Gajeel kicked back, relaxed, let himself drift back into sleep as the tiny footsteps pattered down the hall. What cute sounding feet . . . if you went for that sort of thing. Cute, that is. Personally, he preferred his girls rough and wild-but girls meant trouble, and he was aiming to stay out of trouble for the time being. At least until he settled into Fairy Tail. He intended to lie low for a while, only go to the guild to collect a mission when he had to, not insult anybody important, that kind of thing. It wasn't that he was scared-he would bet anything that he could become the freaking guildmaster within the week if he set his mind to it-it was that he didn't want to scare anyone. He wanted to give doing the right thing a shot, even if just for a little while. Why not? It wasn't like he had anything else to do-and playing for the good guys had its perks. The money was less, but there were no bothersome visits from police, or do-gooders banging down his door for a fight. So far he was actually being left in peace, and that was just how he liked it.
Besides, now he had time to do things like think over his neighbor. The scream that had woken him from sleep the first time had been shrill and high, and for a second he had thought it was a child's cry. That had brought him charging to the door of its origination, before it occurred to him that, even if it was a child, his appearance would bring no comfort. After talking, he'd realized that the occupant of the apartment next to him was a girl-a tiny girl, by the sound and smell of her. Even her name-Levy-was somehow delicate. It was enough to make him sick.
He couldn't help feeling as though he'd heard the name before, too, but where? Eh, who cared. Gajeel lazily whistled through his teeth as he lay back on his bed. This wasn't a half-bad place to crash-there was a kitchen, and a window that looked out over the main square of Magnolia. The landlady had a side business of washing laundry, so he didn't have to rub his hands raw trying to figure out what constituted as "clean" for his mostly gray and black wardrobe-he really wasn't cut out for that domestic crap, anyway-and there was a bar down the street if he ever got desperate enough-which he probably would, if the guy on the other side of Levy didn't quit his "college party boy" attitude.
There was only one thing to mar his perfect happiness-Gajeel didn't enjoy being happy. Happy meant bored, and a bored Dragon Slayer was a dangerous one. He didn't want to just sit back and cool his heels-that was the downfall of even the best of them-and he couldn't stop his feelings of restlessness when he just lazed about.
"Damn!" he growled, sitting back up in bed. It was no use. He wasn't going back to sleep now. Having nothing better to do, he finally decided to head over to the guild earlier than he'd intended and see if there was a mission hard enough for him to sink his teeth in.
The request board. Levy looked at it, but nothing jumped out at her. In fact, there was nothing in the world she wanted to do less right then than take a request. Not only were her teammates temporarily out of commission, thanks to a misplaced shot on their last job, but she was encompassed by a feeling of total listlessness. She would almost swear that when she looked over her head, she saw a rain cloud.
"Nothing looks good?" Mirajane asked. Levy jumped. She should have been used to the older girl's stealth by then, but she wasn't. She doubted anyone could ever get used to Mirajane. "I don't know." she shrugged. "Off day, I guess."
"Well, have a drink," Mira smiled. "Socialize a bit, and maybe something will come to you." There was nothing in Mirajane's world, it seemed, that couldn't be solved by either friends or a beer. Levy smiled back, but only half-heartedly took the advice. She didn't feel like socializing, either.
She couldn't say what the feeling was, only that it nagged at her until her feelings themselves were frayed and about to snap. When Lucy slid into the seat next to her with an expression of exhaustion that mirrored Levy's own frustrations, she was torn between bursting into tears or yelling until her throat was raw. Lucy wordlessly slammed her head down on the bar, which temporarily drew Levy's mind away from herself.
"Whoa, what's the matter?" It wasn't unlike Lucy to be dramatic-but she usually drew the line at personal harm. "I want to kill him." Lucy mumbled into the table. "Ask me how many hours of sleep I got last night."
"How many-" Levy began hesitantly.
"ONE!" Lucy shouted, catching the attention of a few of the other guild members. When they realized it was only Lucy, they went back to their drinks. "One stinking hour of stinking sleep before that-that-that-thing and his infernal cat were in and out of my apartment like it's some kind of hotel! God only knows what the neighbors think!"
"Probably that you run a brothel." Mirajane said cheerfully as she plunked fresh drinks in front of both Levy and Lucy. Her smile was in direct opposition to her words. Lucy glared at the other mage before slamming her forehead back against the wood of the bar. "I'm going to kill him!" she repeated.
"She likes Natsu, right?" Mirajane asked Levy in a state whisper, causing the other girl to chuckle. "Definitely likes him." Levy confirmed. "Might even say love."
