Disclaimer: No matter the stuff I put out on here, I don't own Fairy Tail.
Debt
"Gajeel."
Said dragon slayer grumbled and shifted on the couch in his apartment. He cracked an eye open to scowl at Lily.
"What."
The black Exceed stood on the cushion next to the mage's head. He wore a serious expression.
"We need to pick up food," he said. He gestured toward the pantry, which had been left open and whose shelves looked barren. "We're out of essentials, like kiwi."
Gajeel grunted and rolled onto his side.
"You know where the money is," he said. "You get it."
A weight on his head told him Lily had hopped into his long matted hair.
"No," Lily said. "You need to get out of the house."
"I ain't shopping."
"Then let's do a job."
Gajeel sat up on the couch to better glare at his cat.
"I would," he said, pointing a finger at Lily. "If you would go pick one out!"
The Exceed crossed his tiny arms, unfazed by the dragon slayer's grimace.
"I don't understand why you expect me to do it for you."
Gajeel threw up his hand.
"You're my cat! Ain't that a good enough reason?"
A beat passed where Lily held Gajeel's gaze.
"No."
The iron wizard stood up, grumbling irritation. He had snatched up any jobs that promised a fight days before after Salamander's grave had been ransacked. They didn't pose much of a challenge to him, and with Lily as his partner, they were child's play. Gajeel had good reason for not wanting to go out, but he also didn't feel like being near the guildhall. His mood worsened just thinking about it.
"Fine," he muttered, pulling on a cloak. He brought the hood low over his face, and pointed at Lily again. "You stay put. Everyone will recognize me otherwise."
The Exceed didn't make any protest, only nodding. Gajeel murmured under his breath while he pulled out their stash of jewels and slammed it back into the cupboard over his sink when he fished out what he needed. He appreciated that Lily at least understood why he didn't want to be noticed in public.
Gajeel kept his head low and wandered through the market in Magnolia. He picked out a few kiwis in the hopes they might get Lily off his case. He spent most of his time checking out seafood and various meats; actual iron material was more expensive than iron-rich food, so he had to get his fix in creative ways. The dragon slayer tuned out the rest of the people milling around him. He didn't notice when he bumped into someone and something tugged his cloak.
Gajeel picked out a massive pile of meats, rummaging in his pocket for the money to pay for it. He tensed and keyed his heightened senses back in to his surroundings when the owner of the stand placed a hand over his. He looked up and cringed.
"For you," she said, pushing the money he'd laid on the counter back toward him. "This is free."
The dragon slayer grimaced, realizing his hood had come off. He stood rooted in front of the stand, struggling to keep his temper checked.
"I don't take hand outs."
The woman raised her eyebrows, and brought a hand to her chest, acting indignant. Gajeel's jaw tightened. He recognized the pretense she put on. Regardless of where he went, he found himself on the receiving end of some sort of attention that made him uncomfortable and embittered him.
"No, please," she pressed. The hand Gajeel had on the meat flexed, his fingers digging into the fresh cuts. "I just want to give back to"
He slammed a fist down on the wood of the stand, ignoring the stares he attracted. He hissed through gritted teeth.
"Fairy Tail doesn't want your pity, lady."
He pushed the money back toward her and shoved the meat into his burlap sack with the rest of his groceries, stalking away from the stand.
"... better off without that freak."
Gajeel's keen ears caught the murmurs and whispers of people who liked gossiping when they thought he couldn't hear them. He was used to being referred to by worse names, though.
"Yeah, three dragon slayers are bad enough."
He slowed. The black-haired mage focused on the pitch of the voice he'd heard make that particular comment.
"That pinky always blew things up too much," it continued. Gajeel dropped his bag. "Really, a waste of a"
The man who'd been talking into his mobile lacrima found himself hoisted up into the air by his collar at Gajeel's hands. The dragon slayer had to pull him up several inches before their faces were level. He let out a low growl from deep in his throat.
"Go on," he said, his face contorting into a snarl. "Tell me how much of a waste 'pinky' was."
