Nest Egg - PaintedZecora
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima
"Are you sure they'll be all right?" Levy asked anxiously, hazel brown eyes wide in concern. Her arms were wrapped protectively around the egg.
"Tch, I don't see why you gotta keep worrying about those clowns," Gajeel grumbled, prying open a box containing the new futon.
Early that morning, before the sun rose, Gajeel dragged a still-sleeping Jet and Droy out of Levy's living room, hauled them all the way to Magnolia Station, and dumped them both on the first express train out of town. Sure, they'd woken up once or twice, but a swift knock upside the head sent them back into the realms of unconsciousness. Then, against Levy's protests, he burned the futon(he refused to go anywhere near a surface the lap dogs actually slept on) and bought a new one to replace it.
"I wouldn't have to worry about them so much if you'd just be nice to them." Gajeel opened his mouth to retort, and Levy quickly added. "And if you say you 'don't do nice' one more time I'll...I'll..." She trailed off as Gajeel gazed at her, a steely glint in his eyes.
"You'll do what...Shrimplet? 'Cause really...I don't do nice."
Levy's eyes flashed, and her pert lips turned up in a smirk. "Close your eyes."
He scoffed, but did as she asked. Straining his ears, he listened to her quiet footfalls as she walked into her bedroom and dug something out of her closet. After a few seconds she returned, and it sounded as if she were carrying something with straps. "Oi...Shorty, what are you up to?" He asked, a little wary.
"I'll be done in a second...can you squat and raise your arms please?" Still feeling apprehensive, he bent down and she slipped something that felt like a harness over his head.
"You can open your eyes." He looked down.
"The fuck is this?"
"It's your new baby carrier,"his Shrimp replied, looking too pleased with herself.
"Woman, I have a job today, there's no way in hell-" his voice trailed into an outraged growl when she slid the egg into the front pouch. "A-are you fucking kidding me?"
"Thanks to you, Jet and Droy kept me up half the night,"she shot over her shoulder as she walked to her room. "I'm going to bed, and I need you to watch our egg."
"Oi, you can't just decide-"
Her bedroom door shut, and a second later he heard her mattress bounce as she threw herself onto the bed. He gritted his teeth; how on Earth Land did she expect him to do a fighting job with an egg strapped to his chest? For the first time he felt mad at the blue haired mage. Cursing under his breath, he set about putting together the new futon. He still had an hour before he had to leave for his job.
Pantherlily leaned against the wall, eying him smugly.
"What?"
"You are soooo whipped."
"Shut up."
. . .
Levy curled up under her thick blanket and closed her eyes, glad for a chance to finally sleep in her bed. She spent most of the time taking care of the egg on the couch in the living room, leaving her own bed neglected except for the times when she could get the dragon slayer to watch it. She felt a little guilty, forcing the egg on him at a time like this but at the same time she felt justified in doing so. Hopefully, he would think twice about messing with her team mates' heads, since it would more than likely end up with her trying to resolve a stupid conflict. Sleep was hard to come by so she lay there in bed and listened to the birds chirp outside her window.
It was a silly thought, she knew, but she wondered if Gajeel wouldn't mind staying at her apartment, at least until the egg hatched. Though it would be convenient for him, he had his pride, and would likely feel offended if she made such an offer. He never stayed overnight, but was somehow there to help with their egg each morning. One day she would have to ask him how he managed to break into her apartment all the time, especially since she hadn't made him an extra key. Perhaps he used his magic? Heavy footsteps interrupted her thoughts, and she heard the front door shut; Gajeel wouldn't be back for most of the day, she remembered. And she'd given him their egg...
Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to sleep. Gajeel was reliable-she could trust him with her life-but when it came to their egg, she began to worry. What if he ran into trouble, and it got cracked or worse? Levy took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She should have more faith in the dragon slayer; he wouldn't let anything harm it. A blush tinged her cheeks as she remembered that day nine years ago on Tenroujima when Gajeel showed up in the nick of time to defeat two mages that were set to kill her. He'd fought them alone, made sure neither one could go after her when he sent her to warn of the invasion.
