AN: So it's finally here. I mentioned a few chapters ago that we only had a few chapters left and this is it. The last chapter for you guys to enjoy is here. I hope you all had as much fun reading this as I had writing it! :)
Gajeel held his crying girlfriend in his embrace. The blood stained his arms mixing with his falling tears. Levy had just gotten slashed down the stomach pretty badly and yet she cried out for the kids sake. The kid that wasn't even born and might never be now. Thanks to Jose.
The thought of that clouded his mind until Gajeel whipped around to face Jose. Lily had the scum bag pinned to the ground, he was yelling at Lily to let him go and squirming feebly under Lily's strong hold.
Gajeel didn't think, words failed him, his mouth wouldn't work. not even his brain was working correctly. The only thing he knew was, he was looking through a camera lens watching his fists fly out towards Jose.
Gajeel felt arms around his chest, using all their might to stop him from getting to Jose but he didn't stop. He threw the arms off him with all his strength and continued his advance on Jose.
Gajeel was shouting incoherent swears, watching his bloody hands and arms trying to push past Lily so he could kill Jose. Everything happened so quickly the only thing Gajeel could do was be angry, it was all he could feel, all he could think. I'M GONNA KILL HIM! I'LL KILL THAT BASTARD! These thoughts of murder ran through his head even after the red faded to black and Gajeel drifted off with those words echoing around his mind.
He woke up in a hospital bed, that annoying beeping back inside his head. As he opened his eyes he realized the beeping wasn't monitoring his heart, but Levy's. Across from his bed she lay, pale, and weak under the white sheets. His heart hurt, he felt it twist like a wrung rag. Gajeel couldn't stand to see her like this. He noticed just a bit of red by her stomach seeping through her bandages and blanket.
Gajeel was about to get up and walk to her side when a voice came from a chair in the corner.
"Thank god you're finally awake. I was getting bored waiting for you." Gajeel turned around in his upright position, his head swam with dizziness and for some reason a spot on his back smarted. Evan was looking at him, holding an ice bag to his greasy head of hair. "I own you a good punch for knocking me into the pavement earlier." He put the ice pack down, stood up and faced Gajeel, who rose to meet his eyes.
"What are you talkn' bout?"
"You don't even remember do you?" Evan scoffed. "Idiot...After Jose slashed up your girlfriend over there," Gajeel's fists clenched at just the mention of it. "you went crazy and tried to kill him. I tried to hold you back but you slammed me head first into the pavement. Don't feel guilty or anything I didn't get a concussion, just a migraine." He complained, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as if the light hurt them. Gajeel didn't say anything, he had no idea that his anger was so out of control. He took one look at Levy's sleeping face.
She was hurt bad, and pale as the moon. Gajeel swore to himself that he would overcome his anger, he'd work towards becoming a better person, because that's what Levy deserved, not someone who lost their control when she had needed him most. "Sorry…" Gajeel choked out his words, his eyes still resting on Levy.
"Tch. Whatever. Look, the doctor's said once you wake up you're free to go. So are you coming? That cop from earlier said he'd drive you home."
A lightbulb went off inside Gajeel's head. "Wait a minute how did I lose consciousness?"
"The cop had to knock you out with his taser. If he didn't I really think you would have killed Jose. Which was fine by me only you would have killed our only chance to get the rest of Phantom Lord."
Gajeel's hand touched the throbbing part on his back where Lily must have tased him. Then he asked Evan another question. "You never answered my question before." Evan turned his attention back to Gajeel with a sour look. "Why do you hate Jose so much?"
Evan scowled again. "Do I really need to answer that for you? Shouldn't you mind your own tragic backstory?"
Evan was about to leave but Gajeel stopped him with a hand slammed against the wall. He raised his eyebrows and smirked. "So there is a reason?"
Evan looked like he had eaten a spicy pepper and now his head was turning red before steam comes out of his ears. Gajeel was pretty sure if he looked hard enough he could see a little steam rising from his forehead. "Why do you care?"
"Call it curiosity." Gajeel answered simply waiting for an answer. Evan looked annoyed, which wasn't unusual for him but Gajeel could tell he'd hit a nerve.
