A/N: Oh my god! I want to thank you guys for your support and response to this unbelievably daring fanfic. The first chapter was indeed a steamy start, but now let's establish some story and characters. This chapter is much tamer than the first, though for good reason. We'll have plenty angst and steam in future chapters! So please! Read, share and most definitely review! Also, check out Rboz on Tumblr, where her Werewolf AU inspired this fic. It sparked an old favorite Grimm Tale of mine and even some Norse Mythology! I hope you guys stay with me with this one. It's going to be one wild ride!

Note: BROTPs featured will be Natsu/Levy and Gajeel/Lucy respectively and of course the corresponding pairing for each character accordingly (Gajevy and Nalu).

Chapter Two: Black Like Roses

Two and half months after the Halloween Party.

"Football post-season has come to a close and with the Super Bowl around the corner, the Pro Bowl—" The radio hummed clearly out of Gajeel's computer speakers as he typed away on his keyboard. Contact clad eyes wondered the screen, speed reading and correcting legal contracts before sending it back to their corporate lawyer. It was tedious task to say the least, but it was different from the work he was used to. A break from the construction and metal work world, dived into the pencil pushing lifestyle. Rewarding in its own right, though at times it was a pain in the ass to deal with all the paper work.

And the constant jabber from his officemates.

"Yeah, babe!" A man from two cubicles over chatted loudly to his current girlfriend about his new car. He could hear the uninterested tone in her voice through his headset. "I'll take you on a ride that you'll never forget." Gajeel rolled his eyes and focused on the radio. Although the radio was loud enough for the neighboring cubicles, Gajeel couldn't push pass the terrible country music blaring into the ears of the woman in the cubicle on his left. Her high powered, noise canceling headphones simply wasn't enough for her ears.

Beep! Beep!

A text message pulled his eyes away from the screen. Fingers tapped at his cell phone and read the message from the only person who texts him.

Lunch?

He ignored it as usual.

Gajeel tried to ignore many things. When he was out on the field, the sound of construction machines, cars whizzing by and the glorious smell of steel pounding into dirt and concrete would distract Gajeel from the nonsense of gossip and disgusting overly used perfumes. This office, this building, was all compacted in limited space. His sensitive senses could hear every single stupid conversation and smell overpriced cologne. The liars and cheaters—Gajeel could tell so easily by the sudden jump in heart rate—no cologne or perfume could hide them from the truth. Luckily for them, Gajeel didn't care for it. Only how to block the nonsense.

Baseball. It was the only thing that'd keep his mind sane. Plus the centuries upon centuries of patience.

Sadly, it wasn't baseball season yet.

"The firm is doing some remodeling and the architectural floor isn't ready yet—" The snappy and irritating voice of the firm's secretary made an appearance to the overcrowded atmosphere along with her overbearing vanilla perform.

Just like Bunny Girl.

Beep! Beep!

He grumbled at his phone. Gajeel didn't even bother reading the message, but instead flipped the all too convenient switch from ringer to vibrate. Then, his momentary calm was short lived as the same smell came closer. It dawned on Gajeel that it could possibly be Lucy visiting him at his work, though the likeliness of that couldn't be true. Lucy knew better than to visit him during daylight.

"This is originally the engineering floor and since your field collaborates with the engineers, the architects—" It was her again, the annoying know it all who didn't know anything at all. "—temporarily staying with the engineers." Her voice arrived in his row of cubicles. Fresh meat hidden behind the disgusting synthetic vanilla. He cringed his nose, fitting the mix of it with honeysuckle.

Honeysuckle?

"I see." The new voice snapped her lips with freshly glossed strawberry. Honeysuckle…strawberry…all mix into an old memory of red silk and sunflower eyes. It started to creep over the vanilla, his scent focused too closely to the stranger's scent; nervous and excited about her new life. "Do you know where—?"

"Here is your cubicle!" She ignored her question and paused to point out the vacant space just behind Gajeel. "After you settle in, line and sharpen the models and vector them before the meeting tomorrow. If you have any questions about the project, you can ask the boss after your shift. He'd like a word with you before you leave." A sound left the woman throat, wanting to ask her questions though her guide was already gone before she could ask. Gajeel didn't want to believe and yet curious to know if the woman across his office was the same. It had to be. Her scent, the sound of her breathless sigh only this time it was in frustration instead of pleasure—his mind raced to that night where he came so close to having her not realizing who she really was.