And he was much stronger now.
Her mind at ease, she hugged her pillow and smiled, looking forward his-and their egg's-safe return.
"Damn Shrimp making me do all this," Gajeel grumbled as he scouted the perimeter of a bandit camp he was supposed to break up.
For the past several years, the crime in Clover Town had gone through the roof, and it was attributed to a group of thieves known as the Dagger's Edge. If he could defeat and capture all of them, he would get a large sum in return-enough so that he could spend a few months in Magnolia with Levy without worrying about food and mortgage costs on his house. This mission was supposed to be easy as cake.
Until Levy forced the egg on him.
"She does have a right to be mad," Pantherlily pointed out. "I don't know if she told you, but apparently her team mates said some really upsetting things last night."
Gajeel stopped. "Huh?" Shorty hadn't mentioned that at all. Lily landed on a tree branch near his head.
"According to her, they spent most of the night talking, and they kept trying to convince her to end whatever relationship you two have." His lip curled. Any guilt he had about the way he treated them the day before vanished. "She was kind of hoping to avoid that talk with them, and your actions pretty much shot that plan to pieces."
"Yeah well, it's just jealousy. The Shrimp wouldn't look twice at either of 'em, and now that I'm with her-"
"With her? Are you and Levy a couple now?"
The dragon slayer flushed. "It ain't official or anything...but all I know is, she's mine. And I ain't letting her go any time soon."
The black exceed smiled. They walked in silence for several minutes.
"So...what exactly did she tell them?" Gajeel asked after a while.
Lily shrugged. "As we know, her team mates were still there when we came this morning. I'd guess that she handled it quite well."
"I see." He knew Levy liked him-she'd pretty much admitted it- but did she agree with her team mates as well? Had they been able to sway her opinion of him?" He felt numb inside. If that ever happened...
"You all right?" Pantherlily asked, sensing his partner's distress.
"Yeah. Just thinkin, is all."
"I was wondering, Gajeel..." the exceed began carefully. "Since the day I first joined, Jet and Droy seem to look unfavorably upon you. And I have heard rumors of bad blood between you and Levy's team. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."
Gajeel flinched; he knew this day would come, eventually. Back then, Pantherlily had been the only member of the guild who held no bias against him. The only one who treated him with any sort of respect, or kindness. He'd intended to tell the exceed everything about his past, but as time went on he found it harder and harder to broach the subject.
"Nah. You should know. You've got every right to." He looked the exceed in the eyes, and immediately looked down again, shamefaced.
"A few months before you joined...I destroyed the guild hall. I was in another guild called Phantom Lord, and we needed to bait Fairy Tail into fighting us." Pantherlily tipped his head to the side.
"Yes, I heard about that. But I know you paid the guild back for everything you damaged. Surely they can't still hold a grudge for that?"
Gajeel shook his head. This was the part he was dreading the most. "Destroying their guild hall wasn't enough. I hadn't posed a big enough threat. You know how crazy the old man is about his nakama. Especially the young ones. If I wanted to get his attention, I needed to hurt someone close to him..."
Pantherlily's eyes widened in understanding. "You attacked Jet and Droy then? Is that why they hate you?" Gajeel's jaw clenched.
"I hurt...her too." He couldn't look at the exceed. "I needed the old man to make a move. So I followed them one night. Completely messed up the goons, and told Shrimp to scram if she didn't want me to do the same to her."
"But she didn't." Lily said softly. "Did she?"
"She had no fucking chance." He covered his face in his hands. "None of 'em did. She put up the hardest fight. And I just crushed her. Cuffed 'em all to a damn tree to show off how much of a badass I was." Like there's anything to be proud of in beating up a little girl, he thought bitterly to himself.