"He killed my family…" Evan answered finally. "then called it generosity when he picked me up off the streets and forced me to work for Phantom Lord...Jose hunted them down one by one, every week a new family member, every week a new failed stakeout by cops to catch the bastard. And I watched it happen, every week right on cue as if it was clockwork. It didn't matter where we relocated it didn't matter how safe we thought we were...he always found us. My older sister was the last one to survive, every time she knew almost exactly when it would happen and when it was just the two of us left, she called the cops beforehand. But they got there too late, and I watched from the closet...I was eight."
Gajeel's head reeled back a little. He hadn't realized Jose could be so evil as to kill someones family like that. He knew Jose was cruel but a serial killer?
"...Sorry." Gajeel spoke, suddenly very self conscious about all the times he'd annoyed Evan or pushed his buttons just for fun. Gajeel apologized, not only for the death of Evan's family, but for all the times Gajeel had refused to open his eyes to the possibility of someone else's pain.
Evan returned the annoyed look to his face. "Happy now? Let's leave." Gajeel let him push past him and out the door. When Gajeel followed he saw Lily waiting by the door, ready to take them home.
Lily apologized for tasing Gajeel but as far as he was concerned, he probably deserved a lot more than that. I gotta work on being a better person…He thought and right then is when Gajeel confirmed how he'd dedicate himself to being a better person, for Levy, for the kid, for his friends and for himself.
Levy finally forced her groggy eyes open when the light made it impossible for her to sleep anymore. Like always the pain hit her before she could process her surroundings. She'd been in the hospital for a couple days now, each new day, as stressful as the last. She had no idea how Gajeel survived four weeks here when she wanted to hang herself after only a few days.
She thought of Gajeel, how only a few days ago he had gone berserk trying to kill the man that put her here. After Lily knocked Gajeel unconscious Levy had watched his resting face as he was placed in the ambulance next to her. She thought she was going to have her worst panic attack yet, but her fingers found Gajeel's and even though he was unconscious she felt his strength next to her, building her up and keeping her stable.
Each day was touch and go with her wound, never knowing if it would reopen and if it would be enough to cause her to lose the baby. The doctor informed her she had been a week and a half along when Jose slashed open her stomach, now she was two weeks, along. So far she still had the developing body inside her but the doctors were worried her anxiety mixed with this serious wound would be too much stress for the baby. Thanks to the risk of that, they kept her on morphine, and re-prescribed her anxiety pills. She always hated those pills, she didn't trust them. Some days they'd work and some days they didn't. Levy thought the days they worked were just better days for her, and all other days she was doomed to experience unbearable anxiety attacks and symptoms.
Both of which increased since almost losing the undeveloped child in her stomach. The ordeal made her realize how much she wanted to carry Gajeel's child. It was worse than the pain from the stab wound, knowing that she could possibly lose the closest connection she's had to Gajeel since they met. Levy often dreamed about it.
Her and Gajeel owning a real home, with two happy children, but the dream always ended in tragedy. Sometimes it was a fire, sometimes a psychopathic murderer, but each one ended in her children's death. She was forced to watch her dreams slowly turn into nightmares, one by one killing off the members of her family in brutal ways she didn't think she could have imagined. A few times Lucy, Natsu and Happy were there too, sharing the same horrible fate as her loved ones. On top of that the nightmares that had haunted her when Gajeel had been shot were back. They filled her minds eye with his face, so pale, weak and his blood everywhere.
These nightmares didn't last long. But the one nightmare that wouldn't go away was the look on Jose's face as he advanced towards her, knife in hand. That same street was stuck in her mind, Jose's fearful eyes as he lashed out like a wounded wolf. Gajeel's grief stricken stare as he looked over her wound, then the hell that erupted from him once the damage was done. Most times Jose's scared face was enough to jump startle her out of bed. When that happened the doctors had to sedate her because her heart beat rose to dangerously high levels.
