Even Iron Rusts

Wyndstorm

Chapter 2: Coin

I am going to die. Gajeel thought to himself, cursing himself for ever agreeing to this mission. It's all gonna end here and now, I never had a chance. His body violently resisted even laying down as he was, and his stomach was aching with pain. Juvia didn't know, how could she know, just how awful this mission would go. He lay there, wanting to die, just to stop the feelings in his body right now. As he fought back the urge to vomit all over himself like a hopeless drunk, he shot a glance over at Juvia. She sat there, looking at him, but she may as well have been sitting on a throne of ice. Her eyes were cold, heartless, showing no remorse for her actions, nor any pity for his present condition.

"It's just a Train, Gajeel. Juvia thought Salamander was the one with motion sickness." She said, turning her head away and looking out the window. This was certainly a side to Gajeel she had never seen before. She had always viewed him as a strong, dependable man with no real weakness. Seeing him flopping like a fish on the floor just because of a train ride was certainly eye-opening for her. Now that she thought of it, she had never actually seen Gajeel get on any kind of vehicle, besides perhaps the Phantom Lord Guildhall, in all the time she had known him. Perhaps this was why. "You take missions all the time. Don't you usually use the train?" She asked him. After a bit of angry mumbles, he finally managed to respond.

"Mmn… local jobs… I walk… Uggg…" He clutched his stomach. Juvia was unsure how she felt about seeing her knight with a weakness. One one hand, it made him feel more human, and approachable. But it also took from her delusion of him as an invincible knight… But if she thought about it a certain way, that was good. It was a way to make the friendship more equal. She looked out the window, and saw a beautiful rainstorm over a far-off mountain range. She smiled softly, seeing the rain intermingle with the far-off snow, and thought of Grey.

Juvia reluctantly grabbed Gajeel's torso and began to drag him off the train. The other passengers looked at them, confused, but no one offered any help. After they left the train, it only took him a few minutes to recover. He ruffled his collar, glared at juvia, and said but one thing.

"Tell anyone about this, and you'll be a puddle." He mumbled angrily. Juvia smiled in return.

"Of course, Juvia understands." She responded. He stood up, dusted his black pants, and followed the blue garbed woman through the town. Her azure hair ended in curls, and Gajeel once again found himself trying to wrap his brain around her body. Not in a perverse way, but in yet another moment of genuine perplexion, as Juvia's body was somehow comprised of water. Not like a normal person, her body would just turn to water if she was attacked. Gajeel was wondering how she looked so human for a creature comprised of water… but eventually he gave up on trying to understand. No one ever credited him with a keen intellect, and for good reason. They arrived at the local merchant guild, and Juvia opened the door. Upon her entering, several middle-aged men whistled at her, and leered in her direction. She froze for a moment, and Gajeel remembered how Juvia hated being admired for her body and she despised perverts staring at her. So, with little time to think, he just walked in the door after her and rested an arm around her waist protectively. She blushed , but said nothing. Her mind began to race, wondering what this signal meant… Was he confessing to her? she began to think about Grey ,and how he would take the news. It all made sense in her mind; Juvia and Gajeel, coming back into the Guild Hall, holding hands with love in their eyes. Grey, shirtless as usual with his hair blowing like there was wind, welcoming her back, but freezing in place at the sight of Gajeel. He then shouted accusations, and Gajel retorted with prideful comments, and they matched each other in combat, clashing with rapiers while Juvia herself was hoisted in the air above them, atop a tower crying down at the two men in her life. The entire guild was there, playing their musical instruments in a grand orchestra. Then Lucy, Juvia's rival in love, appeared, and professed her own feelings to Grey. He took her in his arms, and told Gajeel that he had better take Juvia. Then, she saw double dates with them, and suddenly, she and Gajeel were pushing their son on a tire swing in the backyard of a metal house by the sea.

"...Juvia? We gonna do this, or?" He asked, and Juvia found herself on a bed, with the handsome and strong Iron Dragon Slayer sitting atop him, looking handsome, and… "Juvia." He repeated, angrily, and she shook her head and stirred from her fantasies.

"...err, what? Juvia has forgotten why we are here…" She said, blinking at the unfamiliar room. The raven-haired man just snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Shame then, because you're the one who knows anything about this mission… I didn't board a train coming here to go back." He said angrily, but the tone did nothing more than to excite her and almost sucked her back into the odd fantasy all over again. Luckily, they were both saved that inconvenience when a young man approached them, a frown on his face and a scroll in his hand.

"Erm, excuse me, but did you just say you were here for a… mission?" He asked, curious. Gajeel stared at him, sizing him up for a moment.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" He asked, His eyes cold. The man met his, without looking away, earning a basic level of respect in the Dragon Slayer's mind.

"I don't suppose you two are wizards? I put out a request to several Wizarding Guilds a few weeks ago, and no one has come yet…" Gajeel snorted at that.

"You realize some missions take months, even years to be accepted? heh. But it's fine, we're wizards. We're from the Fairy Tail guild." He said, crossing his arms. The man's expression drooped, and he averted his gaze.

"Oh. I… I guess I could use any help… well, please come with me, I'll brief you." He turned away, and began to walk forward. Juvia caught Gajeel's expression in time to see the silent rage, and tried to stop him. However, she was not fast enough to stop him from catching up to the client in two strides, Picking him up by the collar, and glaring right in his eyes with the seething fury of an annoyed Dragon Slayer. The man got mad immediately. "Put me down, you Ruffian!" the man flutered, but he was silenced by Gajeel's surprisingly calm voice.

"See, you have some kind of issue with Fairy Tail. I can understand that, from a technical standpoint. The guild really fell in the 7 years I've been gone. But that does not give you any right to judge us as wizards, or greet us with such disregard, because of our Guild. Either I'm gonna do the job and get paid, or I'm gonna get that money from you with force. OR do you see an immediate way to get out of the clutches of a genuine Dragon Slayer?" The man gulped, nodded, and smiled nervously.

"Right, right. I'm sorry… let me down now?"