Ok so! Ch 7 has been rewritten, story remains the same just added a few more details along with a more descriptive GaLe scene *Beware of the citrics* since I did Ch 24 and decided to write my first smut there I thought it was unfair to not at least try to do the same with this one.
-A-
"That if desperate times call for desperate measures, then I'm free to act as desperately as I wish."
― Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
There had never been a more focused group of mages going through paperwork at Fairy tail; every single mission request had been taken out of storage and laid on a table in the basement for its review; they were all separated by months and analyzed for variations and similarities.
After several hours, sore eyes and paper cuts, they had finally found most pieces of paper with a seal that resembled an owl, the missions varied in difficulty level, location, reward and seriousness.
From recovering a manuscript, containing a curse, helping rebuild a dam, plowing a field; you would have never guessed these were related. The list went on and on and dated at least 6 months before Lucy left Fairy tail.
"Ok, so this is it… these are all the mission that could have been in contact with that curse…" Levy looked nervous, she kept rearranging the pages and tapping them on the table as if to keep them straight.
"Ok, let's have it then Shrimp…"
Levy took a deep breath before going page by page and listing the names "Alzack and Bisca, Mest, Macao, Laxus…" she stopped and bit her lip "G-Gray and Juvia, Erza… G-Gajeel… and Natsu…"
There was silence in the room, Erza Gray and Gajeel were part of the list and it was impossible not to feel as if they were always caught in the middle of some's psychos plan.
"Well then, it doesn't seem that there was a set plan to curse other people… it looks random to me" Gray was trying to shake the awkwardness by focusing on the task in hand.
"Indeed, it does, but what it the plan was exactly that?"
"What? make it so random so we wouldn't suspect? If they wanted that they could have skipped the stupid owl seal, don't ya think?"
Another moment of silence allowed the people in the room to wonder what exactly could be used against them; they were strong, capable and determined… but fearless? everyone was afraid of something, but did they really know what scared them the most? This individual monologue went on in their minds until Levy's voice interrupted their train of thought.
"There's needs to be a pattern for this" she put the tip of her pen in her mouth and frowned, she was so focused you could almost see her thoughts. Gajeel couldn't help to think on how cute she looked.
Levy turned to him still pretty mad about before "What?!" Gajeel immediately turned around, "Don't think so hard shrimp, your tiny body could explode" She puffed her cheeks and turned her face away from him.
Levy had used one of the special pens to write on the air around them and make an extremely complicated map with all the theories and ideas, but none of them seem to match. They were at if for hours until suddenly while rearranging the papers something clicked inside Levy's head; she called everyone back to hear what they thought.
"This is a wild guess, but I think at first he was fishing, planning it out would had left a trail of some sort. We can't know for sure if any of them have been marked or not, but I really think at least Natsu is… "
Gray nodded in agreement "Well I would guess that much, it would make sense to break them apart in order to get Lucy"
"Not only that, look at the dates for these missions, the one Natsu went on was almost at the end of July"
While everyone was trying to connect the dots, Gajeel finally understood what had been happening "So that's around the time his nightmare started"
"Correct! I do think that is just a coincidence that Natsu's change stage overlapped with it, Gajeel you said yourself it was not the same as you've seen before, so this could be it"
"Well this is all very interesting, but it tells us nothing about how to solve it"
"Oi Ice Princess! At least Shrimp's got something, what have you discovered so far?"
"Shut it Gajeel! I'm trying… I just... Look we can't lie to him anymore, he is counting days until the 3-month deadline, he said he'll go bring her back if she is not here by then…"
"Gray is right Master, we need to find a way to talk to him" Erza couldn't bear to keep this from him anymore.
"No, we can't tell him the truth yet" They all stared back as if thinking they have heard wrong or this was an elaborate joke "he will storm out and put both in danger, we need to play along. We will tell him about Lucy's wedding, we may need to contain him, but it won't be as bad as if he knows she is in danger"
Everyone was baffled at Levy's comment, "He is our friend Levy! For how long do you expect us to keep this up?!" Erza was so angry at her, she slammed her fists on the table.