The only times she didn't feel like she wanted to explode in this place were the days when Gajeel visited her. He came to her bedside often. Telling her how Jose cracked under interrogation and most of Phantom Lord was put behind bars. Some members fled before the police could find them, but the important part was Jose was behind bars for a long time and Phantom Lord would never bother Gajeel again. Of course Evan and Gajeel still had to repent for their time rejoining Phantom Lord. But thanks to Lily, and the new evidence that most Phantom Lord members were forced back into the gang on threats, they only had to serve the community for a while. The same went for Juvia, who ever since Gray had been released had been looking a lot better.
When he visited, Gajeel told her how he was looking for a job around town and about all the job interviews he'd gotten, the ones he failed, the ones that went well but didn't end up having anyway. Gajeel had also put in a resume for Levy at the library. he said it'd be good for her to be around books and not people like her last job. Levy had even gotten flowers from the staff at the library, she used to always go there even when she was in the mental hospital, though not as much since. They sent her get well soon cards and promised an interview when she was fully recovered.
Whenever Gajeel came to visit she felt the same hope and peace she experienced when Gajeel had been in her place and she was just getting out of the mental hospital for the first time in a year. Only the peace she felt now was more secure, because she knew things really were going to get better, for good this time.
Lucy assured her of that every time she visited. Lucy always knew how to make Levy feel better without trying. One of those ways of making her feel better was announcing Natsu's casual and sort of awkward proposal to her. He had the ring and the right words to say, only he forgot to kneel on one knee and instead of sounding romantic he said; "Luce, can I be your husband?" as casual as an everyday conversation. Lucy had thought he was joking until he persisted saying he wanted to marry her and showed her the ring. Levy was estacially happy for her best friend's engagement.
She had finally succeeded in seeing the day that Natsu and Lucy get married even though both of them said they weren't even dating the day before. She guessed it wasn't odd for those two to skip being boyfriend/girlfriend because of how much they already flirted with each other on a daily basis.
Levy found she had a lot of visitors in the so few days she'd been here. Lily and even Mrs. Porylusica had visited her, although the only words her former doctor spared Levy were nonchalantly made insults to the human race.
Today was the same as the rest. Her morphine did little to ease the pain, the doctors refused to put her on a larger dose though for fear of it mixing badly with her anxiety pills. Gajeel visited her for lunch and stayed for dinner. They talked most of the day. His words the only thing keeping her sane.
When Gajeel showed her the book he had brought her, a new issue of her favorite series complementary from the library staff, she couldn't help herself and ripped into the book immediately. Gajeel eventually fell asleep, his head resting on her lap while she read the book by lamp light.
By eight o'clock she had gotten halfway through the thick book and accidentally woke Gajeel up with a squeal of pleasure.
"Whatha-!" Gajeel mumbled over his words, unable to form even a full word when he was half-asleep.
"Sorry." Levy apologized. "It's just so romantic when the protagonist proposed to his childhood lover!" Levy cooed over her book, procuring a very strange look from Gajeel.
"You like that kinda stuff?" Gajeel asked, nonchalantly placing his head, propped up by his elbow, on the bed.
"All girls love proclamations of love! It's one of the sweetest things a guy can do!"
"So if I showed up with a ring, would you be happy?" Levy was almost about to return her eyes to the page but she stopped. She slowly put the book down contemplating what Gajeel just said. She stared at Gajeel to see if he was serious but his face revealed nothing.
"What-what kind of question is that?" She asked blushing furiously, her cheeks puffed up.
Gajeel noticed he had upset her and reeled back instantly. "It's just- I mean…" He stuttered trying to form a sentence. Finally he formed one though he wouldn't say is was the right one. "Ice boy and rain woman have been engaged for a long time now, and you said Salamander and bunny girl were hooked up so I thought-?"
The sentence hung in the air a moment. Levy had no idea why Gajeel kept calling Lucy bunny girl, or insisted on giving almost everyone they knew nicknames for that matter, but she guessed he had his reasons.
After a few seconds of both Gajeel and Levy blushing enough to paint the whole room red she finally said something. "Idiot! That's no way to propose to a woman!" Levy turned her head indignantly, waiting for Gajeel's response.
"Do I hafta buy a tux and get down on one knee?" He asked, his fingers scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Preferably." Levy answered him.