The iron dragon slayer twisted the material of the guy's collar in his fingers, tightening the fabric around his neck. The no name in his grip stuttered between labored breaths, and Gajeel's other hand curled into a fist, ready to vent his rigid fury.
"Gajeel," a light voice said. "Put him down."
The pierced mage glanced down and caught Levy glaring up at him. Her eyebrows were furrowed together, and both her hands were balled into fists. He didn't miss the pleading shimmer in her eyes that betrayed her scolding expression. Growling, Gajeel dropped his victim without ceremony to the ground, swiveling to retrieve his bag and storm back toward his apartment. He moved in long strides to outpace the solid script mage. He got to his apartment door and turned to slam it shut when Levy's hand caught it. The blue-haired wizard huffed from keeping up, but nonetheless entered without asking. She shut the door behind her. Gajeel watched her catch her breath for a minute before he flung his bag toward his pantry and turned his back to her.
"Come on in, Shrimp," he said, not caring how ruthless his tone sounded. "Don't bother closing the door. You can invite your friends over here to annoy the crap outta me some more."
"Gajeel," Levy started. "Wait, what are you talking about?"
The dragon slayer brushed off Lily's questioning looks and tossed him a kiwi. He tore his cloak from around him and threw it onto his floor.
"Don't act innocent with me," he said. He paced across the mess on his floor, kicking up discarded clothes when they caught on his feet. "People keep showing up claiming they wondered where I was."
He dropped onto his couch. Levy sighed and paced over to him.
"Did it ever occur to you that they might actually be concerned about you?"
The dragon slayer couldn't resist a dry chuckle. He laughed harder at the exasperated face Levy made.
"I'm serious, Gajeel. You know you can't keep being angry with Mast"
The iron mage crossed the distance between the couch and Levy in an instant, clamping a hand over her mouth. He glowered down at her, holding a finger up.
"Don't," he hissed. "Not in the mood."
The blue-haired wizard just looked back at him with wide eyes. After a minute of silence, he let go. He crossed his arms and craned his neck back to avoid looking at her.
"What're ya doing here, Shrimp?"
He waited for Levy to say something. When he didn't get an answer, he glanced down again.
"Well?"
She pouted a bit and slid her gaze sideways.
"I was going to say I wanted to see you," she said. "But since you obviously won't believe that, I guess I'll just go."
Gajeel rolled his eyes as Levy turned on her heel to stomp back to his door. He turned around and headed to his bedroom.
"Fine!"
He plopped down on his bed with more force than necessary, groans and squeaks from the aged frame whining at his weight. He heard the door slam and huffed, glaring a hole into the ceiling.
Only a moment later he realized Levy's scent hadn't left his apartment. He rolled onto his side. She came here, she could tell him what she wanted. He lasted minutes before he caved in to her stubbornness.
"Still there, Shorty?"
A shaky breath came from behind him. Despite his internal groan, he twisted his neck to look into the living room. The solid script mage stood in the doorway to his bedroom. The dragon slayer didn't miss the slight trembling of her small form. He rolled onto his back, propping himself up with an elbow.
"Shrimp?"
Levy still didn't say anything. She paced up to his mattress and, to his surprise, pressed her face on his chest. The iron mage couldn't move, stunned into stillness.
"Levy?"
In a whisper so quiet his keen ears almost didn't catch it, she murmured.
"Lu-chan still hasn't come back."
He stiffened. He had no idea how to handle a distraught Levy. Her concern didn't come as any surprise to him; he knew better than most how much love and empathy the script mage possessed in her tiny body. Eventually she ended up on the mattress with him, through a series of gestures he guessed might be comforting and her own volition. He didn't move other than to accommodate her, which wasn't hard. She'd shed a few tears on his clothes before she finished telling him how worried she was.
"I just know she's falling apart over Natsu," Levy said, fisting Gajeel's sleeve in her hand. "But I can't even talk to her about it." She sobbed lightly, and her breath caught before she could speak again. "I don't know how to help her, Gajeel."