Pantherlily remained silent. Though Gajeel knew he wouldn't speak until he was ready, the exceed's silence hurt. He knew Lily was disappointed in him.
"Let's get this over with," he said curtly. After admitting his greatest shame to his best friend, he was looking forward to working off his feelings with a few hours of pure combat.
. . .
The sky was dotted with stars by the time they made it back to Magnolia. During the short(and nauseating)train ride home, his mind was cluttered with thoughts of the little mage who held his heart. The shit he'd done in the past was reason enough for her to hate him. He wouldn't be surprised if she wanted out of their relationship.
"It'll be fine," Lily reassured him. "I have faith in Levy."
Gajeel shook his head;he didn't share the exceed's optimism.
When the train pulled in to Magnolia, he was reluctant to go straight to Levy's like Lily wanted.
"You can't run away from her forever," Pantherlily reminded him. "Besides, she might want to hear how the job went."
As much as he hated to admit it, his partner was right.
It didn't take long to get to the apartment. Usually he would just reform his finger to match the shape of the keyhole, but this time he decided to knock. His knuckles had barely brushed the door when it swung open.
"You're back," Levy breathed, grabbing his hands and pulling him in. "How did it go?" Her hair was loose, and she wore a lime green sweat shirt and shorts.
"Tch. I'm still alive, aren't I?" He waited until she took the egg out of the pouch before pulling it off and dumping it over the back of a chair. "I'm goin' home for a while. I'll be back in the morning, Shorty." He turned to leave, only to be stopped when she grabbed his wrist. "Eh?"
"I was kind of hoping...you'd sleep over tonight,"she said quietly.
He suppressed a sigh; they'd been over this already. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of living in someone else's house. Especially if it belonged to his Shrimp. If it was the other way around, he'd have no problem-he was a man, it was expected of him to look out for and shelter his woman.
"I'll only be gone a couple hours." He pulled his hand out of hers and walked back to the door.
What happened next took him completely by surprise.
Levy pushed past him and blocked the exit. Her hazel eyes flashed determinedly, and the sharpness in them nearly took his breath away.
"I want you to stay," she said firmly. "And not just tonight either. For as long as we're raising this egg, I want us to live under the same roof." She shoved him, and to his own shock he stumbled backwards.
"Look, you, I already said-"
"That you'd be back soon, I know. But Gajeel..." she paused, her face reddening. "I want us to be together."
Gajeel sighed. He didn't understand why she was so adamant that he stay over. It wasn't like their egg would actually notice his absence. But at the moment, he wasn't exactly in the condition to argue. "Tch. Fine Shorty. I'll crash on the futon. Happy?" Behind her Pantherlily smacked his forehead.
Her face fell for a second, before it was replaced by her usual cheery expression. "I'm glad. Go make yourself comfortable while I find some blankets."
The moment she left the room the exceed sent him a dirty look. He raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You know, there are times when I look at you that the word 'obtuse' comes to mind."
Over the next few weeks, fellow guild members would drop by just to see the egg. Natsu and Lisanna were especially interested; having raised an egg themselves, they were curious to see how the Iron Dragon Slayer and the shy Script mage were faring. Admittedly, their visit had made Levy nervous. She remembered how Gajeel had once pointed out how Lisanna had sat on Happy's egg while she and Natsu were taking care of it. She'd felt jealous of the other woman then. If there was one thing she hated, it was being compared to the other female mages in the guild. However, to Lisanna's credit, the young Takeover mage refrained from offering advice, instead stating that she was confident they'd succeed.
At Pantherlily's request, Wendy, Carla, Happy, and Shagotte visited as well. The exceed Queen touched the egg quietly for a long time, and more than once her gaze strayed wistfully to Carla. She gave the egg a traditional Exceed blessing and quickly left before everyone else, citing a conflict at home she needed to resolve. Lily escorted her.