"This is going to break him Levy! He trusts us, don't you know that… he will think she left for good, only to find out we allowed this, and we lied to him in the process…"
"I'm not sure how long we will need to keep it up… I'll have to pay her a visit with the excuse of her wedding; I need you guys to wait to talk to him until then, that'll win me some time, whatever the case maybe he needs to think she is marrying out of love"
Gajeel felt it like a knife going down his throat "Are you out of your fucking mind! You will not put yourself in danger!"
She simply rolled his eyes and started picking her things from the table "Shrimp! I'm talking to you! This is not happening"
Levy slammed her things back on the table and looked at him with not only anger but deep pain "This is not your choice! I've made up my mind and last I check I didn't have to ask for your permission Gajeel"
"I don't care if your pride is bruised Levy! You can hate me all you want! I will fucking lock you in the basement with that red hair trash if I have to, do you understand?!" He slammed the chair before leaving and walked away cursing at everything on his way.
He walked for a while trying to clear his thoughts, "This is probably my fault, I keep trying to keep her away from danger and there she goes running towards it, stupid girl…" he growled in frustration "Why does she have to be so stubborn!"
Gajeel kicked his door open and was greeted by Lily which used his best sarcastic tone after looking at his friend's angry face "Did you have a good day?"
"Shut it cat… I'm not in the mood" The black exceed shook his head "If I stopped talking to you every time you were in a bad mood, then we would never talk"
"Mnm… Levy…" Lily made a small O with his mouth and nodded "Did you get her mad again?"
Gajeel pulled his hair "WHY DO YOU ALWAYS ASSUME I MADE HER MAD? SHRIMP GOT ME MAD! SHE IS AS STUBBORN AS SHE IS SMALL, I TELL YOU!"
"Right… ok, so why don't you cool off and go talk to her? You know you can't leave things like that" The dragon slayer mumbled something unintelligibly causing lily to take a deep breath "Fine, sulk all you want, I'm going with Happy and Carla"
After Lily left, Gajeel went up to his room to change when he heard a knock on the door; he sniffed once and recognized the scent right away, ink, paper, and flowers... he already knew who it was, his nose wouldn't lie to him.
He opened the door without looking and stated in a very serious tone "You know you just made it very easy for me to lock you up"
"Probably, but I didn't want things to end the way they did, and I know you are too much of a jerk to apologize first"
Gajeel moved from the door signaling her to come in and led her to the dark big couch from his living room.
"Hey shorty, do you want a beer?"
"I'm not a big drinker really, but I guess if there was ever a time"
He came back with two beer bottles and gave one to Levy; after he gulped half of it down, he asked without turning his face towards her "Did you finally change your mind?"
"I didn't, I still think we need to do something, but I understand putting myself in danger won't fix anything" it was obvious she was nervous by the way her fingers were removing the beer tag little by little.
He saw her there, wearing her short orange dress with the white bow on the top, her hair band holding her blue locks, she was wearing those long boots all the way to her tight…he felt his heart ache. Just to think about losing her was too much to bear.
"Of course, it wouldn't fix anything… you are so small people wouldn't even notice you are there shorty"
"Stupid Gajeel!" He laughed at her once more and she kept calling him stupid while punching his chest, this was what they did all the time and he felt some sort of comfort.
At some point they changed the topics and talked about nothing and everything, mostly Levy doing the talking and Gajeel nodding in understanding, he just loved listening to her talk about the things she liked with such passion, he had never felt like that about anything until he joined Fairy Tail.
"Shrimp is kind of late for you to walk back; you can stay here…If you want"
"Sure, I have some reading to catch up on, do you mind?
