Author´s note: So I was just about to finish with answering to your revies when I press backspace... and it takes me a page back... And it didn't autosave what I wrote... lovely... Sorry for keep you guys wait! Behold! Chapter 9 is here!
Guest , Highwind , Firegirl6 , That Random Fandom Chick , ThreeDarkAngels , Musicbooks , AndreaRei , thank you!
yamiyugi , Silverwolf Bombarda , will explain more about Levy's past in future chapters. stay tuned!
JadeOccelot , he would look sexy as hell in a suit, though hehehe.
wolf18girl , my kid decided to pull that stunt on me... i felt like smacking him in the head, too, but I composed myself before I did something I'd regret later. yelled at him, though. it was pretty scary since my mind decided to play multiple horrible scenes in my head in that fraction of a second...
Dvel , GiantMarshmallow , cliffhangers... love/hate relationship
s , awww, thank you so much! and, yes, I do have other Gajevy stories, just check my profile
Sketcher , men are, sometimes, dumb. in a cute way. especially those who really like someone. (ah, summer is over, I already miss it... I dread the coming winter...)
Carlmike , what language is that? Looks a bit like German, am I wrong? as for the review, thank you!
AngieKawaii , me alegro que mi historia te ha gustado tanto. debo ovacionarte para tu loyalidad, tratando de traducir con Google, ya se que no hay nada bueno. en cuanto la traducción de mis historias, debo confesar que mi inglés en mejorísimo que el español, me da difícil traducir porque no tengo la naturaleza de un nativo. muchísimas gracias para leer mi ficción!
JTBTB , so far, your reviews made me cry from the bottom of my heart, then made me laugh through my tears. you're an old soul that warms amateurs like me and keep the light to some broken bits and pieces of dreams and sudden inspiration waves that might become a written book in the future. i usually don't judge people from apprearances, but, believe me, you have blown me away. 15 and so very mature. it must be tough being so enlightened at your age (been there, done that, beat the crap out of them lol). and i really never realized how much of me i actually put in my fics. reading your comments made me realize that, but, frankly, not everyone feels so much just from a few words. so i applaud you, young lady, for 'feeling' the words. a simple 'thank you' is less than what i feel right now, but i hope it will do. i have facebook, if you wanna chat, old soul to another. *bow*
All in all, thank you for all the patience and love and reviews and reading my fics... And everything! By the way, I'd love to see a review/comment in your native language! (Of course, please consider the writer, as well, since I only know 4 languages: Romanian, English, Spanish and Japanese, so add a translation, as well, if you guys happen to not be a speaker of those 4 languages)
Thank you for the infinite patience, my Misty~es! Lots of love from yours truly, MistyQue!
"Time to wake up, old man!" Romeo came running to Gajeel's bed, climbing on it, then throwing himself on Gajeel's abdomen. He woke up with a painful "Umf!".
"Damn it, kid!" He groaned loudly, turning on a side to rub some pain away. Romeo and Wendy laughed loudly. "Ain't funny, ya little brat!"
"Old man!"
"Snot eater!"
"Grizzly hair!"
"Pee wee!" Romeo gasped outraged, pointing a finger at Gajeel.
"You're a pee wee!" Gajeel snorted.
"Kid, I was never a pee wee. Mine was bigger than yours at your age." He said smugly, crossing his arms and enjoying Romeo's angry face, Wendy placing her hands to her mouth in embarrassment.
"You! You! You're a big meanie!" Romeo stuck his tongue out for Gajeel, turning away and stomping out of the room. The man merely laughed as he got out of bed, scratching his belly on his way to the bathroom. While he was doing his morning ritual, a thought hit him. He nearly choked on his toothbrush, too. Gajeel rinsed his mouth and dried his face quickly, then yanked the door open and hurried down the stairs to the two kids.
"How did you get inside, kid?" Gajeel tried to remember of he locked the doors, moving quickly to the main door and checking the alarm. It was on. He frowned for a moment, then Romeo answered in a bored voice.
"Window." Wendy turned the TV on, browsing for cartoons.
"What window?"
"First floor." Gajeel's jaw dropped.