The dragon slayer lay and wondered at the smaller mage in his bed. Levy quieted after a spell. Her breathing evened out and despite the hour, Gajeel could tell she was on the precipice of sleep. He didn't know if he meant for her to hear what he muttered or not.
"Why'd ya come to me about this," he asked. "What am I supposed to do about it?"
"You don't have to do anything," she said, eyelids fluttering in a struggle to stay open. "You've already helped. Don't want you to fix things, just let me talk," she said, stifling a yawn. "For all the tough guy bravado you put up, you're a great listener."
Gajeel scoffed, with less aggression or certainty than usual, and turned away from the script mage.
Somehow, Gajeel found himself being led back to the guildhall later that day, trudging behind Levy with Lily on his shoulder. The script mage had worked hard to put him in a better mood to persuade him into agreeing.
That lightened attitude darkened the instant the entrance opened. Gajeel took one breath of the air in the hall and his lips pulled back in a snarl, almost on instinct.
"This some kinda sick joke?" He asked in a harsh whisper. The dragon slayer swept around the room with his eyes.
"What"
"Did the old man fucking tell them to cut open his body here," he said, yelling. His hands curled into fists. "His scent is everywhere!"
"Gajeel."
Levy gripped his fingers like a vice and drew his eyes back to her with an icy tone. The iron mage huffed, turning to leave again. Levy jerked him back and pointed into the guild.
After fixing her with another glare, he followed the path of her finger; Wendy sat alone, save Charla, at one of the booths. But she wore familiar white fabric around her neck. Gajeel's expression shifted.
Wendy rubbed her fingers on Salamander's scarf. The iron wizard glanced down at Levy, who nodded her head for him to approach the younger slayer. His mouth dry, he walked over.
"Yo," he said, catching Wendy's attention. The young mage smiled a little at him in greeting. He scratched his head through his thick hair. "Can I, uh..." She nodded.
Gajeel sat down across from her, staring at the scaled material of the muffler. It explained why he could smell Salamander in the guildhall again, even if the scent had faded somewhat. He rested an arm on the table.
"Master fought hard with the councilman to get them to leave it behind," she whispered. Gajeel swallowed, watching and listening with all his attention. His ire toward Makarov wavered. "Levy-san helped him find some kind of technicality in that document they brought."
Gajeel smirked. He'd left once they'd broken the casket open, because he didn't trust himself to keep from bashing in frogmen skulls.
"That sounds like Shrimp."
Wendy's little hand balled up the material and she buried her nose in it.
"Everyone agreed that it should go either to Happy or Lucy-san," she said. She cast her eyes down to the table, her other hand petting Charla. "But neither of them have come to the guild since then. So we've taken turns looking after it." She brought her gaze back up to meet Gajeel's. "Today is my turn."
The iron dragon slayer just gave a curt nod. He didn't know what else to say. He started to get up, but froze when he picked out the petrifying glares coming from Mira, Lisanna and Levy. He sat right back down. Wendy came to his rescue since words still proved difficult for the stoic mage.
"Do you ever wish you'd said something to him you didn't get the chance to?"
He drummed his fingers on the table, looking through Wendy rather than at her.
"Not to his face," he said after a pause. "But yeah, I guess."
Wendy shifted in her seat, and Gajeel could tell eye contact became a struggle for her.
"Like what?"
He started opening his mouth to tell her it wasn't any of her business, but caught himself. He grumbled. He glanced over at Levy, who'd since been swarmed by the other two of her team. Gajeel reflected on how forgiving she was and what he'd been before he joined Fairy Tail. His tension waned and he leaned toward Wendy to whisper low, so only their ears could hear him.
"Thanks, mostly."
A/N: Hmm. This one isn't one of my best, but upset Gajeel is tricky. I'd appreciate more than usual (which is saying something) feedback on how I did with this chapter.
If you enjoyed reading this, leave a review! Otherwise, use the review box to... actually, I'm blanking. But type something, please!