Yeah... Sorry for the lack of updates... School is murdering me...
Thanks for being patient though! I really appreciate it!
So, this story is a little out of sequence... I think this event would must likely happen before Cat...
Either way, with the involvement of Fried and Mirajane, I hope you enjoy!
Ah, Mirajane and Fried... If only the rune mage wasn't so gay for Laxus...
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP
"I don't mean to be rude, but you're distracting me when you tap on the counter like that. Can you please stop?"
Gajeel Redfox lifted his down casted, unusually lined face to see the white-haired barmaid who was eyeing him intently. With such a mad look in his eyes and quite the distorted grimace, if he had glared at anyone but Mirajane, the poor victim would probably have wet himself…
"Then ignore it, fucking bitch," he hissed with venom.
Several bar patrons gasped, but the take-over mage responded without a missing a beat.
"Remember, Gajeel-kun, I am the one who gets your drinks and meals around here. So, I am in control of what goes into that dirty mouth of yours," this statement was delivered with a fake smile.
Most seated at the bar moved away from the aura radiating off the eldest Strauss, whimpering in the fear of witnessing a battle between a demon and dragon – whose outcome no one wanted to know. Gajeel didn't seem affected by this entire ordeal as he simply chugged the rest of his beer, before slamming the empty tankard down.
"I don't give a flying fuck, sister," his demented smile made him resemble the Cheshire Cat.
He then proceeded to sit at one of the tables and slam his head on it with a long groan, drawing a few glances from the other surrounding, and very confused, mages. As they turned back to their previous actions, all thought the same thing: there was quite an impressive doom cloud hovering over the recently weathered dragonslayer…
Mirajane returned to her business at the counter as a green-haired rune mage took Gajeel's abandoned stool.
"Are you alright, Mira-san? Fried asked her with concern.
The ex-cover girl could not help but laugh at his pained expression. She handed him a full tankard and leaned on the bar, supporting her head with her arm.
"It was nothing I couldn't handle, but thank you for your concern Fried-san. Actually, I feel sorry for the poor bloke…"
"Now that you mention it, I've noticed myself that Gajeel-san has been acting more… hostile lately, if that's possible…"
The Raijinshu member pondered in thought before looking back at Mirajane.
"Do you know what the cause of his recent transformation is?"
The barmaid was the queen of gossip, so she should know, right? But even the Demon shook her head.
"I haven't figured it out yet, but trust me: I will…" Her creepy smile returned again as Fried used his tankard to hide his trepidation.
/
Usually, with his enhanced senses, the dragonslayer would be able to pick up the conversation between Laxus's number one fanboy and the ex-cover girl. But today, for some reason, he remained moping at a table, the bags under his lids revealing insomnia. His leg was twitching uncontrollably and he kept sighing in distress, hands running through his course, long hair.
He had just begun staring off into space when his Exceed fluttered from across the large guild to land on his shoulder, only to receive a rude greeting. In a very un-Gajeel-like manner, the mage jumped up in surprise, knocking Pantherlily to the ground.
"What was that for?!" the cat grumbled, rubbing his furry head as he climbed onto the bench, a more sound perch.
Gajeel blinked a few times at Lily before averting his eyes and murmuring what sounded like a low, small "Sorry…"
His partner's eyes widen as he turned to the dragonslayer in astonishment. Gajeel NEVER apologized for ANYTHING or to ANYONE.
The black cat scrambled onto the table in front of him.
"Are you well, Gajeel?" he demanded, worry lacing his tone as he pressed his paw to the man's brow, "Are you ill?"
"I'M FINE," the mage bellowed in reply, batting away the Exceed's arm.
All of the members in the guild turned to the duo, their previous conversations and drinking games left abandon for the curiosity of a potential fight.
"Oi Metalhead! Shut up, you bastard!" Natsu hollered from the booth he was sharing with Lucy and Happy on the other side of the room.
He did not get to take a sip of his drink, as a metal pole smashed into the fire dragonslayer's face. The guild stood in silent shock as the pink-haired mage flew into a support beam with a thunderous crack. Sure, they were all used to the two dragonslayers brawling it out for fun, but the murderous glint in Gajeel's eye was definitely a disturbing development. Things, if not stopped soon, were about to go from bad to worse.
Natsu had no time to react for the moment the boy fell from the ceiling, Gajeel's clawed hand was on his neck.
"Wanna say something to me, eh Salamander? Pure malice laced his voice
The rest of the mages were in mid-jump to prevent the potential destruction of the guild, when the front door swung open.
"Hey everybody! We're back~"
At the cheery statement, Gajeel immediately leapt off of his victim and spun to the door, brief joy gracing his face.
"Um, what's going on here?" The bluette who just entered the building questioned to the masses, flanked by her loyal teammates.
Macao, upon realizing everyone had suspiciously returned to their previous actions, opened his mouth to respond to the Shadow Gear team. However, a single glare from a certain dragonslayer forced his silence.
Levy, figuring that a normal, routine Fairy Tail fight had just finished, shrugged and plopped down at Mirajane's bar with Jet and Droy. As the trio received two tankards and an iced tea, the squeaking of a stool next to the girl alert her of the presence of another. She turned to the black-haired man sitting next to her, staring at her intently.
"Hi Gajeel! …. Oh my!" Her bright face morphed into one of concern, "Gajeel, are you alright? You look sick!"
"I'm just peachy, shrimp. Pipe down and quit asking." he growled, though his voice lacked the rage it previously held, "If anything, you have some explaining to do…"
"Eh?!" Levy's eyebrows shot into her hair.
"What the fuck happened to you?"
Her face scrunched up, "What do you mean?"
"Your mission should've ended a week ago! Did ya idiots get lost or did something else happen?"
The man leaned back to shout at her male companions.
"Was it your fault, bastards? I kill ya!"
The duo opened their mouths in protest, but were silenced by a wave of Levy's hand.
"It was not their fault; it was mine. Now, if you can be patient, I can explain what happened." She frowned.
He sighed and rose to his feet, swiftly grabbing her with one hand by the back of her collar, earning a yelp of surprised as she struggled above the stool.
"You tell me all about it over there," he jerked the thumb of his free hand at the table he had been previously at, "Not in front of Fishtail and Asshat."
Jet and Droy opened their mouths simultaneously to retort, but were again silence by Levy's hand.
"Fine," she craned her neck towards her captor.
With his classic arrogant smirk, he carried her over to the abandoned table and setting her down. Taking the seat in front of her, he folded his arms on the table top and grinned devilishly again, "I'm all ears, shorty."
She smiled back with an unsurprised sigh, "Okay, so it all start when…"
/
Little did the mismatched duo know, a particular take-over mage had been watching the events that unfolded with an observant eye and a knowing, sinister smile. Her green-haired companion turned to her, having witnessed the entire scene himself.
"It sense that Redfox-san has calmed considerably," Fried commented, only to cringe ever so slightly when his gaze fell of Mira's countenance.
"Fried-san," she said in an eerie, quiet voice.
He gulped involuntarily.
"I have figured out why Gajeel-kun has been in a bad mood all week."
"Why?"
Her smile grew tenfold, "I wonder if Cana would be like that if she went a week sober. Withdrawal would make her very scary…"
It took the rune mage a few seconds, but the barmaid's words hit him in the face. He turned back to the two mages in question. Even though Gajeel was attempting to look disinterested, his animated eyes gave him away. Mirajane had made a good observation: It was quite obvious that the little bookworm was Gajeel Redfox's addiction.
Hehehe... Gajeel can take on Natsu and Laxus and still function... Levy goes missing for a week, and his entire world falls apart... He is so adorable XD
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