"Nah not at all, I'll stay on the couch, you can take my room, is the first door on the left. You can… get a shirt from my closet if you want to be more comfortable"
She nodded and went up the stairs until she found his room; it did not surprise her at all… A black steel door that led to one of the biggest beds she had seen, it had a bunch of blankets, covers and pillows above all in dark gray, black, and blue; in one corner there were hundreds of metal pieces and scraps, and on the other side of the room there were what seemed to be random items and papers; she wasn't surprised… Dragons were hoarders by nature, and she knew Natsu had something similar in his house.
What did surprise her was how many of those items she recognized, there was a piece of cloth that had once been a hair band that got torn apart during battle, a rubber band she had given him to tame his hair during a visit to the council, papers from some missions they had taken together… so many memories; she felt that warm feeling on her chest, this man was her fear and her excitement.
Levy walked to his closet and got one of the many black shirts he had there, it was enormous on her, but she was definitely more comfortable. She laid on his bed and smelled his pillow -Wow… when did I become such a creep…-
She got her book and got through a chapter before closing it and looking at the ceiling wondering what to do… no, there was no time for doubts, her best friend was in danger and she was not going to stand there and watch it happen. Levy considered the possibilities… she would take a train and go, and that could possibly be the last thing she did with her life…
She stood up with determination, if this is how things were ending, she was leaving with a bang, and if this was not the end but the beginning… she was starting with a firm step. She looked at her reflection in the middle and pucked her lips "Well… if there was ever a time… Toughen up Levy McGarden"
Levy turned on her heel with her hands fisted on her sides, she grabbed the rail and went downstairs with quiet feet until she was standing behind the couch where Gajeel was sleeping soundly; his messy hair covering his eyes, his shirt a bit lifted revealing his well-shaped abs.
Levy found a small space in the corner on the couch and sat down without saying a thing, she just held her legs to her chest and breathed heavily; he felt the weight shift on the couch and woke up confused and groggy. Gajeel was concerned to see Levy sitting there, he thought something had to be wrong.
He looked up to see her looking even smaller than usual, she was wearing one of his shirts which on her looked more like a baggy dress, however in the position she was in, it barely covered her enough for his eyes not to wonder.
"What's wrong Shrimp?"
"Gajeel do you have any regrets?"
He laid his head back on the couch and covered his face with his hand. He wasn't really awake and struggled to keep his eyes open "What type of regrets?"
She shrugged and rested her chin on her knees "You know… regrets… in life, things you would wish you could have done…"
"Nah... I mean, what's done is done Lev…"
"Mhm… you are such a liar" He huffed through his nose "Am not...nothing burns my conscious… almost nothing…"
"Oh?" He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands "Fine I have a couple regrets...but like I said, what's done is done"
"Do you have any fears?"
"I'm fearless shrimp; no one can take me out…"
"What's a thing you regret?" he was annoyed by the question, Gajeel hated she didn't know the answer to it, but he figured he owed her at least that "How we met… I regret how we met"
"You know… you've paid for that one time too many… It's about time you let it go"
"Not happening… even after that, you were one of the firsts to forgive me, to… include me in everything and make me feel like maybe I could belong… I'll never repay any of that"
Gajeel didn't hear a response back and he assumed she had fallen asleep; he felt the weight shift and when his eyes moved down, he saw her slowly moving towards him "What ya doing Shrimp?" Levy curled up between him and the couch and laid her head on his chest; she let her hand rest on his stomach and settled in her new comfortable spot.
His heart was pounding hard, he felt blood rushing to his face; he thought maybe this was a dream, he would wake up to find himself alone and panting on his couch, because there was no way in hell the woman of his dreams was comfortably using him as a body pillow. He looked down to see her, a few tears were running down her face and his hand immediately went to her chin to tilt her head up.
"Levy…?"
"I don't want to have any fears or regrets… life is too short to be afraid Gajeel" She pulled herself up until her lips were so close he could feel her warm breath, he felt his heart beating so fast he felt it could come out of his chest and the smell of ink, paper and flowers he had gotten so used to was so intoxicating that he could taste it through the air.
He was too shocked to move, and she didn't wait before stealing the last few inches of air between them to close the gap with a sweet kiss.