Just then Gajeel stood up and put an arm around Levy's bed while the other held her face as softly as if he was touching a cloud. "I don't think I need a stupid ceremony to prove how much I love you, shrimp." Then he leaned in and kissed Levy's hot lips. The contact made the room about ten times hotter and Levy felt sweat accumulating on her back. But she didn't pull away, she leaned in. Closing her eyes and savoring the taste of his lips. Like always he smelled like something rough, it was a musky manly scent that filled her nostrils as she reached her hands up and stroked his hair.
Levy found her hands tracing the spots his piercings were while the kiss lasted for what felt like hours but was actually only a few minutes. Gajeel kept his strong, gentle hold on her cheek the whole time, stroking the soft skin with his thumb and loving every fiber of her body.
When they finally pulled away both let out a relieved sigh, their faces still red, Levy told him; "I still want a wedding ceremony." Her voice firm, and unyielding.
"Ghihihi!" Gajeel laughed and touched foreheads with her, their noses tickling each other. "Whatever you want." He promised her. "Hell, I'll even let ya pick out every detail of the wedding, so long as I can spend the rest of my life with you."
Levy couldn't stop the smile that filled her face, her eyes crinkled at the corners and her red cheeks gave her a rosy glow in the lamp light. Gajeel stayed for just a moment longer, keeping his eyes on her, his hand caressing the edges of her face.
As they stayed there, completely immersed in each other, Gajeel couldn't believe he'd found someone to love him like Levy does. He couldn't even believe that there was someone as beautiful as her on this god forsaken earth. He watched her smile grow and it only confirmed what he already knew, I really can't wait to spend the rest of my life with this woman…
The next two weeks were the hardest in Levy's life. Some things got better, Gajeel got a job, her wound was healing and she had scored the position at the library, but Levy lost the one thing she cared about.
It was a long process to try and save the baby but the doctors eventually confirmed that the stress of the traumatic event mixed with Levy's anxiety had been too much for the developing fetus. She had a miscarriage. When the doctor broke the news to Levy, she wasn't surprised. She had felt the baby dying inside her every day until it was finally gone. He had been a fighter but the universe- no, Jose-had taken him from her. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she knew she could push aside her hatred of that man so long as she never saw him again. The doctor left Gajeel and Levy alone in the hospital x-ray room.
"You okay?" He asked taking her small shaking hand.
Levy's head dropped, her bangs covered her face and she felt the hot tears sting the back of her eyes. But she didn't want to cry, she'd done enough of that. She wanted to scream, to pull her hair out again and again, to throw something, to punch something. Levy did none of that, though.
She kept the tears from falling but she couldn't move. The pain of losing her connection to him planted her firmly in her seat. A minute had passed and she realized she hadn't answered Gajeel.
Levy slightly nodded her head without looking up. Suddenly her nodding head turned into a shake. She didn't have to hide her feelings from Gajeel, she knew that. Still she found it hard to stop holding back the tears. She whimpered helplessly despite her best efforts. Gajeel sat down next to her, putting his supportive arms around her.
She wept more, then between her sobs she spoke; "I lost it...I lost the connection we shared…" Levy trailed off her words leaving Gajeel out of the loop of Levy's own imagination.
"What?"
"I had this crazy notion, that the child we had together would be the one thing that binds us by blood. The life we create would have been...our connection…" She began to cry harder, losing all strength for holding back the tears.
"You say some weird stuff don't you, shrimp?" Gajeel didn't look sad, or distraught, or anything. He looked normal, the only indication of emotion was his slightly knotted brow line.
"I-idiot! I was being poetic!" Levy cried while hitting his arm. Then for some reason she couldn't hide a small smile and giggle. Gajeel did not have a way with words but he did have a way to make her feel safe and happy. When she struck his arm Gajeel laughed with her.
"Look, don't be sad about this. We can always have another." He said while staring off into space, unaware of the joy he had just planted in Levy's heart.
"Gajeel you-" She was about to ask if he really meant they could have more kids when he cut her off.
"I'm not getting sappy, I'm just saying. Women can have more than one kid...and I wouldn't mind making a few with you…" Gajeel began blushing, his rosy cheeks contrasting with his dark skin. Levy could never forget the sight and she couldn't get over it either.