He should have known better. That night Gajeel couldn't get her out of his mind. That kiss. Her taste had branded his lips—her scent stirred the beast within. Years…centuries even had given him time to control his primal emotions and learned to be a productive member of society. And one kiss had tarnished that discipline.

The dismal empty space only made Levy dread her new job. Everything she'd envisioned for her first job was only a fool's dream. A rickety cheap plastic office chair tucked under a dented metal desk offering only one drawer on the left side of it. The computer was provided by the company, though the model was out dated and even second hand used. She wondered if her new Wacom tablet she acquired as a graduation from her grandfather would work with such an older model.

"It's a start." She exhaled and started to unpack her things from her cardboard box. The long morning of orientation and filling paperwork took a toll on her body. She was ready to go home, but sadly enough six hours remained. Levy stared at her metallic ruby thermos. Empty from the thrilling nerves from this morning, scolding liquid was what she needed and right now she didn't know where the break room was. If only her guide had given her a chance to ask instead of running back to the architecture head's side.

"Both teams are veterans of the Super Bowl." A radio stream caught her ears. "Even with the Deflategate controversy from last years game, the Patriots still have a shot in retaining their title. If—IF—Brady doesn't do anything foolish like previous seasons."

Levy looked at the cubicle behind her, seeing a man in a white shirt and hair black as night bound in a low ponytail typing away at his keyboard, listening to a live stream of Sportscenter. The sight of his hair raised a sense of nostalgia to a time where she dared go beyond her comfort zone. That was months ago, and it needed to go away.

She quickly looked at the other cubicles around her; one man was talking very loud into his headset, purposely doing so to show off his disgusting love life to everyone, and a woman in large headphones was bobbing her head to music. The others were simply minding their own with multitasking of their social lives and work. Except for the man across from her.

"Um, excuse me?" Levy softly knocked against one of the walls. The man didn't turn around nor stopped his work. She knew he was listening by how he straightens his back like an animal on alert. "I'm sorry to disturb you. I'm new and I have no idea where the break room is…" She paused, chuckling embarrassingly, though the man didn't budge. Levy puffed her cheeks and continued anyway, "…can you please tell me where it is?" Levy waited a few beats before the man before her stopped typing. Instead of turning around and telling her, he raised his arms, shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and pointed a slight left, northeast from where she stood.

"Thanks," Levy pouted and walked away from his cubicle. With her thermos in hand, Levy marched down her row and followed the wall leading to the break room, passing by closed offices with glass windows as one of the walls. She dared not to look in, though it would be difficult with the ivory horizontal blinds hiding whatever higher tiers of success were hiding.

Finally, a room without blinds nor a door. The break room was standard with all the essentials for a company who needed carbs and caffeine to get anything done. And Levy was relieved to be alone. No one was in there to see the new girl completely slump forward as she waited for the slow coffee maker make a fresh pot of brew. It was an opportunity to hear a familiar voice.

"Hey, Levy!" Jet's voice cheered on the other line. "How's the first day?" She quickly looked over her shoulder for anyone. Still alone.

"G-Good," Levy forced a chuckle. "It's good. Lots of paperwork and all—" She was failing at hiding the truth. If anyone knew how she truly felt, it was Jet and Droy.

"You can stop being Ms. McGarden for a second and be the Levy I know." Jet reassured her with a laugh of his own. "Tell me what's up?"

Lots of things. Paperwork. No friends or anybody I know at the company. The way everyone was treating me…

Her heart felt heavy in her chest, aching for some sort of familiarity. She wasn't getting any of that here and it only weighed her down. Levy was already short enough as it is, she didn't need to feel like she was an insignificant worker ant.

"It's a bit overwhelming." Levy sighed, focusing on the coffee drip into the pot, and not the pressure slowly building behind her eyes. The aroma was strong and her throat itched for the searing hot liquid to sooth it and her nerves. "It's a lot different from the previous firm."

"They treated you like an intern."

"I was an intern."