"Shut UP!" Lucy bellowed, only to deflate seconds later. After a few more minutes of the same type of dramatics, she gathered the energy to sit up straight and down her beer, mumbling to herself as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, ". . . like . . . spiky-haired . . . no way in hell . . ."
Levy rested her chin in her hands, raised her eyebrows, and was about to comment when Lucy slammed her mug down and gasped. "Oh my-I can't believe it!" she shrieked.
This time, the rest of the guild shared in Lucy's hysteria, because at that second, a dark shadow had thrown itself into the doorway. All over the room, people were staring, whispering in hushed tones, slowly lowering their mugs to their tables. From somewhere to the left, someone dropped their plate, and the shatter was loud and sharp in the sudden silence. "What is he doing, showing up here?" Lucy cried out, shock evident in her voice, and then everyone was talking, looking away, doing everything in their power to ignore the giant of a man who walked calmly into the guild hall as if the whispers had nothing to do with him. Levy swallowed hard when he stepped into the light, and then mimicked her guildmates in turning back to her drink. Only Lucy kept on staring; apparently Natsu's famous lack of diplomacy had rubbed off on her. "Seriously, how can he be allowed in the guild? After what he did?!" Lucy said, in a more hushed tone.
Without looking up, Levy replied, "I'm aware of that."
She felt Lucy's eyes on her; felt her friend's mortification. Levy's hands were shaking, but she balled them into fists and forced them to be still. Even just knowing that Gajeel was in the same room as her was enough to send her into a panic attack-but she just kept looking at those tiny amber bubbles in her beer and telling herself that she was far, far away.
"I'm-sorry." Lucy choked out. "Shoot, Levy, I didn't mean-I know that you-"
Ignoring her, Levy wheeled around, steeled herself, and slid off of her stool. Once on the ground, her legs debated whether or not they would support her. She grabbed unceremoniously at the stool before the shaking abruptly stopped and she was striding, purposefully, almost fearlessly, towards the request board, where the immense man was peering at notices as if he couldn't make heads or tails of them.
"Ex-excuse me." she stammered, feeling as though the eyes of the whole guild were on them-which was the case. All of Fairy Tail knew what Gajeel had done to Levy and her team. All wanted to know what she wanted from him. And what he was doing here.
He turned to look down at her, and Levy suddenly had the impression that she was looking up at a mountain. It was just the physical difference of height-his face held an expression that told her she was far beneath him. He looked like a scary, iron-studded, red-eyed god-and not the benevolent kind. The guild mark of Fairy Tail was evident on his bicep, and it spoke volumes. Levy didn't have time to feel betrayed by the Master; she was too busy trying to get a hold on herself.
She ground her fingernails into her palms, which just made her tenser. She forced herself to uncurl her fingers, relax, and look the man in the eye. He was just a man, after all. He couldn't hurt her, not in front of all these witnesses. Hopefully.
"Um-excuse me." she repeated, and the barest flicker of impatience crossed his impassive face. She had said that already. She was wasting his time.
Well, so what?! Levy visibly shuddered as anger overtook her. She was not three feet from the man who had beaten her to a pulp and nailed her to a tree, humiliated her and her team, and then turned around and joined her guild? She glared up at Gajeel with brown eyes that were no longer warm or timid. "How-how could you?" she finally choked out, voice cracking.
"Could I what?" he grunted.
"Don't tell me you forgot!" Levy yelled, and now even the most drunk wizard in the darkest corner of the guild was paying attention. "You can tell me you're not sorry and you can tell me you don't care, but don't you dare say you forgot! Don't say you forgot what you did to my team!"
A tiny, tiny hint of recognition showed up in the mix of annoyance and confusion in his eyes. His muscles were taught, as if he was ready for an attack, but his gaze as it traveled over her was languid and his response was slow in coming. "So I attacked ya. What's it to ya?" He sounded-impossibly-familiar, but Levy was too upset to consider this.
"I want to know why." she said, fighting the way her face scrunched up as she tried to prevent herself from crying right there, in front of the whole guild. "Why did you do it? How could you be so cruel?" Her voice rose, shrilly, but more steady now. She wasn't just speaking for herself any longer. "How could someone as cruel as you, someone who did everything that you did, join our guild?! Join Fairy Tail?!" And her screams were joined by other screams, by taunts, outraged voices, a few thrown mugs. People telling him that he wasn't wanted. To get out-that a monster like him had no place in their guild. Mirajane, usually the peacemaker, stood by and watched, but whether she approved or disapproved of the guild's judgment was impossible to tell. Her face was expressionless, with only her shadowed eyes reflecting the troubled spirit of the guild.