She spread her arms to wrap them around Gajeel's neck then proclaimed, "You're so cute when you blush!" Which of course only made him blush more.
Gajeel walked through the metal doors of the prison holding area. As much as he didn't think he could handle his anger in front of Jose he had to do this. Jose needed a punch in the face just as much as Gajeel needed closure. Lily would be right beside him the whole time to make sure things go right, the judge wouldn't have let him in otherwise.
Already his fist clenched. He felt the anger come back just as quickly as it had emerged that night. "Are you sure about this?" Lily asked him for the tenth time.
"Have a little faith wouldya?" Gajeel responded keeping his eyes firmly planted in front of him.
They approached the cell Jose was being held in, a small dingy three walls with no privacy. Jose lay down on the metal bed that came with the cell. There were no blankets, just one pillow and a whole lot of nothing. Jose looked terrible. He was no longer dressed in that idiotic purple cloak. Now he wore a navy blue jumper with his cell number and prisoner identification on it. It was obvious Jose hadn't had a shower since he'd gotten there three weeks ago. Jose's black hair was a mess, clumps of it fanning out on the pillow staining it with grease. He had gotten skinnier too. When he heard Gajeel and Lily walk up, Jose lifted a curious head. His eyebrows raised when he saw who it was that had visited him.
He stood up. "What do we have here? I never would have thought you'd come to visit me here, boy."
"Don't take it personally." Gajeel began crossing his arms. "I only came to see if they're treating you badly enough."
Jose scowled and the sadness returned to his face. His unkempt hair fell over his eyes as he sat back down on the bed. "That's not the only reason...She lost the baby didn't she…"
Gajeel had maintained a calm posture until then. "How did you know about that!" He reached in and grabbed Jose's collar, the small cell giving him little room to dodge. Gajeel slammed Jose's face against the bars while he got close to his ugly face.
Jose smiled weakly, the last smile of a dishonorable criminal. "Wild guess." He answered.
Gajeel wanted to give him a good punch in the face but he couldn't do that with the bars between them. Gajeel turned his sour look to Lily. He knew what Gajeel wanted and turned to the warren, got the keys then opened Jose's cage.
Gajeel smiled and cracked his knuckles as he entered. Jose cowered on the ground. "Phantom Lord is gone," Gajeel said with the best menacing look he could pull off. "you're alone this time. How's it feel to be threatened?" Gajeel asked advancing on Jose, who ran out of space to crawl away and ended up hitting the wall.
Gajeel grabbed Jose, picking him up so his feet lifted off the ground and he suspended him with one arm. Gajeel readied his fist...but instead of punching Jose, he threw him to the ground again. Jose's head hit the edge of his metal bed, but he wasn't hurt.
"Kicking your ass would prove nothing." Gajeel said, his fists unclenched. "I hope you rot in this cell. I hope the knowledge that you destroyed countless innocent lives in your path to power stays with you forever. All the lives you took," Gajeel turned back to Jose, a dark aura resonating from the enraged man. "Every single person you ever bullied, all the anguish and despair you ever caused in your lifetime…" He got up close to Jose, letting his glare bore into Jose's skull while his lips moved into a wolves snarl, showing his gritted teeth. He spoke for Evan, for Levy's never to be born child, for Juvia and her fiancee, for every damned person Jose ever screwed over. "It's all coming back to you a thousand times over." Jose quivered under his look, there was no need for violence because seeing Jose cowering like the rat he is couldn't have filled Gajeel with more satisfaction.
Gajeel decided that was enough fear to put into him and stood up to leave. The warren closed Jose's cell after him. He didn't wait for anyone, Lily followed Gajeel's long strides out of the prison.
"That was impressive, Gajeel. Remind me why he ever got the better of you?"
Gajeel put his hands in his pockets and scoffed. "Tch! Doesn't matter now. That bastards locked up forever."
Gajeel left Lily at the station and returned to the apartment him and Levy still rented. They found ways to move on, through the mourning of the miscarriage. They thought up stories about what their kid would look like, who would it be and what they'd name him/her. With Levy's new job at the library she quickly fit in, keeping track of all the books and if one was missing or out of place. She even earned a raise here and there.