"And now you are an architect!" Jet said to her. "Look, it'll take time to get used to things, but you'll make it through. You always do. You'll see! Besides, Natsu is in Crocus with you. That SOB would never pass up an opportunity like this."

"Right," Levy sighed, drawing circles on the counter with the tips of her finger. He was right. She needed to get away from her old life and make something of herself. That was her goal when she decided to early graduate. "After I settle in, you and Droy have to come and visit for a week. Promise me?"

"You know it, Levy." She could see him nod at her with a wink and thumbs up. Even over the phone he was such an animated talker. "I have to get back to it. Be yourself, Levy and everything will be fine. I promise you. Oh and don't forget! Weather and sports! Great conversation starters and your knack for player stats will get someone to talk to you!"

"I'll take your word for it." Levy sighed once again. "Give my love to Droy and the ladies."

"You got it." Jet replied. "Tell Natsu to go to hell."

"You bet." Levy hung up and prepared her coffee into her thermos. If there was some sort of familiarity she could find in her first job, it was the solace in coffee. Weak or strong, black or with sugar, no matter how she took her coffee, it always soothes her soul and often times fuels it.

"I can do this." Levy whispered to herself, twisting the lid tightly and snapping the mouth guard shut. She remembered the long haired man listening to the sports radio, hoping that maybe she'd be able to start with him. With all things familiar, there was something strange about him. His broad shoulders, long ravenous hair, though tied loosely at the base of his skull; it wasn't much to go on but if only she could see his eyes, maybe, just maybe he could be that man. He wore a mask that night and she was slightly impaired—however Levy would never ever forget the pair of blood moon eyes.

Snap out of it! Levy shook her head and turned towards the door, suddenly stopped by a surprisingly tall figure standing between the thresholds. The fluorescent lighting bouncing off the metallic studs on his face, alarmingly placed along each side of the bridge of his nose, the swell of his chin and if the tightness of her face didn't give way of how painful his brow piercings looked, three on each side replacing the hair on his furrowed brow. For some reason, Levy tried to remember if the stranger from that night had any of those piercings. She couldn't recall.

"Sorry," Levy blushed. "I—Coffee—" She stammered and finally took a deep breath, frantically trying to not stare at his studded face. "I'm going back to my cubicle." She caught glimpse of his eyes. Dark brown, almost black from the shadow of his deep set eyes. Even with the piercings he was a good looking man. That's if he ever smiled.

He ignored her as he walked with hands deep inside his khaki pants and towards the vending machine, jingling change into the slot for his treat. Levy studied him one last time before she hurried back to her cubicle, finally finding some solace in her new and awfully plain office. She'd try to socialize the rest of the week, but for now she had some work to do.

"He sounds like an idiot." He rubbed his wild strawberry pink hair, scratching his scalp vigorously with his hands. "You shoulda kicked his ass for giving you that dumb look!" Just like Jet and the others back in Magnolia, Natsu was Levy's childhood friend. Charismatic, strong and often times smart, though most times he acted like a complete moron. A raging fireball always looking for trouble and looking for an adventure; Levy's influence no doubt with the many stories she would read to them since they were in grade school. Even through high school, Levy would read to Natsu as he wasn't a fan of reading their homework, but he was a very good listener.

"Oh that'll make a good first impression." Levy laughed, handing him a book from the Green Architecture shelf. She walked, heels clicking against the tile floor and Natsu's boots following suit. "Let's start a fight by punching the most threatening looking individual in the office." She said to him with much sarcasm as her energy could muster.

"Then, I'll kick his ass!" He slipped the book under his arm and cracked his knuckles, snickering devilishly at the idea of a challenge. "I bet everyone in your office hates him."

"I don't know," walking down the mythology section, and skimming her eyes carefully at the topics listed on the shelf, "no one really interacts with anyone. Everyone keeps to themselves…"

"I'll go over there and kick his ass anyway!" Natsu said, still offering his services to his dear friend. "I don't work there…they don't know me."

"You should apply for their contracting jobs." Levy gave an offer of her own, even though Natsu didn't like receiving help from others, no matter how well he knew them. Levy was no exception.

"Whatevs! I like my job!" Natsu pouted. "Play with fire all day."

"Whatever you want." Levy shrugged her shoulders and stopped in front of Northeastern Asian Mythology shelf. "I bet they have welders in their department."