Gajeel was lost now, too far gone inside his own dream becoming true; he knew he could never let her go after this. The kiss intensified little bit little, Gajeel pushed his tongue inside her mouth and she accepted it without a second thought.
His senses were focused on her soft tongue running circles in his mouth, her taste, her smell and the way his shorts felt tighter than before; Gajeel was so focused on her lips that his instinct took over his hands that slowly made their way under Levy's shirt and caressed her back, he was lost in the softness of her skin.
A small moan left her mouth and woke him from the trance "Lev, you gotta stop…"
Levy did stop and sat back in her place and fisted her hands trying to look tough, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to put you in an awkward situation, I know you don't like me like that…"
Gajeel just stared at her in amazement, how the hell could the smartest woman he had ever met be so incredibly clueless.
"Just please forget about this ok?" She smiled before turning away to hide her face. Before she could even think about leaving Gajeel grabbed the back of her head and kissed her.
"Silly shrimp… how can I?"
He kissed her again, still with his fingers tangled on her hair, his other hand made its way to her waist and pulled her towards him while his kiss pushed her head towards the couch, he slid his hands below her shirt when he noticed she was shaking.
"Do you want me to stop?"
She shook her hand and raised her arms. He knew this was something new for her and was determined to take his time to make her understand how much he wanted her. Gajeel slowly removed her shirt and tossed it to the ground before letting his eyes memorize her body.
"Y-you are staring!" She was blushing, and he thought that was the cutest thing he had seen in his life "Dammit Shrimp… how could I now? You are fucking perfect"
Levy felt self-conscious about her body, she had spent her entire life surrounded by model quality women, gorgeous, with perfect silhouettes that sold thousands of magazines when appearing in the covers; she looked away and instinctively covered herself.
"You don't have to do this just because I want to Gajeel… I know there are probably other women you could be interested in…"
"You crazy?" He looked almost offended at her statement "Why would I want any of those women over you?" her mouth was slightly open and there were a few tears on her eyes. He supported his weight as best he could and started placing open mouthed kisses on her shoulder, then her neck; she stopped thinking and moved her hands to the back of his head pulling his hair with strength.
XXX- Stop reading here if you are underage or not into this type of writing - XXX
His hand traveled to her perky breasts and flicked her nipple earning him a soft humming sound; he smiled while still kissing her neck before pinching her nipple with his index and thumb and pulling a little making her moan harder this time. Gajeel was determined to make sure he kissed every inch of her skin, and to touch every part of her body.
He licked from her shoulder to her neck before lowering his mouth little by little and going back up "Stop… teasing…" He grinned and hooked his arms on her back; he pulled her up on the couch leaving her upper back to lay on the arm rest before pinching her nipple with his teeth; she grabbed his hair and pulled him closer to her while arching her back.
The smell of her arousal was taking over his senses and he almost went on overdrive; he pushed her farther up and now her waist was laying on the armrest of the couch and her upper body was outside of it, she tried to pull herself up when he ripped her panties off her body and brushed his tongue on her slit sending shivers through her body.
Levy moaned his name harder and harder with each stroke of his tongue. He reached for her ass and pulled her hips up before using his tongue to roll circles on her entrance and inserting it mercilessly over and over; she almost screaming at this point and then when he exchanged his tongue with his fingers and sucked on her pink button she couldn't hold back anymore. He felt her walls clenching on his fingers and he licked her until her orgasm was over.
Gajeel sat down and cleaned himself with the back of his hand before observing his work. She was completely limp, her back arched on the armrest in an impossible way with her body hanging outside of the couch, her soft hands laying almost all the way down to the floor; her legs were still sprawled open in front of him, she was completely out of breath and the blush went all the way to her chest.
Once she was able to sit up, she looked at his smug expression and shook her head; he was about to laugh when he noticed the look on her face… he knew that look, this woman was about to cause trouble and he could only gulp.
Without the shyness that was present before she pulled his boxers down just enough for this hard member to be released; she was a bit startled but the look on his face and the blush of his cheeks made up for it. He stretched her hand and brushed her thumb on the tip of his member causing her to growl and bite his lip.