With the holiday season coming to an end Gajeel and Levy could relax, knowing they would use the off season to build up their life savings to buy a real house. In the meantime the newly engaged couple was invited to Gray and Juvia's wedding. Levy dressed up in her bridesmaid outfit, a form fitting blue ruffled sleeveless dress, cut off at the knees and holding small snowflakes like sequins in it's folds. In the natural light Levy shined like a star and in the dark she glimmered like the night sky. She had to admit Juvia had done a great job picking out the bridesmaid dresses. She could only imagine the kind of wedding Juvia had in store, probably a winter themed one since Gray loved the snow and Juvia loved Gray. Levy noted how the bridesmaid dresses held a little bit of both bride and groom in them. The gentle dark blue resembled Juvia's hair and her spirit of water while the snowflakes resembled Gray's love of everything snow.
"Ugh, can you help me with this thing? I hate ties!" Gajeel came out the bedroom saying as he made a fuss about his black bowtie, the only piece needed to complete his tux. Gajeel looked so handsome, his freshly combed hair had just enough hair gel in it to made it look slick and his long black hair had been tied up in a ponytail, the ends fraying out as always. Gajeel was still fussing with the bowtie, now a crumpled mess on his neck when he looked at Levy. He stopped immediately staring at her while she walked over to help him. "Shrimp you look-" He stuttered.
Levy giggled, fixing his tie in seconds. "You don't have to say it. I know!" She replied giving him a kiss before she pulled him out the door.
The reception was fantastic and the vows were even better. Juvia had to be stopped mid-way because she had already taken up an hour just taking about Gray's stripping habit, leaving Gray very embarrassed and blushing without end the whole while he recited his vows. Gray wasn't a public speaker and his blushing only continued while he spoke, but Juvia didn't seem to care as her hips swayed back and forth and she all but fainted listening to him.
"Gray-sama..." Juvia said after they swore their 'I do''s. "Juvia loves you with all her heart..." Her cheeks grew rosy and she bowed her head slightly looking up at Gray with the most adorable eyes he had ever seen.
Gray's face turned redder than Erza's hair. He took her hands then said. "Actually, just Gray is fine." It wasn't a proclamation of love, technically, but Gray was telling her he loved her by asking her to drop the formalities and address him as her equal. Juvia couldn't have looked happier as she pulled Gray down to a kiss.
The bride and groom ended with a second passionate kiss, causing a roar of approval from the crowd. When Juvia threw her bouquet Levy watched every other girl reach out to grab it but it landed perfectly in her folded hands. She wasn't even trying to catch it but she ended up with it anyway. Gajeel noticed and flashed her a huge toothy grin. Levy looked confused until Gajeel pulled her into a kiss with enough passion to rival the bride and grooms kiss.
The party afterwards was even better. Levy, Lucy and Juvia really got to know each other and become good friends while their fiancees and husband started a fight by the cake and Cana busied herself with the opportunity to drink all the booze she can. After she was announced cured of her alcoholism she had restrained from drinking anything. Now her father joined her in this one joyous moment.
Natsu and Gray but heads like a cat and a dog, they were exact opposites and from what Lucy told her they've always been that way. Gajeel joined in on the fun, they broke a table, wrecked the cake but created a big laugh when each boy was covered in frosting. For once Levy wasn't worried about a small squabble. She let her anxiety stay at home along with all her fears and regrets. Today was for Gray and Juvia and Levy would use this chance to act as a stepping stone for a better life.
Before the party was over Gajeel exclaimed he had to do one thing and disappeared from Levy's sight. She had no idea what he meant by that but she waited with Lucy and Juvia anyway.
Levy found out what Gajeel meant a little too soon, up on stage came a screech from the microphone as Gajeel kicked the previous band off. He wore very dark triangle shades with his white tux and bowtie with a matching white fedora, frosting still staining a few parts of his tux and clinging to his cheek. Procuring a guitar in his arms he began to play, lowering the mic so it rested with his mouth while he sat.