Jet and Droy, after their unplanned train ride around Fiore, eventually came back and apologized for their behavior. Then, after learning that Levy had decided to move the dragon slayer into her living room, they caused such a commotion that Gajeel promptly dumped them back out on the street.
Even Master Makarov came. His visit was the shortest. He took one good look at the egg, paled, and walked right out, muttering something about needing a drink.
Then there were those times when it was Gajeel's turn to keep the egg warm, and he did so with more patience than she expected. He would meditate while doing so, his bare chest rising and falling with each, careful breath. Levy took this opportunity to observe him at length; he took his meditation so seriously, she wondered how far his mind wandered, or if it did at all.
"Does he do that a lot?" She asked Pantherlily one day as the black exceed was examining his wing feathers.
"About once a day, twice if he has the time," Lily replied, stretching each wing before hopping onto the windowsill. "It's really mellowed him out over the past year."
Levy nodded. Gajeel was once notorious for flying off the handle at the simplest provocation. He'd matured so much since they came back from Tenroujima, that she often wondered if he was even the same person. He still had his moments, but it was during his fight with Rogue that she saw a completely different side to the dragon slayer. Not the demonic, shadowy visage he became after consuming Shadow, but the collected, understanding side that sought common ground with his tormented admirer.
The old Gajeel would have beaten him to a pulp and walked away without a backward glance.
She said as much to Lily, and the exceed shook his head. "Meditation can only go so far...I think a lot of the credit goes to you, Levy."
"Me?" Levy could hardly believe what she was hearing. She'd been next to useless during both the S-class exams, AND the Magic Games. "But you're his best friend,"she countered. "He used to be jealous of Wendy and Natsu because their best friends were exceeds. He was always so alone before you arrived. You're like the best thing that's happened to him!"
"No, I am not!" She drew back as he sprung off the windowsill and landed lightly on the tabletop. He stuck his face close to hers, and for one, terrible instant, he looked exactly like the ferocious jungle cat he was named for.
"There are bonds deeper than friendship, Levy. Bonds that heal." Pantherlily was vehement, his dark orange eyes fixed firmly on hers. "And right now, you're the only one who bests me in that regard. Do not sell yourself short." His words struck her to the core.
It was only when she felt something splash on her hand that she realized she was crying. Startled, she touched her cheeks, the tips of her fingers coming away wet. "Why am I crying?" Levy whispered to herself. She almost jumped when the exceed held out a cloth for her to wipe her face on.
"I think you should take up meditation too." Lily said kindly as she dabbed at her tears. "I think he'd be happy to teach you."
She clutched at the cloth, blinking awkwardly as he lay a comforting paw on her shoulder and turned back to the open window. "Thank you, Lily."
The exceed only smiled in response before taking flight.
When she got back to the living room, she found the dragon slayer stretched out on the futon. The egg lay cushioned between his bare chest and the crook of his arm. His eyes were closed, his hair tousled, and he looked so peaceful she was sorely tempted to snuggle up close to him. But she knew Gajeel wasn't the cuddling type-he barely knew enough to put his arms around her when they hugged. He always tensed up, and she knew it would be some time before he got used to it. Despite his rough appearance, the dragon slayer seemed to have little to no intimate experience with women-he never initiated any sort of physical contact between them. She yearned for the day he would finally hold her in his arms, and not feel shy or awkward about it.
"Some day," she whispered to herself, placing a blanket over his large frame. She eased a pillow under his head and took the egg, holding it against her chest as she bent down and kissed his cheek.
It was only after her bedroom door shut that Gajeel sat up, his fingers brushing the spot where her lips touched. It tingled. He pulled one of the cushions against his chest and sighed, laying back down.
Some day...
Still not done with the other stories. Rope's End will hopefully be updated within a week, and I'm taking my time with Below the Line. Hope you all liked!
I was listening to "Blow Away" (the second OVA opening for Fairy Tail) and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the two singers for it are Natsu and Gray's Japanese voice actors.