. She adjusted the temperature of the water so that it was warm and slipped her hands into the water over his. Her hands were soft and cool as she wiped away the real blood he had caused, trying to get the imaginary blood off. Again, the irony was sharp as his iron.
"You know," she looked at him and smiled bitter-sweetly. "There wasn't any blood on your hands." She turned off the water and folded his hands into a towel.
"Tch. I know." He hung his head like a scolded child and looked at his hands. He still couldn't look at her.
"Gajeel." She said again. Damn. Now he had to look at her. He shifted his head up slightly so their eyes could meet. She smiled softly at him as he held one of her hands, but dropped the other to run his fingers across her cheek.
She'd washed his hands more times than that, and he found it bitter that now he had to do the same for her.
"I-I didn't mean t-to." She cried as he continued to turn her hands over in the running water. "It was an accident…"
"Shhh… I know Lev." He quieted her. "Of course it was." Of course it was an accident. Whatever happened couldn't have been her fault. Fairy Tail mages didn't kill people, they showed mercy. She showed mercy. "Look." He lifted up her hands and turned them over for her to see. "There's no blood on 'em, see?" He let her hands go, and she held them shaking in front of her face. "They're pure, and clean." He wrapped an arm around her waist. She started crying harder, so he pulled her closer to his chest, wrapping his other arm around her. She held her head in her hands and cried.
They sat there like that for a few minutes, until the sobs wracking her body started to subside. She breathed in shuddering breaths and leaned her head back against his heart, placing her hands over his. She closed her eyes and sighed. They were both completely soaked, but at this point neither of them really cared. "He was a dark mage we were supposed to stop." She began to answer his unspoken question. "He…" She took a deep breath.
"Stop," Gajeel pressed his face into her hair. "Ya don't have to say anymore. I know."
AN: Yes, I know I'm supposed to be working on "Gajeel Doesn't Read", but I will be working on this one as well. This will be in sections of three. Each section will have a theme and one chapter for Levy, Wendy, and Juvia. Feel free to suggest themes if you have any ideas! Also, review!
PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