"Gajeel plays guitar?" Lucy leaned in to ask, Levy just shrugged her shoulders. She'd never even heard Gajeel mention anything about it.
"Gajeel sings…?" Juvia questioned the air. To which Levy didn't have an answer.
He began to play, melodic and rhythmic tunes coming from the guitar. His playing wasn't too bad but when he opened his mouth to sing something between a raspy old man and a throat cold came out. Still he didn't seem embarrassed in fact he seemed more in his element than Levy had ever seen him! He played for an ungrateful crowd that grew more uncomfortable the longer he sang.
Levy didn't care, she was seeing a whole new side to Gajeel she didn't know existed. Apparently Levy and Lucy's long time friend Mira didn't care either as she came up to them smiling. "Levy I didn't know you're man could play?" She inquired making Levy blush. Mira then persisted to hound Juvia and Lucy about their finance and husband. Making almost the whole table blush, but kept them smiling with her cheerful attitude.
"Levy-san! Where have you been? We missed you Levy-san!" She heard a couple of voices call for her. Levy turned around to see two large smiling faces looking at her. A sight for sore eyes if she did say so herself.
"Jet! Droy!" She happily hugged the two friends she'd had since she was little. Ever since the mental hospital though she lost touch with them. She had lost touch with a lot of people since the mental hospital. Levy never really thought about how much her anxiety had messed with her life until she was in a room of people she hadn't seen in a year, some longer.
At the end of the day Levy couldn't stop smiling. She had witnessed a happy event, for most none could be happier, she'd met old friends and even seen a new side of Gajeel that she didn't know was there.
She inquired about his guitar playing when they were on the walk home, dressed lightly in the waning wintertime.
"I don't play often, but my old man taught me how. If ya don't like it-"
"No! That's not what I meant at all!" She interjected before Gajeel could finish. "I love it! In fact could you show me how to play?" She blushed slightly, which seemed to be what all their days were filled with now, Gajeel responded with a kiss.
"Sure." He then patted her head lovingly and continued walking a happy spring in his step.
Five years later
"Molly! Come help your mom sort the bookshelves!" She shouted to the upstairs waiting for the herd of children feet that would come down the stairs with her eldest daughter, Molly. Molly's younger brother didn't look like much but he could make a ruckus, enough for two kids! Molly was constantly yelling at him to keep it down when she was reading.
Although Molly was only five and Wyn three, Levy watched their personalities bloom. She couldn't be happier she'd had a daughter who shared her love of reading, and even shared her love of Aunt Lucy's finally published novels. Of course Molly had a bit of a rough side, that she got from her father. If anyone came between her and whatever she was doing, especially if it was reading, the recipient wouldn't leave without a limp. Molly was tough, but she had a soft spot for books and poetry.
Levy heard their footsteps running down the stairs as always, shaking the house. "I wanna play, Mol!" Wyn cried following his sister with careful, clumsy kid steps.
"Go play by yourself! I'm helping mom!" Molly said to her brother.
"I wanna help mom too!" He announced, his puffy cheeks huffing in the effort to catch up to his sister as Molly joined Levy by the bookshelves.
Molly sighed, Wyn was always following his big sister around, he loved her to pieces, which annoyed Molly of course. Molly looked at Levy with pleading eyes, she was asking her mother if Wyn could go somewhere else where he wouldn't bother them. Levy smiled sympathetically and gave Molly a pat on the head.
"Let your brother help. He can get the books on the bottom shelf." Molly's face dropped but when she saw her little brother plop himself on Mommy's lap her expression changed. Wyn busied himself with piling one book on top of the other then trying to climb the tower only to fall with it and try again, a new bruise appearing on him each time.
Levy watched how carefully Molly handled each book. She picked them up gingerly and even smoothed down the corners of some paperbacks. "You know, Molly." Levy started up a conversation. "Wyn is getting older, he's going to go to preschool and then after that the same school you go to."
Molly stopped, putting on an annoyed look only a kid could pull off and still look innocent. "As long as he doesn't take my books I don't care!" She announced placing another book firmly in it's place.