Levy brushed her fingers up and down enjoying the way he shivered at her touch "F-fuck Levy… who's teasing now…" He had barely finished saying those when she covered him with her hand and pumped him harshly; Gajeel closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the couch while moaning her name.
He still had his eyes closed when he felt her lick his tip and his eyes shot wide open; her blue hair on his lap while her soft tongue discovered him little by little; she took a deep breath and took him in her mouth, not going all the way the first time; she bobbed her head a couple of times taking more of him every time when she felt him grab the back of her head and following her movements.
It was becoming too much for him and he knew if he wasn't careful, he would finish soon, and he wasn't planning on leaving this score even "Stop Shrimp"
She pushed herself up and stared at him "Did I do something wrong?" he huffed "You were doing it too well…" she blushed and giggled, she wanted to go further with him, she was ready… She kneeled on the couch before moving to straddle him and sitting on his lap.
"S-shrimp… I don't want to hurt you"
"You could never hurt me… stupid Gajeel…" She kissed him passionately and he let his hands caress her back before lowering them to her butt and squeezing.
"Woman… what the hell are you doing to me?" she moved a bit to be exactly above him and positioned him at her entrance; he grabbed himself moving her hand away and rubbed his member on her folds "You can still change your mind ya know?" she shook her head and moved down a little feeling him stretch her walls.
She took her time, trying to avoid as much of the pain as possible, although with her controlling the movement and speed it was much less painful that what she imagined; she took a minute to adjust before pulling herself up again; she saw his face… mouth slightly open, eyes close and practically frowning in concentration; she went down again and continued with a steady rhythm until he got ahold of her hips and started moving her faster; she gasped and moaned, her head was starting to get dizzy, and when she leaned back a bit she felt his arm on her back to steady her before pulling her hips back touching a special spot inside her that made her yell his name.
It only took a few more minutes for her to finish with him inside her, her walls clenching around his hardness, he pulled her towards him while she rode her orgasm and it was enough to make him come undone.
XXX - Continue reading after this point - XXX
She was resting on his chest, still catching her breath. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have found someone like her, without judgment or malice, someone who saw him for who he was and still was by his side. They were both in pure bliss and he allowed himself to close his eyes and relax with the love of his life resting above him on the couch.
He woke up close to 10; the house was empty. Levy's things were not on the table anymore, in their place there was a white envelope.
"No, no, no no… What the fuck did you do…" He opened the envelope with shaky hands and unfolded the white sheet of paper.
"Gajeel,
There were many things I was afraid of before today, I was afraid of taking what I wanted, of facing things alone.
Today I have no regrets nor fears, you have made me stronger and there is no better way to face what's coming our way.
Do not be angry at me, my mind was made since the start. I was afraid of you breaking my heart, to laugh at me for wanting something I could not have. Today I am fearless because I know I will never be alone, you are always in my mind.
I never knew true love was possible until I met you… I love you more than what words can express.
Yours forever, Levy"
His felt ice going through his veins, he barely got dressed and ran to the guild, but she had been gone for hours. He was ready to go after her but was stopped by the Master himself.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"Get out of my way old man! I'm bringing her back!" dark scales on his arm alerted a few of the guild members who took a step back wondering what was happening.
"If you go after her you would be signing her death sentence. If you were marked, then as soon as you get close, he'll sense your fear and end her"
The words felt like a wrecking ball, he was afraid of losing her, and that fear could cost her life. If he didn't follow, never seeing her again was a possibility, but following her could cause him to lose her forever.
Erza got close enough to him and laid her hand on his shoulder "You know her; she is the smartest person we know right? Believe that she would never take an unplanned step, you have to trust her, if you are afraid, that will only make her a target"
He suddenly realized, she wasn't clueless, he was. She didn't want regrets or fears in her mind, she wanted to leave peacefully, she wanted to say goodbye in case that was the last time she saw him.