"And how exactly did you reach the first floor?"
"That plant you have growing on your house. It was easy peasy. Do you mind? We're trying to watch cartoons!" The child said in an annoyed tone, ushering Gajeel with his little hand. The man puffed his cheeks, wanting to reply, then gave up, exhaling heavily. He racked a hand over his face, heading for the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Gajeel opened the fridge, grabbed a few eggs, cheese and milk, using his chin to steady them. He tried to close the fridge without dropping his items, steadying them to the counter. He was about to place everything on a plate when the doorbell rang loudly, startling Gajeel into throwing everything in the air. The eggs splattered on the floor, the plate broke and the lid from the milk jug popped off when the plastic hit the floor, so the liquid started pouring out. Gajeel fumbled with the milk, finally saving it after leaving a huge white puddle on the kitchen floor.
"Aw, man!" He looked at the mess on the floor, cursing internally. The doorbell rang again, more insistently. "Coming!" He barked angrily, stepping on some egg and falling on his butt painfully. "OWWW! DAMN IT! I SAID I'M COMING!" He yelled furiously as he got up from the wet floor, his pants soaked with milk and egg. Thankfully, he missed all the plate shards, so nothing but his pride was wounded. Gajeel stomped to the door, unlocked it with force and yanked it open, ready to send whoever the hell it was somewhere the sun don't shine. His words stopped in his throat as a very worried Levy jumped when he almost pulled the door off its hinges. "Le…"
"Is Romeo here?" Levy's voice trembled with worry and unshed tears.
"Yeah, he's watching cartoons." Gajeel opened the door to let her see the two kids on the couch.
"Oh… Thank God!" She couldn't hold her tears as a wave of relief hit her and melted her knees. Gajeel hurried to her as Levy placed a frail hand on the door frame to steady herself.
"Hey, shh. Come in." The man forgot all about his mess in the kitchen and the state of his pants as he placed his arms around the short woman to keep her from falling down. She sobbed heavily with one palm over her eyes, the other firmly planted on Gajeel's bicep. The pierced man led her inside, cradling her small body. He pulled a chair and held her as she cried silently in his chest. Now he felt awkward, not knowing what to say to calm her down. So he merely stroked her back until she pulled away from him.
"Sorry…" She turned her back on him and sniffed a couple of times, wiping her eyes. Gajeel offered her a box of tissues, Levy taking a few to wipe her face. When she thought she was decent enough, the bluenette turned around and faced a worried Gajeel sheepishly. She could see he waited for an answer, but as the words hit her mind, her lower lip started quivering again. Gajeel watched her in silence, admiring her frail beauty. Her eyes glossy and red, her pink, shiny nose, the reddened lips he craved… His throat dried suddenly when her words rang in his ears. I'm sorry, I can't… But Gajeel couldn't help the butterflies messing with his insides.
"My mind is…" Levy broke the awkward silence. "I imagined… stuff…" She gulped another wave of tears. "Some… people wanna hurt me and… The best way to do that is to hurt Romeo, since it's long since I cared what happens to me." She saw in Gajeel's eyes he understood her situation.
"Witness protection?" He somehow knew that was the case, but he needed confirmation. Levy nodded as she sat down on a chair. Gajeel squeezed his hands into fists, rage threatening to consume him. He had his suspicions by the way Levy acted around him and how she flinched now and then. The disbelief in her eyes stung the most whenever he did something normal (from his point of view) like making dinner for her and the kids or walking her home on rainy nights.
"What's that on your pants?" Levy's amused voice brought him back from his angry thoughts.
"What?" Levy pinched his pants, showing him the huge wet spot. "Aw, damn! I forgot!" He jumped from the chair and hurried to the cupboard, where he kept the cleaning supplies, grabbed the mop and a bucket and headed for the kitchen. Levy followed him, giggling once she saw the mess on his back side. She motioned to grab the broom, but he stopped her. "I got it, thanks. Besides, shards are all over the place, I don't want you to cut yourself or something." Gajeel's thoughtfulness touched her. "I'll be done in a moment. Did you grab breakfast?"