"Take the books! Take the books!" Wyn repeated for no other reason than wanting to be like his big sis. Wyn may make a ruckus but he was a sweetheart and Levy knew he couldn't hurt a fly. In this way Molly sort of took on the role of protector for her little brother, even if he annoyed her sometimes she loved him. And Levy loved her kids, almost as much as Gajeel loved seeing the sight of his family doing their monthly rearranging of all the new and old books on their ever growing bookshelf.
Levy had proven herself to be a wonderful mother, and over the years both Gajeel and Levy learned to overcome their internal issues. Of course Levy still paced and picked the skin off her lips when she was worked up, but that came from habit. Meanwhile Gajeel had spent these years as a mechanic cleaning his slate and helping others, in case they were a member of a family he had stolen from years ago in Phantom Lord.
Levy's career had grown with their family and their house. After the book keeper at the library passed away Levy took it upon herself to take over and even added a new floor to the library's interior. Now she had opened up the library to a constant flow of characters from all over town.
Levy came up to him when she and the kids finished putting all the books in order, Wyn and Molly racing each other back to their shared room. She had a little trouble lifting up her round belly, stuffed with another set of tiny feet they'd have to worry about. Levy's blue locks fell gracefully while her nightgown hung over her belly. Gajeel rested his hands on her stomach when she came closer.
"Think we did okay?" She asked.
"I think we did amazing." He said stroking the growing lump that was her stomach.
Levy raised an eyebrow. "I meant the bookshelf. Does it look okay?"
"Oh!" Gajeel exclaimed looking past her to the bookshelf. "Yeah that's okay too, I suppose."
Levy and Gajeel laughed, her belly rumbling under his touch. Suddenly he felt a kick, an unmistakable baby's foot hit his hands. "I think we've got a strong one coming." He announced.
Levy dropped her face into exasperated annoyance. "Tell me about it, no matter how many times I clumsily hurt myself this little one can't help putting her two cents in by kicking." They both laughed again, happy to just think about the new lives they had created.
Levy had always heard that times get better from everyone she knew. Only her anxiety used to prevent her from thinking any farther than the next day. The future used to fill her with such horrid anticipation that she came to expect the worst out of everything, even out of her own wedding. Now her future was filled with scurrying feet, held hands in the dark and bad nightmares. Which, as far as Levy was concerned, was the best future she could ask for. She could really see how things got better now. Every thing had just worked out, it had been a long, difficult road to this day but Levy and Gajeel managed to do it because they found each other. In this twisted world of mental disorders, bullet wounds, gangs, and miscarriages they had finally made it.
Levy turned to her husband. "By the way, I've been super craving that oyster soup!"
"The one with the cherry on top?"
Levy nodded excitedly, knowing full well pregnancy came with such weird cravings and there was no way to get rid of them but to satisfy them. Gajeel chuckled then went to go fix her some from the kitchen.
Levy watched out the window, absentmindedly stroking her round stomach. Marianna was due any week now. That's what Levy decided to call her. She knew it was a her not because of all the ultrasounds that said otherwise but from a mother's intuition.
She watched the red leaves breeze across her lawn in a tornado of color. The wind carried each leaf on a wild ride that carried them to the park beside their house. She felt the baby kick once more and couldn't have frowned even if she tried.
AN: Now that this is the last chapter I just wanted to rant about some things. You don't have to read this if you don't want to but I wanted to say thank you. When I started this fanfic I never thought I'd even be able to get 12 followers let alone 57! Thank you all so much for reading and commenting on just about every new chapter I've posted it's been amazing reading how much people can enjoy this. Even though this is only a fanfiction and just a small step to a future dream as a writer, it means a lot to me to know that you guys stuck with me until the end. I haven't gotten a bad review yet, which is extremely uplifting. I want you all to know that it's because of your reviews, your favorites and your follows that gave me the inspiration to keep writing more. You guys mean a lot to me, so thanks so much for a great time. I'll also be posting more fanfics in the future if you guys are interested. Maybe some Nalu, maybe Gruvia, maybe fluff who knows but I do have some things planned out. My only hope for this fic is that I gave you guys a worthy last chapter! :) I hope we can have another great run with my future fanfics! And from the bottom of my heart, thank you! :D