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu sighed. "You ready to go? I'm starving!" Levy smiled and skimmed her fingers over the bindings of the books, eyes read closely at their titles, hoping to find something that was remotely interesting. Also, something she hadn't read yet.

"Err," A woman's voice caught her ear. "I'm sorry, sir. I have to decline your offer. Flattered, to be sure, but I have to kindly decline." Levy looked over to her left, seeing the platinum blond speak to a man from behind the register at the cafe. Her lavender blouse clung to her curvy chest, a few buttons undone to reveal a beautifully smooth neckline and a black camisole. From the attire of the other employees and hers, she probably was one of the managers of the bookstore.

"C'mon," The man swooned, eyes not even looking at her face. "Dinner and a movie at my place? You can check out my books?" Levy's nose twitched at the amount of disappointment she had for men. Fueled by irritation and frustration from her day, Levy wanted to help the woman from her predicament.

"Hey," Natsu already beat her to it. Levy quickly looked behind her to confirm that he wasn't still behind her and returned her gaze towards the cafe register. "You ready to go?" He said to the blond woman, who stared at him confusingly. Her dark brown eyes looked him over before settling it back to the other man.

"Yeah," She cleared her throat. "Just have to give him his change." She handed him the money and receipt and pressed a few buttons on the register. "Leo! I'm going on break!" She said to the man coming out from the back. The man who asked her out looked at Natsu, judging him from head to toe and Natsu in return smirked back at him. His grin was very mischievous and Levy couldn't help but laugh at her very bold and yet smooth friend. The man walked away with his coffee in his hand, cursing against the lip of the paper cup.

"Thanks for that," The woman held her hand out and over the counter. "I'm Lucy."

"I see that," Natsu pointed at her name tag. "Natsu." He pointed his thumb against his chest and reached out to accept her handshake.

"Natsu," The woman named Lucy said for the first time. "It's nice to meet you." He leaned against the counter, creating small talk between his new friend. Natsu didn't ask her out nor ask if she had any plans later. He just talked to her (talked about coffee and food mostly). He was always like that, always accepting others so easily, and yet accepting fights willy nilly. Levy could only wish to befriend people so quickly. It wasn't that she didn't like to get to know people or keep a conversation going, she could easily do that with her friends; but to start a conversation with people she didn't know was something she had a hard time doing.

He didn't chat for long. He said his goodbyes and both he and Levy headed to a Chinese restaurant across the street. They both continued on about their day, though Natsu was a little side tracked as he kept bringing up the bookstore manager, Lucy. She'd tease him that he should have invited her to dinner, and he'd mope and regret not doing so. For a high and mighty personality, he often act like a child.

It was late and the streetlights were coming on at the twilight of night. The moon phased in a waxing gibbous, shining like a grayish pearl in the dark and starless sky. She was fortunate to have a well-stocked bookstore in her route from the train station to her apartment, though the last thing she needed was to add even more books to her overcrowded library.

Suddenly, Levy heard something she wasn't use to hearing. A sound that she feared since she was a little girl, since that fateful night in the alley. The sound that would tear the thick coppery air as blood lain strewed across the pavement. The eerie sound of absolutely nothing.

Silence.

There was no one else walking down the uneven sidewalks. No cars dared roared alive only parked alongside the road for the night. Her mid-length charcoal gray trench coat felt thin and she bunch up her collar to block the shockingly random chill that ran through her. The cold was typical for January, however, this chill came deep within her core. A fear brewing from the depth of her nightmares. She needed to get home and as she stomped down the sidewalk, her trek seemed to get longer and longer and her apartment out of reach.

And right when her own shadows started to bare its fearful teeth at her sanity, Levy heard something snarl back. It was neither vicious nor threatening to Levy. A growl heeded that she was protected. She looked around her, hoping to see the alluring pair of red eyes watching her, but she didn't see anything. Just the still shadows under the street lamps.

Her heart settled down, though she wondered if the being growling in the midst of the shadow was just a figment of her imagination.

It had to be. Dragons, fairies and werewolves do not exist. Only in Fairy Tales.

Though as she may believe to be her thoughts playing tricks, from the shadows lurked her estranged guardian angel, guarding her until she disappeared into her secure and safe apartment.