"No, I was too worried about Romeo. I'll be right back!" Levy dashed back to her house to get changed for work and grab her phone, keys and Romeo's backpack. Gajeel was changed by the time she was back, beating some eggs in a bowl.
"Hey, brats! Breakfast is almost done! Wash your hands and get your butts here!" He yelled from the kitchen just as Levy opened the cupboard and grabbed plates to set the table. "Thanks." He said as he poured the eggs into the frying pan. "Sit your sexy ass, I'll be done in a moment." Levy's cheeks reddened, realizing Gajeel didn't even notice his slip. But Romeo and Wendy did, because they were in the door when the tall man addressed the short bluenette.
"Watch your language around my mom!" The child burst, surprising the two adults.
"What?" Gajeel turned to him, looking confused from a fuming Romeo to a giggling Wendy.
"Told you he likes your mom." Gajeel spurted, almost dropping the frying pan.
"It's fine, Romeo, he didn't mean it." The man noticed Levy's reddened cheeks as she placed the plates on the table.
"What did I say?" Gajeel asked again, feeling really stupid.
"It's nothing, really." Levy said in a small voice, but Romeo was too upset to shut up.
"Sit your sexy ass." The child tried to mimic Gajeel's baritone voice. "What kind of example do you give me as a growing man? I don't think you'd like it if I said that to Wendy!" The short kid shook his index finger to a very flustered looking Gajeel, realizing why Levy was so embarrassed.
"I didn't say that! Did I? Never mind! Sit down and eat!" Wendy giggled softly, noticing Gajeel's reddened ears. After that, breakfast was quiet.
Around an hour later, the four of them stepped out of the house.
"Hey, kid, wanna walk your mom to the bus?" Gajeel asked Romeo, who was holding his mother's hand. The child snapped his eyes to the tall man, blushing lightly.
"She's big enough to take care of herself!" He hid his face in his mother's skirt. "But… if you insist…" He added with a muffled voice, making Gajeel smile warmly.
"I do insist." So Gajeel followed his favorite bluenette to the bus station, waved goodbye once she got inside, then went to his office with the two kids.
Once work hours were over, Gajeel hit the park, as usual. He chose a bench, placed the backpack on it, then stopped Romeo when he started to go for the swings.
"I wanna talk to you, brat." Gajeel said in a grave voice, ushering Wendy to play. Romeo felt his insides drop. That tone was never a good thing. "Can we sit for a moment?"
"Uhm… OK…" The child said in a fearful voice, sitting next to Gajeel.
"I'm not gonna do anything to you, kid, relax. I just wanna talk a bit. Did you tell your mom where you were going this morning?" Romeo lowered his eyes, ashamed.
"No…"
"Why would you do that to her? Do you know how scared she was when she got to my place?" Gajeel kept his voice even, trying to make the young boy understand. "Your mom loves you very much. She would literally give her life for you. And she would be very upset if anything happened to you. Do you understand?"
"Yeah… I just wanted to see Wendy sooner… I didn't mean to upset her…"
"I know, kid. I know. Just… Talk to her before going out on your own. Okay? You can come over anytime, I don't mind, I like having you in the house, even though you're a brat." Gajeel ruffled the boy's hair, Romeo peeking at him and seeing him smile. "I feel relieved knowing there's another man in the house." The child blushed.
"I'm not yet a man…"
"Sure ya are! Who takes care of your mom when I'm not around? You're the man of the house, ya know? But the man of the house doesn't worry his woman. Make sure you ask her before you go outside, 'kay?"
"Thanks…"
"You're a good kid. Now go have some fun and make me crazy." Gajeel winked at the child. Romeo hopped off the bench with a smile and took a few steps, then stopped.
"You're a nice guy, Gajeel." He said with his back turned, Gajeel suspecting he was blushing like a girl. The man smiled, feeling his heart swell. If this felt like taking care of kids, he was 100% he wanted one of his own.
Sometime later, the three headed home, not without incident, of course. Romeo was and active boy, after all. But Gajeel couldn't see him otherwise.
TBC
How about it? Did you liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Please review, your opinion matters to me as a writer.
