Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.
Dinner went well, given that Gajeel usually cooked simple things at home as well as on the job; that wasn't anything new and unusual for her. Sandwiches of peanut butter and other nonperishable foods, with the bread toasted nicely over the fire to give them something hot to eat.
Peanut, of course, smeared her dinner all over her face and Gajeel spent a good deal of time trying to clean her off so she wouldn't get everything all sticky. She spent the time trying to lick the towel to taste more of the peanut butter, while Daddy yelled at her for licking icky things.
That aside, it was time for a good, old-fashioned sleep under the stars!
"Daddy are we really sleeping outside!?" Peanut gasped, running in circles around the fire, doing 'exercises,' as she called them.
"That's right," he grinned, unfolding a little bed mat that was just the perfect size for someone like her. His own bed mat was four times as large, made to accommodate his wider shoulders and longer build. He set up her mat just a foot or so from his own, just in case one of them tossed and turned in the middle of the night – like a certain, tiny someone usually did.
"This is very exciting!"
"It is, gihihi!" he chuckled, standing up, "Alright, this is yer bed," he pointed, then turned around to look at the Peanut, "Yer gonna sl-... HEY!"
In the time it took Gajeel to set up her bed, she'd already crawled inside his, curled into a tight ball and snuggled up with his pillow.
"That ain't yers!"
But when she opened her mouth, closed her eyes and yawned, he relented. "Ya little thing..." damn all of the cute things in the universe! He kicked off his boots and crawled into his bed mat beside her, grabbing her up and hugging her to keep her nice and warm.
It... did make him feel better to be in the same bed. This was a place that Peanut didn't know, and there really could be dangerous things out there. He didn't feel like he could possibly be close enough to her in case something happened.
"G'night, Peanut," he kissed the very top of her head, watching her curl her neck into his chest and fall right to sleep.
"Are we there yet?"
"... No." The dragon dragged his hands down his face, distorting his expression and looking absolutely horrified. No, the weren't there yet when they passed by that tree five paces ago, and they weren't there yet NOW!
"Are w-"
"NO!" he shrieked, throwing his hands up.
"When are we gonna get there!?"
"We're almost at the edge of the forest," he reached for her hand to keep her close, "Just a few more yards and we're gonna be there. Okay?"
"Mmmmm," Peanut growled low in her throat – just like he did! – and scrunched up her face in displeasure. This trip wasn't as fun as she thought it was going to be... there was too much walking and not enough coloring or playing pretend or having tea parties or watching that movie lacrima!
"Just a little bit more, Peanut," Gajeel looked down at her, hoping she wasn't totally miserable by the time they reached Mommy. Maybe this whole surprise trip was a bad idea!
A terrible, horrible, awfully bad idea.
"... Ehh..." Gajeel's ears twitched, flicking to pick up the sounds some ways away. He couldn't tell where they were coming from... it sounded like they were coming from everywhere! "The hell is, H-OOF!"
Whatever it was wasted no time in revealing its intentions. Something heavy, hot and hard slammed into Gajeel's gut, sending him reeling almost a half kilometer away. He hit the ground rolling, trying to catch his footing but the slippery ground – wet with morning dew – made his body go farther than it ought to have. He finally reached out and grabbed onto a heavy tree root, stopping the momentum.
But... but his hand! That's the hand that he had been holding Peanut's hand with... and that meant that Peanut was not here. WHERE THE HELL WAS SHE!?
"AHEEEE! EEEEEE! GGGYYYEEEEE!"
It was, quite possibly, the most horrific sound that Gajeel had ever heard in his life. Immediately his blood turned into a boil and his face set with rage, curling his fists up. He probably feared more fo-... No, he DID fear more for Peanut's life than he ever did with Levy's. He loved his wife, and he cherished every moment spent with her, but she was a grown woman and she had the tools and intelligence to take care of herself until Gajeel came to save her. She lasted more than her time's worth with Jose when she was attacked by him, and survived just long enough for the dragon to intercept. Peanut was just a baby; she didn't know how to use her magic and she had never been attacked before. The poor girl... had no idea what was going on!
"-DDDYYYYY!"
He caught the tail end of her pleas and jumped up, trying to chase after it. Damnit, the voice was getting smaller, and farther away! And h-
"No, no," someone chuckled, grabbing Gajeel hard by the back of his hair and throwing him down towards the ground. "I think you'll stay just where you are."
The dragon slayer, desperate to get back to his young, flicked his glowing red eyes up at the assailant. He didn't know who that man was... but he was going to kill him. Definitely.
Author's Note:
Peanut, noooooo!